Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Blood’S Evidentiary Value Based On Its Biological And Physical Properties, Samantha Boman

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Prior to 1955, bloodstain evidence was considered to be unreliable and therefore inadmissible in a court of law. Today, DNA profiles can be derived from leukocytes, which comprise less than 1% of our total blood volume. Aside from genetic profiles, the biological and physical properties of blood can reveal a great deal to investigators. The first landmark case to utilize blood’s class characteristics reliably was in the State of Ohio vs. Samuel Sheppard. This paper explains how viscosity, surface tension, flow, velocity, and Newtonian laws of motion can be used to determine: the relative locations of victims and offenders, handedness …

Rights That Are Not Guaranteed: Failures Of Government Policy On Homelessness, Jeffrey Kaspraw

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Since the 1980s, the rising number of homeless people has caused the problem to become a significant political issue. Politicians have made promises in their campaigns to solve the emergency every election cycle. Most of these campaign promises never come to fruition, and we see a continuing rise in homelessness. This paper examines the political context of housing insecurity to argue that housing is a human right, and that homelessness is a failed policy decision. Homelessness comes in four different forms that all require individual attention. The current policies aimed to address homelessness cannot be one size fits all. While …

Practice, Patience, And Persistence: Integrating Growth Mindset Prompts In First-Year Writing Information Literacy Instruction, Omer Farooq, Tammi M. Owens

Criss Library Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

Overview of the University of Nebraska at Omaha, library, and information literacy program. Discuss the Growth Mindset literature, and how it was integrated into our First-Year Writing information literacy instruction.

Unlocking The Mysteries Of Serials, Nicole Lewis, Sharolyn Swenson

Faculty Publications

Serials cataloging can be confusing with its unique properties. This session will discuss some of the challenges involved in cataloging serials including choosing a title, what to do if you do not have the first issue or an early issue of the serial, determining the dates of serials, frequency changes and cataloging serials in languages that are unfamiliar to the cataloger.

The Labor And Educational Effects Of Daca: Evidence From California, Oscar A. Alonso Guerra

Master's Theses

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, implemented in 2012, has been a subject of intense debate. While much research has examined the early effects of DACA, this study contributes to the literature by analyzing more recent data on the labor and educational outcomes of DACA recipients in California. Using a difference-in-differences approach, I aim to uncover significant changes in the labor market and educational outcomes of DACA recipients over time. I find those eligible for DACA experienced noteworthy effects compared to those who were ineligible. Specifically, they exhibit a significant 3.1 percentage point increase in the likelihood of …

“That Means Nothing To Me As A Normal Person Who Doesn't Know About Patents”: Usability Testing Of Google Patents And Patent Public Search With Undergraduate Engineering Students, Graham Sherriff, Molly Rogers

Journal of the Patent and Trademark Resource Center Association

Patent searching is an important research tool for undergraduate engineering students, yet it requires special topic knowledge to conduct successfully. Patent database websites have the ability to alleviate or add to the complexity of patent searching, depending on their usability. Prompted by the launch of the US Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Public Search (PPS) website in early 2022, the authors investigated the usability of PPS and Google Patents. The study's objective was to gain insights into the ways in which the websites of commonly-used patent databases support undergraduate students’ patent searching activities. The study examined students’ performance of typical …

A Case Study Of The Complicated History Of Rice University’S First Patents, Hannah G. Edlund

Journal of the Patent and Trademark Resource Center Association

Digitization and online public databases have made patent searches a much simpler pursuit in recent years. However, uncovering a pre-digital era patent’s history and context remains challenging. A search for the first patents assigned to Rice University highlighted associated issues. Older patent formats often do not clearly indicate inventor-assignee relationships, and applications and official communications are not available online. To determine how Rice came to own three 1948 patents, extensive archival research was required. Were these patents assigned to the University by inventors, independent of its support or funding, or was their work performed at and for Rice, thus obliging …

Interest Convergence And Neoliberalism: Effects On Entry-Level Staff Of Color Who Perform Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In Higher Education, Jesse N. Avila

Master's Theses

Higher education was not originally built to benefit people of color. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are many ways in which universities seek to change higher education. However, higher education has a staff retention problem and is at risk of losing more than half of its current workforce. Retention problems also impact entry-level staff of color who perform DEI in universities. Through a lens of interest convergence and neoliberalism, this qualitative study gathered the experiences of entry-level staff of color who perform DEI in student affairs, looked at how their experiences are shaped by the structures of the university, and …

Leveraging The Power Of Wikipedia And Wikidata For Your Library, Nicole Lewis, Rachel Helps

Faculty Publications

Wikipedia is one of the most popular sources of information on the internet. As information professionals, we can change information on Wikipedia to be more accurate and complete. By using Wikidata, librarians can affect information searches at a deep, machine-readable level. This session will discuss some ways that librarians can increase the accessibility of the media and information in their libraries and bring their hidden collections to light.

