Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Transgenderism And Pronouns: Assessing The Communication Practices Of Christian College Students, Danielle Malanowski

Senior Honors Theses

The issue of transgenderism has been part of prominent public and academic discussions in recent years, and ought to be addressed by communication scholars. One area of communication research that is missing from the current body of literature is the use of preferred pronoun usage among religious groups, particularly Christians. This study offers insight into this issue through a qualitative survey of the perspectives of Generation Z college students attending a Christian university. This survey was then analyzed via thematic coding through the lens of Communication Accommodation Theory. Results indicate these students have varying approaches to communicating with and about …

“Home Court Advantage: Comparing International Criminal Tribunals To Domestically-Grown Reconciliation”, Elise Treon

Honors Thesis

Scholars have studied wars and their causes for centuries, but what happens when the tanks roll out and the guns stop firing? The concept of reconciliation is a relatively new field of study in international relations, and the scholarship of specific transitional justice mechanisms remains underdeveloped. I comparatively analyze the differences between external and internal peacebuilding strategies – specifically the effectiveness of international tribunals in establishing long term deep reconciliation. In defining internal and external transitional justice mechanisms, I differentiate between a reconciliation process that prioritizes rebuilding citizens’ lives over one that prioritizes the desires of the international community. It …

Charismatic Leadership And Vulnerability: A Comprehensive Study Of Cult Dynamics, Danielle Santana Denrich

Psychology Presentations

The term "cult" has various definitions in academic discourse, including religious or quasi-religious groups and small, ideologically aligned communities. This paper explores the complexity of the term, its alternative labels, and the influence of media portrayal on public perception. It examines cult leaders' attributes, focusing on the "dark triad" personality traits—narcissism, machiavellianism, and psychopathy—and their manifestation in charismatic leaders. The functionality of cults is scrutinized, highlighting their appeal as a familial structure and promises of intellectual, spiritual, and political power. However, the darker side of cult functionality involves manipulative recruitment tactics and thought-stopping techniques. Additionally, the paper examines susceptibility to …

Putting Equity Into Practice Using Open Education: Strategic And Practical Approaches, Jennifer Mayer

University Libraries Publications

Equity work and open educational resources may seem like an obvious pairing, but how much do we as open education advocates connect these dots and articulate this important relationship?

The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) was one of five U.S. institutions to receive a grant to pilot the Driving OER Sustainability for Student Success (DOERS3) Equity Through OER Rubric. Members (36 higher education systems in the U.S. and Canada) of DOERS3 created the rubric to help define, unpack, and explain the multiple dimensions of equity and foreground the role of OER in closing equity gaps. The final rubric project portfolio …

Mass Capture Fishing In The Marquesas Islands, Reno Nims, Patricia Pillay, Melinda S. Allen

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mass capture of small fishes with a variety of nets, traps, and weirs was widely practiced and economically important across East Polynesia at western contact. Archaeological research, however, has suggested these technologies were less important during the early settlement period and gained prominence over time. Several explanations have been proposed, including resource depression, changes in marine environments, and/or social and economic reorientations. In the Marquesas Islands, pelagic and offshore fishes were historically well represented in early assemblages relative to most Polynesian islands. Here we report on fishbone assemblages from Nuku Hiva Island that were recovered with fine mesh screens, identified …

How Major Tech Firms Used Illegal “No-Poach” Agreements To Control Workers’ Salaries, Matthew Gibson

Upjohn Institute Policy and Research Briefs

No abstract provided.

Assessment Site Attraction In Gunung Mas Agrotourism, Bogor Regency, West Java, Sarah Putri Fitriani, Masita Dwi Mandini Manessa, Mangapul Parlindungan Tambunan, Rudy Parluhutan Tambunan

Jurnal Geografi Lingkungan Tropik (Journal of Geography of Tropical Environments)

Gunung Mas Agrotourism is a sub-unit managed by PT Perkebunan Nusantara VIII (PTPN VIII) under the management of Agrotourism and is the largest contributor to PTPN VIII's revenue, which is 70% and most of it comes from the tourism sector. The facilities and activities offered by Gunung Mas Agrotourism also vary, from lodging, restaurants, tourist attractions, and supporting facilities to meet the tourists' needs. To find out the magnitude of tourist interest in tourist attractions, an analysis of the attractiveness of tourist attractions is needed. This study aims to assess tourist attractions based on tourist preferences as well as the …

