Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Facs 170 Introduction To Early Care And Education: A Three Year Analysis And Peer Review Of College Teaching/Learning, Toni Hill-Menson, Carolyn P. Edwards

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

I. Peer Review of Teaching Project This project provides a way for college faculty to work with others in a supportive context to document and reflect on both the quantity and quality of student learning. Faculty members work in groups of 3-5 for a semester or year to support each other's exploration of not only what students learn but also how they learn, for a particular selected course. Personal goals: To improve teaching delivery and teaching methods for the enhancement of student learning and student professional development.

II. UNL's Peer Review Process The purpose is to improve college teaching and …

Showing That Early Childhood Education Works: Lessons From Italy, China, And The Usa, Carolyn P. Edwards

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Lessons from around the world; What does it matter about early childhood education? Why the controversy about public support for early childhood education? What process or system should be used to determine what works in early education? Can the same process be used to improve services? What is the role of government? Alternatives: 1. Consumers should determine… (What happens when private choices drive the market for early childhood services?) Observed quality of care in four Midwestern states; Parent data: “All things considered, how would you grade the quality of the care your child is receiving from his/her current caregiver?” Role …

Parental Ethnotheories Of Child Development: Looking Beyond Independence And Individualism In American Belief Systems, Carolyn P. Edwards, Lisa Knoche, Vibeke Aukrust, Asiye Kumru, Misuk Kim

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Over the past several decades, the topic of child development in a cultural context has received a great deal of theoretical and empirical investigation. Investigators from the fields of indigenous and cultural psychology have argued that childhood is socially and historically constructed, rather than a universal process with a standard sequence of developmental stages or descriptions. As a result, many psychologists have become doubtful that any stage theory of cognitive or socialemotional development can be found to be valid for all times and places. In placing more theoretical emphasis on contextual processes, they define culture as a complex system of …

Children’S Play In Cross-Cultural Perspective: A New Look At The Six Cultures Study , Carolyn P. Edwards

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

A qualitative and quantitative reanalysis of the Six Cultures data on children’s play, collected in the 1950s, was performed to revisit worlds of childhood during a time when sample communities were more isolated from mass markets and media than they are today. A count was performed of children aged 3 to 10 in each community sample scored as engaging in creative-constructive play, fantasy play, role play, and games with rules. Children from Nyansongo and Khalapur scored lowest overall, those from Tarong and Juxtlahuaca scored intermediate, and those from Taira and Orchard Town scored highest. Cultural norms and opportunities determined how …

Substance Abuse Disorders Among Homeless And Runaway Adolescents, Kurt D. Johnson, Les B. Whitbeck, Dan R. Hoyt

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This paper presents lifetime and 12-month prevalence rates and comorbidity data for substance abuse disorders among homeless and runaway adolescents. Data are from baseline interviews of a longitudinal diagnostic study of 428 (187 males and 241 females) homeless and runaway adolescents aged 16 to 19 years (mean age = 17.4 years, SD = 1.05). The data were collected by full-time interviewers on the streets and in shelters in eight Midwestern cities of various populations. About two thirds (60.5%) of the runaways met lifetime criteria for at least one of three substance disorders (alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, drug abuse), and nearly …

Prosocial Behaviors In Context: A Study Of The Gikuyu Children Of Ngecha, Kenya, Maria Rosario De Guzman, Carolyn P. Edwards, Gustavo Carlo

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

This study examines children’s prosocial behaviors in everyday contexts that represent varying degrees of strength of situational demands. Behavioral observations of children (N = 89) ages 2 to 10 years (M = 5.25, SD = 2.23)., collected in Ngecha, Kenya were coded for 3 types of prosocial behaviors (nurturant, responsible and prosocial dominant) and the contexts in which these behaviors emerged (childcare, self care, labor/chores, play, idle/ social). Mixed factorial ANOVAs showed age differences in prosocial behaviors favoring older children as well as context effects. Prosocial behaviors occurred more frequently than in labor/chores than in play, idle/social or self-care contexts; …

2005 Nebraska Rural Poll Results: Well-Being In Rural Nebraska, Rebecca J. Vogt, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bruce B. Johnson, Alan J. Tomkins

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

Nebraska’s economy has begun to improve during recent years. How have these changes affected rural Nebraskans? How do rural Nebraskans perceive their quality of life? Do their perceptions differ by community size, the region in which they live, or their occupation? Who do they feel comfortable talking to about their personal problems? What factors are most important to rural Nebraskans when selecting a behavioral health service provider?

