Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Non-Fatal Intimate Partner Violence In Flagler County, Fl, 2016-2020, Fiona Chanlatte, Jonzelle Bell Bs, Julio Montanez Ma, Amy Donley Phd

Institute for Social and Behavioral Science (ISBS)

The current white paper tabulates non-fatal intimate partner violence (IPV) offenses across Flagler County, FL by using Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Uniform Crime Report (UCR) data.

Reconciling Moral Dissonance: A Framework For Re-Integrating Moral Orientation With Life Agency During Warfighters’ Struggles With Military Moral Injury, Jeffrey L. Zust

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation uses case studies to critically examine the Three Mirror Model (TMM) as a framework for understanding the formation and healing of Military Moral Injury (MMI). I adapt the work of Stephen Brookfield and Neal Krause to evaluate using the TMM as a methodology for dealing with the complex issues of MMI within a military deployment cycle (training, warfighting, and healing) (Brookfield 2012, 2017; Krause 2022). Specifically, I use theorists, researchers, healers, and warfighters as key stakeholders to identify and critically examine the intersections of disciplines and the subsets of models where warfighters’ moral orientations and moral agency form …

Paradoxes And Potential Of Tourism Development In Nicaragua, Cody J. Silveira

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation research evaluates the successes and challenges of tourism integration and expansion as both a broad human development strategy and a catalyst for local populations to achieve greater economic and social opportunities. The country of Nicaragua serves as the primary case study for such an evaluation due to its relatively recent promotion and expansion of tourism through government led incentives and oversight. As a case study, Nicaragua is a country whose tourism industry remains nascent, yet commands great economic potential and influence, which can serve as an example for future tourism development initiatives for developing countries in the region …

Exploring The Experiences Of Hiv Positive Pregnant Women On Prevention Of Vertical Transmission Of Hiv/Aids In Rural Malawi, Gertrude Finyiza

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) continues to be the primary conduct that HIV is transmitted to children worldwide. The problem of HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is having a great impact on the world's children. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Malawi continues to be a serious public health issue, especially for expectant mothers. The health outcomes of mothers and children remain significantly threatened by vertical HIV transmission, even with improvements in preventive and treatment efforts. The purpose of this thesis was to explore the experiences of HIV-positive pregnant women in Malawi. I conducted semi structured interviews with thirteen …

Conducting Culturally Responsive, Strengths-Based Assessment In Schools, Eileen Cullen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Special education assessment has a significant impact on the lives of children with disabilities and their families. However, traditional assessment practices have been critiqued as being deficit-based, overly focused on “labeling” students, and failing to provide a holistic understanding of the student. Assessment models such as strengths-based assessment (SBA) and culturally responsive assessment (CRA), have potential to addresses these critiques and be more appropriate for the growingly diverse school population. Despite this, these models of assessment are under studied and there is a lack of clear guidance for how practitioners should implement them.

In these manuscripts, CRA and SBA are …

Navigating University Of Denver As A Latinx Male-Identifying Undergraduate Student, Quisi Rodriguez-Oregel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Students of color continuously persist at a lower rate than their white counterparts in higher education. Particularly for Latinx males, the number is lower than Latinx women. Universities have incorporated Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) strategies to focus on their diverse student population and address issues of race, ethnicity, class, and gender. Despite these efforts, low retention rates for Latinx males persist. This study explores how Latinx male undergraduate students navigate a predominantly white institution as well as explore some of the challenges of DEI efforts at that institution. I conducted participant observations at the University of Denver (DU) and …

Capturing Latent Abilities And Latent Capacities Of Professional Golfers Using Nonlinear Mixed Effects Growth Modeling, Mac Wetherbee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study demonstrates an effective and innovative approach to measuring the latent athletic abilities and capacities of professional golfers. I used nonlinear mixed effects growth modeling (e.g., Dynamic Measurement Modeling) to measure professional golfers’ ability levels and capacities for improvement. I accomplished this using a two-stage modeling approach. First, a crossed linear mixed effects model estimated each player’s ability level in each year. In the second stage, I used the results from the first stage to estimate several candidate nonlinear growth trajectories for players’ abilities over time. The quadratic growth trajectory was the best-fitting of these trajectories and was used …

Cannabis Exposure During Pregnancy And Neural Mechanisms Of Parenting: Assessing Neural Responses To Infant Cues And Parenting Outcomes, Shannon Powers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As legalization of cannabis and cannabinoids spreads in the United States, access and use of cannabis during the prenatal period has increased. There is limited knowledge on the effects of prenatal cannabis use on the parental brain. One way to identify potential effects of cannabis on parenting is through studying parenting brain functions and behavior. Cannabis use disorder (CUD) has been shown to be associated with lower positive parenting and lower sensitivity to infants, but it is unclear by what mechanisms. The following two studies address this gap in knowledge by examining the association between cannabis use during the prenatal …

