Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Human Dimensions Of Natural Resources: A Case Of Farmers In Northern Rwanda, Jean Francois Regis Nisengwe

Doctoral Dissertations

As food demand increases globally, the world faces the challenge of feeding everyone without harming the environment. Meeting this challenge requires increased food production. Paradoxically, increased food production can harm the environment and natural resources. Change in consumption patterns offers an opportunity to reconcile the increase in food production and environmental protection. However, consumption patterns can only change if they are perceived first, then acted upon. Research shows that people who perceive their consumption of natural resources are more likely to conserve them as they can see how much they are consuming. This study investigated perceptions of natural resources and …

Universal Basic Income Favorability: An Examination Of Discursive Frames Of And Support For Ubi Proposals, John Stacy Elliott

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation work examines the relationship between Universal Basic Income (UBI) favorability and discursive framing. Chapter 1, the systematic review of literature, reviews the role that discursive framing has played in presenting UBI proposals related to the effects that notions of deservedness may have on levels of support for UBI proposals. Chapter 2, an article on a regression analysis, explores the possible associations between attitudes toward women and support for UBI proposals. Chapter 3, an article on a regression analysis, explores the relationship between attitudes toward privilege and systemic racism as they relate to support for UBI proposals.

Political Effects On The Discontinuation Of Participatory Budgeting In Municipalities, Ricardo Rocha De Azevedo, Ricardo Lopes Cardoso, Armando Santos Moreira Da Cunha, Brian Wampler

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The article analyzes the factors associated with the discontinuation of participatory budgeting (PB) in Brazilian municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants between 2000 and 2016. We used econometric models to estimate PB’s discontinuation based on political explanatory variables and people’s local participation. The results indicate that discontinuation is associated: (i) positively with the election of a different local government, regardless of the winning party’s ideology; (ii) positively with the election of a local government with a left-wing ideology’; (iii) negatively with the election of a non-left-wing local government; (iv) positively with the election of a left-wing local government replacing another …

A Whole New World: Understanding The International Student Experience In The United States Through Acculturation, Identity, And Support, Maria W. Nessim

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

This study explores the feelings and opportunities that international students experience while they are studying abroad. Specifically, it investigates acculturation and adaptation to the host country, the students’ cultural identity and sense of belonging, as well as implications for support provided by the host institution.

In order to evaluate these components, an online survey, compiled of 24 open-ended and multiple-choice questions, was distributed to international students at the University of San Diego, asking them to describe their experiences and any indications of challenge and support from the institution in relation to their sense of belonging. The outcomes of this research …

Land Rich, Cash Poor: Hispanic Subsistence Agri-Culture On Acequia Farms Of Northern New Mexico, 1880-1950s, José A. Rivera Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Acequia-based agriculture in Hispanic northern New Mexico originated with the arrival of settlers from the central valley of Mexico in the late sixteenth century and later following the Camino Real into the upper Río Grande and its tributaries. The high desert environment required irrigation for food production and survival. Land parcels in the rural villages of northern New Mexico were small, and crop yields were limited to home consumption on a subsistence basis, an economy that lasted well into the territorial period and statehood of New Mexico. Despite a wage economy introduced with the arrival of the railroad around 1880 …

Take Action! Empowering Families Of Children With Disabilities As Leaders In Advocacy And Policy Development, Anita Tevanian

Poster Presentations

Families of children with disabilities are at the forefront of advocating for positive change in their communities. The policy development process can be intimidating and at times seem like a foreign language. Through development of leadership skills and networking, families can translate their lived experience into actionable steps toward a goal of policy change for the benefits of the wider community. The framework presented here reflects my personal story of advocacy work with the foundation of families as meaningful partners.

Political, Racial, And Household Income Barriers For Access To Healthcare In Illinois Counties, Kennedy Bray '23

Student Publications & Research

Access to health care impacts many people throughout the United States, as it restricts their ability to solve their health concerns. People who have the highest risk of a lack of access include people who are uninsured, people a part of a specific social class, or people belonging to a specific political party. In a particular geographical region, these factors could lead to groups of people suffering because of circumstances that they cannot control in their region. In my project, I determine how better access to healthcare and the percentage of people insured are affected by a measurement of the …

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 21: Wallace & The Doorway To The Universe, Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

An important yet largely unrecognized theme in the thought of Alfred Russel Wallace (1823−1913) was his insistence that all dependably-reported phenomena, even those of aberrant nature, were worthy of a respectful kind of attention: that is, a kind which did not automatically banish difficult subjects to the realm of myth or superstition. In this work, Wallace’s philosophy in this direction is documented, and linked to the world of post-Age-of-Enlightenment revisionism.