This report details 2,851 responses to the 2005 Nebraska Rural Poll, the tenth annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans’ perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of questions regarding their individual well-being. Trends for …

Rural Nebraskans’ Support For Alternative Energy Sources, Rebecca J. Vogt, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bruce B. Johnson, Alan J. Tomkins

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

Published by the Center for Applied Rural Innovation, University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Copyright © 1999 by J. Allen, R. Filkins, and S. Cordes. Alternative and renewable energy sources have been given increasing attention during the past few years. Many wind energy projects and ethanol plants have been started across the state. How do rural Nebraskans view alternative energy sources? Do they view them as beneficial to the state’s economy? Do they think more electricity should be generated from alternative energy sources? How often do they use ethanol blend fuel?

This report details 2,851 responses to the 2005 Nebraska Rural …

Effects Of Parental Rejection And Relationship Quality On Depression Among Older Rural Adults, Jim P. Stimpson, Kimberly A. Tyler, Dan R. Hoyt

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Research suggests that families have development histories which influence their responses to situations across the life course. The present study examined the effects of family relationship histories on intergenerational affection and conflict between adult children and their parents and how this affects parents’ depressive symptoms. Path analysis based on matched reports of adult children and their parents revealed that parental behavior early in life affects contemporary relationships between family members, which ultimately impacts parents’ depressive symptoms. Parental rejection is negatively associated with intergenerational affection, which in turn is negatively associated with depressive symptoms.

“I Just Want To Play”: Women, Sexism, And Persistence In Golf, Lee Mcginnis, Julia Mcquillan, Constance L. Chapple

Bureau of Sociological Research: Faculty Publications

Golf does not inherently privilege men or women physically, yet men are much more likely to participate in golf. The authors explore the institutional (e.g., societal level) and interactional barriers to women’s golf participation and uncover strategies women use to negotiate playing and persisting in golf. Guided by research on tokenism in occupations, statistical discrimination, and feminist research in the sociology of sport, the authors use 10 interviews with recreational women golfers to explore these issues. Similar to women in predominantly male occupations, the women in this study report heightened visibility and experiences with typecasting on the golf course. In …

Ensinando As Crianças Através De Centenas De Linguagens [Teaching Children Through “Hundreds Of Languages.”], Carolyn P. Edwards

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Os sistemas simbólicos, ou "linguagens infantis", sao importantes para as crianças porque elas possuem muitas formas diferentes de aprender e pensar.

Experiêcias mais ricas, variadas e multidimensionais sào mais memoráveis do que experiêcias simplificadas, uniformes e unidimensionais.

O mundo contemprâneo exige que os adultos utilizem uma abordagem integrada dos símbolos.

2005 Nebraska Rural Poll Results: Community Life And Housing In Rural Nebraska, Rebecca J. Vogt, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bruce B. Johnson, Alan J. Tomkins

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

Many rural communities are experiencing population decline. However, rural residents have continued to show a strong attachment to their communities. How do rural Nebraskans feel about their community? Are they satisfied with the services provided? Do they own their home? What is the condition of their home?

This report details 2,851 responses to the 2005 Nebraska Rural Poll, the tenth annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans’ perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of questions about their community and housing. Trends for some of these questions are examined by comparing data from the nine previous polls to this year’s results. For …

Moral Development Study In The 21st Century: Introduction To Moral Motivation Through The Life Span: Nebraska Symposium On Motivation, Volume 51, Carolyn P. Edwards, Gustavo Carlo

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Questions of right and wrong, good and bad, lawful and unlawful, have been debated by philosophers, theologians, scholars, and ordinary people since ancient times. The moral domain represents humanity’s answers to three questions: What is the right thing to do? How is the best state of affairs achieved? What qualities make for a good person? However, the scientific investigation of the moral life has a much shorter intellectual history than does philosophical and religious reflection; nevertheless, it is not new. Moral development theory and research emerged as a critical topic over 100 years ago, at the beginning of the 20th …

Rural Nebraska: Looking Back At A Decade Of Change And Progress, Rebecca J. Vogt, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bruce B. Johnson, Alan J. Tomkins

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Nebraska Rural Poll, rural Nebraskans were asked about changes they may have experienced during the past ten years. Where have they lived during the past decade? In what types of business activities have they been involved? Have they received any education or training during that time period? What has been their experience with the Internet?