Evidence Of Climatic Influence On Subsistence Strategies At Sage Hen Springs, Nevada, Andrew Rogers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Models of settlement patterns in the northwest Great Basin describe a decrease in residential mobility, intensified use of upland spring ecozones, and an increase in diet breadth during the Middle and Late Archaic. Here, I present data collected from the Sage Hen Springs site in northwestern Nevada during a Phase II testing project conducted by the BLM and an analysis of these data focusing on patterns of subsistence and mobility strategies throughout the Archaic. Results of this analysis support existing models of lifeways in the northwest Great Basin at the small scale and point to climatic factors as influences on …

Vladimir Putin’S Leadership Traits Over 11 Years: A Longitudinal Study Of Putin’S Third Term In Office Using Leadership Trait Analysis, Payton J. Casteel

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

While an abundance of literature has studied the actions and behaviors of Vladimir Putin, the most extensive area involves leadership analysis (Semenova and Winter 2020). Various methods within political psychology have used analyses to study Putin throughout his time in office. However, no published research has studied Putin using leadership trait analysis, nor have any published works studied his changes in leadership leading up to the invasion of Ukraine. Using a mixed methods longitudinal study design on Vladimir Putin from 2012 to 2023, five periods in his third term were identified, with speeches taken and coded using the seven LTA …

Miss Americana: Taylor Swift As A Battleground For Feminist Discourse, Juliet Eklund

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

The United States finds itself at a historical moment in which feminism is perhaps more polarizing than ever before. On the one hand, it is no longer taboo to identify as feminist; in fact, men and women alike are embracing feminist perspectives. A recent Pew Research survey found that 61% of American women identified as feminists, with this proportion even higher among Democrats and those who had received higher education (Barroso, 2020). At the same time, women are faced with more opportunities and fewer barriers to achieving success than ever before. Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and the 2020 election …

Youth Offending In Denver: The Increasing Trend And Essential Elements To Successful Intervention, Olivia Crimaldi

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Recent years have witnessed an alarming increase in youth offending across Denver, necessitating a thorough analysis of factors influencing the surge, as well as areas of improvement for current intervention methods. Juvenile delinquency is largely affected by complications associated with the transition to adulthood, such as the development of personal identity or a decrease in parental supervision. A full understanding of at-risk individuals must consider risk, promotive and protective factors, as well as the interaction between these three components. Past successful prevention and intervention methods have included relationship-building implementation, therapeutic strategies, and consistent measures of quality and accountability. Despite many …

Technology And Homelessness: How Website Design And Blockchain Technology Could Impact The Unhoused, Casey Pratt

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Although technology could be used to combat inequality, it is instead increasing it. This paper discusses how the unhoused population suffers at the hand of technological inequality despite being relatively offline. It presents theories on how this would change if we reapproached how technology is used to assist the unhoused. It suggests implementing blockchain as a resource as well as modifying the websites built to assist in accessing benefits. Employees at shelters are interviewed for this paper about their experiences with using digital resources to rehouse and restabilize the vulnerable. They are asked how the sites can be improved for …

Sources Of Sexual And Romantic Education: Associations With Sexual Minority Men’S Sexual Experiences And Romantic Relationship Quality, Charlie Huntington

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with sexual minority identities experience a variety of poorer mental and physical health outcomes, including those related to sexual and romantic quality, relative to heterosexual individuals (Beaulieu et al., 2017; CDC, 2021). These poorer romantic, sexual, and psychological outcomes may be attributable in part to lacking access to affirmative and relevant modeling of sexual minority experiences, such as through sex education (Gillespie et al., 2022; Keiser et al., 2019). This study aimed to understand how sexual minority men learn – in ways potentially both helpful and unhelpful – about romantic relationships and sexual activity, and how these experiences are …

Comparing The Preparation Of Youth Services Librarians To Their On-The-Ground Experiences: A Grounded Theory Study Incorporating Criticism And Connoisseurship, Anne Holland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to better understand the on-the-ground preparation of youth services librarians, in contrast to their professional training in Master’s of Library Science (MLIS) programs. Classic Grounded Theory was the predominant methodology for this qualitative study, and elements of Criticism and Connoisseurship were also utilized. Document review, interviews, and journaling activities with ten participants were the primary methods of data collection. Key findings from this dissertation include a grounded theory explaining the current state of preparation for youth services librarianship, and multiple avenues for further study.

