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Ethnographic Dilemmas And Reflexive Thoughts Of A Contemplative Jewish Anthropologist, Elazar Ben-Lulu Dr.

The Qualitative Report

During ethnographic fieldwork, anthropologists of religion grapple with various dilemmas regarding their participation in the rituals they study. How do they make real-time decisions between full participation and observational distance? Do they manage to participate harmoniously in religious activities even during moments of doubt or questioning of their own faith? Based on my three-year fieldwork in Israeli Reform Jewish congregations, which included observations and in-depth interviews, I demonstrate how my reflexive experience which exposes my internal Jewish dialogue, shaped my patterns of participation and motivation in engaging with various rituals. This autoethnographic description illustrates that my deliberate abstention or avoidance …

Plastic Makes Perfect: An Analysis Of Plastic Surgery As Rehabilitation In Early To Late 20th Century Prison Populations, Jack West

The Ozark Historical Review

As early as 1910, journalists from around the United States reported on the cause-and- effect relationship between a criminal’s physical appearance, their offenses, and the plastic surgeons willing to help them. These surgeons were interested in changing the physical “causes” of criminality to sever the mental roots of crime, inferiority, and anti-social attitude. This paper examines the use of plastic surgery programs as reform in prison through the lens of popular newspaper and journal articles and argues that public perception and reaction revealed in these articles shaped the prison program’s journey from its underground beginning to its eventual demise.

Author Biographies

The Ozark Historical Review

No abstract provided.

A Few Millimeters Of Bone: How Male Supremacists Leverage Scientific Sexism To Reinforce Misogynistic Ideologies, Robin O'Hanlon

Publications and Research

In recent years, male supremacist actors have reinforced their misogynistic worldviews by using narrative strategies centered on authoritative “common sense” and scientific “fact.” This paper presents a thematic narrative analysis of The Incel Wiki and the Wiki4Men, representing the first formal analysis of the wiki for the men’s rights organization A Voice for Men. The analysis indicates male supremacists use techniques including misappropriation of scientific information, manipulation of statistics, and leveraging pseudoscientific information to develop their narrative strategies of supremacy. The most consistent narrative strategies of scientific sexism on the wikis are male victimhood, denial of inequality between men and …

Collaborative Anti-Racist Perinatal Care: A Case Study Of The Healthy Birth Initiatives–Providence Health System Partnership, Roberta Hunte, Susanne Klawetter, Monique Gill, Desha Reed-Holden, Kevin Cherry

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article describes a case study of the partnership between Healthy Birth Initiatives, a community-based organization (CBO) and Black-led public health nurse home visiting program, and the maternal health division of the Providence Health System located in the Pacific Northwest. This study’s purpose was to explore the formation, significance, and impact of this partnership from the perspectives of staff and leadership members from both organizations. We conducted a case study through qualitative interviews with staff, participant observation, and debrief of leadership meetings. We completed a hybrid deductive–inductive thematic analysis of the data, followed by member checking with study participants and …

Abolition And Social Work: Dismantling Carceral Logics To Build Systems Of Care, Durrell M. Washington, Brittany Ribeiro Brown, Diana Ballesteros, Rebecca Lynn Davis

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Social work has historically operated as an extension of the carceral state, embedding policing, surveillance, and punishment into youth-serving institutions under the guise of care. This paper examines carceral seepage—the infiltration of punitive logics into social work practice—across child welfare, education, and juvenile legal, revealing how these systems function as interconnected circuits of criminalization rather than support. Using abolitionist frameworks, we critique social work’s complicity in punitive interventions and address common concerns about safety, scalability, and sustainability. Instead of reforming oppressive institutions, we argue for a fundamental transformation of social work, advocating for non-carceral models such as community-led crisis response, …

Exploring The Relationship Between Perceived E-Working Experience And Autonomy In It Professionals, Sherry Hunt

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

As remote work reshapes the professional landscape, understanding how e-working conditions influence the need for autonomy, a core component of motivation and well-being, is increasingly important. This quantitative, correlational study explored the relationship between perceived e-working experience and the psychological need for autonomy among 120 U.S.-based information technology (IT) professionals. Participants completed an online survey comprised of the E-Work Life (EWL) Scale (Charalampous et al., 2023; Grant et al., 2019) and two autonomy subscales from the Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction and Frustration Work Scale (BPNSFWS) (Olafsen et al., 2021). Grounded in self-determination theory (SDT) (Ryan & Deci, 2000, 2017, 2020) …

