Digital Commons Network^™

“It’S A Choice, Simple As That”: Youth Reasoning For Sexual Abstinence Or Activity, Rochelle L. Dalla

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

This investigation was designed to fill gaps in the extant literature by examining reasons give by youth for refraining from or engaging in sexual intercourse, in addition to their perceptions regarding the advantages and disadvantages of premarital intercourse. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 103 graduating seniors; 60 self-identified as sexually abstinent and 43 as sexually active. Survey indices were used to assess parent-youth relationships, and parent and peer attitudes toward premarital sex, religiosity, and dating patterns; open-ended questions were used to assess reasons for either engaging in or refraining from sexual intercourse, and to identify benefits and problems …

Filastrocca Preschool In Pistoia, Italy: Promoting Early Literacy Through Books And The Imagination: A Conversation With Alga Giacomelli (Library Teacher),, Carolyn P. Edwards, Lella Gandini

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

This manuscript is composed as if a ‘conversation,’ to let readers hear the different perspectives of the speakers. The chief source is the lecture prepared by Alga Giacomelli to accompany her presentation, The Space of Identity, 2005 Secondary sources are direct quotes from school documents and interviews (with approval and review of system administrators). The authors wish to acknowledge the children, families, and teachers of Filastrocca Preschool as the co-creators of this book. Special thanks to the Burchietti family who allowed the video team of Bambini: Early Care and Education in Pistoia, Italy, a Child-Friendly City (Video, 2003) to come …

Parent Engagement And School Readiness: Parent-Child Relationships In Early Learning, Carolyn P. Edwards, Susan M. Sheridan Dr., Lisa Knoche

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

Parental behavior during a child’s first five years of life is critical for the development of important social and cognitive outcomes in children that set the stage for life-long adaptation and functioning. This chapter will review some of the key findings about the importance of parent-child relationships in early learning. Three dimensions of parent behavior will be described as “parental engagement”: (a) warmth and sensitivity, (b) support for a child’s emerging autonomy, and (c) active participation in learning. Cross-cultural variations in which the styles of these behaviors are expressed will also be considered.

Global Climate Change: Opinions And Perceptions Of Rural Nebraskans, Rebecca J. Vogt, Randolph L. Cantrell, Miguel A. Carranza, Bruce B. Johnson, David J. Peters

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

It is predicted that the earth’s climate will change because of the buildup of greenhouse gases. However, the exact effect of these gases on the climate is difficult to predict. Given these conditions, what do rural Nebraskans think about global climate change? Do they think global climate change will impact them? What are their opinions about the causes and effects of global climate change? This paper provides a detailed analysis of these questions.

This report details 2,496 responses to the 2008 Nebraska Rural Poll, the thirteenth annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans’ perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of questions …

Diagnostic Prevalence Rates From Early To Mid Adolescence Among Indigenous Adolescents: First Results From A Longitudinal Study, Les B. Whitbeck, Mansoo Yu, Kurt Johnson, Dan R. Hoyt, Melissa L. Walls

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objective: To investigate change in prevalence rates for mental and substance abuse disorders between early and mid-adolescence among a cohort of indigenous adolescents.

Method: The data are from a lagged, sequential study of 651 indigenous adolescents from a single culture in the northern Midwest United States and Canada. At waves 1 (ages 10-12 years) and 4 (ages 13-15 years), one adult caretaker and one tribally enrolled adolescent completed a computer-assisted personal interview that included Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children- Revised assessment for 11 diagnoses. Multivariate analyses investigate effects of wave 1 adolescent diagnosis and wave 1 biological mother diagnosis (University …

Statistical Comparison Of Residential Soil Concentrations Of Pcdds, Pcdfs, And Pcbs From Two Communities In Michigan, Avery Demond, P. Adriaens, T. Towey, S.-C. Chang, B. Hong, Q. Chen, C.-W. Chang, A. J. Franzblau, D. Garabrant, B. Gillespie, E. Hedgeman, K. Knutson, C. Y. Lee, J. Lepkowski, Kristen M. Olson, B. Ward, L. Zwica, W. Luksemburg, M Maier

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The University of Michigan dioxin exposure study was undertaken to address concerns that the industrial discharge of dioxin-like compounds in the Midland, MI area had resulted in contamination of soils in the Tittabawassee River floodplain and downwind of the incinerator. The study was designed in a rigorously statistical manner comprising soil measurements of 29 polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from 766 residential properties, selected probabilistically, in the Midland area and in Jackson and Calhoun Counties (Michigan) as a background comparison. A statistical comparison determined that the geometric mean toxic equivalent (TEQ) levels in samples from …

Does The Corn/Soybean Farmer Have Time For Alternative Crops? [Abstract], Lori A. Hoagland, Laurie Hodges, Glenn A. Helmers, James R. Brandle, Charles A. Francis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Diversification of traditional row-crop farming in the Corn Belt is seen as advantageous in providing a wider economic base, decreasing economic risk associated with the link between commodity grain and cattle, increasing net farm income, and increasing biodiversity in the region. As farm size has increased to provide sufficient farm income, farm operations during the critical planting and harvesting windows are seen as limits to additional on-farm enterprises.

