Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Decision-Making And Christianity: Black Queer Women's Mental Health, Deborah Coffy

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study investigated how Christianity affects Black queer women's decision-making regarding seeking mental health services. Those who felt they met the inclusion criteria completed a Basic Demographic Survey. After vetting these individuals, eleven female participants—who are both Black and queer—were asked to participate in an individual semi-structured qualitative interview. The interview focused on one's journey with mental health, societal and relationship influences, Black and LGBTQ+ identity, influences from conservative, traditional, or mainstream Christianity, and sense of self. Although Christianity may not have directly impacted most of the women in this study to seek mental health services, Christianity did have an …

Rhetorics Of Species Revivalism And Biotechnology – A Roundtable Dialogue, Eva Kasprzycka, Charlotte Wrigley, Adam Searle, Richard Twine

Animal Studies Journal

This informal dialogue contextualises and explores contemporary practices of nonhuman animal gene-modification in de-extinction projects. Looking at recent developments in biotechnology’s role in de-extinction sciences and industries, these interdisciplinary scholars scrutinise the neoliberal impetus driving ‘species revivalism’ in the wake of the Capitalocene. Critical examinations of species integrity, cryo-preservation, techno-optimism, rewilding initiatives and projects aimed at restoring extinct animals such as the woolly mammoth and bucardo are used to map some of the necessary restructuring of conservation policies and enterprises that could secure viably sustainable – and just – futures for nonhuman animals at risk of extinction. The authors question …

Póster De La Conferencia Segundo Congreso Internacional De Iconografía Precolombina

Segundo congreso internacional de iconografía precolombina. Barcelona, 2023. Actas.

Victòria Solanilla, organizadora

17 al 20 de octubre de 2023.

En el Museu de Cultures del Món de Barcelona. Calle Montcada, nº12-14, 08003, Barcelona.

Y en el Institut d’Estudis Catalans. Calle del Carme, nº 47, 08001, Barcelona.

Proyectar El Diseño Precolombino: Experiencias Didácticas, Luz Helena Ballestas Rincón

Segundo congreso internacional de iconografía precolombina. Barcelona, 2023. Actas.

Se presenta el resultado de un Modelo Pedagógico basado en el Diseño Precolombino, el cual ha sido aplicado en diversos escenarios y ambientes de aprendizaje. Mediante la sistematización de la teoría con la práctica del diseño se muestran ejemplos de los métodos de diseño que han resultado eficaces, ya sea en el ámbito universitario o en grupos interesados en el conocimiento de estos bienes patrimoniales, entre los que se encuentran estudiantes y profesores del área artística así como personas convocadas por algunos museos que poseen colecciones precolombinas.

Al experimentar y proponer activando los mecanismos que liberan la creatividad y, a …

Los Bordados Mayas Que Protegen De Enfermedades En El Estado De Yucatán, México, Roberto Campos-Navarro, Leydi Dorantes, Danielle Dupiech Cavaleri

Segundo congreso internacional de iconografía precolombina. Barcelona, 2023. Actas.

Conocemos el rol de los textiles en los rituales y el significado de numerosos símbolos que bordan las artesanas mayas de la Península de Yucatán, no obstante, existen varios motivos de plantas medicinales bordados en los textiles que no fueron analizados. En el mes de septiembre de 2022 dio comienzo una investigación en cooperación con la joven curandera x-meno’ob de Yaxcabá, Leydi Dorantes, que cultiva más de doscientas plantas medicinales mayas en el jardín botánico que creó su abuelo, mismas que usa en rituales y también para curar. Ella nos da a conocer la relación existente entre los elementos de …

Identificación De La División Del Trabajo Entre Los Géneros A Través Del Análisis Iconográfico, Sarah Kauffmann

Segundo congreso internacional de iconografía precolombina. Barcelona, 2023. Actas.