From Belief To Action: An Exploratory Study Of Theological Perspectives In Influencing Credibility-Enhancing Displays, John Chambers

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this two-phase qualitative research design was to explore the relationship between faith and works, as evidenced by manifest Credibility Enhancing Displays (CREDs), for electronic survey participants in the orthodox Christian community. Exploring the potential links between specific aspects of the theological narratives and the intentions that precede behavior was the central focus of the study. An expert panel was used to develop the Phase One survey. Phase Two retained the same expert panel members but presented them with the Phase One survey analysis to expand the interpretation of the results. At this stage in the research, CREDs …

Understanding And Assessing Climate Change: Preparing For Nebraska’S Future, 2024 Climate Change Impact Assessment Report, Deborah J. Bathke, Eric Hunt, Heather Akin, Andrea D. Basche, Jesse E. Bell, Daniel R. Dileo, Ross Dixon, Martha Durr, Tonya Haigh, Francis John Hay, Kristina W. Kintziger, Nicholas A. Mcmillan, Hank Miller, Jerome Okojokwu-Idu, Crystal Powers, Tirthankar Roy, Zhenghong Tang, W. Ryan Wishart, Aaron R. Young, Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Jonathan J. Spurgeon

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Contents

Report Team

Acknowledgments

Executive Summary

Introduction

Climate Change Contexts: Global, National, and State

Observed Changes in Nebraska's Climate

Projections of Nebraska's Future Climate

Water Systems

Energy

Ecosystems

Agriculture

Human Health

Communities and the Built Environment

Indigenous Peoples

Climate Justice and Equity

The Response of Faith Communities

Nebraskans' Perceptions of Climate Change

Next Steps and Future Work

Supplemental Report: Adaptation, Risks, and Impacts

About the Authors

Faith-based Communities Survey

Evaluated Plans and Assessments

References

Holidays, Religiosity, And Democratic Attitudes, Hannah Ridge

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

Decades of research have linked religion and religiosity to support for democracy and authoritarianism. This study uses a temporal religious prime during national surveys – the European Social Survey and the National Election Survey – to identify the effect of religion on regime-type preferences. Jewish Israelis who took surveys on Friday or Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, expressed more openness to non-democratic governance. They also interpreted the word democracy in a more populist way. Furthermore, non-religious Jews were less democratic on the Sabbath and more interested in strongman rule than they were on days without the religious connotation. Similarly, more religious …

Exploring Underrepresented Stem Undergraduates' Stem Identity Development: The Role Of Social Partners, Sandy Cerda-Lezama

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation employs a three-study qualitative design to investigate the role of mentorship and social interaction in the identity development of racial minority undergraduate students in STEM disciplines. Grounded in Communities of Practice theory, this research amplifies student narratives to elucidate the relational and contextual factors that inform science identity, belonging, competence, and persistence in higher education. Study One draws upon interview data from fifteen participants in the BUILD program to analyze the role of recognition, particularly from expert scientists--in students' science identity development. This study aims to understand how racial and ethnic identity intersections influence the processes and impact …

Dental Microwear And Diets Of Late Miocene Primates From Rudabánya, Hungary, Peter S. Ungar, Anna K. Wilcox, David R. Begun

School of Dentistry Faculty Publications

Objectives: This study focuses on a dental microwear texture analysis of European pliopithecids and dryopithecins from the Miocene primate site of Rudabánya, Hungary. The goal is to determine whether these taxa, found in part together in the same deposits, differed in their food preferences, or at least consumed, on a daily basis, in a manner that might have facilitated sympatry. Materials and Methods: Here we report on a molar surface texture analysis of all available fossil primates from Rudabánya that preserve antemortem microwear. This includes both Anapithecus hernyaki (n = 14) and Rudapithecus hungaricus (n = 5, including one from …

“I Am So Resilient Right Now”: Impact Of The Life Skills Journey Summer Program On Métis Program Leaders, Alicia Hibbert, Fay Fletcher, Brent Hammer

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

The authors present the impact of the Métis Settlements Life Skills Journey facilitator training program. Community members, aged 16 to 32, were hired and trained to lead youth summer camps. It was hypothesized that participation in the program and employment as facilitators would have a positive impact on their individual resilience. The program and employment were designed to increase participant knowledge in key areas of resilience and skills to engage chil-dren in learning through play.

