Sociology Commons^™

Inciting Peace From The Inside Out, Stephen G. Adubato, Ebere Bosco Amakwe, Katherine Hinic, Sarita Maldjian, Forrest Pritchett, Jon Radwan, Nicholas Sooy, Chad Thralls

Conferences

Violence and war can be incited, and so can peace. This volume shares select addresses and responses from Seton Hall University’s 2/7/23 conference “Inciting Peace From The Inside Out.” A multi-disciplinary range of scholars each addresses how reconciliation processes grow from spiritual dynamics. Multiple religious traditions teach contemplative praxes that prioritize and nurture personal reflection oriented toward peace. Social conflicts divide, so engaging them with a partisan orientation only serves to escalate harmful rifts. In contrast, bringing personal awareness and sensitivity, spiritual balance, and holistic integral perspective to conflict can transcend divisions and work toward unity. This volume is supported …

“I Tell Them Generics, But Not The Specifics”: Exploring Tensions Underlying Familial Support For First-Generation Latinx Undergraduate Students, Stephany Cuevas

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Families continue to play an essential role in the experiences of first-generation Latinx undergraduate students and can serve as powerful partners to support student retention and socioemotional wellbeing. This qualitative phenomenological study uses the notion of emerging adulthood to explore how first-generation Latinx undergraduate students (n = 16) conceptualize their families’ role in their college education. Specifically, this study shows that while students describe feeling supported by their families, they also experience distinct and unique tensions tied to this support, which students associate with their first-generation student status. These tensions include (1) the family’s unfamiliarity with college culture; (2) bidirectional …

Financial Incentives For Adoption And Kin Guardianship Improve Achievement For Foster Children, David Simon, Aaron Sojourner, Jon Pedersen, Heidi Ombisa Skallet

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Difference-in-differences analysis of linked administrative data estimates effects of a Minnesota policy change that increased the payments to adoptive parents and kin guardians for children ages 6 and older, making them equal to what foster care payments were, but didn’t for younger children. Equalizing payments raised average academic achievement by 31 percent of a standard deviation three years after foster children’s cases started, raised the value of payments by about $2,000 per child during this period, raised the monthly chance of moving from foster care to adoption or kin guardianship by 29 percent, improved school stability, and reduced school suspensions.

Access To K-12 Educational Opportunity In The Mountain West, 2017-2018, Yashesvi Sharma, Isabelle G. Graham, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

K-12 Education

This fact sheet examines K-12 education climate data in the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The original report from Research For Action explores a variety of educational opportunity indicators, such as the presence of STEM certified teachers, experienced teachers, offerings of AP/Dual Enrollment classes, and low student/teacher ratios.

Early Intervention Within Orthodontics: The Sociological Aspects, Trenton Hammond

Honors Theses

Orthodontic treatment is one of the final phases of dental treatment. Its use is to provide aesthetics in some cases, yet the quality-of-life aspect that it can provide is greatly underestimated. Orthodontic care can provide proper function of teeth, improve facial structure, avoid tooth decay/loss, and improve gum health (AAO, 2024). Within this research the overarching goal is to understand the sociological aspects of families looking to start orthodontic care, what the reasons behind starting or not starting are, and providing information to the public about orthodontics that may be misunderstood or might push people away from searching for orthodontic …

Highlighting Health And Diversity: Curating Digital Exhibits To Promote Online Resources Across Cultural Months, Ivan Portillo, David Carson

Library Presentations, Posters, and Audiovisual Materials

This poster presentation demonstrates how digital exhibits can be leveraged to promote health literacy and enhance health education by creating awareness of resources to benefit diverse cultural and ethnic groups. It showcases examples of online exhibits that highlight health-related information, history, and resources to address health disparities and promote health equity among different populations.

