Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Mazdakites, The ʿAyyārs And The Mithraists, Parvaneh Pourshariati

Publications and Research

No revolutionary movement in Iranian Late Antiquity has attracted as much attention as the fascinating and enigmatic Mazdakite uprising of the late fifth century. The scholarly consensus about these has it that 1) they engaged in ibāḥat al-nisā, sharing of wives; 2) advocated the sharing of property and 3) that their past time was wine imbibing and merrymaking. I shall argue here that, as Shaki correctly suspected but did not pursue the topic, the description of the Mazdakite in our primary sources (the Letter of Tansar, Ibn Qutayba, Ṭabarī, Dīnkard, Shahrestānī), actually follows the praxis of the ʿayyārs, chivalrous men …

The Evaluation Of Non-Specific Risk Indicators In Improving Detection Of Psychosis-Spectrum Liability, Thomas W. O'Kane

Theses and Dissertations

Psychosis-spectrum disorders remain a leading cause of disability for both individuals and society, with early identification and prevention efforts representing a promising avenue of research for addressing these concerns. One potential impediment to improving early risk identification is the historical focus on indicators thought to be exclusive to the psychosis-spectrum. This focus often comes at the expense of non-specific risk factors (e.g., disrupted sleep, adverse childhood experiences) which contribute to the risk of developing psychosis as well as other mental illnesses. Research suggests the inclusion of these non-specific factors may improve our ability to identify those at risk. The present …

Social Media Among College Students, Julia Martorano

Honors Projects

Within the past decade, social media has become a huge part of most peoples’ everyday life. People use social media to keep up with old friends, to see what their current friends and family are up to, to follow celebrities, and so much more. Researchers and the general public have begun to wonder if this obsession with social media is detrimental to individuals and society. Throughout my research, I strived to answer two research questions. “How does social media affect a college student’s GPA, productivity, and life satisfaction?” and “How do celebrities and companies create social media content that drives …

The Influence Of Religious And Political Discrepancies On Parent-Adolescent Social Cohesion, Emily De Schweinitz Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

American youth are leaving organized religion at historical levels. Given that religious and political similarity (consensual solidarity) tends to strengthen affectual solidarity (emotional connection) in parent-adolescent dyads, decreasing adolescent religiousness and increasing political disagreements may threaten family social cohesion. However, during adolescence, youth empathy skills tend to increase and adolescents’ conflict with their parents tends to eventually subside. Based on principles outlined in intergenerational family solidarity theory, I hypothesized that adolescent empathy skills and authoritative parenting style would buffer the negative relational effects of religious and political discrepancies within the parent-adolescent relationship. I used Waves 2-4 (referred to as Times …

Praise In The Collegiate Classroom: How Narcissism, Entitlement, Empathy, And A Desire For Fame Impact Student’S Preferences For Praise, Alexandra Crissman

Student Scholar Showcase

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between personality traits, namely narcissism, entitlement, empathy, and a desire for fame, and a preference for public praise in a student population. Past research has shown that those who are higher in narcissism are also higher in entitlement and that these rates have been rising with future generations. Past research has also indicated a negative relationship between narcissistic tendencies and empathy, inferring that those higher in narcissism tend to score lower on empathy measures. In this study, undergraduate students were surveyed online to determine scores on four measures of traits …

“I Thought I Knew”: Teaching Graduate Students New Ways Of Understanding Meanings Of Diverse Social Identities, Maria S. Johnson

Feminist Pedagogy

Instructors should not assume that graduate students understand meanings of terms for various social identities. In this article, I highlight a teaching activity I created titled, “What’s in a name?” that requires graduate students to research historical and contemporary uses of various racial, ethnic, gender, sexuality, and immigration terms. The assignment helps graduate students develop inclusive vocabulary and deepen their understanding of their positionality. It also supports braver classroom contexts for students and instructors. The assignment is best facilitated by instructors informed of diverse social identities, open to difficult conversations, and aware of the influence of their own social identities …

East Vs. West And Its Relationship With Violence Among College Students And Myanmar, Bryce Davis

Student Scholar Showcase

With over 10 million men and women being targeted by domestic violence every year it has increased the need for research on the issue. Previous research has been conducted on how various crimes involving interpersonal violence can occur. The current study looks to expand on this previous research by assessing how interpersonal violence can occur. The study examines Eastern and Western cultures and how they can impact interpersonal violence. Previous research has shown that people born in eastern countries such as Asia have more of an acceptance of dating violence and rape. One hundred and thirty-six participants participated in the …

High And Dry - Contextualizing Domestic Root Cellar Drains In Southern Ontario, Anatolijs Venovcevs