This report details 2,851 responses to the 2005 Nebraska Rural Poll, the tenth annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans’ perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of questions about changes they have experienced during the past ten years. For …

Gender, Social Bonds, And Delinquency: A Comparison Of Boys’ And Girls’ Models, Julia Mcquillan, Terceira A. Berdahl, Constance L. Chapple

Bureau of Sociological Research: Faculty Publications

Past research has assessed gender differences in delinquency due to differential social controls, yet important questions remain regarding gender and social bonding. As much of this work was premised on Hirschi’s measurement of the social bond, we examine whether gender moderates two parts of the social bond: the measurement of the social bond and structural differences between the social bond and delinquency. Using multiple-group structural equation modeling, we find that neither the measures of the social bond nor their relationships with property crime are gender-specific. The structural relationship between the elements of the social bond and violent delinquency differs slightly …

Kellogg Foundation Chooses Nebraska Initiative For National Grant: Hometown Competitiveness, Jeff Yost

Heartland Center for Leadership Development Materials

Lincoln, Nebraska, USA—HomeTown Competitiveness, a Nebraska initiative currently working in seven counties and communities in Nebraska, has been chosen as one of six recipients of grants provided through the W. K. Kellogg Foundation’s 75^th Anniversary Entrepreneurship Development Systems for Rural America.

The $2 million award, over three years, was approved by the Kellogg Foundation Board of Directors meeting at Battle Creek, MI last month. More than 180 applications were received for the grants to develop six national models in rural entrepreneurship.

HomeTown Competitiveness (HTC) provides a framework for rural communities to help them identify reachable goals and strategies focused …

Collaboration As A Foundation For The Project Approach In Family Child Care, Joan Youngquist, Carolyn P. Edwards, Ruth Heaton

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Supporting children's curiosity was considered important at my family child care home. How could we best achieve this? As my assistant caregiver Deb and 1 attended professional development workshops, we began to wonder if the project approach (Helm & Katz 2001) would be an effective means of supporting inquiry and collaborative learning. Before we would commit ourselves, we wanted to learn more. We had many questions. Just what is the project approach? What does it look like? How will it support children's learning? What do we need to be successful with it? The literature suggested many examples of successful projects …

Conceptions Of Relationships , Katie Taylor, Carolyn P. Edwards

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

This study seeks to examine the relationships between young adults’ understandings of past and current interpersonal relationships and their conceptualizations of a personal relationship with a higher spiritual power.

Findings: •As hypothesized, students with permissive parents reported lower levels of Awareness and Realistic Acceptance in relation to God. •Contrary to prediction, students with permissive parents did not have higher scores on the Disappointment subscale of the SAI. •As hypothesized, students with authoritarian parents had higher scores of Instability or Disappointment in God on the SAI. •Contrary to prediction, students with authoritative parents did not have higher scores for Awareness, Realistic …

Adversaries And Allies Rival National Suffrage Groups And The 1882 Nebraska Woman Suffrage Campaign, Carmen Heider

Great Plains Quarterly

In September 1882, Nebraska was the setting for a significant moment in the history of the United States women's rights movement: the two rival suffrage organizations, the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) and the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA), both held their annual conventions in Omaha, an event Sally Roesch Wagner describes as "an unprecedented move." Furthermore, the AWSA and NWSA "act[ed] in conjunction with the Nebraska Woman Suffrage Association" to schedule speakers during the 1882 campaign. Susan B. Anthony even participated in the AWSA thirteenth annual meeting held in Omaha in 1882. "I feel at home," she said, "on …

Predictors Of Social Network Composition Among Homeless And Runaway Adolescents, Kurt D. Johnson, Les B. Whitbeck, Dan R. Hoyt

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Recent research on the social support networks of homeless and runaway youth suggest the social networks of runaway youth are made up largely of transient deviant peer relationships. This paper examined social network characteristics of 428 homeless and runaway adolescents from small to moderate-sized cities in four Midwestern states. We investigated size, homogeneity, and correlates of the composition of the instrumental and emotional support networks as reported by the adolescents. Results showed the networks are considerably heterogeneous, comprised of relationships from home and the street as well as family and non-related adults. Further, the composition of these networks is related …

The Long Reach Of Divorce: Divorce And Child Well-Being Across Three Generations, Paul R. Amato, Jacob Cheadle

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

We used data from the study of Marital Instability Over the Life Course to examine links between divorce in the grandparent generation and outcomes in the grandchild generation (N = 691). Divorce in the first generation (G1) was associated with lower education, more marital discord, weaker ties with mothers, and weaker ties with fathers in the third generation (G3). These associations were mediated by family characteristics in the middle generation (G2), including lower education, more marital discord, more divorce, and greater tension in early parent- child relationships. In supplementary analyses, we found no evidence that the estimated effects of divorce …