A Little Loud And A Little Alone: A Phenomenology Of Leadership Identity Construction Among Women In Higher Education Technology, Amy Barry

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative study is an exploration of how women in higher education information technology (IT) positions navigate constructing their leadership identities. This includes the messy, personal, internal identity work that occurs prior to claiming their leadership identities on the public stage, followed by an examination of what the experience of attempting to claim and negotiate a leadership identity is like in the social context of their organizations. This educational and sociological study employs an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach with a series of three interviews per participant that allowed the researcher to deeply explore the personal identity experiences of participants. Findings …

Increasing Nursing Aide Knowledge On Benefits Of Light For Sundowning Syndrome, Grace Hilfiker, Julie Masters

Honors Theses

In this study, the knowledge of nursing aides on the benefits of light for sundowning syndrome was investigated. While dementia and sundowning syndrome is discussed during nursing aide training in the state of Nebraska, there is no discourse focused on how light plays beneficial role in lessening the symptoms of sundowning syndrome for those who are afflicted with dementia. This study asked what the current knowledge base surrounding dementia and sundowning syndrome is of nursing aides in the state of Nebraska. The aim was to justify adding a focus on concrete methods to use when caring for patients with dementia …

A Compilation, Analysis, And Categorization Of 403 Atmospheric And Climate Science Misconceptions, Haeli Leighty

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) has listed the inaccessibility of research related to misconceptions in atmospheric and climate science as a Geoscience Education Research Grand Challenge (Cervato et al. 2018). This project was a direct response to this call for research and consisted of three distinct steps: 1) data gathering, which included reviewing the literature for relevant misconception data, 2) a qualitative analysis, which included compiling, organizing, and categorizing the data collected, and 3) a quantitative analysis, which included determining the prevalence of each misconception across topic categories, demographic categories, and over time. A total of 403 misconceptions …

Parental Child Rearing Beliefs And Children's Behavioral Problems: The Mediating Role Of Parental Involvement In Elementary School, Catalina Correa Ramirez

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The contributions that parents make to child development have been heavily investigated but the potential links between parents’ child rearing beliefs and school involvement levels have been overlooked. In this study, a model was proposed where parental involvement was examined as a potential mediator in the relationship between parents’ child-rearing beliefs and internalizing and externalizing outcomes in children. Using data from the NICHD SECCYD study, these constructs were examined in first, third, and fifth grade (N = 1128). SEM analyses supported our hypothesis regarding the mediating effect of parental involvement and it appeared to act as a potential mediator …

A Manual On The Planning And Integration Of Archaeological Methods Into Outdoor Forensic Search Investigations, Jonathan Robert Garcia

Anthropology Department: Theses

As archaeology and its applications into forensic contexts develop into the growing discipline of forensic archaeology, an increasing amount of literature has resulted stemming from research on the integration of common archaeological methods. However, much of this literature is intended for professional archaeologists or forensic anthropologists who are well experienced in their respective disciplines. Emerging literature generally does not consider those who leads efforts at forensic scenes in the outdoors such as law enforcement officers who often lack a background in archaeology or forensic anthropology. This thesis seeks to resolve this dilemma by creating a new and accessible manual. The …

Implementing And Marketing Diversity, Equity And Inclusion Practices And Resources: Creating The E‐Buzz!, Essraa Nawar, Kristin Laughtin-Dunker

Library Presentations, Posters, and Audiovisual Materials

Leatherby Libraries Librarians are committed to supporting and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion for students, faculty, researchers, and staff. We demonstrate this commitment holistically through the provision of all resources and services in support of teaching, learning, and research. Our goal is to reduce obstacles to accessing diverse research resources, services, learning, and engagement through educational outreach in order to raise awareness of diversity related issues.

In 2020, Library administration selected a Diversity and Outreach librarian that was charged with creating a comprehensive Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and Outreach plan. As a result, a number of practices and initiatives …

Predatory Inclusion In Higher Education: Labor And Financial Exploitation At A Predominantly White Institution In The Era Of Neoliberal Multiculturalism, Maia N. Pedrosa

Sociology Honors Projects

In the summer of 2020, racial justice movements that emerged in response to the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin passionately decried the systems and institutions at fault and complicit in still perpetuating racial discrimination towards Black people, as well as Indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC). As a response to these racial justice demands, college institutions pushed for diversity in their student body and across college affairs in order to appear like they were effectively responding to student demands. However, this fight against racial inequality and inequity began long before during …

Professionals, Not Laborers: Historical Contingencies Impacting Faculty Prestige And Unionization, Camden M. Webb

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Some higher education faculty believe that unionization is beneath their status, despite lacking ownership of the means of production. While higher education experienced increasing importance in the United States during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, faculty unionization saw periods of both growth and decline. From a macro-level framework in social structures of accumulation (SSA) theory, with additions from Marx, the Ehrenreichs, Bourdieu, and Simmel, my research develops a theory to explain the impact of changing social structures on status reproduction and faculty unionization. SSA theory explores the historical contingencies that impact relationships between institutions and capital accumulation. Marx’s class relationships, …

Educational Attainment In The Mountain West, 2021, Isabelle G. Graham, Jesse M. Fager-Larsen, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet examines data on educational attainment rates for five states in the Mountain West: Arizona, Colorado,Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The original report from the Lumina Foundation explores education attainment data for those aged 25 to 64 years in all U.S. states.