Can Volunteer Fire Companies Improve Recruiting?, David T. Button

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

The accelerating inability of volunteer fire departments to attract new recruits presents the public sector with both above and below-the-line costs. Finding replacements for members aging out is the single greatest challenge that volunteer departments face. If this problem persists, the cost of replacing volunteers with paid staff would have a significant and negative impact on the tax base. Pay and benefits for professional staff (as well as capital costs associated with this conversion) would cause property taxes to escalate significantly in communities where volunteers have historically managed emergencies. Much research has been conducted in an attempt to determine how …

The Social Contract And Feminism, Grace A. Albertson

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

This paper seeks to prove the value placed on women in society, and disprove the claim that the social contract is inherently patriarchal. Radical feminists claim that society as a whole is irreparably flawed and operates patriarchally. Therefore, they call for a systematic shift and condemn the current fabric of our society and nation. The social contract, an idea centered around the philosophical works of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes served as the primary way that the founders of the United States justified the formation of American democracy and had immense influence on American political thought. However, feminists seek to …

Influences Of Social Media, Samuel Whatley Ii

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

The Internet is a double-edged sword because it provides easy access to information of both good and bad intentions. Censorship justifications under whoever deems something misinformation, provide little oversight on being a neutral public forum. For instance, the influence of elections by not covering a story and censoring opposing views does not promote the notion of being a neutral public forum. Artificial intelligence being applied to many technological applications have fueled the censorship machine. In some instances, artificial intelligence can generate stories to media sites (i.e., ChatGPT) with no verification of the details. From science fiction to science reality, taking …

The True Cost Of Education, William J. Norris Iii

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Education, rightfully, has been seen as the best way to train the next generation of citizens. The Founding Fathers held that it was essential for the nation’s growth to teach children citizenship and virtue. With the recent expansion of school choice options across the country, this is a good time to refocus on that goal, and examine the true cost of public education in America. This study will examine data, particularly information published by the Department of Education and the U.S. Census Bureau, to form a picture of the true cost of public education. Even though a large percentage of …

Obligation And Authority: Samuel West And The Christian Tradition Of Resistance Theology, Darren Patrick Guerra

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Is there a Christian obligation to resist tyranny? This has been a controversial question in Christian politics and theology for generations. In the prelude to the American War for Independence, some influential colonial clergy, like Samuel West, argued in 1775 that Christians not only had a right to resist tyrannical rulers, but they had an obligation to do so. This is consistent with a long but controversial strain of thought within the Christian political thought. West’s argument hinges on his commitment to the natural law as a foundation for social and moral order as well as his rejection of theological …

What The Yalta Conference For The Rights And Freedoms Of The Peoples Of Western And Eastern Europe Meant, Denis-Roxana Gavrila

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Many books have been written on the subject of the Yalta conference, but the subject of this article is how the discussions in the winter of 1945 later influenced the fate of peoples around the world. Human rights were born at the end of the war, and among the protagonists who campaigned for them, were the conference leaders. The article below attempts to show the historical role the Yalta conference played, not only in terms of spheres of influence, but also how it shaped the rights and freedoms of the peoples of Eastern and Western Europe.

Citizenship And Virtue’ Are Requirements For Maintaining Liberty, Timothy P. O'Brien

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

In the twenty-first century, the United States of America has been caught in a time of increased polarization, the Republic has been fraying as the sense of community has cracked, where fanatics on the extremes of the political spectrum have contributed to the disruption of normal political order driven by normative agendas. The underlying political theories on which the nations was founded emerged from the ancient Greek philosophers and passed through the early Christian philosophers to the Framers of the Constitution of the United States of America. This article explores the foundations of citizenship and virtue as it applies to …

The American Project And The American Soul, Darren Patrick Guerra

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

What is the role of virtue in the American political project in the American soul? This is a burning, if not, defining question in American politics today. This paper will briefly examine various contemporary accounts of the role of virtue in the American project and its impact on the future of American politics, and finally in turn the American soul. This paper will examine the works of Patrick Deneen, Robert Reilly, Dyer & Cooper, among others. It will argue that virtue, properly conceived, plays a vital role in American Politics and it must be connected to an objective moral order, …

Upholding Liberty And Justice Through The Virtue Of Citizen Volunteerism, David W. Bolton

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Alexis de Tocqueville observed that colonial Americans were preoccupied with civic duty, and he spoke to the beneficial power of early American volunteer associations which did not rely on government solutions. Colonial Americans resolved immediate communal needs through volunteerism and charity via civic and religious organizations. From de Tocqueville’s perspective, an essential element of being a good citizen was contributing to your community through volunteerism and charity. State and federal government overreach could be avoided by resolving local issues locally. The true nature of citizenship was to ensure liberty and justice through voluntary, philanthropic efforts and avoiding the mandated funding …