Attrition And Assimilation: The Neural Mechanisms Of Mandarin-English Bilingualism, Natalie Paige Robison

University Honors Theses

This line of research investigates attrition of native language (L1) Mandarin proficiency with increasing proficiency in English. English uses pitch to denote intonation (e.g., "it's there?" versus "it's there!"), while Mandarin additionally uses pitch to indicate word meanings; e.g., /he/ means "drink" when spoken with a high, level tone, or "river" when spoken with a rising tone. The present study delineates between two alternative explanations for the prior finding that English proficiency correlates with attrition of Mandarin tones, but not Mandarin vowels. This pattern could be explained by 1) assimilability of the Mandarin vowel contrasts used in the study into …

Minimum Wage: Theoretical And Empirical Debates, Ghofran Alrebh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis aims to explore the evolution of research methodologies in the minimum wage debate, focusing on the contrasting perspectives of the neoclassical and institutional models. By examining the changes in research methodologies employed by economists from these two schools, this study seeks to shed the light on the shifting paradigms and the impact of these changes on our understanding of minimum wage policies and their implications. This highlights the limitations of relying on one economic school of thought in understanding socio-economic phenomena complexations and policy decisions. As well as it creates the necessity to critical evaluation of the method …

The Use Of Laja In Construction In Ancient Mesoamerica: A View From The Southern Gulf Lowlands Of Veracruz, Mexico, Lauren E. Smith

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

The archaeology of the southern Gulf lowlands of Veracruz, Mexico is notable for its research pertaining to the Olmec culture (Jaime-Riveron 2016; Loughlin 2012; Pool 2006). The region was home to the Colossal Olmec Heads: large, easily identifiable sculptures crafted from the volcanic rock of the Tuxtlas Volcanic Field. The use of volcanic resources in such grand presentations may instill a bias in the research of some archaeologists, but it is important to consider how these and other volcanic resources might have been used in everyday life (e.g., Jaime-Riveron 2016: 86). The consolidated volcanic ash in this region is referred …

Increased Feminine Self-Concept In Men Corresponds With Less Homonegativity: Exploring Gender Role Expression Relative To Homonegativity Across Genders, Kaid M. Marek, Amanda Watson Joyce, Tracey A. Garcia Mccue

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

Homonegativity (i.e., prejudiced attitudes towards sexual minorities, Morrison et al., 1999) is associated with stricter gender roles (Basow & Johnson, 2000; Tornello & Matsick, 2020) mainly in men, and is less understood in women (Bosson et al., 2009; Vandello et al., 2008). This study investigates how cisgender individuals’ self-perceptions and self-concepts of gender roles relate to homonegativity. We hypothesized that men would have greater homonegativity than women, and that greater socially-expected gender role expression would predict homonegativity in both genders. Two-hundred-eighty-eight participants, predominantly white (84.7%), women (n = 227), freshman (58.7%) college students (M_age = 19.33, SD …

[2024 Honorable Mention] Hasta Que El Cuerpo Aguante, Brisa Rosiles

Ethnic Studies Research Paper Award

The focus of this project revolves around a critical examination of the alarming occurrences of heat stroke-related deaths among field workers in California, with a specific emphasis on cases documented in the Salinas Valley. The core of my artistic expression lies in a digital painting that captures the reality of a laborer enduring the devastating effects of heat stroke in the agricultural fields.

Faith And Clutter: A Christian Perspective To Understand, Treat, And Prevent Hoarding Disorder, Mary Katherine Flage

NEXUS: The Liberty Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies

No abstract provided.

Technological Methods And Promotion Of Open Educational Resources In Rivers State Owned Libraries, Patrick Chimmeri Ordu, Clementina Clement-Abraham, Onyema Nsirim

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The integration of technological methods, such as institutional repositories, databases and library websites holds the potential to significantly enhance the accessibility, customization, and collaborative development of Open Educational Resources (OER), transforming the landscape of open education. This study investigated Technological Methods and Promotion of Open Educational Resources in Rivers State Owned Libraries. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The populations of the study was 22 librarians in Rivers State Owned University Libraries. Census sampling technique was used since the population was not large. Questionnaire was used for data collection. A total of 19 copies of the questionnaires were found …

Method Of Product Placement In Computer Games. Qualitative Research Amongst Polish Players, Magdalena Hofman-Kohlmeyer

Journal of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour in Emerging Markets

