Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Non-Invasive Approach To Historic Cemetery Studies In Milwaukee And Germany: Was The American Dream Worth It?, Bryan John Schutte

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis tests a non-invasive approach using readily accessible historic cemetery data to examine 19th-century immigration to the United States, with a focus on the narrative of the American Dream. This narrative, which is embedded within modern American culture and history, is an inspiring tale of people, mainly immigrants, starting over in a new country and creating a better life for themselves and their posterity. What motivates immigration is the idea that anybody can achieve the American Dream. But is this true? Are immigrants necessarily going to have a better life in a new country? What do we know about …

The Impact Of Discharge Type On Military To Civilian Reintegration: Conformity To Masculinity As A Moderating Factor, Kirsten Thiemke

Theses and Dissertations

Literature has shown that reintegrating back into civilian life and mentality has proven to be one of the most difficult aspects of transitioning from military service. Based on aspects such as qualifications for benefits, perceived stigma, and amount of community support, discharge status at the time of separation has been shown to have an impact on how separated service members reintegrate. Additionally, rigid adherence to the hypermasculine environment of the United States military could serve to further complicate reintegration for service members. The current study evaluates the relationship between discharge status and military to civilian reintegration, with adherence to traditional …

Pemātesen Atāēqnōhkakan: A Divergent Subset Of The Life Is Sacred Project, Rachel Skarsten

Theses and Dissertations

Murder-suicide constitutes a particularly tragic form of violence that has a powerful effect on communities. However, it remains severely understudied. No research to date has examined the incidence of death by murder-suicide events within American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) communities, despite AI/AN persons being at a disproportionately high risk for suicide and other forms of violence such as stalking, trafficking, physical violence and psychological aggression by intimate partners, and sexual violence. This project represents a subset of a larger Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin (MITW)/University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) partnership to address suicide mitigation within the Menominee tribal community. This project’s purpose …

Pemātesen Atāēqnōhkakan: A Three-Year Subset Of The Life Is Sacred Project, Tory Skye Mertz

Theses and Dissertations

The science of suicidology is in its infancy empirically. While some critical risk and protective factors have been identified (Nock et al., 2020 ), the field struggles for a coherent approach to conceptualizing, evaluating, and intervening with those who present with risk for death by suicide, as death rates climb in the United States. Suicide (completion) Rates among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) persons are currently the highest, and disproportionately impact tribal communities and AI/AN populated urban area at an alarming rate that should call the attention of all healthcare professionals and researchers. (CDC, 2023). Presently, mainstream approaches and …

“When They Say, ‘I Hear You,’ They Truly Hear Me”: An Application Of Theories Of Resilience To Occupational Trauma Exposure, Jacki Willenborg

Theses and Dissertations

Trauma workers, or those who regularly encounter psychologically distressing situations as part of their job, are at increased risk of mental illness, PTSD, and emotional burnout. However, not all trauma workers develop PTSD despite their regular exposure to traumatic scenes. This study sought to answer the question of how trauma workers’ co-worker relationships contribute to their resilience (i.e., their ability to buffer the negative psychological effects of their work) and the ways in which trauma workers communicate about their work and their stressors with one another. In-depth, semi-structured interviews with 17 trauma workers sought to identify processes involved in trauma …

Is It The Player Or The Game: A Metanalytic Study Of Video Games And Aggression, Brandon Straight

Theses and Dissertations

The present study is a comprehensive meta-analytic investigation exploring the relationship between exposure to violent video games and aggressive behavior. The present study explores the underlying effects of violent video game exposure and individuals’ aggressive behavior. The literature review examines previous research; including contradictory findings on the influence of violent video games on aggression, the significance of social learning theory in behavior comprehension, and the impact of age on aggressive behaviors. Furthermore, it explores the Buss-Perry model of trait aggression and its application to video game studies. The study outlines its methods which encompass literature search strategies, inclusion criteria, variables, …

Bangladeshi Working Mothers’ Work-Life Experience, Jannatul Ferdous Zinia

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explores the experiences of educated working mothers in Dhaka, Bangladesh, focusing on challenges encountered and the communication strategies they utilized for managing work-life boundaries. Grounded in Clark’s (2000) work-family border theory, an in-depth interview study with nine participants was conducted. Key findings of the thematic analysis highlight that the challenges faced by Bangladeshi working mothers are influenced by societal expectations, familial pressures, and workplace dynamics about boundary management. Participants navigated these challenges using various communication strategies, such as directly requesting childcare support from extended family members, communicating work schedules with family, having purposeful conversations with their spouse, …

The Effects Of Orienting Attention During Production Training In Learning Nonnative Segmental And Prosodic Contrasts, Dong Jin Kim