Ocul Collaborative Futures (Cf) Decolonizing Descriptions Working Group Final Report, Erin Johnson, F. Tim Knight, Antonio Muñoz Gómez

Librarian Publications & Presentations

The broad objective of the working group is to develop recommendations on how to make descriptive metadata in Omni, the Collaborative Futures (CF) shared library services platform, more accurately and respectfully reflect Indigenous Peoples, knowledges, and contexts.

The following report was created by the OCUL-CF Decolonizing Descriptions Working Group and submitted to the OCUL-CF Metadata Management and Standards Committee as per its Terms of Reference.

In section 1 of the report, we have included a set of recommendations organized as follows:

● Recommendations on relationship building and consultation: The Working Group recognized that without this step, this work cannot advance …

Agenda - Survey Design Under Constraints: Best Practices, Laura Stephenson

Workshop: Survey Design Under Constraints

No abstract provided.

Agenda - Survey Design Under Constraints: Best Practices, Laura Stephenson

Workshop: Survey Design Under Constraints

No abstract provided.

Abstract Vs. Concrete Mindsets In Moral Injury, Paige J. Hallman

Undergraduate Honours Theses

In the present study, we examined whether adopting an abstract versus a concrete mindset would influence maladaptive outcomes of potentially morally injurious events. Through the use of a hypothetical potentially morally injurious situation, researchers investigated two different construal level manipulations to determine if one would lessen the maladaptive outcomes that can result from being involved in such an experience. This study included 116 participants recruited from Amazon’s MTurk. Participants completed a survey in which they were randomly assigned to either the concrete or abstract processing condition and answered a series of questions related to the experience of moral emotions (i.e., …

The Effects Of Peer Connectedness And Popularity In Predicting Adolescent E-Cigarette And Binge Drinking Patterns Across The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kyla N. Lamb

Undergraduate Honours Theses

Despite research in adolescent substance use being a well-established discipline, little is known about the relationships between substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic when related to self-reported popularity and peer connectedness as predictors of this behaviour. This study sought to determine how binge drinking and vaping changed from the beginning of the pandemic (T1) to June 2021 (T2) and to examine how self-reported popularity and peer connectedness were predictors of this behaviour. At T1, there were 937 adolescent participants between 14-18 years of age (Mage = 16.93, SD = .85; 76.7% female, 21% male, and 2.3% other) and at T2, …

Mismatched Music: How Conflicting Musical Information Impacts Emotional Judgements, Matthew W. Tiplady

Undergraduate Honours Theses

Previous research has investigated the impact of lyrics compared to melodies in directing emotional perceptions of music by presenting listeners with incongruent songs in which the lyrics portray one emotion and the instrumental music portrays another. This earlier research has shown that the music is more salient in directing emotion compared to lyrics. The current study revaluated these findings and investigated how listening to incongruent songs would impact subsequent emotional judgements of neutral faces. Pretest mood and musical sophistication were also measured as covariates. Participants were placed into one of four conditions where they listened to either emotionally congruent happy …

Are Conspiracy Beliefs Induced By Thinking Disposition And Economic Uncertainty?, Sean E. Yilmaz

Undergraduate Honours Theses

Belief in conspiracy theories since 2020 resulted in widespread protests towards governments attempting to mitigate the pandemic. In times of uncertainty, it is not uncommon for conspiracy beliefs to rise in popularity. However, not everyone who finds themselves in a state of uncertainty about the future holds conspiracy beliefs. Higher analytical thinking skills and lower intuitive thinking skills have been correlated with lower acceptance of conspiracy beliefs. In an era of uncertainty, factors such as analytical thinking may provide the ability to discern conspiracy beliefs from reality. Hence, in this study, feelings of uncertainty and thinking disposition (analytical vs. intuitive) …