Energy Use And Concerns Of Rural Nebraskans, Rebecca J. Vogt, Randolph L. Cantrell, Miguel A. Carranza, Bruce Johnson, David J. Peters

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

Energy prices have steadily increased during the past year. Rural residents are now faced with higher costs to drive and heat and cool their homes. Given these conditions, how much of a problem have rising energy costs been for rural Nebraskans? What are their opinions on future energy sources? What changes have they made or do they plan to make due to the price increases? This paper provides a detailed analysis of these questions.

This report details 2,496 responses to the 2008 Nebraska Rural Poll, the thirteenth annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans’ perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of …

The Importance Of Motherhood Among Women In The Contemporary United States, Julia Mcquillan, Arthur L. Greil, Karina M. Scheffler, Veronica Tichenor

Bureau of Sociological Research: Faculty Publications

We contribute to feminist and gender scholarship on cultural notions of motherhood by analyzing the importance of motherhood among mothers and non-mothers. Using a national probability sample (N = 2,519) of U.S. women ages 25-45, we find a continuous distribution of scores measuring perceptions of the importance of motherhood among both groups. Employing OLS multiple regression, we examine why some women place more importance on motherhood, focusing on interests that could compete with valuing motherhood (e.g., education, work success, leisure), and controlling for characteristics associated with becoming a mother. Contrary to cultural schemas that view mother and worker identities as …

Social Network Characteristics And Risky Sexual And Drug Related Behaviors Among Homeless Young Adults, Kimberly A. Tyler

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although research finds high rates of risky sexual and drug related behavior among homeless young people, little research had examined how the characteristics of their social networks encourage or constrain risky behaviors. Based on a sample of 145 homeless young adults in the Midwestern United States, results revealed that having used alcohol with at least one of their network members and the presence of more conflict was associated with engaging in a greater number of sexual risk taking behaviors. Correlates of engaging in a greater number of substance use related behaviors included having older peers within the network, having used …

Trafficking In Persons Report, June 2008, Us 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 traffi cking in persons. This Report is the eighth annual TIP Report. It is intended to raise global awareness, to highlight efforts of the international community, and to encourage foreign governments to take effective actions to counter all forms of traffi cking in persons.

Contents
Introduction 4-37 The 2008 Trafficking in Persons Report 5-18
Purpose 5
Human Trafficking Defined 6
The Scope and Nature of Modern-Day Slavery 7
Focus of the 2008 TIP …

Exploiting A Research Underclass In Phase 1 Clinical Trials, Carl Elliott, Roberto Abadie

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

In November 1996, the Wall Street Journal reported that Eli Lilly was paying homeless alcoholics from a local shelter to participate in safety testing of new drugs at its trial site in Indianapolis.1 “These individuals want to help society,” asserted Lilly’s director of clinical pharmacology. The subjects, however, said they took part for easy money and free room and board. Although Lilly reportedly offered the lowest per diem in the business, it managed to attract poor subjects from all over the country.1 The medical director of the local Homeless Initiative Program said Lilly had created a “shadow economy” of paid …

A Longitudinal Study Of Early Adolescent Precursors To Running Away, Kimberly A. Tyler, Bianca Bersani

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although previous research has examined correlates of running away among samples of currently homeless and runaway adolescents, little is known about what factors will predict the likelihood that a housed adolescent with no prior history of running away will leave home. As such, the current study uses the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine predictors of running away among a diverse sample of housed adolescents ages 12 through 13. Results indicate that socioeconomic status, being African American or Hispanic, and monitoring were significantly predictive of a decrease in the mean rate of running away in midadolescence. In contrast, being …

Analyzing Service Barriers For Trafficked Persons In The Context Of The U.S. Refugee Program: Strategies To Improve Service Delivery And Program Management, Hoa Duong, Tanya Ghani, Myra Valenzuela

Human Trafficking: Data and Documents

Research Question: The goal of this research study is to examine the specific barriers and needs of refugees and trafficked persons in the context of federal benefits and programs. The study asks the following questions:
• Are there differences in the needs of refugees and trafficked persons?
• What services exist for both groups and are there gaps in service delivery?
• How can program management within ATIP help improve service delivery?

Findings: The research study’s main findings indicate that although refugees and trafficked persons are similar in many ways, the latter have unique ongoing needs that require a more …

An Affordable, Pratical Eco-House, Dave Fitzpatrick

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

An eco-house or zero-energy house is not a new concept- houses with extremely low impact on their surroundings and good use of local resources have been around for centuries. This particular eco-house is designed to offer full modern services and comforts while consuming very low energy and few expensive building materials. Ideally, someone would be able to use this thesis as a blueprint for actual construction.