Northeast Historical Archaeology

The subterranean root cellar is the quintessential feature of rural nineteenth-century archaeological sites in Ontario and much archaeological, historical, and architectural research on rural farmsteads has focused on defining and understanding these structures. However, this work has neglected an important component of this feature – the root cellar drain. This paper contextualizes these features within their broader nineteenth-century ideals of drainage and goes on to tackle the topic with the use of statistical analysis on the associated geographical, social, and economic attributes. The discussion presents opportunities that are present from the vast quantities of historical sites that have been excavated …

Unearthing The Ancient Metropolis: Perth Amboy's Clark-Watson Site, Richard F. Veit

Northeast Historical Archaeology

This Clark-Watson Site in Perth Amboy, New Jersey is one of the richest early colonial sites in the state. It is named for two early property owners: Benjamin Clark a Scottish stationer and bookseller who moved to New Jersey in 1683 and John Watson (1685-1768), a noted 18^th-century artist. Excavations at the site by William Pavlovsky unearthed an extraordinary collection of colonial artifacts. The archaeological assemblage provides an unparalleled glimpse into the material life of settlers in Perth Amboy during a period when the city aspired to be a center of international trade and was competing directly and …

Forgotten Places In Political Spaces, Lisa K. Rankin, Peter G. Ramsden

Northeast Historical Archaeology

The way in which many people, perhaps particularly those in secure and affluent circumstances, view their ancestry and heritage, and display it to others, is often a matter of pride. In some contexts, however, the identification of ‘ancestors’ and ‘heritage’ can have critically important - and sometimes dire - political, social and spiritual ramifications. Here we examine examples in which archaeological and/or historical evidence points to a distancing or ‘active forgetting’ of ancestors and places associated with them. The motives for creating these ‘forgotten places’ are diverse and might include a fear of ‘ghosts’ or death, the desire to project …

An Inconvenient Corpse: Settler Adaptation To Winter Death And Burial Through Structural And Oral History, Robyn S. Lacy

Northeast Historical Archaeology

While the archaeology of death and burial is a popular avenue of research, considerations for burial practices during winter months in northerly climates when temperatures regularly drop below 0°C / 32°F aren’t regularly considered. Excavations in search of the early 17^th-century burials associated with Sir George Calvert’s English colony in Ferryland, Newfoundland considered different options for winter body disposal. While burial on land presented the most plausible option in the colonial period, deaths during the winter would have posed a problem for settlers. With limited options for digging in frozen ground, the storage of dead bodies during the …

Cod Fish And Cooking Pots: Research On Trade Routes Of The French North Atlantic, Mallory Champagne, Catherine Losier

Northeast Historical Archaeology

The materiality of the French occupation at Anse à Bertrand, Saint-Pierre has been documented over three years of excavation to understand the commercial routes that provisioned the fisherman who inhabited the point from 1763 to 1815. By comparing the ceramics from that occupation to the temporally similar Habitation Crève Coeur in Martinique, the trade routes that connect France’s colonial territories can be further understood, highlighting the vitality of these labour forces to the French empire.

A Material History Of The Early Eighteenth-Century Cod Fishery In Canso, Nova Scotia, Adrian Lk Morrison

Northeast Historical Archaeology

In the early eighteenth century, Canso, Nova Scotia housed an influential Anglo-American fishing and trading community with far-reaching connections across Europe and the Americas. The islands were inhabited by a small permanent population joined each year by hundreds of migratory workers who established seasonal operations along their shores. Despite high hopes for long-term development, success would be short lived. Canso was a volatile space: the islands were contested territory and existed within a tense and turbulent frontier. The settlement was attacked multiple times and was destroyed in 1744. This paper draws upon new research and previous archaeological studies to discuss …

Transatlantic Traditions: The History Of Welsh Quarrying And Its Connections To Newfoundland Slate, Alexa D. Spiwak, Johanna Cole

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Previous archaeological investigations have conclusively shown that the presence of Welshmen has co-occurred with the practice of local slate quarrying in Newfoundland since the early colonial ventures of the 17th century. The island experienced a resurgence in Welsh culture in the 19th century when a number of small slate quarries were established overlooking both the Bay of Islands on the west coast and Smith Sound in Trinity Bay. The following article outlines the history of these 19th-century Newfoundland quarries, as well as the social, political and economic factors which encouraged the migration of Welsh quarrymen across the Atlantic to remote …

Inuit Land Use Patterns In The Hopedale Region, Deirdre A. Elliott

Northeast Historical Archaeology

This paper presents preliminary insights from an exploratory archaeological survey of the Hopedale region, Nunatsiavut. Despite its continued importance — from the 17th century as an Inuit whaling community — to the late 18th century with one of Labrador’s first Moravian missions, to today as the seat of the Nunatsiavut government, Hopedale has seen relatively little archaeological activity since the 1930s, and most of the islands and bays near the town had never been surveyed. A brief survey in the summer of 2018 recorded nearly 30 prehistoric, historic, and ethnographic sites, affirming the Labrador Inuit Association’s 1977 statement– “Our footprints …

Introduction, Barry Gaulton

Northeast Historical Archaeology

No abstract provided.

