Digital Commons Network^™

How Rural Identity, Self-Reliance, And Stoicism Relate To Attitudes Toward Mental Health Help-Seeking Among Iowans, Taylor Brown

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

PROBLEM

• Rural areas represent 20% of the U.S. population (United States Census Bureau, 2022)
• Similar rates of mental illness among rural and urban people (Morales et al., 2020)
• Higher suicide rates among rural people (Brunk, 2010)
• Lower psychological help-seeking rates among rural individuals (Caldwell et al., 2004; Kirby et al., 2019)
• Rural residents tend to wait longer and until symptoms become severe to seek help (Stewart et al., 2015)

Women's Rights In Iran, Aubrie Saysirisanh, Asia Hemmer, Katelyn Braga, Bailey Hudson, Abigail Bonner

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

Women in Iran are not allowed representation in government and do not have legal rights in many aspects. According to studies, Iranian women lack rights regarding family matters and are required to wear a hijab or face prison time. They have little protection from violence including capital and corporal punishments, which are still used on women who defy these policies in Iran. These rules and policies are actively put in place by religious views and power-starved individuals. This raises the question of what has to happen for a woman to be provided with the necessary rights that she deserves as …

Suspected Vs. Diagnosed Mental Illness, Race, And The Ngri Plea, Alexa Roudabush, Helen C. Harton

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

This study investigated the effects of mental illness (suspected, diagnosed) and the defendant’s race (Black, White) on receiving the NGRI plea in a Second-Degree murder case. Participants were more likely to assign the NGRI plea to a Black defendant than a White defendant if the defendant had a diagnosed mental illness, but were more likely to assign a guilty plea to the Black defendant than the White when the diagnosis was only suspected.

Child Marriage And Child Solider Policies In Democratic Republic Of Congo And Niger, Mawlia Meh, Lexie Hauber, Morgan Kline, Ramiyah Boyed

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

• Every year 650 millions women are being forced into marriage before the age of 18.
• In countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Niger young girls around the age of 15 and younger are forced into marriage and young boys at the age of 5 are often forced and kidnapped to become soldiers.
• In 2005 and 2022, more than 105,000 children were recruited and used by parties to conflict.
• These problems are happening due to the lack of resources faced in these countries.
• Can lead to many health effects including depression, sexually transmitted infections, cervical cancer, malaria, obstetric fistulas, …

Childhood Experiences With Finances And How They Affect Bargaining For Salary, Lauren Logue, Maelah Golden

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

• Financial socialization from parents has been shown to have a positive impact on the financial situation of young adults. Developing positive attitudes about money is a strong indicator of future financial well-being (Utkarsh, 2020).

• Without financial literacy, there is a higher risk of debt, bankruptcy, uncertain healthcare, social security, and retirement funds. Starting financial education early can lay the foundation for more success in the future (McCormick, 2006).

Traumatic Brain Injury And Public Stigma: The Effect Of Perceived Responsibility, Mackenzie Grenko

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

A known 5.3 million Americans are currently disabled by traumatic brain injury (TBI; NCIPC, 2016). Perceived responsibility can alter public attitudes toward those with TBI, resulting in challenges such as stigma. Weiner’s Attribution Theory (1993) has yet to be applied to those with brain injury despite evidence that perceived responsibility negatively impacted public attitudes (Linden et al., 2007; Redpath et al., 2010). Further, It is unclear within the literature what characteristics of the injury (e.g., safety equipment uses, job-related) impact public stigma. Therefore, the aim of this study is to expand on previous research regarding TBI and perceptions of responsibility …

Red Vs. Blue: Identifying Demands Among Faculty And Graduate Students, Mackenzie Grenko, Kieran Luedke, Tenzin Kalsang, Helen C. Harton

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

Recently enacted legislation and political climate may contribute to faculty dissatisfaction. For instance, 87% of faculty in Florida would not recommend faculty jobs in their state because of recent laws affecting higher education (e.g., DEI funding restrictions in institutions; Zahneis & June 2023). Those in Democratic states may also be impacted (e.g., White males feeling discriminated against; Isom Scott, 2018). These political climates related to higher education may also impact graduate students and contribute to their stress. In this study, we examined to what extent being in a “red,” “purple,” or “blue” state (e.g., conservative, moderate/centrist, or liberal) related to …