Branding Your Community, Milan Wall

Heartland Center for Leadership Development Materials

Connections: Using a Brand Creation Approach to Community Identity

Origins of the Branding Concept

Even far back in the middle ages when artists and artisans began to form guilds or associations together, many hallmarks or identifying symbols were used as a signatures by artisans to lay claim to the result of his or her work. Another important, and American reference, comes from the days before fences divided up the frontier and cattle owners found a way to mark and identify their own cattle by branding them with a personalized symbol. Even today, many purebred horses are carefully inspected and only …

Branding Your Community, Milan Wall

Heartland Center for Leadership Development Materials

Branding Your Community

Table of Contents:

Connections: Using a Brand Creation Approach to Community Identity

Case Study: Superior, Nebraska

Mapping Community Assets: An Overview

SOAR Analysis

About Appreciative Inquiry

The Marketing Process: Attention, Attraction and Action

Marketing Your Community

Back Home Ideas

Tips for Creating Community Brands

Workshop Evaluation

Parental Divorce, Marital Conflict And Children’S Behavior Problems: A Comparison Of Adopted And Biological Children, Paul R. Amato, Jacob Cheadle

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

We used adopted and biological children from Waves 1 and 2 of the National Survey of Families and Households to study the links between parents’ marital conflict, divorce and children’s behavior problems. The standard family environment model assumes that marital conflict and divorce increase the risk of children’s behavior problems. The passive genetic model assumes that parents’ and children’s behavior are linked because of genetic transmission from parents to children. The child effects model assumes that parents’ marital distress is the result of (rather than the cause of) children’s behavior. Our analysis shows that the associations between parents’ divorce and …

Review Of When Sex Became Gender, By Shira Tarrant., Mary Jo Deegan

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Shira Tarrant’s book, When Sex Became Gender, analyzes the intellectual work of five women between the first and second waves of feminism (i.e., between 1920 and 1965). Tarrant specifically “confronts the bonds of ideology” surrounding feminist theory that were created in the cold war years in the United States, Britain, and France. She does so in an in-depth examination of five women who wrote about women’s social location: Margaret Mead, the anthropologist who studied sex roles and socialization; Mirra Komarovsky, the functionalist sociologist who interrogated sex roles, paid labor, and marriage; Viola Klein, the sociologist and sociology of knowledge theorist …

A Dimensional Model Of Psychopathology Among Homeless Adolescents: Suicidality, Internalizing, And Externalizing Disorders, Kevin A. Yoder, Susan L. Longley, Les B. Whitbeck, Dan R. Hoyt

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The present study examined associations among dimensions of suicidality and psychopathology in a sample of 428 homeless adolescents (56.3% female). Confirmatory factor analysis results provided support for a three-factor model in which suicidality (measured with lifetime suicidal ideation and suicide attempts), internalizing disorders (assessed with lifetime diagnoses of major depressive episode and post-traumatic stress disorder), and externalizing disorders (indicated by lifetime diagnoses of conduct disorder, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse) were positively intercorrelated. The findings illustrate the utility of a dimensional approach that integrates suicidality and psychopathology into one model.

Attorney General’S Annual Report To Congress And Assessment Of The U.S. Government Activities To Combat Trafficking In Persons Fiscal Year 2007, U.S Department Of Justice

Human Trafficking: Data and Documents

Trafficking in persons (TIP), or human trafficking, is a regrettably widespread form of modern-day slavery. Traffickers often prey on individuals, predominantly women and children in certain countries, who are poor, frequently unemployed or underemployed, and who may lack access to social safety nets. Victims are often lured with false promises of good jobs and better lives, and then forced to work under brutal and inhuman conditions. It is difficult to accurately estimate the extent of victimization in this crime whose perpetrators go to great lengths to keep it hidden. Nonetheless, the United States has led the world in the fight …

From Nuevo León To The Usa And Back Again: Transnational Students In Mexico, Edmund T. Hamann, Víctor A. Zúñiga, Juan Sánchez Garcia

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

The movement of Mexicans to the United States is both longstanding and long studied and from that study we know that for many newcomers the attachment to the receiving community is fraught and tentative. The experience of immigrant children in U.S. schools is also relatively well studied and reveals challenges of intercultural communication as well as concurrent and contradictory features of welcome and unwelcome. What is less well known, in the study of migration generally and of transnational students in particular, is how students moving in a less common direction — from the U.S. to Mexico — experience that movement. …

Alumnos Transnacionales: Las Escuelas Mexicanas Frente A La Globalización, Víctor Zúñiga, Edmund T. Hamann, Juan Sánchez García

