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News Media Coverage And Framing Of Human Trafficking In The United States, Chloe Junkerman
News Media Coverage And Framing Of Human Trafficking In The United States, Chloe Junkerman
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This study examines what makes mainstream news media representations of human trafficking cases newsworthy, and how news media choose to frame sensationalized human trafficking stories. While there have been several notable studies examining news media framing of human trafficking as a social issue more generally, prior research has yet to empirically investigate how the news media cover specific human trafficking cases, thus overlooking what types of attributes make cases newsworthy. This is an important gap in research as the types of cases that get covered, or ignored, by news media, and how stories frame various aspects of these crimes, informs …
Mental Health Calls For Service During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Examining The Geographic Distribution And Correlates Of Service Requests In Little Rock, Arkansas, Mckayla Bishop
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
In response to the Covid-19 global crisis, the United States implemented social interaction restrictions to curb the infection rate amongst citizens, affecting residents' mental health by adding strain from daily routine change. This study examines how mental health has changed during the pandemic by focusing on geospatial differences of volume and concentration within 311 calls in Little Rock, Arkansas in 2018 and 2020. Our data comes from the City of Little Rock’s open database to construct geospatial maps (n= 155 block groups), along with Census survey data logistic regression models to show differences in community characteristics. Overall, mental health worsened …
Understanding The Livelihood Diversification Of Arkansas Women Involved In Agricultural Production, Oluwatoyin Elizabeth Abati
Understanding The Livelihood Diversification Of Arkansas Women Involved In Agricultural Production, Oluwatoyin Elizabeth Abati
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Agriculture as a livelihood activity entails significant risks and uncertainties, which expose agricultural households to a low standard of living, poverty, and a lowering of their food security status. Women's responsibilities in agriculture are expanding and becoming more critical, and farm women are now broadening their duties to include roles off-farm. More research is needed in Arkansas about agricultural women's roles, challenges, and essential job characteristics. Using a quantitative survey, this research aimed to provide a resource on how women involved in agricultural production diversify their livelihoods. Participants were asked to describe their livelihood diversification by identifying their activities on …
The Riddle Of Religious Language, Luke Hillman
The Riddle Of Religious Language, Luke Hillman
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The following project analyzes religious life through the lens of religious language. Motivated by ideas of Wittgenstein and Wittgensteinians, religious language is shown to be nonsensical, and yet significant. Wittgenstein connects how we understand language with how we understand life, and this connection extends to religious life. This project offers an answer to how religious language is unique by comparing religious language to riddles and the process of answering riddles. In addition, religious language becomes understandable with imagination, a relationship with the transcendent, and an understanding of the kinds of language present in religious discourse. These ideas are solidified with …
More Than A Monolith: Three Essays On The Diverse Journey Of Immigrant Students And Their Postsecondary Outcomes, Rian Rinaldi Djita
More Than A Monolith: Three Essays On The Diverse Journey Of Immigrant Students And Their Postsecondary Outcomes, Rian Rinaldi Djita
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
For many years, the United States (U.S.) has been the country with the largest number of immigrants. As a result, policy about immigrant students’ success becomes crucial since it carries not only ethical implications but also economic and societal implications. While there have been other alternatives for students’ success, such as Career and Technical Education (CTE), undeniably, college is still seen as a common pathway to success (e.g., Choi, 2015; Heckman et al., 2018; Turner, 2004). Unfortunately, there are several gaps in the literature on immigrant students’ success and postsecondary outcomes. First, while there is an increasing number of immigrants …
News Framing Of The Ukrainian-Russian War: A Comparative Analysis Of Russian And American News Media, Alina Y. Rudakova
News Framing Of The Ukrainian-Russian War: A Comparative Analysis Of Russian And American News Media, Alina Y. Rudakova
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This study was conducted with the goal of exploring ways in which American (The New York Times) and Russian (TASS) print news media frame the Ukrainian-Russian War. Along with examining the differences and similarities in primary framing techniques used by American and Russian news, the focal point of this study was to identify who is portrayed as an aggressor and who is illustrated as a victim in this conflict. Informed by the news media framing literature and construction of the social problems perspective, this study was led by two research questions: (1) How do the American and Russian news media …
Exploring The Effects Of Mindful Nature Walks On College Student Anxiety, Grace Young
Exploring The Effects Of Mindful Nature Walks On College Student Anxiety, Grace Young
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Individuals pursuing a degree in higher education face challenges that lead to greater levels of anxiety than that of the general U.S. adult population. This disparity, further heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic, presents a need for higher education institutions to search for ways to address this spike in student anxiety and other mental health concerns. This mixed-methods study explored mindful nature walks as a low-cost and easily accessible way for college students to reduce levels of experienced anxiety. Using validated quantitative measures, this study examined the impact of three weekly, consecutive 30-minute mindful nature walks on state and general anxiety …
Risk, Protection And Mental Health Among Incarcerated People, Cecilie Froulund Jensen
Risk, Protection And Mental Health Among Incarcerated People, Cecilie Froulund Jensen