Library Workers On The Front Lines Of Conspiracy Theories In The Us: One Nationwide Survey, Stephanie Beene, Katie Greer

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether and in what ways library workers in the United States encountered patrons espousing beliefs in conspiracy theories and, if so, to explore the effectiveness of the strategies they used to address information disorder during the interactions.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was designed with an exploratory qualitative approach. Data were collected via an online survey posted to national and state library association listservs, utilizing a self-selected sampling method. Researchers inductively and deductively analyzed results, developing predetermined themes based on the research questions, then iteratively integrating unexpected data during coding.

Findings

A total …

Responding To Future Pandemics: Biosecurity Implications And Defense Considerations, Diane Dieuliis, James Giordano

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

In an evolving and expanding biothreat landscape caused by emerging biotechnologies, increases in global infectious disease outbreaks, and geopolitical instability, the Department of Defense now faces challenges that alter its traditional approach to biothreats and prompt the need for modernized, improved preparedness for—and response to—potential biothreat scenarios. These challenges further complicate specific weaknesses revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Department’s inability to sustain the military mission while meeting intragovernmental expectations to assist with civilian public health resources and services.

Geniuses Dare To Ride Their Luck: Clausewitz’S Card Game Analogies, Nicholas A. A. Murray

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Scholars have been using the wrong card games to analyze Carl von Clausewitz’s analogies in On War, which has led to errors in understanding his ideas. This article identifies the games Clausewitz discusses, allowing for a more accurate interpretation of his original meaning for the study of war. Since Clausewitz’s ideas underpin strategy development within service education systems, it is critical his ideas are fully understood in context.

Ambigú Trashumante Barra De Café Ambulante Ambigú Trashumante Barra De Café Ambulante, Augusto Martin Rivero

Master's Projects and Capstones

Ambigú Trashumante Barra de Café Ambulante is an applied research project which took shape over the course of a calendar year from May 2022-2023. A six-person team evolved including the personified project itself, united as one communal entity in collaboration. The project entailed creation of a bicicargo, or cargo bike–useful art becoming a mobile coffee bar and literal vehicle embodying justice through coffee offered freely in México, as facilitated through decolonized ethnography and Mesoamerican Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR). The project’s theoretical framework centers on Bruguera’s (2012) arte útil conceptualization. Five core patterns emerged, including the right to thrive in …

Caring For Rural Hispanic/Latinx Foster Youth: Cultural Competency And Providers Of Foster Youth Mental Health Services, Vidal Salgado Gonzalez

Master's Projects and Capstones

Hispanic/Latinx cultural competency is desperately needed in our child welfare system. Hispanic/Latinx is the largest population in the California foster care system, 48.6% of California’s total foster care population (Population Reference Bureau 2021). There is a lack of cultural competency in the workforce available to address their specific mental health needs. A particular need and opportunity for improvement in the foster care system would be a commitment by public providers to make cultural competency a foundational workforce requirement. In this capstone thesis paper, I have investigated how public providers can recruit and retain a diverse and culturally competent workforce and …

Preparing To Engage Migrant-Origin Students Through Culturally Responsive Teaching: A Handbook For Teachers, Grayson E. Briggs

Master's Theses

Students of migrant-origin currently represent approximately 25% of the total student population in the United States. As immigration to the U.S. continues, the proportion of migrant-origin students in public schools is only expected to grow. Despite the growing representation of migrant-origin youth amongst the K-12 student population, current schooling approaches have not expanded to address the diversifying needs of the student population. Because public school systems are struggling to adapt to the needs of migrant-origin students, these students’ educational attainment is suffering. The presence of implicit bias, microaggressions, and stereotypes in all aspects of schooling is a significant factor that …

Beyond Carceral "Solutions": Using Transformative Human Rights Education In Domestic Violence Prevention, Alli E. Rios

Master's Projects and Capstones

Domestic violence is a choice a person makes to gain and exert absolute power and control over another person. Unfortunately, the predominant structure for addressing domestic violence - the criminal justice system - is rife with problematic social and structural constructs, like patriarchy, white supremacy, and neoliberalism, which are themselves rooted in issues of power and control (Acheson, 2022). The influence of these factors, which are largely defined by exploitative hierarchies, helps to explain why domestic violence remains prevalent. To more effectively address and prevent domestic violence, research suggests that comprehensive policy and curricular reform are necessary on multiple levels …