Redefining 21st Century Evangelicalism, Anna Mcdowell

Research in the Capitol

Though evangelicalism is a buzzword in modern America and is typically associated with politics, the evangelical movement began in eighteenth-century America. In the 21st century, evangelicalism proves difficult to define. Though some thinkers define evangelicalism using theological distinctives, the movement has become bound with politics in the minds of many Americans. As a result, evangelicalism typically has negative connotations. Even though many people define evangelicalism in its American context, evangelicalism has spanned the globe and impacts people from diverse backgrounds. The purpose of this project is to explore how evangelicalism has been defined and the impacts of American and global …

The Impact Of Covid-19 Related Stress On Parenting And Community Engagement In A Small Iowa Community, Danny Trip, Savanna Farley

Research in the Capitol

This study addresses the question, “Does COVID-19-related stress and household income during COVID-19 predict parents’ interactions with children and family community engagement one year later?” The hypothesis was that higher levels of COVID-19-related stress and lower household income would predict more negative interactions between parent and the focal child and less community engagement. The participants within this study were drawn from a larger ongoing study, the Dubuque Youth and Family Resilience Project (DYFRP). Control variables included household income, child’s gender, and child’s age. The independent variable was reported COVID-19 related stress and the dependent variables were community engagement, positive parenting …

Misinformation Susceptibility: Partisan & Novel Misinformation Is More Believable, Adan Reyes Salas, Ian Beatty, Taylor Simington, Monty Crain Ii

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

This preregistered study examines how susceptibility to misinformation is affected by its novelty and partisan appeal. Prior research done by Jost et al. (2003) and Zmigrod et al. (2019) have differed in whether an ideological asymmetry exists contributing to heightened susceptibility to misinformation. Our study explores this debate between the ‘rigidity of the right’ versus the ‘rigidity of the extremes.’

Additionally, the present study builds upon previous research assessing the impact of prior exposure to misinformation (what we loosely define as ‘organic’ and ‘novel’) and susceptibility (Pennycook et al., 2018). We also explored whether or not several individual difference variables …

We Would Be Friends: Fans, Musicians And Social Media, Cassidy Byrnes

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

With social media being one of the most prominent forms of communication today, it has become a pillar in the way our society functions. Social media has completely transformed the way we interact with people we know and with people we don’t. Celebrities have taken social media in stride and are using it as part of their brand to communicate with fans, which creates a very interesting dynamic. Musicians and their fans appear to communicate regularly through social media, so fans are doing more than consuming music, they are interacting with other fans and their favorite musicians. Fans, through social …

Differences Between Upper- And Under-Classmen In Intercollegiate Athletics, Benjamin Boezinger, Jessie Woodyard

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

The purpose of this study was to explore differences between upperclassmen and underclassmen regarding the predictors of enthusiastic and constrained commitment to athletics.

Are Faculty Members Ready To Quit? Organizational Commitment Among Faculty Members, Mackenzie Grenko, Tenzin Kalsang, Tenzin Urgyen

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

Discussion of “The Great Resignation” suggests that burnout may influence faculty members’ decisions to withdraw from their field (Daumiller et al., 2021; Klotz, 2021; Sheather, 2021). Still, much of the evidence for faculty burnout and turnover is anecdotal, and further investigation is necessary to determine the impact of burnout and other job demands on turnover intentions.

● In this study, we predicted that participants with higher levels of burnout would report higher levels of turnover intentions (i.e., reported likelihood of leaving their current position for another or retiring early).

● We also examined which job demands and demographics most influenced …

Perceptions Of Political Perspective-Takers, Ian Beatty

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

This study investigates the responses by conservatives and liberals to Republican and Democratic party candidates that take the perspectives of out-group members on topics being discussed.

Rural Identity, Self-Reliance, Stoicism, And Attitudes Toward Mental Health Help-Seeking Among Iowans, Taylor Brown

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

In the United States, 21% of adults have a mental illness. Prevalence of mental illness tends to be highest among young adults (18-25 years old) and lowest among older adults (50 years or older; National Institute of Mental Health, 2020).