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Approximately 40 percent of incarcerated adults experience some history of mental illness, whereas prevalence in the general population is less than 20 percent (Criss & John, 2023). The Survey of Prison Inmates (SPI) is a self-reported survey, examining numerous aspects of prisoners’ life. It has been used to quantify the prevalence of both physical and mental health problems, however, little or no examination regarding the underlying health determinants has been done. The current study assessed state prisoners in the United States and examined both risk and protective factors (historical and current) and their relationships to mental health. The results showed …
The Kids Aren’T Alright: Examining The Spatial Concentration Of Drug Crime Near Schools In Little Rock, Arkansas, Jason Neeley
The Kids Aren’T Alright: Examining The Spatial Concentration Of Drug Crime Near Schools In Little Rock, Arkansas, Jason Neeley
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
In the last two decades, violence and death stemming from drug activity has become a concern to communities across the country. Increasingly, policymakers and law enforcement agencies have sought to understand where drug activity is located, including in and around schools, and why some places are more susceptible to drug problems than others. The current study explores two related questions: (1) How do drug crimes spatially pattern around schools? and, in turn, (2) What are the neighborhood-level predictors of the concentration of drug crime? Focusing on Little Rock, Arkansas, I examine the spatial distribution of drug offenses and overdoses within …
Exploring The Governmental Intervention, Journalistic Approach, And Theories Involved In Reducing Poverty Journalistic For A Special Project – Feature Story On Non-Profit Organization Called Circles In Northwest Arkansas, Trevor Wilson Spencer
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Over the 60 years since President Johnson declared the War on Poverty, with close to 40 million people currently in poverty nationwide as of 2022, government measures of the issue, like the Federal Poverty Level and Supplementary Poverty Measure, have continued to be significant determiners for who is constituted as poor. Yet, framing of the poor by sociologists has shifted to a more multi-dimensional approach to who constitutes as poor and how to help them. This means that the definition of poverty is beginning to include a larger set of deprivation unaccounted for in a nation where the definition of …
Working Alongside People With Disabilities: Their Impact And Value, Alice A. Jensen
Working Alongside People With Disabilities: Their Impact And Value, Alice A. Jensen
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
U.S. policies such as the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 and the Americans with Disabilities Act support the inclusion of adults with disabilities in all areas of employment. Through WIOA, the federal government required public entities to provide training and help job seekers with disabilities access high-quality, competitive, integrated employment in the labor market. Nevertheless, two-thirds of unemployed PWDs report wanting employment but cannot find a job. Negative perceptions held by employers and hiring managers and their views that PWDs lack abilities create barriers to employment. In contrast, research has also shown that coworkers can greatly influence successful …
Examining The Direct And Mediating Relationship Between Immigration, Family Structure, And Crime: A Community-Level Analysis., Obed Asare
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
ABSTRACT Amidst debate about immigration into the United States, many in the public and varying levels of government have questioned its impact on vital social institutions of social control. Public perception often associates immigrants with increased crime, though empirical research reveals a consistently null or negative association at the community-level. Scholars have proposed that immigrants contribute to community revitalization and foster social control, at least some of which may be tied to the ways that immigration reshapes aggregate family structures across the community. However, few empirical studies examine this important relationship. The current study aims to bridge this gap in …
A Comparative Examination Of Background Attributes, Criminogenic Factors, Status Changes, And Preparatory Activities Across Ideological And Non-Ideological Mass Shootings, Brynn Schuetter
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The overall focus of this study is the relevance of extreme ideology as a distinguishing factor underlying the motivational circumstances of mass shootings in the United States over the last few decades. Along with comparatively examining the lethality of mass shootings, background attributes, criminogenic factors, status changes, and preparatory activities are compared across ideological and non-ideological mass shooters. Data are extracted from the Extremist Crime Database (ECDB), the Bias Homicide Database (BHDB), and Schildkraut’s Database on Mass Shootings. Results highlight key differences in offenders’ experiences of personal status changes and engagement in preparatory activities prior to committing mass shootings. These …
Examining The Impact Of Parental Punishment And School Punishment On Delinquency And Criminal Justice Contact, Mia C. Robert
Examining The Impact Of Parental Punishment And School Punishment On Delinquency And Criminal Justice Contact, Mia C. Robert
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Prior research states the important role that both parents and schools play in setting children up for success. However, few researchers have studied how parents and schools work in tandem to achieve these outcomes. The current study aims to fill this gap by understanding the relationship between parental harshness and exclusionary discipline at age 9, specifically suspension, and how it affects delinquency and later criminal justice contact at age 15. Using longitudinal data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), this study aimed to answer the following two research questions: 1) Does increased parental harshness and harsh …
Exploring The Intersection Of Masculinity, Mental Health, And Mass Shootings, Kaitlyn Campbell
Exploring The Intersection Of Masculinity, Mental Health, And Mass Shootings, Kaitlyn Campbell