Editor's Introduction, Maria O'Donovan

Northeast Historical Archaeology

No abstract provided.

"'What The Suffering Was Like': Digital Affect In The Act Up Oral History Project, Margaret Sullivan

Remembrance: A Journal of Queer Culture, Information, and Preservation

This article considers The ACT UP Oral History Project as an affective site that renders visible the impact of loss and suffering. Focusing on the archive’s filmic and computer-mediated interviews, and placing both in conversation with memory and queer identity studies, I demonstrate that the Oral History Project, as a discursive space, invites its audience into a felt physical contact with grief, loss, anger, and rage.

Assessing The Impact Of Library Orientations On Student Engagement And Academic Success, Shivanand Mulimani

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study investigates the influence of library orientations on student engagement and academic success within higher education settings. Using a mixed-methods approach involving surveys, interviews, and academic performance metrics, the research explores the correlation between participation in library orientations and students' familiarity with resources, research skills, and confidence in navigating scholarly databases. Findings indicate a positive relationship between attending orientations and improved academic performance, emphasizing the pivotal role of these programs in enhancing information literacy and shaping students' academic experiences positively. Recommendations include tailored, interactive, and ongoing orientation programs aligned with evolving student needs, aiming to optimize engagement and achievement …

Decisive Decade: Prc Global Strategy And The Pla As A Pacing Challenge – 2023 Pla Conference – Updated And Expanded

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

The US Army War College’s 2023 Conference on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was held February 22 to 24, 2023, at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. The conference, entitled “Decisive Decade: PRC Global Strategy and the PLA as Pacing Challenge,” featured presentations on PRC global and regional strategy, and the PLA’s enabling role by experts from a wide range of academic, media, and government agencies and organizations.

The conference papers better defined the notion of the PLA as a pacing challenge as evidenced by PRC strategies and activities in various regions to build a much stronger appreciation of how PLA operations in …

Co-Creando Rituales / Co-Creating Rituals To Hold Our Work As Anti-Oppressive Counselors And Researchers, Ana G. Reyes, Alexandria E. Capraro, Mónica Rodríguez Delgado

The Qualitative Report

Counselors and qualitative researchers have the honor of hearing peoples’ stories and thus have a great responsibility to explore and use clinical and research methodologies that are anti-oppressive, liberatory, and healing. Therefore, in 2019 we began a photovoice project alongside seven queer womxn of color (QWoC) that collaboratively explored their experiences of microaggressions in counseling. Through this journey, we recognized that to be fully present with the “co-researchers’” (participants’) narratives and experiences, we needed to remain attuned and grounded. We engaged in what we now call “rituals” before research team meetings to support our work as counselors and anti-oppressive researchers …

The Role Of Emotions In Qualitative Analysis: Researchers’ Perspectives, Hilary Lustick, Xiaoye Yang, Abeer Hakouz

The Qualitative Report

Qualitative research is an inherently social and relational endeavor that relies on and engages our emotions. Yet, researchers receive little guidance on how to engage emotions without being swayed by personal biases. Lustick (2021) developed a framework called “emotion coding” for systematically engaging thoughts and emotions in qualitative data analysis by asking what a chunk of data can teach us about ourselves, our participants, and our study. In this study, we interviewed 15 researchers who had tried using the emotion coding technique, about their impressions of this technique and the role of emotion in qualitative research overall. Framed by Goffman …

Exploring The Experience Of Healthcare-Related Epistemic Injustice Among People With Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Joanne Hunt, Jessica Runacres, Daniel Herron, David Sheffield

The Qualitative Report

Myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a chronic, disabling yet clinically “contested” condition, previously theorised through a lens of epistemic injustice. Phenomena conceptually close to epistemic injustice, including stigma, are known to have deleterious consequences on a person’s health and life-world. Yet, no known primary studies have explored how people with ME/CFS experience healthcare through a lens of epistemic injustice, whilst a dearth of research explicitly exploring healthcare-related injustice from a patient perspective has been noted. This qualitative study seeks to address this gap. Semi-structured interviews and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) were used to explore the experiences of …

Book Review: Military Culture Shift: The Impact Of War, Money, And Generational Perspective On Morale, Retention, And Leadership, Rodger M. Kissane

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Corie Weathers

Reviewed by Rodger M. Kissane, graduate student, College of International Security Affairs, National Defense University

Rodger M. Kissane provides a thoughtful review of this important book on “bridging and even transcending generational differences” in the US military. Kissane highlights author Corie Weathers’s “insightful . . . recognition that each generation imprints itself upon the institution in ways that reflect their life experiences.” He also outlines the book’s relevance to leaders in that Weathers addresses “ ‘messy dynamics’ leaders confront in synthesizing . . . various perspectives, ideals, and values.”