Rural communities represent 19% of the United States population (Oser et al., 2022). Research has shown that rates of mental illness are the same in rural areas as in urban areas (Morales et al., 2020) and that suicide rates are significantly higher within rural communities (Brunk, 2010). Despite this, there is a significant lack of help-seeking among rural residents (Morales …

Institutional Choices Regarding Human Rights And Its Effect On Citizen Participation, Elle Jones

Research in the Capitol

Over centuries, one party has been unhappy, whereas the other has power. But what about the population as a whole? Government policy constantly changes, forcing citizens to change their relationship with it. An activist's involvement can include protests or changing voter turnout. Recent midterm elections are a perfect example. Voter turnout for Democrats led to underperformance in several red states. This is due to those who based their vote on the Dobbs decision when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade the summer before, despite Democratic approval ratings being 50% and Republican approval ratings leading by 3%. With many more …

Her Story, Her Right: Narrative As A Basic Human Right, Karlee Colby

Research in the Capitol

This research is an investigation of narrative as a basic human right. Specifically, it looks into what exactly it means for a person to be able to have an accurate life story or account of an event without fear of manipulation and non-consensual distortion. The narratives being analyzed are narratives of violence against women. In this analysis, multiple factors are examined. The first is the idea of narrative as a whole, and the specific uniqueness that surrounds narratives of violence against women. The second is a dive into the legal system and its impact on both the definition of what …

Presentation 3 Copyright Day: Academic Ethics/Plagiarism, Helen Harton

Open Access Week Events

Come to this session to hear from a campus expert about what is academic ethics and why you should know the basics about plagiarism.

Curating A Global Collection Of Grapsoid Crabs For The American Natural History Museum, Nyc, Taylor Pruisman, Amber Finke, Carl Thurman Ph.D.

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

Curation is a powerful tool when accessing information about specialized collections. Many researchers that use specimens borrowed from other institutions often find the supporting information insufficient. Over the last two years, a large collection of preserved grapsoid crabs was received from Frank H. Barnwell, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.The collection of land crabs has undergone an extensive curation process done by University of Northern Iowa undergraduates. The curation process included identifying species, locating pin points, counting of sexes, rehousing and producing new labels. The specimens were sorted by their species, counted by gender, and their collection locations …

The Moderating Effect Of Depressive Symptoms On The Relationship Between Resilience And Adolescents' Likelihood To Intervene For A Depressed Peer, Brendan Weed

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

This summary of my thesis literature review will be about adolescent resilience, adolescent depression, and the factors that play into their willingness to provide support for a friend who shows depressive symptoms

Behind Closed Doors: A Look Into Gender Violence In The Military, Holly Rigel

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

For decades the Army has been plagued by scandals involving soldiers assaulting soldiers and horrible violence that has left many broken or dead. Gender violence is a topic that is often not discussed enough among the general public and military personnel. Despite having the Sexual Harassment and Rape Prevention or SHARP program in effect since 2008 as well as revising several policies to help to address the issue of gender violence, it remains at an all time high. But why, despite all of the training that the soldiers and leadership receive is this still an issue within the ranks. Taking …

Wage Inequality Amongst Artists, Raegan Christianson

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

Presents research on hypotheses on pay differentials for artists.

Teaching Social Justice Issues Through Mathematics Curriculum, Lydia L. Butters

Research in the Capitol

I taught lessons from the textbook, High School Mathematics Lessons to Explore, Understand and Respond to Social Injustice (Berry et al., 2020) with revisions based on the interests and needs of the students(e.g. food deserts in the Midwest and ACT scores). Three lessons were taught in a statistics course at an urban school in the Midwest, while two other lessons were conducted in a geometry content course for pre-service K-8 teachers at a Midwestern University. Overall, high school students showed growth in their understandings of social justice issues and the uses of mathematics. While college students showed growth in their …

The Gender Bias Burden On Business: Women’S Access To Credit In Bahrain [Poster], Sandra Thiman