Nowadays, new technologies enable practitioners to create brand experience in the virtual world of computer games. Marketers use product placement to reach potential and current customers. In the meantime, computer games have become an attractive medium because they attract an increasingly wider audience of different genders and various age groups. Therefore, an important issue is to know and systematize current methods of brand placement in computer games. For the purpose, the author carried out 20 in-depth interviews with players of chosen computer games, Second Life, Euro Truck Simulator 2 and The Sims. According to the analysis, it can be distinguished …

Mediating Effect Of Mobile Banking Trust On Information And System Quality, Marko Van Deventer

Journal of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour in Emerging Markets

In the context of mobile banking services, trust emerges as a pivotal factor influencing both the acceptance and utilisation of these services, significantly shaping customers' confidence in their usage. Existing literature proposes that trust operates as a mediator in the connection between customers' perceptions of the quality of information and the overall system in mobile banking.

This study aimed to investigate whether trust acts as a mediating variable in the relationship between information and system quality within the mobile banking experiences of Generation Y customers in the South African banking sector. Employing a descriptive research design, the study distributed self-administered …

Elementary School Teachers’ Lived Experience Teaching Remotely During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Natasha Gorman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teaching experiences changed during COVID-19 from face-to-face to online, and teachers encountered numerous challenges. Considerable research has been conducted on many of the issues that teachers at different grade levels faced in this transition. The experiences of elementary school teachers, however, have not received much attention. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of elementary school teachers who taught remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding their challenges may lead to the development of appropriate resources and specific training for teachers in these early grades. The theoretical foundation that grounded this study was Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems …

Reckoning With An Institution’S Past: Challenges And Opportunities In Archival Storytelling, Edward Junhao Lim

UConn Library Presentations

How can we best tell the story of our institution’s racist past? Two uncoordinated exhibitions about the racist past at a public research university happened in the same month. The first exhibit commemorates the direct action taken by Black and Brown students to challenge structural racism in higher education by sitting in at the library on April 22, 1974. The second highlights a racist incident against Asian American students on December 3, 1987, and its repercussions. Shared from the perspective of someone unfamiliar with archival materials, this presentation will address the challenges of invisibility in the archives and exhibiting a …

Exploring Advocates’ Perceptions Of Rural And Urban Sexual Assault Survivors’ Experiences Seeking Civil Protective Orders, Hannah C. Samuels

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Civil protective orders (CPOs) are one of the most utilized legal remedies that exist for sexual assault survivors. While they are available for every survivor in Illinois, a survivor’s community context can impact their experience petitioning for a CPO. Prior research with domestic violence survivors suggests that the rurality and urbanicity of a community may impact a sexual assault survivors experiences seeking a CPO, but little research has been conducted with sexual assault survivors specifically. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of rape crisis center advocates from rural and urban counties across the state of Illinois …

A Qualitative Analysis Of White Nationalist Patriotic Discourse, Miguel Angel Vazquez

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

In the last decade, the U.S. has seen a significant uptick in White nationalist ideology, particularly because individuals espousing these extremist ideologies believe their group and the U.S. are under attack by non-White groups (Osborne et al., 2019). As a result, there are prevailing narratives that are used as patriotic rallying cries that center around the desire to progress the country towards White nationalist ideals (e.g., a country for a by White people), to regress the country back to a time where White people had their own eco-system of Whiteness (i.e., the golden days), and to protect and fight for …

Empowerment As A Predictor Of System Justification Moderated By Race, Nicole Belcher

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The attitudes people hold about the social structure around them have varying explanations in the field of psychology. System justification represents the idea that people will accept and enforce the social structures that exist because of the underlying need for consistency (Jost et al., 2004). Also central to this theory is the idea that people will legitimize structures because of a desire for the status quo to remain (Jost, 2001). These ideas seek to explain the problematic ideologies that maintain unfair social structures and why people allow them to remain. Studies have found individuals will support unjust systems because either …

Attachment And Resilience: The Mediating Effect Of Coping, Michelle Soans

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the relationship between attachment security, coping strategies, and resilience among university students, focusing on the mediating role of problem-focused coping. We hypothesized that higher attachment security would be associated with greater resilience, that problem-focused coping would positively predict resilience, and that problem-focused coping would mediate the relationship between attachment security and resilience. A sample of 177 students completed measures of attachment security, coping strategies, and resilience. Mediation analysis revealed that higher attachment security significantly predicted resilience and problem-focused coping, while problem-focused coping also significantly predicted resilience. The indirect effect of attachment security on resilience through problem-focused coping …