El presente trabajo se enfoca en la metodología para identificar los roles y actividades realizadas por determinado género en la sociedad maya prehispánica. Códigos especiales en la iconografía son utilizados para representar y diferenciar los dos géneros. Varios medios se explorarán como las estelas, dinteles, cerámicas y figurillas. A través de la iconografía se identificará las actividades, vestimenta y postura para interpretar la división del trabajo.

This present study focuses on the methodology for identifying the roles and activities realized by both genders in the pre-Hispanic Mayan society. Special iconographical codes are used to represent and differentiate men and women. …

El Sobredimensionamiento Y Otros Recursos Plásticos Como Representación De La Capacidad Extática–Visionaria En El Arte Chamánico Americano, Ana María Llamazares

Segundo congreso internacional de iconografía precolombina. Barcelona, 2023. Actas.

Este artículo explora uno de los principales rasgos del arte chamánico visionario: el sobredimensionamiento de las figuras o de algunas de sus partes significativas. A través de diversos registros arqueológicos y contemporáneos, se brindan elementos valiosos para interpretar como representaciones explícitas de la capacidad extática o visionaria, ciertas imágenes de arte prehispánico o etnográfico ligadas a tradiciones de prácticas chamánicas americanas, en las que se ha expresado la percepción de la magnificación energética a través de rayos, aureolas o apéndices diversos que expanden el tamaño de las cabezas, manos, pies u otras partes del cuerpo en forma desproporcionada respecto del …

Diving Below The Surface: A Layered Approach To Teaching Online Source Evaluation Through Lateral And Critical Reading, Andrea Baer, Daniel G. Kipnis

Libraries Scholarship

As online environments have in many ways changed how information (including misinformation) is created and distributed, many educators have recognized a need for teaching new strategies for evaluating online sources for credibility and potential bias. Educators like Mike Caulfield and research groups like the Stanford History Education Group (SHEG) have stressed the need for “lateral reading,” a habit of fact-checking when initially evaluating a source. When reading laterally, a person doesn’t spend extensive time initially examining what a source says about itself; instead, they quickly move off of the site in question to look at what others have said about …

Economic Rights And Human Dignity, Lucile Sabas, Syoum Negassi

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Hearts + Minds Project Launch: Co-Creating Civic Engagement Opportunities With Indigenous And Black Young People, Fallon Melander, Abigail Salole, Shan Abbasi, Russell Adjekwei, Esrah Akasha, Shamas Berantuo, Yasmin Hashi, Joanne Levy, Michella Lim Mark, Cassandra Oluwasola, Sharmin Sharif

Publications and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Petroleum And The Politics Of Decolonization In Indonesia: A Study Of Economic Development And Nationalism, Jan P. Wenger

Honors Theses

This study examines Indonesia’s reliance and independence on foreign direct investment (FDI) and multinational corporations (MNCs) in the oil and gas sector. Analyzing historical, economic, and political primary and secondary sources and conducting qualitative interviews, the research explores the friction between economic development aspirations and nationalist sentiments. The study reveals that the current ambiguity surrounding FDI and MNC policies in Indonesia’s oil and gas sector can be traced back to the country’s economic decolonization and demonstrates that Indonesia’s economic policies towards these factors shifted in the aftermath of political change. Since gaining independence, Indonesia has strived to balance the pursuit …

The Lie-Brary Of Congress: Misinformation’S Grip On The American Legislative Process, Caleb Bitting

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the influence of misinformation on the policy-making pro- cess by examining its temporal relationship with congressional speech on the floor of Congress. Through the application of Granger causality tests, I aim to determine the extent to which misinformation permeates political discourse and affects representatives from both political parties. My findings reveal that misinformation drives congressional speech on certain issues, and it appears to have an asymmetrical impact on Republicans and Democrats. While not set up to answer the question about a false dichotomy, my thesis hints that Republicans spread significantly more systems-based misinformation than their Democratic counterparts.