Research in the Capitol

Entrepreneurship is essential to virtually every economy; however, Bahraini women face many challenges accessing business development. In particular, a major constraint for these women is their access to capital support. In 2020, the government signed a law prohibiting gender-based discrimination in access to credit to help the issue; nonetheless, its effectiveness has yet to be systematically examined. Using data from several sources, I test whether the law significantly affected the gender gap in borrowing for business purposes while controlling for other variables. Importantly, I find that women’s labor force participation is a significant factor in reducing the borrowing gap between …

Agrochemicals And Rural Women's Health In The Volta Region Of Ghana, Sedomda Kpikpitse

Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) at UNI

My study seeks to identify and evaluate the impacts of agrochemicals on the health of rural women who are pivotal in ensuring food security in Ghana. Particularly, women in the Volta Region accounted for the health risks and injuries; exposure to agrochemicals; and other experiences of women in agriculture through semi-structured interviews. Intending to promote a positive behavior towards the handling of chemicals, and especially among women, this study used health theories to explain the health demands of women in agriculture. The Health Belief Model was used to evaluate women’s perception of wearing Personal Protective Equipment using six constructs. The …

The Problematic Practices During The Process Of Marriage Proposal/Match Making, Hakima Afzaly

Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) at UNI

In Afghanistan, marriage is considered as something that completes life. It is very common to hear from Afghans that “without marriage, life and faith are incomplete.” Besides, the religion of Islam does not encourage celibacy. In fact, Islam states that the followers of Islam have legal rights to have sexual pleasure. Nevertheless, sexual intimacy is only permitted within marriage and sexual activity outside of marriage is considered illicit sex. It is considered adultery (Zena) that results in punishment. This is another reason why marriage is essential among the Afghan population, who are predominantly Muslims. That is why most Afghan parents …

Gender Performance And Political Identity At The Jan. 6 Capitol Riot, Emma E. Newton

Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) at UNI

The January 6th riot on the U.S. Capitol Building was heavily documented with recorded videos and photos, not just by mainstream news sources but by the rioters themselves. Rioters’ videos uploaded to social media, particularly the conservative-focused website Parler, provide a lens into performances of gender as they intersect with political identity, revealing new ways that communication studies scholars can understand how conservative arguments are constructed within gender performance. In this thesis, I rhetorically analyze rioters’ videos uploaded to Parler using a lens of hegemonic masculinity and emphasized femininity, and further outline a conservative masculine and feminine performance of the …

Curating A Global Collection Of Fiddler Crabs For The American Museum Of Natural History, Nyc, Dee Dee Pitzen, Samantha Heyer, Amber Finke, Frank H. Barnwell Ph.D., Carl L. Thurman Ph.D.

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

A collection of approximately 1000 jars of preserved fiddler crabs was received from Dr. F.H. Barnwell, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. It contained jars of crabs from Africa, the Americas, and the Indo-Pacific. Specimens in each jar were sorted by species and gender and then counted. An Excel® spreadsheet recorded collecting data while Google Earth® determined the GPS of each recovery site. The collection was reduced to 569 jars containing 68 species representing seven genera. The entire collection consists of 7804 crabs with 5925 males and 1879 females. New labels with up-dated information were made for each …

The Associations Between Traumatic Brain Injury And Sleep Disorders, Mckenzie Hollander

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

The purpose of this study is to look at the connections between traumatic brain injury and sleep disorders. Prior research has shown that there are associations between TBI and sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless legs, circadian rhythm, sleepwalking, nightmares and daily sleep complaints on daily activities. Findings showed that prior traumatic brain injuries and severity of these brain injuries increase risk for sleep disorders.

“It All Just Ends”: Death Attitudes Across Age, Gender And Religion [Poster], Bekah Bass

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

Death is a social and biological reality that affects everyone, however not uniformly. Utilizing original data and the Death Attitudes Profile – Revised by Wong, Reker, and Gesser (1994), this study investigates differences in death attitudes across different demographics including age, gender, and religion. Results show correlations between positive, neutral, and negative death attitudes and the age of respondents. Additionally, neutral and approach acceptance were found to be associated with gender and religion, respectively. These significant results imply that perspectives on death differ across these identities. Further research on death attitudes among diverse age, racial, ethnic, gender, and religious groups …