Do “Days Of Service” Meet Institutional Service-Learning Goals? A Case Study In Assessment Of The Mlk Day Of Service, Elizabeth B. Erbaugh, Jess Bonnan-White

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

This study pilots a survey tool for assessing participant experiences in the MLK Day of Service at a public university. Student, faculty, staff, community volunteer, and community partner par-ticipants (N=344) reflected upon service, learning, and university-community connections as part of a multi-method evaluation process. Quantitative analysis of unidimensional and summed variables found significant variation by instructional site and participant affiliation. Such measures and instruments may clarify the role of Days of Service in advancing institutional ser-vice-learning goals.

Reading Beyond Research Results: The Hidden Curriculum In A College And Urban High Schools Partnership, Shirley Mthethwa-Sommers

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

The article draws from a study of a Gear Up partnership between a predominantly white middle class college and four urban high schools with a majority of low-income students of color. Teacher education candidates participated in community engagement through Gear Up at four urban high schools. The study shows that both college and high school students benefited from the partnership. However, employing internal and anticolonial theoretical lenses reveals the hidden curriculum that the positive results attained from the partnership may serve to buttress the myth of dominant culture’s supremacy.

Community Partner Perceptions About Community Engagement Experiences For Nursing Students, Judith E. Wattman, Marjorie A. Schaffer, Maureen J. Juarez, Leanne L. Rogstad, Timothy Bredow, Sara E. Traylor

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

This study explored community agency staff perceptions about community engagement learning experiences for nursing students. Focus groups with staff from eleven health-related community organizations revealed seven themes that will contribute to effective curriculum development and implementation for community engagement: (a) agency expectations for students, (b) orientation, (c) schedule of student experiences, (d) invested student participation, (e) student match with agencies, (f) projects envisioned, and (g) effective interactions with the population. Practice implications for developing community engagement learning experiences are suggested.

Evaluating The Impact Of Seed Money Grants In Stimulating Growth Of Community-Based Research And Service-Learning At A Major Public Research University, Judith A. Jetson, Mary E. Evans, Wendy Hathaway

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

At a major research university, community engagement must intersect with research productivity and attract external funding to be well-regarded. At USF, community engagement increased its value to the institution by using seed grants for community-based research and service-learning projects. Between 1998 and 2006, 132 projects received $1.65 million in seed money from general revenue and local government funds, bringing over $9 million in grants to USF, a return on investment of approximately 6-to-1.

Call For Papers For The Journal Of Social Encounters’ Special Issue

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Darfur And Sudan Recommended Webinars

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Escalation Pathways To The April War And The Dynamics Of Sudan's Political Economy, Salih Mustafa, Osama Hassan, Nagi Alassam

The Journal of Social Encounters

This paper analyzes the escalation processes that led to the outbreak of the April 2023 war in Sudan, based on Wolfram Lacher's theoretical framework of "escalation processes". The paper focuses on tracing the escalatory trajectories that preceded the war, analyzing the complex interplay between structural, political, and economic factors, as well as the impact of the political economy on the dynamics of the conflict and its escalation to full-scale war.

The Sudanese Identity In The Mirror Of Colonial And Post-Independence History, Abdalla Galaleldeen

The Journal of Social Encounters

After independence, Sudan’s political elite adopted colonial-inspired policies that sought to divide the country into North and South (Arabs versus Africans). This policy was further reinforced by the civil wars and by the failures of the Sudanese political elite to construct a cohesive national identity. In the post-independence period, one elite group aligned itself with an Arab identity, while another embraced an African identity. Logically, therefore, both identities—Islamic-Arab and African—encompass the majority of the population. Yet, while Islamists and Africanists each claimed to represent this majority, neither addressed the contradictions inherent in their positions. As the tension between the Islamic-Arab …

