Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Difficult Questions For The Senate Minority, John M. Greabe

Law Faculty Scholarship

This column is the first in a biweekly Constitutional Connections series that will examine the constitutional implications of various topics in the news. The author, John Greabe, teaches constitutional law and related subject at the University of New Hampshire School of Law. He also serves on the board of trustees of the New Hampshire Institute for Civics Education.

White Deaths Exceed Births In One-Third Of U.S. States, Rogelio Saenz, Kenneth M. Johnson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors Rogelio Sáenz and Kenneth Johnson report that there were more white deaths than births in seventeen states in 2014, compared to just four states in 2004. This is the highest number of states with white natural decrease (more deaths than births) in U.S. history. Several of these states are among the nation’s most populous and urbanized. The rising number of older adults, the falling number of women of childbearing age, and lower fertility rates diminished the number of white births and increased the number of white deaths. The authors conclude with a discussion of the major …

Child Care Costs Exceed 10 Percent Of Family Income For One In Four Families, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Andrew P. Schaefer, Jessica A. Carson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors Marybeth Mattingly, Andrew Schaefer, and Jessica Carson analyze families’ child care expenses and identify, among families with young children who pay for child care, the share that are “cost burdened,” defined in this context as spending more than 10 percent of their gross income on child care. Using data from the 2012–2016 Current Population Survey, they present their findings by number of children; age of youngest child; parental characteristics; family income measures; and U.S. region, metropolitan status, and state. They report that about one in four families with young children who have child care costs are …

Unconventional Methods For A Traditional Setting: The Use Of Virtual Reality To Reduce Implicit Racial Bias In The Courtroom, Natalie Salmanowitz

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

The presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial lie at the core of the United States justice system. While existing rules and practices serve to uphold these principles, the administration of justice is significantly compromised by a covert but influential factor: namely, implicit racial biases. These biases can lead to automatic associations between race and guilt, as well as impact the way in which judges and jurors interpret information throughout a trial. Despite the well-documented presence of implicit racial biases, few steps have been taken to ameliorate the problem in the courtroom setting. This Article discusses the …

Open Genes: Tools For Genealogy, Kathrine Aydelott

Open Access Events

Not everything you need to trace your roots is online, but our resident genealogy enthusiast will help get your started--and then show you how to hook into the library resources to help you further!

Getting Starting With The Open Science Framework, Patricia Condon

Open Access Events

The Open Science Framework is a free, open source web application that helps researchers manage workflows and facilitates open collaboration.

U.S. Federal Mandates & Open Access, Emily L. Poworoznek

Open Access Events

U.S. federal agencies with annual research & development expenditures over $100 million are now required to increase access to the results of funded research. We’ll look at what this means for researchers and their audiences.

Exploring U.S. Census Data, Wendy Jo Girven

Open Access Events

The US Census provides us with demographic and economic data, but did you know you can also access infographics, working papers, maps, and more from the Census website?

Open Access Geospatial Data, Hannah Hamalainen

Open Access Events

The landscape of open-access geospatial data is vastly growing with an abundance of open source software, websites, and datasets available to the public. How do we find and access these resources? Find out from the Geospatial Services Center.

Practice Safe Publishing: Finding A Great Oa Journal, Eleta Exline

Open Access Events

Avoid publishing scams and learn how to find a high-quality Open Access journal for your next article.

The Scholarly Publishing Crisis, Jennifer Carroll

Open Access Events

Learn about the recent global history of scholarly publishing and its affects on the UNH Libraries. Open Access publishing offers one possible solution to the budget pressures we face.

Most U.S. School Districts Have Low Access To School Counselors: Poor, Diverse, And City School Districts Exhibit Particularly High Student-To-Counselor Ratios, Douglas J. Gagnon, Marybeth J. Mattingly

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors Douglas Gagnon and Marybeth Mattingly examine access to school counselors in public school districts, as well as how this access is mediated by district demographic and location characteristics. They use a large nationally representative data source compiled from the 2013–2014 Civil Rights Data Collection, the 2014 Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, and 2007 urban centric locales made available by the U.S. Census Bureau to conduct their analyses. The authors report that only 17.8 percent of school districts meet the American School Counselor Association’s recommended student-to-school counselor ratio of 250:1 or lower. The median ratio is …

Where Is The North Pole? An Election-Year Survey On Global Change, Lawrence C. Hamilton

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

To explore public knowledge and perceptions about climate change, University of New Hampshire researchers conducted the first Polar, Environment, and Science (POLES) survey in August 2016. A random sample of U.S. adults were asked for their views regarding science, climate change, sources of information, current problems, and possible solutions. In addition, the survey tested basic geographical knowledge related to polar regions, such as whether the United States has a significant population living in the Arctic, and what respondents know about the location of the North Pole.