Fighting For The Heart Of The Mission District: Multiracial Community Organizing And Anti-Displacement Movements, Anachristina Arana

Master's Projects and Capstones

My research discusses the history of gentrification and displacement in San Francisco, which has been created through a legacy of intentional policymaking, city planning, and land-use decision-making across the city and state. This study centers the collective power and expertise of multiracial, multicultural community-based organizations and coalitions dedicated to the work of tackling these systemic issues in the Mission District of San Francisco. To learn about the impact of multiracial community organizing, I pose the following research question: How do multiracial community-based organizations work to disrupt gentrification and displacement, and create meaningful change to support impacted community members in the …

Charity Begins At Home: Investigating How Culture Shapes In-Group Bias In Altruistic Behavior, Angira Shukla

Master's Theses

The paper builds a structural model of altruistic transfers based on identity matches with another individual and estimates the weights that people place on the characteristic matches. We also take a comparative look at the role of culture in these transfers. The culture here is trying to contrast a traditional society versus a cosmopolitan one. I run an experiment in India to examine these differences. I find that in both the urban and rural samples individuals tend to give more to girls and donate largely on the basis of the need of the receiver. I also find that the rural …

Criminal Injustice: An Examination Of Racial Profiling And Discriminatory Police Practices In Canada And The United States, Patricia Advincula

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

The Black Lives Matter movement swept across the United States after the murders of black people at the hands of law enforcement. Not fully acknowledged in the media are the police brutality cases that have also occurred in Canada, a country that prides itself on tolerance, acceptance, and diversity. Police brutality is an unfortunate reality that stems from racial profiling, one of the many symptoms of historically oppressive institutions. In this paper, I will examine police coercion and racial profiling in Canada and the United States. This paper will employ a theoretical framework of conflict theory and minority threat hypothesis …

Stigma Of Incarceration And Motivation Of Undergraduate Students For Service-Learning, Kapil Sharma

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Incarceration can be a long-lasting, stigmatizing life event that significantly impacts one's life and limits ex-offenders in various aspects of their life. The impact of widespread criminal records can obstruct reentry, economic stability, and full participation in society, whether minor, major, old, or new. The study aims to explore the stigma attached to incarceration and the motivation of undergraduate students for Service-Learning. Based on responses from three semi-structured interviews with students interns of the Records Clearance Project of San Jose State University, it was evident that after completing their sentences, ex-offenders come into many barriers that may prevent them from …

Charcoal, Droughts, And Deforestation: Evidence From Mozambique, Kaitlin N. Paull

Master's Theses

Mozambique is prone to harsh weather conditions due to its geographic location, and these conditions are expected to worsen in the face of ongoing climate change. Many of Mozambique’s farmers rely on rain-fed agriculture, meaning their livelihoods are highly vulnerable to worsening weather trends. Some farmers have diversified their incomes with charcoal production, making use of Mozambique’s abundant forest resources. This study measures how reliance on charcoal as an income diversification strategy affects forest loss, and found inconclusive effects of rainfall on deforestation. However, the study does find that a one-unit increase in hot degree days increases the probability of …

Plato's Republics: A Dramatic Interpretation Of The Early Cities In Plato's "Republic", Simeon Burns

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation will demonstrate a new methodological approach to reading Plato’s Republic. I develop and apply a dramatic, dynamic hermeneutic to Book II and part of Book III in the text. This method holds that each speech is the product of a preceding agreement or disagreement between two speakers. Agreements lead to the argument’s advancement and disagreements result in a regression to a previous agreement from which to restart the exchange. The focus section is largely on the early exchange Socrates has with Adeimantus. I argue that Socrates is an unwilling participant in the famous discussion on the meaning …

Balancing Act In The Archives: Increasing Access To The Great Plains Black History Museum Collection, Lori Schwartz, Wendy Guerra

Criss Library Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

Our unit has been working for several years in various capacities with the Great Plains Black History Museum in North Omaha. Our latest collaboration involves arrangement, description, and selective digitization of their archives. This project is ongoing though paused at the moment.

