Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Environmental Impact Of The Euro-American Emigration Through Southwestern Idaho (1840-1862): Effect On Native Lifeways, Garrett G. Webb

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

It has traditionally been held by historians that during the period of Euro-American emigration that preceded settlement of southwestern Idaho in 1863, environmental degradation stemming from emigrants undermined native lifeways and incited conflict between the two cultures. The quantitative nature of the emigration, potential ecological impacts, and the historical perspective all suggest that such claims cannot be substantiated. Overall, the negative effect upon native lifeways may have been significantly less than what is maintained by the current historical paradigm. Instead, conditions of mutual interdependence that existed during the fur trade (1811-1840 A.D.) likely persisted throughout the period of emigration. It …

Sex Education Decision Making At The Independent School District Of Boise, Annabeth D. Elliott

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

A needs assessment was conducted in Boise in 2008 to address pregnancy, abortion. and sexually transmitted diseases in teens. Key informants indicated students lacked knowledge about sexuality and agreed that comprehensive sex education was the best strategy for improving teen sexual health (Elliott, 2008). Because the Independent School District of Boise (ISDB) had an abstinence-only policy, the strategy could not be implemented until the policy was changed.

The purpose of this case study was to cultivate an in-depth understanding of the influences on sex education policy decisions at the ISDB and to add to the body of knowledge, which may …

Religiosity And Fear Of Crime, Jonathan Bolen

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Previous research investigating fear of crime has returned little universal agreement as to what exacerbates and what reduces an individual’s level of fear of crime. In this thesis the researcher seeks to add to the mountain of literature on fear of crime and to include a novel independent variable, religiosity, in effort to better inform the fear of crime debate. Analyzing survey data collected from students at an urban university, the researcher finds that (1) females are far more fearful than their male counterparts; (2) religiosity is not informative on varying levels of fear of crime in the sample. An …

Still Flying: The Communicative Constitution Of Browncoat Fandom As Culture, Jonathon Nicholas Lundy

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

In contemporary western culture, fandom is common. Many academics and members of the general public alike conceive of fandom as outside the norms of spectatorship; to be a spectator is to enjoy an interest individually and passively. However, others contend that fandom is a more significant cultural achievement.

This study qualitatively investigated how Browncoats, or fans of the cancelled television series Firefly , communicatively construct their fandom culture. Methods included participant observation, semi-structured interviews, data analysis through Grounded Theory, and a comparative thematic analysis of the original Firefly source texts and Browncoat cultural data in order to discover meaningful themes …

Schools, Community, And Family: The Promises Of Community-Based School Reform And School Success, Shannon Sue Rishky

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

A new trend in U.S. education is community-based schools. Community schools offer on-site programs and services to whole families to improve student success. Community-based schools can improve student learning, increase parent participation, give teachers more time to focus on instruction, and create the necessary conditions for learning. But we know relatively little about successful new programs in rural states and smaller urban centers. This thesis, a case study of an elementary school in a small U.S. urban center, identifies key factors for the success of such programs. Through in-depth interviews with administrators, teachers, and support staff the following factors were …

Islands In The Stream: Searching For Structure In The Aboriginal Fishery Along The Snake River, Travis Jay Pitkin

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The ethnographic literature describing indigenous groups that traditionally inhabited the course of the Snake River commonly cites anadromous fish as an integral and seasonal part of their subsistence pursuit. This study maps known fishing sites and associated landscape variables along the Snake River. A Geographic Information System (GIS) is used to analyze known fishing sites within the framework of surrounding physiographic features as they related to fishing strategy, salmon behavior, and decisions regarding fishing site selection. Examining the immediate stretch of adjacent river, relevant physiographic features are identified, inventoried, and their intervals recorded. The locations of Snake River fishing sites …

Does Mean Osteon Size Change With Age, Sex Or Handedness? Analysis Of The Second Metacarpal In A 19th Century Sample From Belleville, Ontario, Canada, Bridget Jennifer Denny

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Histological analysis of cortical bone can be used to provide information on age at death, health status, and the influence of biomechanical forces on bones. Specifically, a better understanding of the variation in mean osteon size can increase our knowledge about the influence of factors such as age and sex associated changes and their effects on bone metabolic functions. Previous studies suggest that these influences are bone specific and have produced varying results regarding the association between osteon size and the variables mentioned above. To date, no research has focused on mean osteon size in metacarpals. The purpose of this …

Stepfamily Stories: How Stories About Rituals Communicate A Sense Of Family, Donna Jean Lang

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Recognizing that family (of any type) is a negotiated construction of individuals provides an insight into how people create the unique relationship that we call “family.” To gain a deeper understanding of stepfamily identity and how a sense of family is constructed, a life story interview approach was used to gather narratives from 20 adult children of stepfamilies. The narratives were analyzed using a qualitative/interpretive method, resulting in a balanced view of stepfamilies as having both positive and negative features similar to any other family type. It was found that individual adherence to rituals within the stepfamily provides a sense …

Crime Is Not Just A Man's World: Perceptions Of Female Offenders Through A Feminist Lens, Marianne Hudson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Using the scale on feminist views developed by Henley et al. (1998), this study adapted and created two survey instruments to measure views on feminism and female offenders: 1) the Societal Perspectives Scale, which measures a respondent’s views of feminism; and 2) the Female Offender Perspectives Scale, which measures a respondent’s views of female offenders. Using these survey instruments and convenience sampling, the current study examined college students’ perceptions of feminism and female offenders. This study sought to investigate the following hypotheses: 1) the reliability of the survey instruments, especially the Female Offender Perspectives Scale; and 2) the predictive value …

How Do Idaho’S Lineups Line Up? An Exploratory Study On Congruence To Nationally Recommended Practices In Eyewitness Identification Procedure, Nichole Jolein Gerhard

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The following research is an exploratory study into the level of congruence of Idaho law enforcement agencies to nationally recommended best practices in eyewitness identification procedure. Based on a series of questions relating specifically to the use of recommended procedures in eyewitness identification, law enforcement agencies were graded and assessed an individual score within two different levels of congruence: overall and functional. With three possible groups, desirable, average, and poor, the majority of Idaho departments received scores placing them in average standing for both overall and functional congruence. Three dominant themes in the research (agency type, written procedure, and officer …

Stepping Away From The Ring: An Autoethnographic Study Of Hero Worship Created Through Media Consumption, James Ross Gatfield

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This autoethnographic study examines the relationship between media consumption and hero worship in the lived experience of an individual over the course of a lifetime spent dedicated to achieving a career in professional wrestling. The focus of this study is on identity creation through repeated exposure to media sources relating to that lifelong dream. Previous communication research regarding media exposure provides significant knowledge on the potential effects of the media consumption on the lived experience of the audience, but virtually no prior research has examined explicit effects on a deeply individual level. Narratives encompassing the years devoted to a professional …