Theses and Dissertations

Research on language learners' attention suggests that manipulating attention is beneficial in the language learning process as it facilitates the "noticing" of specific linguistic aspects. The current study investigated the effects of directing learners' attention to segments and prosody in English phonetic training. Korean learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) were divided into two groups: one received segment-oriented training focusing on coda voicing contrasts, and the other received prosody-oriented training focusing on low vs. high attachments in relative clauses.The results showed that both groups successfully acquired segmental contrasts, with no significant difference between the two groups, suggesting that …

Examining Individual Document Evaluation: An Eye-Tracking Analysis, Sukwon Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research on relevance judgment while searching for information on the web has been investigated in various contexts by scholars. This dissertation examines the behavior of users seeking health-related information online, specifically how those users operationalize both list and document evaluation. It focuses especially on document evaluation because it reflects the symbiotic relationship between the computer and the human. One of the broader aims of this study is to understand how users’ relevance judgments change during individual document evaluation. It examines whether there are any associations between eye-tracking variables and the perceived importance of each document. The perceived importance of …

Essays On Financial Inclusion Of Individuals And Small Firms, Andreea Vasi

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three chapters on the financial inclusion of individuals and small firms. Chapter 1 examines the impact of financial openness, which measures a country’s level of capital account openness, on its degree of financial inclusion, which refers to the accessibility and utilization of financial services, particularly among individuals from low-income, marginalized, and disadvantaged communities. Using country and time fixed effects regression estimation in a panel data set of up to 102 countries for the largest sample from 2004 to 2017, I find that a higher degree of de facto capital account openness, measured by the Lane and …

Culturally-Specific Risk And Resilience Factors That Moderate The Relationship Between Reproductive Coercion And Adverse Health Outcomes Among Latinx Individuals, Emily Munoz

Theses and Dissertations

Reproductive coercion (e.g., one partner controlling the reproductive decision making of the other) is a serious public health problem that is associated with a number of adverse health outcomes. Reproductive coercion has been shown to disproportionately affect Latinx people who can become pregnant; however, little is known about the cultural factors, such as familism, ethnic identity pride, social support, and acculturative stress, that may mitigate or exacerbate the risk of experiencing adverse health outcomes associated with reproductive coercion. Thus, using a non-clinical sample (N=160) of Latinx-identifying adults, the current cross-sectional study examined (1) the associations between reproductive coercion and adverse …

Description And Critical Evaluation Of Models Of Psychology Practice In The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Kathryn A. Balistreri

Theses and Dissertations

During and after hospitalization in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), a significant proportion of patients and their family members experience clinical levels of distress (i.e., traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression). Pediatric psychologists are well-suited to support families during hospitalization and are increasingly present in PICUs. Models of psychology practice have been explored in other pediatric settings, but a comprehensive assessment of models of psychology practice in the PICU has not been conducted. The present study aimed to evaluate current models of psychology practice in PICUs and explore psychologists’ perceptions of the ideal model of care for PICU families. Fourteen …

Urban Rail-Trails As Spaces Of Distributive, Procedural, And Recognitional (In)Justice, Katherine Kocisky

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation research draws attention to urban rail-trail projects as issues of social (in)justice. Like urban greenspace, rail-trails are not an unproblematic environmental good. Large, high-profile urban rail-trails like New York City’s High Line, Chicago’s 606 Bloomingdale Trail and Atlanta’s Beltline have all received criticism for accelerating gentrification in surrounding communities, most often displacing historically excluded communities adjacent to the trail. Less research has explored relationships between urban rail-trail development and cultural displacement. This research aims to fill that gap by understanding how contemporary urban rail-trail projects are incorporating equity into their planning processes and whether urban rail-trails can be …

Digital Payments And Consumption: Evidence From The 2016 Demonetization In India, Sumit Agarwal, Pulak Ghosh, Jing Li, Tianyue Ruan

Research Collection School Of Economics

We study how consumer spending responds to digital payments, using the differential switch to digital payments across consumers induced by the sudden 2016 Indian Demonetization for identification. Usage of digital payments rose by 3.38 percentage points and monthly spending increased by 3% for an additional 10 percentage points in prior cash dependence. Spending remained elevated even when cash availability recovered. Robustness analyses show that the spending response is not driven by income shocks, credit supply, price changes, or consumers' moving to the formal market. We provide evidence that digital payments increase consumer spending due to subdued salience.