Education And Community: Education Helping Immigrants Find Community And Belonging., Belle Lemieux Chan, Josephine Smith, Lauren Gracey

Egypt Migrations Partnership and Comparative Immigrant Experiences

Education serves as a structured pathway for immigrants to establish a sense of community and belonging in their new country. Through the consistency and frequency of interactions within educational environments, immigrants have the opportunity to form meaningful friendships with peers from diverse backgrounds. These connections not only enhance their quality of life but also facilitate a smoother transition into their adopted homeland. By engaging in academic pursuits alongside fellow students, immigrants find camaraderie and support, fostering a sense of belonging that transcends cultural barriers. In essence, the educational community becomes a sanctuary where immigrants can thrive socially and academically, forging …

Health And Healthcare: Designing For The Social Determinants Of Health And Blue Zones In North Nashville, Rebecca Tonguis, Honor Thomas, Olivia Hobbs

Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

Owned by North Nashville’s First Community Church, a now empty site in the Osage-North Fisk neighborhood of North Nashville has been identified as a potential site for a new location of The Store, in addition to a community-centric architectural development based on the social determinants of health and informed by the principles behind Blue Zones, the locations with the highest lifespans in the world. Opened by Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley, The Store is a free grocery store that “allow[s] people to shop for their basic needs in a way that protects dignity and fosters hope”, for which North Nashville …

Honorable Mention Contest Entry: The Experiences Of Latinx Faculty, Staff, And Students At A Predominantly White Institution Aspiring To Become A Hispanic-Serving Institution, Andrew Peña

Eric M. Scandrett Graduate Library Research Prize

This is Andrew Peña's submission for the 2024 Eric M. Scandrett Graduate Research Prize, which won honorable mention. It contains their essay on using library resources, their bibliography, and a summary of their research project on the experiences of Latinx faculty, staff, and students at a predominantly white institution aspiring to become a Hispanic-Serving Institution.

Andrew is a student in the Masters in Leadership Development program at Chapman University. Their faculty mentor is Dr. Stephany Cuevas.

Honorable Mention Contest Entry: The Impact Of External Factors On Urban Youth Behaviors, Erin Simmons

Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize

This is Erin Simmons' submission for the 2024 Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize, which received an honorable mention. It contains their essay on using library resources, their bibliography, and a summary of their research project on the impact of external factors on urban youth behaviors.

Erin is a third-year student at Chapman University, majoring in Psychology and Integrated Educational Studies. Their faculty mentor is Dr. Quaylan Allen.

The Bloodless Period: A Transfeminine Experience, Rin Nguyen

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

There is limited research exploring menstruation in transgender and gender diverse (TGD) populations, and studies have primarily examined the relationship between menstruation and gender congruence. Findings revealed menstruating TGD people experienced distress related to decreased gender congruence (Eisenberg et al., 2021), and 88% of TGD people expressed interest in menstrual suppression to manage the distress (Schwartz et al., 2022). By contrast, Lowik (2020) highlighted a transfeminine person who wished to menstruate to achieve womanhood and commented on the “bloodless period” (i.e., menstrual-like symptoms in the absence of bleeding) upon receiving gender-affirming hormone therapy. To the author’s knowledge, there is no …

Between Pages And Politics: An Interdisciplinary Exploration Of Book Bans, Hannah Morrison

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Across the United States, school boards are being inundated with requests to ban books. While these conversations are often localized, what the rise in censorship across the country suggests is that there is a fierce movement behind censoring young adult literature. What is frequently erased in these campaigns are stories of people of color and queer communities, alongside topics such as sexuality, drugs, or violence. The presiding conclusion within childhood studies on how we have reached a point where censorship is abundantly common in American schools is that public discourse views children as less than or not fully formed, thus …

The College Sexual Violence Epidemic: Examining Prevention And Response Procedures, Casey Buonocore