In this talk, Wendy and I are going to summarize our current development of a research topic in the archival profession stemming from this Great Plains Black History Museum project–that of ensuring access to a community archive through a partnership. Along the way, we’ve been thinking through issues like resource allocation, sustainable access to community archival collections, hosting …

Fair Signposting Profile, Herbert Van De Sompel, Martin Klein, Shawn Jones, Michael L. Nelson, Simeon Warner, Anusuriya Devaraju, Robert Huber, Wilko Steinhoff, Vyacheslav Tykhonov, Luc Boruta, Enno Meijers, Stian Soiland-Reyes, Mark Wilkonson

Computer Science Faculty Publications

[First paragraph] This page details concrete recipes that platforms that host research outputs (e.g. data repositories, institutional repositories, publisher platforms, etc.) can follow to implement Signposting, a lightweight yet powerful approach to increase the FAIRness of scholarly objects.

Sensory Processing Impacts On Sleep Patterns In Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Julianne M. Myers

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

The COVID-19 global pandemic in 2020 introduced a sudden disruption to the people’s daily routines, including changes to sleep schedules and, thus, sleep quality. Generally, children with developmental disabilities (DD), such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), experience higher levels of sleep difficulties compared to typically developing youth. These sleep difficulties have been linked to social and emotional abilities, cognitive development, and adaptive functioning. One component found to impact sleep behaviors is sensory processing differences. Individuals with ASD and other DDs exhibit greater levels of these sensory concerns. The current study sought to understand how the sleep behaviors of ASD and …

Calladitas No Nos Vemos Más Bonitas: Testimonios Of Mexican Migrant Catholic Mothers’ Resistance To Marianismo, Jessica Guadalupe Ornelas

Master's Theses

The purposeful killing of women due to their gender (feminicide) is an atrocious global act that has been ascending at an alarming rate, over the past couple of years. Specifically, last year in México and in the duration of six months, there were close to 3,000 victims of gender based killings in México, which is about 10 casualties daily (ONU Mujeres, 2022). While most studies have centered their attention on systemic causes that lead to gender based violence, the amount of research that closely analyzes the ways these causes are interwoven with womens’ everyday lived experiences of social and personal …

Invisibility: Bringing Statelessness To The Forefront Of U.S. Political Advocacy, Claire G. Green

Master's Theses

Currently, an estimated 218,000 stateless persons are living in the United States. With no legal structure specifically addressing statelessness, stateless persons are left in a perpetual state of legal ambiguity. This project explores current research on statelessness in the United States, examines general awareness and attitudes towards the stateless population, and seeks to further understand how to increase empathy and engagement in the push for stateless rights. Guided by the lens of feminist political theory, I attempt to answer the following research question: Can autobiographical works of art be utilized as healing tools of empowerment and catalysts for political recognition …

Abolition Ecologies And The Making Of Freedom As A Place In Bayview-Hunters Point, Spencer Daniel O'Hara

Master's Theses

In this paper, I critically explore the subjectivities of Hunters Point Naval Shipyard (HPNS), part of the largest redevelopment project in San Francisco since 1906. Applying an abolition ecologies framework, I ask what explains the duplicity of the Shipyard as a site of radioactive contamination and capital accumulation, and in the same time-space one that creates the conditions for radical place-making. Hunters Point Naval Shipyard is a former commercial and military shipyard located on a peninsula in southeastern San Francisco. Motivated by its desire for a major shipbuilding and repair facility to project maritime power in the Pacific, the Navy …

Positive Out Of The Negative: Tracking Renewable Energy Projects In Central America, Jordan Ethan Castillo (Miner)

Master's Theses

Central America is undertaking a vast Renewable Energy (RE) transition, due to widespread investments across the region in an array of technologies. These technologies include Community Solar, Wind, and Hydroelectricity. Hydroelectricity has long been the backbone of many countries’ energy grids in the region due to the region’s long history with hydroelectricity. Ambitious climate goals coupled with diminishing hydroelectric power generation opportunities have led to an expansion of investment in Community Solar and Wind energy. The embrace of Solar and Wind has been accelerated due to declining costs for these technologies as they mature. Central America as a case study …

Unaccompanied Migrant Children And Adolescents’ Rights In Colombia: Between Invisibility And Incapacity, Linda María Urueña Mariño

Master's Theses

This thesis centers on an analysis of the situation of unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents transiting through and settling in Colombia, from a children’s rights perspective. These children are being invisibilized, which is causing their unprotection and multiple violations of their rights. Through a critical policy analysis, with a review of Colombian migration and child protection policies, and interviews with governmental and nongovernmental representatives working with migrant children in the country, the study aimed at contrasting policies with the real practices of migrant children protection.

The analysis recurred to Bauman, Butler, Crenshaw, among other authors to show how the Colombian …