Therapeutic Benefits Of Psychedelics: Effectiveness For Addiction Treatment, Mental Health Issues, And End-Of-Life Care, Emma Roberts

Student Works

As more research is done, psychedelics are increasingly recognized as a viable option for addiction treatment, mental health issues, and end-of-life care. Studies have hit roadblocks in the past due to the stigma surrounding psychedelics that formed in the 1960s. Since then, regulations have loosened, and psychedelic therapy has become a possible alternative for those who do not find their current treatments effective (Al-Harbi, 2012, as cited in Gardner, 2019; Gardner, 2019). Psychedelics can help individuals abstain from addictions (Sharma et al., 2023). Additionally, psychedelics can be a viable treatment for mental illnesses (Nygart et al., 2022) and can be …

Webinar: Marginalized Populations’ Access To Transit, Marisa Zapata

TREC Webinar Series

How do people with intersecting marginal identities experience social exclusion as they travel via mass transit? To answer this question, PSU researchers employed a qualitative method less common in transportation studies: photovoice. Researchers asked participants to describe the factors that shape their travel behavior and provide photographic data of their experiences. Then, they conducted in-depth video interviews to gain further depth and clarity regarding the visual data. The findings from this study can help transit system designers better understand how experiences of harassment and discrimination across the entire users’ journey affects the riders’ decisions about whether and when to take …

Clase Social, Circulación Y Consumo De Pan. Análisis Histórico Y Etnográfico De La Panadería Bogotana, Miguel Felipe Suárez Gómez, Jairo Clavijo Poveda

Ciencias Sociales, Humanidades y Ciencias Políticas

Este libro explora cómo el pan y las panaderías en Bogotá constituyen un universo social complejo, lleno de normas, procesos y actores que forman parte de un campo sociológico según la teoría de Pierre Bourdieu. Desde una perspectiva descriptiva, analítica, esquemática y sociológica, se revela cómo la producción, enseñanza, consumo y significado del pan configuran trayectorias dinámicas y simbólicas en la ciudad. Este estudio no solo narra históricamente la evolución del pan desde la Antigüedad hasta el presente, sino que también invita al lector a experimentar y comprender la ciudad a través de sus panaderías y productos, subrayando así la …

The Relationship Between Fatalities In Police Violence And Their Identifying Characteristics: Age, Gender, Race, And Region, Yuechu Hu

Undergraduate Research Symposium 2024

Police violence, highlighted by the George Floyd incident in 2020, has intensified concerns about police brutality and perceived racism in U.S. law enforcement (AP News, 2022). Therefore, we intend to analyze Fatal Encounters data, which documents non-police deaths that occur in the presence of the police in the United States. By creating statistical tables and graphs, as well as applying time-series methods, classification and regression trees, and a multinomial logistic regression model, we find that males and transgender people are more likely than females to encounter victimization during police brutality enforcement for any cause of death. Victims older than 19 …

Trauma Is A Wound: Demonstrating The Use Of Character Analysis To Practice Clinical Analysis, Madisyn Beare

Honors Projects

Evidence-based treatments of trauma require clinicians to base their treatments on the client’s specific and individual needs, experiences, cognitions, and place in recovery. Essentially, each new client is a new and unique case, and the practice of understanding how trauma may affect an individual only comes from clinical exposure.Literature provides the public with somewhat of an aid in these circumstances: fictional characters are not real people, and therefore can undergo limitless character analyses. Analyzing a fictional character allows clinicians the ability to practice their exploration of various behavioral indicators of mental health concerns while honoring the ethical code of non-maleficence, …

"This Is How The West Ends": A Content Analysis Of Conservative Youtubers Notions Of Western Excellence, Michelle Johnson

Undergraduate Research Symposium 2024

In 2023, YouTube was one of the most used social media platforms in the United States alone. While existing scholarship (Finlayson 2022) has observed linkages between right-wing social media and distrust in institutions of government, family, and others, I seek to understand how conservatives use YouTube as a means to teach their audience racialized, gendered, and nationalistic ideas about the Western hegemonic order. To examine this issue, I conducted an in-depth qualitative content analysis of three key conservative content creators: Ben Shapiro, Matt Walsh, and Michael Knowles. Two videos were chosen within each creator's profile using keyword searches such as …