Child Neglect And Adolescent Violence: Examining The Effects Of Self-Control And Peer Rejection, Constance L. Chapple, Kimberly A. Tyler, Bianca E. Bersani

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Child maltreatment researchers have often suggested that experiences with child neglect have long-term, negative effects. Child neglect is thought to have particularly adverse effects on self-control, peer relations, and delinquency. In this research, we examine the relationship of child neglect with adolescent violence via self-control and peer rejection. Using prospective, longitudinal data from a community sample, we find that child neglect adversely affects peer rejection and violence. Neglected children were more likely to be rejected by their peers in early adolescence and were more likely to be violent later in adolescence. Contrary to theoretical predictions, child neglect was not a …

Perceptions Of Attachment Style And Marital Quality In Midlife Marriage, Cody S. Hollist, Richard B. Miller

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Based on attachment theory, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) theorizes that attachment styles influence marital quality. Although research supports this relationship among young couples, no research has examined attachment styles and marital quality in midlife marriages. We examined this issue using data from 429 married people between the ages of 40 and 50. Results indicated that insecure attachment styles were associated with marital quality, whereas secure attachment was not. These results suggest that EFT therapists can help midlife couples in distressed relationships move from insecure to secure attachment styles. However, the use of EFT to help these couples who have secure …

20th Century Black Women's Struggle For Empowerment In A White Supremacist Educational System: Tribute To Early Women Educators, Safoura Boukari

Women's and Gender Studies Program: Information and Materials

The goal in this work is to provide a brief overview of the development of Black women‟s education throughout American history and based on some pertinent literatures that highlight not only the tradition of struggle pervasive in people of African Descent lives. In the framework of the historical background, three examples will be used to illustrate women's creative enterprise and contributions to the education of African American children, and overall racial uplift. In doing so, I will refer to how those women struggled to set up schools in a totally hostile society where, race, patriarchy, class and gender, interlocking issues …

Report To Congress From Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales On U.S. Government Efforts To Combat Trafficking In Persons In Fiscal Year 2004, U. S. Department Of Justice

Human Trafficking: Data and Documents

Trafficking in persons is a regrettably widespread form of modern-day slavery. An estimated 600,000 to 800,000 human beings are trafficked across international borders each year. Furthermore, between 14,500 and 17,500 victims are trafficked into the United States each year. In response, the United States has led the world in the fight against this terrible crime.

Exploiting Americans On American Soil: Domestic Trafficking Exposed, Commission On Security And Cooperation In Europe

Human Trafficking: Data and Documents

For almost a decade, the Helsinki Commission has pressed countries that participate in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe—and have pressed them very hard—to take decisive action to address the trafficking of human beings for labor and sexual exploitation.

2005 Trafficking In Persons Report, U.S. Department Of State

Human Trafficking: Data and Documents

The Department of State is required by law to submit a report each year to the U.S. Congress on foreign governments’ efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons. This Report is the fifth annual TIP Report.

This Report is intended to raise global awareness and spur foreign governments to take effective actions to counter all forms of trafficking in persons — a form of modern-day slavery. The Report has increasingly focused the efforts of a growing community of nations to share information and to partner in new and important ways to fight human trafficking. A country that fails …

Individual, Congregational, And Denominational Effects On Church Members’ Civic Participation, Philip Schwadel

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Previous research demonstrates two aspects of religion that affect civic activity—church participation and religious conservatism. Conservative religious beliefs and membership in conservative denominations are often associated with low levels of civic activity while church participation is said to increase civic activity. This article advances the discussion of the relationship between religion and civic participation by introducing the congregational context. Data from the 1987 Church and Community Planning Inventory show that congregations vary in their members’ civic activity—congregational factors associated with conservative Christianity (high levels of biblical literalism and within-church friendships) are strongly and negatively associated with church members’ activity in …

Science-Based Organic Farming 2005: Toward Local And Secure Food Systems, Charles A. Francis, Twyla Hansen, Peter Skelton

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

Organic farming includes growing food and fiber — animals, agronomic crops, horticultural fruits and vegetables, related products — as one dynamic and rapidly evolving component of our complex U.S. food system. Even as more farmers are moving toward organic certification and participation in an environmentally sound and economically lucrative market, questions arise about the long-term social impacts and sustainability of a set of practices that has gone from a movement to an industry. Consolidations in the organic trade have brought multinational corporations to the table, as they have observed a grassroots activity that has grown by 20% per year for …

Support For Victims Of Human Trafficking, U.S. Department Of Health And Human Services

Human Trafficking: Data and Documents

Preventive health care for victims of human trafficking is virtually non-existent, and health problems are typically not treated in their early stages.