Mindsets For Goal Attainment And Experiences Of Unethical Transgressions, Hallie Wiltzer

Undergraduate Honours Theses

Moral injury, the emotional, psychological, behavioural, spiritual, and social harm induced by participating in, failing to prevent, or witnessing acts that transgress one’s moral beliefs and expectations is commonly studied in the context of military veterans and health care providers. Previous research has found that framing traumatic experiences with a concrete mindset reduces the associated harm than when framed with an abstract mindset. The current study therefore examined the concept of moral injury in an everyday context with the implementation of these mindsets. Using Amazon MTurk, 84 participants were recruited and randomly assigned to an abstract mindset or concrete mindset. …

Exploring Parent And Peer Support As A Predictor Of Adolescent Adjustment During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Madeleine M. Macdonald

Undergraduate Honours Theses

Research has demonstrated that adolescents’ social relationships have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic (Ayers et al., 2021). Considering adolescence is characterized by a need for peer belonging and autonomy from parents, isolation from peers has been particularly challenging (Magson et al., 2021). Prior literature has noted the ability of parent connectedness to promote resiliency and instill self-care practices (Bender & Ingram, 2018), and for peers to provide additional necessary support and feelings of belongingness (Brown & Larson, 2009). Information on whether the same outcomes can result during the pandemic remains unknown. The purpose of this study is to …

The Impacts Of Researcher Attire On Participant Performance In Psychological Experiments, Jesse S. Basi

Undergraduate Honours Theses

While authority has been extensively studied by psychological researchers, there is a clear gap in the literature examining how authority works within research itself. Specifically, the current study examines how the attire of researchers affects participants’ obedience to their directives and participant perceptions of the researcher. The final sample of participants in the current study included 49 people, ages 17-54 years. Participants were shown a video of a researcher explaining the current study, with the researcher wearing either casual clothing, formal wear, or a white lab coat uniform. The researcher asked participants to give maximum effort on a series of …

The Influence Of Environmental Sounds On Cognition And Mood, Huda Ahmed

Undergraduate Honours Theses

Exposure to nature has evidently been shown to benefit affective states and improve cognitive performance. Due to the predominant focus on the influence of immersive environments on restoration in prior research, the current study aimed to examine the extent to which nature-related benefits are linked to perceptual richness. The study consisted of 204 participants, recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk. Participants were randomly assigned to listen to either unaltered nature sounds, unaltered urban sounds, degraded nature sounds, or degraded urban sounds. Participants completed the Auditory N-Back task, self-reported fatigue levels, and provided mood ratings prior to and after listening to the …

The Cross-Modal Relationship Between Language And Mathematics: A Bi-Directional Training Paradigm, Urvi Maheshwari

Undergraduate Honours Theses

The cross-modal relationship between language and mathematics is extensively debated (see for review, Peng et al., 2020). The present research examined the nature of this cross-modal relationship across three experiments. Experiment 1 examined whether training participants in linguistic problem-solving facilitates performance in mathematical problems. Participants were 156 adults recruited using Amazon Mechanical Turk and randomly assigned to one of three linguistic training conditions (i.e., linguistic reasoning, structural priming, or no-training) and tested on mathematical problems. No significant difference in mathematical performance was found across training conditions [F(2, 153) = 1.69, p = .18]. Experiment 2 examined whether training participants to …

C-Dem 2022 Annual Forum Program, Laura Stephenson, Allison Harell

C-Dem Forum 2022

No abstract provided.

Building Resilience, Julie Jasewicz

Psychology

Amongst those most negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and other harmful events we find many examples of individuals who are able to “bounce back” from their adversities more easily than others. This reflects the concept of resilience—the process of positively adapting and evolving during and after experiencing adversity thereby becoming less vulnerable to future adversity. Due to a need to build resilience among college students, and without clear guidance as to how to do that, the present study investigated the effects of a resilience intervention. 232 college student participants were assigned to either an experimental group, who received the …

Police Brutality Responses Then And Now: The Effect Poverty, Demographics And Police Funding Has On Police Brutality Response To Civil Rights Movements, Chelsea Marseille