Who’S Laughing Now? Satire’S Effect On Negative Partisanship, Emma West

Honors Theses

“Negative partisanship,” most basically defined as the phenomenon whereby Americans largely align against one party instead of affiliating with the other, has grave implications for democracy: it has already affected productivity in Congress, the acceptance (rather, lack thereof) of election results (e.g. 2016), and watered down the importance of ideology in American politics. Parsing the independent variables that influence negative partisanship is vital in combating its detrimental effects, and this project proposes satire as a possibility. An analytical history of both topics is explored. Interestingly, psychological mechanisms for interpreting satire and the out-party share many similarities in mechanisms of subjective …

Food As A Vector For Change: Lessons From The Third Sector On Improving Livelihoods With Nutritional Knowledge In Medellín And Bogotá, Solomon Treister

Honors Theses

In this thesis I argue that improving diet in communities depends on building nutritional knowledge. In examining the role of community level organizations, I look specifically at how knowledge is conveyed through agriculture and gastronomy. This project analyzes how civil society organizations work to reintegrate individuals into food systems, compelling consumers to take agency over their diets and pursue better livelihoods. The industrialization of food systems has fundamentally changed the way humans connect with food and diet. In Colombia, internal displacements and urban migration have accelerated a loss of connection with the land and food processes. At the same time, …

I Versus We: Social Regulations Exacerbated Tension Between Individualism And Collectivism During China’S Twenty-First Century Public Health Emergencies, Duan Wang

Honors Theses

Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a global public health problem, which stimulated restrictions like lockdowns, public service closures, and strict border controls that disrupted individuals' life patterns to mitigate the potential transmission within communities. Intriguingly, with its adherence to the “zero-COVID tolerance” policy, China represented a unique case in the overall global reopening trend after three years of the pandemic. Such an unwavering, uncompromising stance reflected conflicts between individuals and the Chinese government regarding COVID regulations, which exposed the tension between individualism and government-proposed collectivism.

This thesis investigates strict social regulations and the exacerbated tension between individualism and …

Food And Fuel: Investigating Expert Perspectives On The Intersection Of Solar Development And Farmland In Maine, Ellie Hankin

Honors Theses

Maine has established lofty goals including a 100% renewable portfolio by 2050 and increasing local food production by 30% by 2030 (Final, 2020; Maine, 2020). The National Renewable Energy Laboratory conducted a study on state technical potential for solar installation and included 4% of Maine farmland, equivalent to 52,000 acres being taken out of the food system for energy generation (State, 2021). Increased pressure on farmers and demand for solar installations has created a land-use conflict. This study investigates expert perspectives on the intersection of solar development and farmland in Maine. A total of 17 interviews with farmers, policy advocates, …

Instadamn –The Power Of Instagram’S Platform As An Instigator And Indicator For Offline Political Participation Among Young Adults, Natalie Davidson

Honors Theses

Over the past decade, exposure to various forms of political content on social media, as well as social media usage for political means, has been studied by scholars as a link to predicting offline political participation by social media users. While evidence has been gathered that categorizes activity on the platforms of Facebook and Twitter as potential influencers and predictors of offline political behavior, the literature on the political relevance of Instagram as a predictor of offline political participation has yet to be fully explored. Additionally, although younger generations have historically participated in some forms of political behavior (particularly voting) …

Aku Libraries Annual Report - 2023, Office Of The University Librarian

Library Reports

- Message by Peter Gatiti Associate Vice Provost & University Librarian

- AKU Author’s Day – 2023

- Glimpses of Author’s Day Celebrations

- FAS Library - Welcomes Inaugural Class

- Library Systems

- Collaborations and Partnerships

- Librarian Emeritus

- Library Staff Achievements

- Librarians Get Faculty Status

- Teaching and Learning Commons

- University Archives

- Little is Right Without Copyright

- eScriptorium is the New Way to Encode

- Book Review

- AKU Librarian’s Publications

The Left In Turkey: Survival And Resistance Under Authoritarianism, Sevgi Adak

Faculty & Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Campus Sexual Violence In The Time Of Covid-L9, Hannah Holt