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

A 2019 survey conducted by the Association of American Universities reported the prevalence rate of college sexual violence at approximately 13%. Additional college sexual violence research has found that there is often a significant discrepancy between rates of sexual violence and usage rates of post-assault resources (Stoner & Cramer, 2019). Given previous statistics on college sexual violence and emerging statistics on intimate partner violence, the COVID-19 pandemic likely exacerbated this existing discrepancy. Prior college sexual violence research has found that students are much more likely to access sexual violence resources if they have already received comprehensive information about those resources …

#Dusomething! A Qualitative Exploratory Study To Identify Challenges And Opportunities For Improvement In Du's Response To Sexual Harassment And Assault, Alejandro Cerón, Amanda Cali, Briana Cox, Camille Cruz, Camryn Evans, Cyndal Groskopf, Ashley Joplin, Clayton Kempf, Kēhaulani Lagunero, Jayvyn Jakai Lewis, Aili Limstrom, Gray Messersmith, Cal Quayle, Yadira Quintero, Michael Sze, Aaron Toussaint, Sami Zepponi

Anthropology: Undergraduate Student Scholarship

The purpose of this course-based research project was to identify where DU has made progress in its response to sexual harassment, identifying challenges and opportunities for improvement, with the hope that the results will support the DU community’s efforts to prevent, address, and eradicate sexual harassment.

Nebraska Women In Agriculture Conference Marks 39 Years, Ryan Evans, Sarah Treffer, Jessica Groskopf

Cornhusker Economics

The Nebraska Women in Agriculture program marked 39 years of educating and empowering females in farming, ranching, and agribusiness, with nearly 380 people attending its annual conference on February 22 and 23, 2024 in Kearney, Nebraska, with a pre-conference session held on February 21. Including 25 workshops, 5 keynotes, and activities to help learn about risk management, farm and ranch improvement, and successful business practices.

Pride Week Event Schedule, 2024, Office Of Diversity And Inclusion

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

2024 Pride Week Schedule running from March 25 to March 30, 2024.

Nevada High School Students: Graduates From Unlv And Unr, 2010-2022, Madison Dwyer, Zachary Billot, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet reports data for individuals who earned both a high school diploma from a Nevada high school and a bachelor’s degree at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) or the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) between 2010 and 2022, as well as the race/ethnicity and gender of these graduates.

Observance Of Religious Holidays: Ramadan, John C. Volin, Robert Q. Dana

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Observance of Religious Holidays/Events: The University of Maine recognizes that when students are observing significant religious holidays, some may be unable to attend classes or labs, study, take tests, or work on other assignments.

Franco Gathering, 2024 : Rassemblement, 2024, University Of Maine Franco-American Programs

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Every year, Franco American Programs organizes a “rassemblement” or gathering of Franco American artists, writers, and creatives. This annual event aims to create a culturally supportive space in which members of the Franco-American creative community can share their work.

Understanding Unique Employability Skill Sets Of Autistic Individuals: A Systematic Review, Amy Jane Griffiths, Rachel Torres, Raquel Delgado, Amy E. Hurley-Hanson, Cristina M. Giannantonio, Wallace Walrod, Zachary Maupin, John Brady

Education Faculty Articles and Research

In recent years, several publications and media outlets have highlighted how the skills and interests of autistic individuals may benefit organizations. However, there is scant empirical research on the topic. The present study's authors conducted a systematic review to find which potential employability skills, strengths, and interests of autistic individuals available research has highlighted. Data extraction methods identified 51 papers related to skills in this population. The skill sets autistic individuals may possess and the research behind these findings were organized, evaluated, and summarized. Based on these findings, investigators discuss implications for employment counseling and future research.

Triumphs In Leadership: Exploring The Positive Power Of Appreciative Inquiry, Emotional Intelligence, And Social Constructivism Among Successful Lebanese Women Leaders In Higher Education, Lina Safa

Education Division Scholarship

This qualitative study investigates the success strategies of Lebanese women leaders in higher education, a sector where they have historically faced underrepresentation. It examines the evolution of women’s roles in this field, highlighting the progress and ongoing challenges related to gender biases and societal constraints in Lebanon. The research employs a phenomenological approach to explore the lived experiences of these leaders, focusing on how they navigate cultural norms and societal expectations. Theoretical frameworks like appreciative inquiry, emotional intelligence, and social constructivism are used to analyze their transformative potential within Middle Eastern patriarchal structures. This study aims to inform policies and …