Public Administration & Policy

This study examines the police brutality response during the Black Lives Matter protests, and the reoccurring pattern of police brutality as a response to Civil Rights Movement protests. The study first acknowledges the history of police brutality responses to Civil Rights Movement and how this history affects the responses today. There are eight cities involved in this study that are being compared in four different datasets. The cities data are based on four independent variables, those being population, demographics, police budget in 2020, and persons in poverty. This study will analyze if these four independent variables will influence the dependent …

Gender Differences In Labor Market Outcomes During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Cassidy Bowes

Economics

In the events of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Homeland security released guidelines on who would be an essential worker and required to keep going to work for the benefit of society. Two of the industries deemed essential were healthcare and education, both of which are heavily concentrated by female workers. In this study, I use Current Population Survey data spanning November 2019 to December 2021 to test for gender differences in earnings among those working in the healthcare and education occupations during the pandemic. I estimate a regression model which includes controls for time trends and other factors, …

A Tale Of Two States: An Analysis Of Sex Education In Alabama & New York, Danielle Chan

Political Science

Sex education policy in the U.S has been debated throughout the years largely because of its rates of teen births and sexually transmitted diseases which rank among the highest in developed countries. States are left to their own discretion to decide what kind of sex education curriculum they will implement in schools. The federal government can incentivize states’ education policies but sex education, in particular, has been dealt with differently depending on the federal administration. Despite the change in federal administrations, the federal government’s influence has tended to lean towards promoting abstinence-only-until-marriage (AOUM) sex education begging the question of why …

Grounded Leadership: Exploring Health And Wellness Strategies Of Company Grade Officers In The California Army National Guard, Greg Montanio

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this explanatory mixed methods study was to identify and describe what exemplary California Army National Guard (CA ARNG) company grade officers do to maintain their physical, emotional, intellectual, social, vocational, and spiritual health. Methodology: This study used a mixed methods approach relying on the collection of data to provide for a more flexible platform to triangulate multiple data sources and increase the validity of the study’s findings. The study used a quantitative survey to examine how exemplary company grade officers in the California Army National Guard rated their use of grounded leadership strategies along with follow-on …

Transcending Mormonism: Trans And Gender Nonconforming Experiences In The Lds Church, Keith Burns

Child Development Theses

Central to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church, Mormon Church) is a belief system that discriminates against and marginalizes non-heteronormative identities. Cisgender heterosexuality is framed as divine, natural, and eternal, whereas LGBTQ+ identities and relationships are framed as deficient, inferior, and oppositional. Within this classification scheme, trans and gender nonconforming Latter-day Saints must navigate ongoing oppression and face difficult questions concerning the relationship between their gender and religious identities. While some choose to disaffiliate from the Church, others strive to negotiate a working relationship between these identities in complicated, nuanced, and dynamic ways. This paper will …

Criminal Justice Update - May 2022, Autumn R. Chassie

Criminal Justice Updates

The Criminal Justice Update is a monthly newsletter created by the Adams County Bar Foundation Fellow providing updates in criminal justice policy coming from Pennsylvania's courts and legislature as well as the US Supreme Court.

Contents:

• Updates from PA Governor's Office
• Updates from the PA Legislature (No new updates this month)
• Updates from the Courts
• U.S. Supreme Court
• PA Supreme Court
• PA Superior Court

Monitoring Sars-Cov-2 Risk With Co2. The Importance Of Ventilation, Masks, And Vaccinations., Preston Betz

Earth Sciences Theses and Dissertations

To assess airborne pathogen infection risk, concentrations of interior carbon dioxide and changes in relative humidity serve as proxies for human respiration products. Yanes and Yapp, 2010, demonstrated that interior air carbon dioxide concentrations and ¹³C/¹²C ratios display a two-component mixing relationship between respiration carbon dioxide which is highly concentrated (>100x atmospheric) in respiration air CO₂ at >40,000 ppm compared with ambient air (~410 ppm). In the absence of combustion carbon dioxide, the concentration of carbon dioxide, in an interior space, depends on the rate of respiration CO₂ addition relative to the amount of …

Progression Magazine, 2022 Spring, Coastal Carolina University

Progression Magazine

Magazine of the College of Science at Coastal Carolina University.