Master’s Theses

Campus sexual assault (CSA) was likely on the rise in the United States (Koss et al., 2022) even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which there was a global increase in violence against women. The present study is a needed addition to the limited rigorous scientific studies on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on campus sexual assault (CSA). A mixed-methods, ecological, and critical feminist approach was used to investigate CSA during the mitigation period. The present study specifically utilized the Sexual Experiences Survey (Koss et al., 2007) to assess changes in frequency of victimization within two representative samples of …

Teaching Agroecology: Preparing Students For Navigating Uncharted Territory, Charles A. Francis, Steve Gliessman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Agroecologists understand that farming and food systems are more complex than the aggregation of their components. This realization drives our choices of learning strategies and activities that will prepare students for complexity and uncertainty. Our quest for a just, sustainable, and nutritious food system adequate to equitably serve everyone on the planet today and into the future is an enormous challenge. An undertaking of this magnitude will be met only with major adjustments informed by thoughtful teaching and practicing problem solving skills through a new educational lens. The principles of agroecology help us focus this lens on the wicked problems …

Validation Of The English And Swahili Adaptation Of The Patient Health Questionnaire–9 For Use Among Adolescents In Kenya, Albert Kimtai Tele, Liliana Carvajal, Vincent Nyongesa, Jill W. Ahs, Shillah Mwaniga, Joseph Kathono Kathono, Obadia Yator, Simon Njuguna, Ian Kanyanya, Manasi Kumar

Brain and Mind Institute

Purpose: Our study aimed to validate culturally adapted English and Swahili versions of the Patient Health Questionnairee9 (PHQ-9) for use with adolescents in Kenya. Criterion validity was determined with clinician-administered diagnostic interviews using the Kiddie Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia.

Methods: A total of 250 adolescents comprising 148 (59.2%) females and 102 (40.8%) males aged 10e19 years (mean ¼ 14.76; standard deviation ¼ 2.78) were recruited. The PHQ-9 was administered to all respondents concurrently in English and Swahili. Adolescents were later interviewed by clinicians using Kiddie Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia to determine the presence or …

When In Rome, Do As Meloni And Salvini Do: Dissecting The Potentially Extreme Nature Of The Political Communication Of Italy's New Right-Wing Populist Duo, Thomas S. Erie

Honors Theses

The fundamental question that this research project aims to answer is: what are the defining characteristics of the style and rhetoric of the communication practices of Italian right-wing populist leadership and how do they relate to those of fascism? After the Italian elections of 2022, in which a right-wing populist coalition led by Giorgia Meloni and Matteo Salvini came to power, further research is necessary to understand the potential implications of this electoral result. Political communication has developed in recent years to shift towards direct communication from the leader to their base through social media and speeches published on YouTube. …

Estrategia De Aprovechamiento De Oportunidades Comerciales Del Café Colombiano En La Asean, Ana María Quiza Torres

Finanzas y Comercio Internacional

El café es uno de los productos más valiosos y valorado en el mundo, ya que este ha sido foco de diversas investigaciones gracias a los beneficios y productos los cuales se pueden crear a base de café. Teniendo en cuenta esto, el presente trabajo se plantea la investigación del sector cafetero entre Colombia y la ASEAN, buscando identificar una estrategia la cual se puede aplicar para lograr una cooperación cafetera entre Colombia y la ASEAN. Para esto se busca determinar, las fortalezas y debilidades que tenemos frente a la ASEAN, identificando así los mejores factores en base fortalecimiento de …

Psychiatric Diagnostic Decision-Making: Investigating The Theory Of The Dual-Process Model, Christopher S. Kleva