Black Men’S Experiences Of Coercive Controlling Tactics, Meagan Alexandria Stewart

Doctoral Dissertations

Black men’s experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization, particularly coercive control and coercive violence, are largely absent from the literature. Guided by intersectionality and hegemonic masculinity, this study examined Black men’s experiences of non-physical IPV victimization, focusing on the ways patriarchal systems and White supremacy influenced the type of coercive controlling tactics utilized against the participants. Intersectional multilevel analysis guided the examination of how interlocking oppressive systems at multiple levels impacted the Black men’s experiences of non-physical IPV victimization. Findings from this study demonstrate the complexity of Black men’s IPV victimization, including physical violence and emotional and psychological abuse …

Emotional Eating In Adolescents With Obesity: Case Series, Paula Dayan

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Childhood obesity remains a significant public health concern, with substantial implications for physical and mental well-being. This thesis aims to explore the intricate relationship between emotional eating and obesity among adolescents, with a focus on identifying emotional triggers and assessing their psychological impact. Utilizing a cross-sectional study design at a university in southern California, data were collected from two adolescents aged 13-18 years. Through surveys and body composition measurements, participants' emotional barriers to weight loss and readiness for change were assessed. The findings underscore the presence of varying degrees of emotional hurdles among adolescents with obesity, including depression, frustration, and …

Examining The Impact Of Transformational Leadership On Employee Development And Performance: The Role Of Inspiration And Trust, Kayla Pham

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Transformational leaders are known to encourage, motivate, and engage followers in ways that enhance organizational outcomes. Researchers like Bernard Bass expanded on transformational leadership after James V. Downton introduced the idea. Bernard Bass was critical since he found ways to measure the success of transformational leadership (Givens, 2008). The four major principles of the transformational leadership theory are idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration (Bass, 1985). This study aims to determine whether transformational leaders increase employee development and performance through their ability to inspire and trust in their followers. Variables such as performance, employee development, inspiration, and …

Mental Health Stigma Related To Depression And Suicidal Behavior In Korean-Americans, Soo Min Kim

Student Theses

Despite the surge of the Korean population within the United States, the Korean-American population is significantly underrepresented in research when observed separately from other Asian groups. The Republic of Korea has had the highest suicide rate within the OECD nations for well over a decade (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development), and evidence suggests that the risk of suicidality may extend to Koreans living abroad (Kung, 2018). There is also evidence of high prevalence of depressive symptoms in Korean-Americans (Bernstein et al., 2011). In addition, Koreans are consistently demonstrated to hold stigmatizing beliefs about mental illness, however, very little research …

An Investigation Of Continued Contact Between Victim And Perpetrator After Sexual Violence, Maria Bates

Student Theses

Given the prevalence of sexual violence and child sexual abuse (CSA) it is imperative to accurately conceptualize victim experience following sexual violence. Rape myths do not provide an adequate understanding of victim behavior post-abuse/assault (e.g., Denne et al., 2013; Harsey & Freed, 2023; Romero-Sanchez et al., 2018; Russel & Hand, 2017), such as prescribing that victims of sexual violence would never hold contact with a perpetrator post-abuse/assault (e.g., Maurer, 2015; Shepp et al., 2019; St. George et al., 2022; Smith, 2023). Since research shows that many victims, particularly CSA victims, know the perpetrator, (e.g., Basile, 2020; Gewirtz-Meydan & Finkelhor, 2020; …

Improved Flood Risk Communication Using National Flood Hazard Layer And Community Resilience Estimates Data In Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Christopher Jerald Archuleta

Theses and Dissertations

Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) are primarily used for determining flood insurance rates and if flood insurance is required under the National Flood Insurance Program. FIRMs have several sources of bias and inaccuracy, limiting their capacity to communicate flood risk. This study investigated how FIRMs, which are created with National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL) data, can be visualized with Community Resilience Estimates (CRE) data from the U.S. Census Bureau to better communicate about flood risk than with NFHL data alone. To conduct this study, one set of flood risk maps showing only NFHL data and another set showing both NFHL …

An Extended Replication Theory Approach To Taiwan Mandarin Syntax, Lauren Elizabeth Clark

Theses and Dissertations

Previous accounts of Taiwan Mandarin syntax have generally taken a sociolinguistic approach, ascribing the presence of non-Mandarin-like features and patterns to interference from Taiwanese Southern Min or other southern varieties of Chinese. However, this approach has two major flaws. Firstly, it fails to explain the existence of patterns in Taiwan Mandarin that are unique to that dialect and the absence in Taiwan Mandarin of patterns that exist in both Standard Mandarin and Taiwanese Southern Min. Secondly, the focus on presence-absence as a binary has obscured important information about the frequency and distribution of various grammatical constructions. In order to address …

Silence In Stem? The Impact Of Experienced Social Identity Threats On Women, Madison Brumbaugh

All Theses

Despite making up a similar proportion of the workforce, women are grossly underrepresented in STEM occupations compared to men (65% vs. 35%). Prior research suggests that women’s underrepresentation in STEM results in negative consequences, such as increased psychological burnout and decreased work engagement (Hall et al., 2015; Hall et al., 2018), through the mechanism of social identity threat. Academics have yet to explore how experiencing social identity threat impacts silence behaviors for underrepresented women in STEM. Building off social identity theory and prior research on social identity threat, the current study sought to compare women working in STEM occupations who …