In this brief, author Lawrence Hamilton reports that fewer than one in five Americans …

Demographic And Economic Characteristics Of Immigrant And Native-Born Populations In Rural And Urban Places, Andrew P. Schaefer, Marybeth J. Mattingly

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief authors Andrew Schaefer and Marybeth Mattingly use American Community Survey five-year estimates to document demographic and economic characteristics of the immigrant and native-born populations in the United States by metropolitan status. They focus on a wide range of demographic and economic indicators that relate to immigrants’ ability to assimilate and thrive in rural America. They report that compared to the native-born rural population, rural immigrants are more likely to be of working age (18–64), are more racially and ethnically diverse, are less educated, and are more likely to have children. Working rural immigrants are nearly twice as …

Flood Realities, Perceptions, And The Depth Of Divisions On Climate, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Cameron P. Wake, Joel N. Hartter, Thomas G. Safford, Alli J. Puchlopek

Sociology

Research has led to broad agreement among scientists that anthropogenic climate change is happening now and likely to worsen. In contrast to scientific agreement, US public views remain deeply divided, largely along ideological lines. Science communication has been neutralised in some arenas by intense counter-messaging, but as adverse climate impacts become manifest they might intervene more persuasively in local perceptions. We look for evidence of this occurring with regard to realities and perceptions of flooding in the northeastern US state of New Hampshire. Although precipitation and flood damage have increased, with ample news coverage, most residents do not see a …

Public Awareness Of The Scientific Consensus On Climate, Lawrence C. Hamilton

Sociology

Questions about climate change elicit some of the widest political divisions of any items on recent U.S. surveys. Severe polarization affects even basic questions about the reality of anthropogenic climate change (ACC), or whether most scientists agree that humans are changing the Earth’s climate. Statements about scientific consensus have been contentious among social scientists, with some arguing for consensus awareness as a “gateway cognition” that leads to greater public acceptance of ACC, but others characterizing consensus messaging (deliberate communication about the level of scientific agreement) as a counterproductive tactic that exacerbates polarization. A series of statewide surveys, with nationwide benchmarks, …

Riding Circuit: Bringing The Law To Those Who Need It, Susan Zago

Law Faculty Scholarship

This article surveys the Access to Justice movement in the United States and proposes including more types of professionals to develop longer term solutions that will alleviate barriers to the court system. This article discusses the need to expand the access to justice concept to reach beyond the courthouse to address civil legal issues before they blossom into litigation. Mobile outreach providing preventive lawyering and early treatment of societal problems can prevent delays and the bottleneck that many courts are seeing with the vast numbers of Self-Represented Litigants. A team of professionals including lawyers, social workers, nurses, counselors, translators and …

400 Predictions: The Search Sea Ice Outlook 2008–2015, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Julienne Stroeve

Sociology

Each Arctic summer since 2008, the Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) has invited researchers and the engaged public to contribute predictions regarding the September extent of Arctic sea ice. The public character of SIO, focused on a number whose true value soon becomes known, brings elements of constructive gamification and transparency to the science process. We analyze the performance of more than 400 predictions from SIO’s first eight years, testing for differences in ensemble skill across years, months and five types of method: heuristic, statistical, mixed, and ice-ocean or ice-ocean-atmosphere modeling. Results highlight a pattern of easy and difficult years, corresponding …

Paid Family And Medical Leave In New Hampshire: Who Has It? Who Takes It?, Kristin Smith, Nicholas Adams

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

This brief uses data collected by the Granite State Poll in 2016 to examine New Hampshire workers’ access to paid family and medical leave and the use of paid or unpaid leave for family and medical reasons. Understanding who lacks access to paid family and medical leave benefits and the underlying factors contributing to differences in those who take time away from work for family caregiving is important. Without access to paid family and medical leave, New Hampshire’s working families may face barriers to financial stability, employment, and future opportunities.

Author Kristin Smith reports that about one-third of New Hampshire …

Overall Declines In Child Poverty Mask Relatively Stable Rates Across States, Andrew P. Schaefer, Jessica A. Carson, Marybeth J. Mattingly

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors Andrew Schaefer, Jessica Carson, and Marybeth Mattingly use Census data released on September 15, 2016, from the American Community Survey--the only regular source for estimating yearly child poverty rates at, and below, the state level--to examine child poverty rates across the United States by place type, region, and state. They report that between 2014 and 2015, child poverty declined nationwide across rural areas, suburbs, and cities. As before, cities had the highest child poverty, followed closely by rural areas. Suburbs had the lowest rates. In thirteen states, child poverty declined since 2014; only Mississippi saw an …

My Turn: 'We The People' And The Garland Nomination, John M. Greabe

Law Faculty Scholarship

[Excerpt] "Because I teach constitutional law, a friend recently asked me whether Judge Merrick Garland or President Obama might successfully sue to compel the Senate to take action on the nomination of Judge Garland to fill the vacancy on the United States Supreme Court.

Almost certainly not, I told him. Under settled precedent, a judge would dismiss such a case as raising a non-legal ''political" question. It would be very difficult to develop acceptable decisional standards for such a claim. Moreover, courts are reluctant to entertain lawsuits challenging mechanisms that the Senate uses to oversee the judiciary."

Contextual Healing: What To Do About Scandalous Trademarks And Lanham Act 2(A), Megan M. Carpenter

Law Faculty Scholarship

Offensive trademarks have come to the forefront of trademark policy and practice in recent years. While it was once true that more attention had been paid to Lanham Act section 2(a) in the pages of law reviews than in the courts, recent prominent cases have focused attention on the ban on registration of offensive marks and the widespread impact of this ban on trademark owners.