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Counter to the expectations that Mexico-U.S. migration is one-way, adult, and from Mexico to the United States, this Spanish-language book includes nine chapters describing various facets of the lives and educational circumstances of students encountered in Mexican schools who have previously attended U.S. schools. Data were derived from written questionnaires from a sample of more than 24,000 students in the Mexican states of Zacatecas and Nuevo León, of whom 632 had U.S. school experience and/or a U.S. birthplace and thereby American citizenship, and from more than 125 interviews with transnational students and their teachers. This study variously considers transnational students' …

Prosocial Behaviors In Context: Examining The Role Of Children’S Social Companions, Maria Rosario De Guzman, Gustavo Carlo, Carolyn P. Edwards

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

This study examines the role of immediate social companions in the prosocial behaviors of children from two cultural communities from the USA and the Philippines. Materials for this study comprised behavioral observations drawn from the Six Cultures Study—with 612 five-minute observations of 23 children (12 girls, 11 boys) from Orchard Town, MA, and 570 observations of 24 children (12 girls, 12 boys) from Tarong, Philippines, ranging in age from 3 to 11 years. Data were coded for instances of prosocial behaviors, as well as characteristics of social companions (age and relationship to actor). Results revealed several interesting findings. First, frequency …

Cultural Considerations In Adolescent Suicide Prevention And Psychosocial Treatment, David B. Goldston, Sherry Davis Molock, Les B. Whitbeck, Jessica L. Murakami, Luis H. Zayas, Gordon C. Nagayama Hall

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Ethnic groups differ in rates of suicidal behaviors among youths, the context within which suicidal behavior occurs (e.g., different precipitants, vulnerability and protective factors, and reactions to suicidal behaviors), and patterns of help-seeking. In this article, the authors discuss the cultural context of suicidal behavior among African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Latino adolescents, and the implications of these contexts for suicide prevention and treatment. Several cross-cutting issues are discussed, including acculturative stress and protective factors within cultures; the roles of religion and spirituality and the family in culturally sensitive interventions; different manifestations …

Poor Teenagers’ Religion, Philip Schwadel

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Empirical research has ignored the effects of poverty on adolescent religion even though children are far more likely than adults to live in poverty in the United States. The current research demonstrates considerable differences in the religious activities and religious viewpoints of poor and non-poor American teenagers. Analysis of National Study of Youth and Religion survey data shows that while poor teenagers are especially likely to pray, read religious scriptures, and report high levels of personal faith, they are unlikely to regularly participate in organized religious activities. Other findings include poor teenagers’ emphasis on role reversal in the afterlife, their …

Views Of Community Life In Rural Nebraska, Rebecca J. Vogt, Randolph L. Cantrell, Miguel A. Carranza, Bruce B. Johnson, David J. Peters

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

Most of the smaller communities in rural Nebraska have experienced population decline since 2000 while most of the larger communities have experienced population growth. Given these conditions, how do rural Nebraskans feel about their community? Are they satisfied with the services provided? Are they planning to move from their community next year? How do they view the quality of life in their community? What factors are important in contributing to the quality of life in their community? Do their perceptions differ by community size, the region in which they live, or their occupation? This report details 2,496 responses to the …

Television Signal Changes And Rural Nebraskans, Rebecca Vogt, Randolph Cantrell, Miguel Carranza, Bruce Johnson, David Peters

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

Starting in mid-February 2009, all television stations in the country can only broadcast a digital signal. This change does not affect households that currently receive their television signal from a cable or satellite TV provider, only those that receive their signal over-the-air through an antenna or rabbit ears. The 2008 Nebraska Rural Poll included questions related to television viewing, providing a picture of the effect this change will have on 2,496 randomly selected nonmetropolitan Nebraskans.

Perceptions Of Well-Being And Personal Finances Among Rural Nebraskans, Rebecca J. Vogt, Randolph L. Cantrell, Miguel A. Carranza, Bruce B. Johnson, David J. Peters

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

Nebraska has experienced slow economic growth recently. However, the state has also seen higher farm income this past year. 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? How concerned are rural Nebraskans about their personal finances? This report provides a detailed analysis of these questions.

This report details 2,496 responses to the 2008 Nebraska Rural Poll, the thirteenth annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans’ perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of questions about their individual well-being. Trends for some of these questions are …

Gender Trajectories Of Adolescent Depressed Mood: The Dynamic Role Of Stressors And Resources, Christina D. Falci

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This research examines how gender variation in the trajectory of stressors and resources during high school shapes gender variation in the trajectory of depressed mood. Boys have steeper gains in depressed mood than girls during high school. Adolescents with increasing levels of school or work strain and declining levels of parental support or mastery were more likely to have an increasing trajectory of depressed mood; the effect of chronic work was stronger for boys than girls. Steeper declines in parental support and gains in work strain among boys relative to girls explain boy’s faster rate of increase in depressed mood …