Mediterranean Security: Italian, United States, Nato, And North African National Interests From A Geopolitical Perspective, Mary Prentice, Umberto Bosna, Kueth Yul

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

This paper discusses important international issues related to the region of the Mediterranean Sea particularly focusing on Italy and North African security issues. Security and stability issues were researched. This region is interconnected through important geo-economic issues such as the gas pipelines that supply Italy with methane gas pass through the seabed of the Mediterranean Sea, connecting North Africa with Italy and the whole of Europe. In particular there are the gas pipelines that from Libya and Tunisia, across the Mediterranean Sea, arrive in Italy, supplying the entire nation with methane gas at a good price. Italy has promoted the …

The 5 Disruptions, Anthony Hughes

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

The end of GWOT, coupled with Russian failures in Ukraine, has created an uncertain strategic environment—similar to the environment after WWI. The Great War aftermath created a power vacuum exploited by rising powers—likewise, the GWOT and Russian aftermath has created a new multi-polar environment with a new actors competing to revise the balance of power. The emerging era is a Great Power competition marked by competitions between powers across different venues to accrue status relative to their competitors. After WWI, 5 Disruptions emerged to reshape the balance of power between states. These disruptions were: diplomatic, technical, military, economic and social. …

City On A Hill: A Reflection On Christian Ethic And Human Morality, Mayce Combs

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

In John Winthrop’s sermon A Model of Christian Charity (1630), he spoke to his congregation of the mission God had called them to. With the creation of a new blended nation, the only way to be exceptional was to reflect the gospel in policy, action, and foremost thought. Philosophers from ancient times to today acknowledge that an individual is made up of the soul and their body. From the soul, comes thought, reason, empathy, and a connection to a divine being who deciphers what is morally unjust. The body is a sinful, self-seeking vessel that does not have the ability …

Ebook Management In Ex Libris’ Alma: A Tale Of Two Workflows, Michelle Ehrenpreis, Sonali Sugrim

Publications and Research

In August 2020, CUNY transitioned to ExLibris’ Alma, a cloud-based Library Services Platform (LSP). Led by the Office of Library Services (OLS), the migration resulted in new processes to replace existing ones. This case study describes how Lehman College and Queens College, both part of CUNY, created new workflows for ordering, invoicing, activating, and cataloging eBooks in Alma. A new workflow for activating eBooks was also necessary because CUNY would now be using Ex Libris’ Primo VE, an upgraded discovery system. The article discusses the challenges of staff training and the role of the electronic resources librarian in designing and …

An Investigation Of Bone Preservation As A Result Of Environmental And Cultural Variables In Mortuary Contexts, Adyn Hallahan

Honors Theses

Stable isotope analysis in bioarchaeology of human bone is generally used to reconstruct diet or migratory patterns of certain populations. Although this type of analysis is now standard practice, little research has been done regarding how cultural and mortuary practices may affect chemical composition of bone. This study aims to determine whether different simulated mortuary contexts have an effect on stable isotope levels in bone, using seven pig rib bone samples as proxy for human bone. In addition, macroscopic and microscopic observations are used to assess preservation and taphonomic processes. One of the samples served as a control, not being …

Building Healthy Relationships To End Violence, Etta Danielson, Carson Hunt, Journey Ponting, Francesca Hanson, Sara Busby

Student Academic Conference

Social workers provide a crucial role in preventing, advocating, and providing services to victims of interpersonal violence in relationships within the community. The presentation will discuss the impact of the Rape Abuse Crisis Center in the Fargo/Moorhead area. There is a need to increase funding for services that could provide victims with adequate programs that can help support those individuals on their path to justice and healing. Presenters will discuss policies that hope to increase funding for prevention and intervention activities that would reduce structural inequalities that perpetuate gender-based violence. The presentation will also highlight research funding through Institutions such …

Ensure Healthy Development For Youth, Myrla Villa, Roseline Nehlar, Victoria Sharp, Audrey Welle, Kelly Zak

Student Academic Conference

Mental health-related concerns for youth continue to rise in the United States. Currently 20% of youth between ages 3 to 17 deal with behavioral health-related issues. These issues can have long-lasting impacts on various aspects of a youth's life. Public policies have historically focused on treating these issues after they have been identified, resulting in high costs for young people, families, and communities. To tackle this issue, policies should support universal preventive interventions to raise awareness about mental health needs, thereby removing barriers for youths seeking treatment.