In this Article, I answer the fundamental question: Given the problems that my previous research has identified, what should be done about the 2(a) bar on registration of scandalous trademarks? This Article argues, as a …

Over 80 Percent Of New Hampshire Residents Support Paid Family And Medical Leave Insurance, Kristin Smith

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Paid family and medical leave helps workers manage their work and family responsibilities by allowing them to take extended time away from work while receiving some wage replacement and without the threat of being fired. Although New Hampshire currently does not have a paid family and medical leave law or program, these policies are gaining momentum across the United States. In this brief, author Kristin Smith discusses the results of a winter 2016 Granite State Poll in which New Hampshire residents were asked if they would support or oppose a paid family and medical leave law in New Hampshire providing …

Wildfire, Climate, And Perceptions In Northeast Oregon, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Joel N. Hartter, Barry D. Keim, Angela E. Boag, Michael W. Palace, Forrest R. Stevens, Mark J. Ducey

Sociology

Wildfire poses a rising threat in the western USA, fueled by synergies between historical fire suppression, changing land use, insects and disease, and shifts toward a drier, warmer climate. The rugged landscapes of northeast Oregon, with their historically forest- and resource-based economies, have been one of the areas affected. A 2011 survey found area residents highly concerned about fire and insect threats, but not about climate change. In 2014 we conducted a second survey that, to explore this apparent disconnect, included questions about past and future summertime (fire season) temperatures. Although regional temperatures have warmed in recent decades at twice …

Outliving Love: Marital Estrangement In An African Insurance Market, Casey Golomski

Anthropology

Marital estrangement and formal divorce are vital conjunctures for married women’s kinship relations and life course, where a horizon of future possibilities are revalued and negotiated at the interstices of custom, law, and social and ritual obligations. In this article, after delineating the forms of customary and civil marriage and the possibilities for divorce or estrangement from each, I describe how some married women in Swaziland and South Africa mediate this complex social field for their children and families through pensions and continuing to pay for their partners’ insurance coverage. This was not solely out of avarice to reap future …

Fewer Than Half Of Wic-Eligible Families Receive Wic Benefits, Kristin Smith

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Research has shown that the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a successful and cost-effective program. Numerous studies find that WIC participation improves pre- and postnatal health outcomes; families’ overall nutrition; access to prenatal care, health care for children, and immunizations; and children’s cognitive development and academic achievement. Despite these important benefits, author Kristin Smith--using data from the 2015 Current Population Survey---reports that fewer than half of WIC income-eligible families with young children received WIC nutrition benefits in 2014. Among eligible families, receipt of WIC benefits was more likely among families in which the head …

Science, Scientists, And Local Weather: Understanding Mass Perceptions Of Global Warming, Wanyun Shao, James C. Garand, Barry D. Keim, Lawrence C. Hamilton

Sociology

Objective: To explore the effects of long-term climate trends and short-term weather fluctuations, evaluations of scientists and science, political predispositions, religious affiliation, the information environment, and demographic attributes on individuals’ views about whether global warming exists and, if so, whether it is a result of natural cycles or human activity.

Methods: We use data from the 2009 Pew General Public Science Survey, along with data on long- and short-term patterns of temperature and precipitation in individuals’ home communities.

Results: We find that long-term trends in summer temperatures influence perceptions of global warming. Individuals who reside in communities with long-term warming …

Climigration? Population And Climate Change In Arctic Alaska, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Kei Saito, Philip A. Loring, Richard B. Lammers, Henry P. Huntington

Sociology

Residents of towns and villages in Arctic Alaska live on “the front line of climate change.” Some communities face immediate threats from erosion and flooding associated with thawing permafrost, increasing river flows, and reduced sea ice protection of shorelines. The term climigration, referring to migration caused by climate change, originally was coined for these places. Although initial applications emphasized the need for government relocation policies, it has elsewhere been applied more broadly to encompass unplanned migration as well. Some historical movements have been attributed to climate change, but closer study tends to find multiple causes, making it difficult to quantify …

Open Educational Resources (Oer) Pilot Program, Fall 2015 Final Report, Catherine Overson

Open Educational Resources

Assessments Conducted by Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL)

Assessments Targeted Four Central Areas:

1. Textbook Cost Savings
2. Student Perceptions of the OER Materials
3. Student Learning Outcomes
4. Faculty Perceptions of the OER Pilot Program

Authenticity Key To Success In Life And In Legal Information, Susan Drisko Zago

Law Faculty Scholarship

[Excerpt] "Authenticity is defined as something that is not false or an imitation. Savvy consumers pay a premium for an authentic product and treat with suspicion a product that does not ring true.

We have a system of trademark and copyright protections that protect a company’s intellectual property rights and brands and consumer protections to protect the consumer from counterfeit and unsafe products. Now, there is model legislation that will provide a systematic way to protect, preserve and provide better electronic access to the bread and butter of our legal profession: our official state legal documents."