The Conflict In Sudan: An Overview, Mad Gabriel

The Journal of Social Encounters

It has been more than two years since the war erupted in Sudan. Although the crisis initially started between two warring parties, it has expanded beyond the two with the involvement of multiple actors. However, the current conflict is complicated and has deep historical origins. It increased after the 2019 revolution, with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) battling for power and control. On the other hand, the situation has deteriorated dramatically, as the economy suffered from the continuation of the war, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Additionally, Health systems have crumbled, schooling has …

Sudan: A War Of Atrocities Report Of The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission For The Sudan, - Annual Report Of The United Nations High Commissioner For Human Rights And Reports Of The Office Of The High Commissioner And The Secretary-General

The Journal of Social Encounters

This report documents attacks on civilians and objects essential for their survival in Sudan. It concludes that both parties to the conflict violated international human rights and humanitarian law, with most violations amounting to war crimes. The Rapid Support Forces’ conduct may also constitute crimes against humanity, including persecution and extermination. The report calls for accountability and sets out a roadmap for justice.

Introduction: Continuing The Exploration Of The Darfur And Sudan Crisis, Mawa Mohamed, Ron Pagnucco

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

The Late Father Rev. John Anthony Kaiser: “A Case For Justice”, Mbuthi Gathenji

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Engaging The Somali Diaspora: A Case Study Of One Agency’S Community Programming Approach, Farhia Abdi

The Journal of Social Encounters

This case study investigates how a local community agency engages with the Somali diaspora to design and implement culturally responsive services, such as the Settlement and Integration Program. It also explores the potential of fostering meaningful dialogue with community members to inform the development of culturally sensitive programming. The research question guiding this study was developed by findings from previous research, which highlighted the significance of community engagement, sustained dialogue, and the necessity for agencies to design clearly defined programs. These programs should prioritize active participation from community members in both the creation and implementation of tailored initiatives.

Hezbollah's Military Setback: From Strategic Strength To Political Dilemma—A Comprehensive Analysis, Habib Albadawi

The Journal of Social Encounters

This study examines the unprecedented military transformation of Hezbollah from 2024 to 2025, analyzing how technological superiority and strategic constraints have fundamentally altered the effectiveness of irregular warfare organizations. Through extensive analysis of organizational adaptation, technological disruption, and external dependencies, this research investigates the paradox of how advanced military capabilities, when constrained by external dependencies, can become operational liabilities rather than strategic assets. The study employs multiple theoretical frameworks to understand this transformation and its implications for future irregular warfare.

Dalit Poetry On The Eve Of Indian Independence: Gurram Jashuva And The Quest For Critical Consciousness And Collective Remembering, Chris Conway

The Journal of Social Encounters

The Dalit Literary movement irrupted on the scene in the early 1970s in the state of Maharashtra, India. Unblinking in its criticism of casteism and unnerving in its depiction of Dalit oppression, the movement sought to concretize the political aims of B.R. Ambedkar (1891-1956) through cultivating a critical Dalit consciousness liberated from caste identity and history. The movement enjoyed success in uniting Dalit groups across the country under this new name. However, fifty years later a new generation of Dalit and Dalit-supporting thinkers have begun to critically examine the implications of Dalit identity focusing particularly on its rootedness in suffering …

Associations Among Trauma Exposures, Workplace Factors, And Distress Responses In Archivists, Cheryl Regehr, Wendy Duff, Rachael Lefebvre

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

A growing body of research addresses the emotional impact on archivists from working directly with materials that contain depictions of human suffering and from working with researchers and donors whose own lives are depicted in the records. This study sought to determine the impact of exposures to potentially traumatizing events and ongoing work stressors on symptoms of post-traumatic stress and burnout in archivists, as well as whether organizational factors, including trauma-informed practices, are associated with levels of post-traumatic stress and burnout. Seventy-seven archivists participated in a web-based survey. Findings reveal moderate to strong associations between a variety of potentially distressing …

Community Defining Archives: A Comparative View Of Community Archives Definitions, Britney Bibeault

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

Defining community archives has been described as difficult in academic literature because of the wide range of activities the organizations do and who they represent, leading to a lack of an agreed-upon definition in the field. Until now, a comparison between how community archivists describe themselves and academic definitions of community archiving has not been undertaken. This paper explores the definitions of community archives given by practitioners in their digital community archives and compares them with academic literature. Using both qualitative thematic coding and quantitative word frequency counts, this study found Flinn (2007) and Flinn et al. (2009) definitions are …