A Roleplaying Game’S Affect On Theory Of Mind In College Students, Callie Frank

Student Academic Conference

Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities are based on understanding and predicting what others may think or feel and how that may be different than one’s own thoughts and feelings. Prior research has shown that people can get better at using various ToM abilities. However, the methods researchers used were not very easily accessible. This research is going to be focused on the hypothesis that role playing in a tabletop role-playing game, as opposed to doing a watercolor social, will increase the frequency of using ToM abilities the next day. Participants will be 40 adult students at Minnesota State University, Moorhead, …

Politics And Gender In Meskwaki Tribal Membership, Lily Gooding

Student Academic Conference

Early observations (1600s-1800s) concerning the Meshkwaki, a Central Algonquian Indigenous group of the Western Great Lakes and eastern Prairies of the United States, emphasized the perceived primary role of patri-based institutions. This attention was echoed by the anthropologists of the late 1800s and early 1900s, who prioritized and described the role and purpose of patrilineal descent. In 1937 the US Government and its supporters forced the Meshkwaki to adopt a tribal constitution which included the abandonment of their traditional leadership structure and the introduction of patrilineal descent for tribal membership. This poster will begin by contextualizing patri-based institutions within pre-1937 …

Anxious, Avoidant, And Biased?: Does Attachment To A Mother Figure Predict Ambivalent Sexism?, Kylie Nay, Arina Bratamidjaja, Olivia Goderis, Hailey Hupke

Student Academic Conference

Past studies have indicated the connection between attachment style and sexist attitudes, but not many have covered how attachment style to one's caregiver could impact the perception of sexism. The current study explored the influence of childhood attachment style on the formation of sexist attitudes among college students. 92 Minnesota State University Moorhead undergraduate students from psychology classes participated in this study. The Adult Scale of Parent Attachment - Short Form (ASPA-SF) and the Relationship Structures Questionnaire (ECR-RS) were used to determine participants' attachment styles towards their caregivers growing up. Participants also completed the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory to predict their …

The Effect Of Mindfulness On The P3 Event-Related Potential, Joshua Bauer, Ali Pexsa, Chloe Hinson, Bradley Lamberson, Caitlin Reiten

Student Academic Conference

Mindfulness meditation and training have recently been recognized as a way of learning to control one’s attention and being present in the moment and without judgment (Norris et al 2018). Recent research has demonstrated the benefits of mindfulness in everyday life (Yakobi et al 2021; Deng et al 2019). The purpose of this study is to establish a physiological measure of mindfulness based on the P300 Event-Related-Potential (ERP) in the visual domain. This study employed an XO oddball paradigm to gauge the effect of a novel stimulus on the P3 ERP in relation to an individual’s level of mindfulness. In …

“We’Ll Never Be Those Kids Again” A Thematic Analysis Of Reddit.Com, Marissa Engst

Student Academic Conference

The dependency on substances can take a toll on an individual's life. Different factors may have led to their use of substances, which can turn into the abuse of substances. This study takes a deep dive into the events that happened in the past that led to dependency. I collected the data from Reddit.com under the r/addiction community, where individuals were vulnerable about their pain in life. The individuals shared stories that explained how they got to the point of substance abuse. Five emerging themes occurred through the evaluation of reddit.com and how individuals explain what led to substance abuse. …

Smart Decarceration In The U.S And Our Communities, Brooke Freeland, Andrea Dehler, Jessica Rojas, Ethan Thompson, Emily Seaberg

Student Academic Conference

The rate of incarceration in the United States is one of the highest in the world and frequently affects members of vulnerable populations. The ineffectiveness of incarceration can be displayed by the following statement, “Prisoners often carry additional deficits of drug and alcohol addictions, mental and physical illnesses, and lack of work preparation or experience” (n.d.). In response, The Grand Challenges for Social Work poses smart decarceration as one solution to address high rates of incarceration. Our findings reveal the effects of decarceration policies on incarcerated persons and the community, as well as the effects of how resources are allocated. …

From Pantry To Palate: An International Cookbook Unveiling Cultural Comforts Amidst Food Insecurity On Campus, Victoria M. Main

Master of Arts in Media and Communication Plan II Graduate Projects

Food insecurity among international students in higher education is a pressing issue often overlooked by universities. This project addresses this gap by exploring food insecurity among international students at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) through participant narratives, cultural connections, and recipes collected via interviews. Diverse international students were purposively sampled, reflecting various academic disciplines, nationalities, and cultural backgrounds. Semi-structured interviews facilitated the sharing of personal stories and cherished recipes, which were analyzed to identify recurring themes and cultural commonalities.

The project resulted in the creation of the Falcon Food Pantry International Cookbook, compiling culturally resonant recipes to empower students and …