Theses and Dissertations

Diagnostic decision-making is an important component of clinical practice; however, there is substantial diagnostic unreliability within mental health diagnoses. The lack of reliability emphasizes the importance of investigating diagnostic decision-making; however, the research to date is limited, primarily relying on a vague definition of decision-making based on the dual-process model. The present study is an exploratory attempt to apply the dual-process model to explain how mental health clinicians (n = 30, 73.3% cisgender female, 96.7% psychologists) arrive at making diagnostic decisions through the use of an interactive interview mechanism. For each participant, we are able to create a figure …

"It's All Lateral Violence": How Sexual Minority Men Cope With Appearance Discrimination, Matthew T. Richardson

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

Sexual minority men experience higher rates of body dissatisfaction (BD) than heterosexual men (Frederick & Essayli, 2016). BD is associated with negative health outcomes in this population, including eating disorders (Yean et al., 2013), depression (Blashill et al., 2016), suicidality (Grunewald, Calzo, et al., 2021), and risky sexual behavior (Goedel et al., 2017). Sexual minority men who use dating apps may be at greater risk of experiencing BD via exposure to appearance-based discrimination (Tran et al., 2020), sexual objectification, and weight stigma (Filice et al., 2019). Little is known about sexual minority men’s experiences of appearance discrimination on dating apps …

Silver Linings Playlist: Exploring The Effectiveness Of Music As An Emotion Regulation Tool, Caitlin Fountain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Music not only entertains listeners, but it also evokes emotions and facilitates emotion regulation (Gabrielsson, 2001; Krahe & Bienick, 2012). Specifically, music helps listeners to express their emotions and alter their mood through cognitive reappraisal (Chin & Rickard, 2014; Witvliet & Vrana, 2007). Listening to music also enhances relaxation and reduces physiological arousal after experiencing a stressful event (Yehuda, 2011). Stress often involves an influx of negative emotions, which when left unmitigated, may result in fewer positive emotions, increased depression, and maladaptive coping (Flynn & Rudolph, 2010; Lazenby et al., 2019). While music appears to be an effective stress management …

Implicit Beliefs About Anxiety And The Relationship With Competitive Anxiety Intensity And Direction, Luca M. Ziegler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During the Fall of 2021, 45% of male and 72% of female student-athletes reported overwhelming anxiety at least once a month (NCAA, 2021). In addition to affecting an individual’s well-being, anxiety may negatively impact athletic performance (Edwards & Hardy, 1996). To better understand the impact of anxiety on athletic performance and develop effective interventions, both the intensity and direction of symptoms experienced must be considered. Incremental beliefs have been shown to be related to desirable performance outcomes and increased well-being in various populations (Danthony et al., 2020; Dweck, 2008), and may provide an effective intervention to interpret anxiety as more …

Views Of Asexuality And Transgender Individuals: The Role Of Religious Beliefs, Allison Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Asexuality is a lifelong, continuous lack of sexual attraction or the inability to feel sexual attraction. Asexuality is a naturally occurring sexual orientation thought to be present in 0.4-1.1% of the American population. However, asexuality is still relatively unknown by the general population and understudied by scientific researchers. Even less known is how religious individuals view asexuality. According to the 2020 US census, around 70% of American adults identify as Christian. The current study examined how degree of religiousness related to feelings toward sexuality and asexual individuals. Main hypotheses included: religious fundamentalism would predict negative attitudes toward asexual and transgender …

Assessing The Influence Of Gender Equity In The Us State Legislatures On Prenatal Healthcare Utilization, Prachi Joshi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prenatal care is crucial for achieving public health and primary healthcare objectives. It is one of the goals of Healthy People 2030, which is the US federal initiative to improve the health and well-being of people nationwide. Unfortunately, despite the lofty goals, the United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries. In 2020, the maternal mortality rate in the US was 24 deaths per 100,000 live births, more than three times the rate in most high-income countries. What is concerning is that it is getting worse. Seven hundred women die of pregnancy-related complications. Among them, black and …