Exploring Healthcare Chatbot Information Presentation: Applying Hierarchical Bayesian Regression And Inductive Thematic Analysis In A Mixed Methods Study, Samuel Nelson Koscelny

All Theses

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, significantly increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, which are leading causes of death in the United States. While contributing to over 691,000 deaths in 2021 alone in the United States (U.S.), it also imposes immense economic burden on the healthcare system, costing approximately $131 billion annually. One way to address this issue is for increased self-care behaviors and medication adherence, both of which require sufficient health literacy. Despite the importance of health literacy, 90% of U.S. adults struggle with health-related subjects. Overcoming the issues associated with health literacy requires addressing the …

Author Biographical Notes

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Human Decomposition Evaluation: A Standardized Approach For Staging And Scoring Morphological Features Using Artificial Intelligence, Phillip D. Ditto

Masters Theses

Anthropological estimates of the post-mortem interval (PMI) or the time since an individual died depend on understanding the morphological features of the body present at the time of examination. Such changes may include skin color, bloating, or mummification that are assumed to occur sequentially from the time of death until skeletonization, broadly indicating how long a person may have been deceased. However, there are no standards or even agreed-upon stages in which these morphological changes are observed, given the number of factors influencing human decomposition over time. This lack of standards makes the observer's reliability of morphological decomposition traits and …

Moral Education Through Mass Art: Implementing Vanderpump Rules In The Modern Ethics Classroom, Madison A. Cosby

Masters Theses

In a world dominated by screens, professors more than ever need to diversify their pedagogical methods to compete for the tech-dependent students’ attention. In Section One, I argue the traditional method for teaching ethics does not cater to the modern student, thus to cultivate a more compassionate and ethical society, we should rethink how we conduct our ethics classes.

Traditional ethics classes rely too much on bizarre thought experiments, convoluted and abstract texts, and unstimulating lectures making them less effective at achieving their true purpose, i.e. cultivating what Martha Nussbaum (2010) calls the democratic citizen. I argue that Nussbaum’s narrative …

The Rise And Fall Of Elizabeth Holmes: Investigating Myths Within Media Coverage, Charlotte Emelia Williams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

When Elizabeth Holmes became the youngest female billionaire in 2014, news media framed her as the next Steve Jobs due to her similarities as a dropout, a passionate industry disruptor, and a visionary. When she was discovered as a fraud in 2018, coverage framed her as a feminine, seductive monster who duped everyone. I analyzed the media coverage in both years to uncover myths that guided these narratives and argue that these news frames contributed to the large interest in her rise and fall while also reinforcing harmful ways of thinking toward success and female leadership.

Gpr171 Modulates Mood, Consummatory Behaviors, And Morphine Antinociception In A Sexually Dimorphic Pattern In Mice, Megan C. Raddatz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Receptors in the brain influence everything from complex behaviors related to mood, all the way to simple physiological functions like the way a person moves. Receptors are activated or inactivated by chemicals or hormones that the body produces or that are created to mimic the body’s natural chemicals. Of the hundreds of receptors in the brain, GPR171 is particularly interesting because new drugs have been created to activate or block the receptor, and are being proposed for the treatment of different disorders, particularly disorders related to pain. GPR171 has been shown to affect pain behaviors, eating, and mood-related behaviors, but …

Online Act For Caregivers: A Longitudinal Mixed Methods Study, Jacob D. Gossner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Family caregivers for people with dementia are a resilient population operating under stressful circumstances that can put them at risk of multiple negative outcomes. Existing interventions may be difficult for family caregivers to access due to time and transportation constraints; an alternative is online, self-guided interventions that caregivers can access from their own homes. The purpose of this dissertation is to evaluate the impact of ACT for Caregivers, a six session online, self-guided program based on the principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Participants had an average age of 61.93 (SD = 13.69), had been caregiving for an average …

Linking Community-Level Food Sovereignty To Subjective Wellbeing: Framing Perspectives On Food Systems In The Upper Yakima River Basin, Alexander W. Theophilus

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Food sovereignty is a framework focused on achieving a wide range of changes in food systems that yield more equitable outcomes for consumers, workers, farmers, and future generations. Food sovereignty is also believed to be an important driver of community wellbeing. However, there is limited research linking perceptions of community-level food sovereignty to subjective wellbeing. Additionally, the complex determinants of food sovereignty are not fully understood. Through two papers linking community-level food sovereignty and subjective wellbeing, I discuss the factors that influence food sovereignty and the impact of food systems on wellbeing in Washington’s upper Yakima River Basin.

In the …