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Few studies have explored how intersecting challenges to masculinity and mental health can precipitate mass shootings. This study examines how responses to strained masculinity and mental health disorders combine across varying situational and social contexts to explain why and how offenders commit mass shootings. Data come from the U.S. Extremist Crime Database, Bias Homicide Database, and other open-source data on mass shootings. Drawing from Allison and Klein’s (2021) concept of “strained masculinity”, this study utilizes a qualitative narrative approach to uncover themes of strained masculinity and mental health issues among perpetrators of mass shootings. Different storylines emerge capturing ways some …
Navigating The Black Nuances: Analyzing And Understanding The Intersectional Perspectives Of Black Transgender Arkansans Utilizing Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs, Kayla Alford
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This thesis evaluates the current needs of the Black Transgender community in Northwest and Central Arkansas. The participants of this study were asked 40 questions based on each tier of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The participants of the study were three Transgender men, two Transgender women, and three non-binary individuals. Eight semi-structured interviews were completed utilizing narrative theory to expound on the personal experiences and duality of being Black and Transgender through a personal lens. The findings of this study were categorized into eight themes, which were basic needs, safety, love and belonging, esteem, self-realization, essence of being Transgender, lack …
Systemic Effect Of Organizational Capitals On Parent Commitment In Youth Soccer, Paul Kimbrough
Systemic Effect Of Organizational Capitals On Parent Commitment In Youth Soccer, Paul Kimbrough
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This study evaluates how soccer parents perceive the offerings of the soccer team on which their child plays. The study uses the systems perspective of Flora & Flora’s Community Capitals Framework to analyze family commitment to the team. The study subjects were parents of soccer players ages 12 and older who play for teams and participate in competitive travel soccer teams. Parents are classified based on their geographic location and team level. Questionnaires were administered at a series of travel soccer tournaments in March 2024. Data were analyzed using binary logistic regression analysis. Parents were found to value the total …
Understanding Young Adult Consumers’ Attitudes And Intentions Towards Showrooming Behavior, Juliana Catherine Marconi
Understanding Young Adult Consumers’ Attitudes And Intentions Towards Showrooming Behavior, Juliana Catherine Marconi
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
With the rapid advancement in information technologies, retailers integrate omnichannel marketing strategies to provide consumers with low prices, good products, and unique shopping experiences. Omnichannel retailing brings changes to consumer decision-making processes. Consumers use all channels (online and offline) simultaneously at the same time during the product search, purchase, and aftersales stages. Some consumers prefer to check out a product in a brick-and-mortar store, but purchase it online. This is referred to as showrooming. Since the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the use of mobile devices and smartphones in shopping, consumers search e-commerce sites using mobile devices while they shop in …
Her Story Told Her Way: A Narrative Inquiry Into Black Women’S Perception Of The Strong Black Woman., Chulyndria Chanee Laye
Her Story Told Her Way: A Narrative Inquiry Into Black Women’S Perception Of The Strong Black Woman., Chulyndria Chanee Laye
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The narrative surrounding the meaning of being a Black woman has historically been dominated by stereotypes such as the mammy, jezebel, sapphire, and angry Black woman. Black women have attempted to control their own narrative through the internalization of these stereotypes, leading to the creation of the Strong Black Woman (SBW) construct. While the SBW is comprised of a sense of caretaker, independence, and emotional restraint, Black women’s attempts at embodying this construct in the face of societal oppression and familial responsibilities can and often does have negative effects on their mental health. Although the behaviors associated with the SBW …
Differences In Due Process During Post-Conviction: Examining Jurisdictional Influence On Exoneration, Kimberly Hawkins
Differences In Due Process During Post-Conviction: Examining Jurisdictional Influence On Exoneration, Kimberly Hawkins
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Research on wrongful conviction has found several factors associated with an erroneous conviction. As of yet, research has not delved into the jurisdictional effects on exoneration. Using the American State’s use of the death penalty for a proxy of punitiveness, this study will examine if there is a relationship between use of capital punishment and exoneration rates. The National Registry of Exonerations is the most comprehensive collection of exonerations to date and this secondary data source will be analyzed using logistic regression models to examine differences across policy environments. Result show that non-death penalty states have a much higher exoneration …
Holocaust Education In Arkansas: An Exploration Of Policy Process And Implementation, Toby Lauren Wagner Klein
Holocaust Education In Arkansas: An Exploration Of Policy Process And Implementation, Toby Lauren Wagner Klein
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The Holocaust was the attempted extermination of the Jewish people--a fact previously considered to be common knowledge. However, recent national surveys find that Arkansas students have the lowest levels of knowledge of the Holocaust in the United States. A recent law mandated the teaching of the Holocaust for 5-12th grade public school students in Arkansas, however, little is known about the policy process and implementation of such a mandate. Given the magnitude of the gaps in the literature on this topic, this dissertation uses a three article format to address specific gaps and make specific contributions to the literature by …
Hedda Is All Of Us. On Directing Henrik Ibsen’S Hedda Gabler, Laura Catherine Post
Hedda Is All Of Us. On Directing Henrik Ibsen’S Hedda Gabler, Laura Catherine Post
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This paper aims to document the process of directing Henrik Ibsen’s 1890 play Hedda Gabler at the University of Arkansas in February 2023. The chapters include the script selection process, translation selection process, casting, text analysis, research, design process, rehearsal process, and production evaluation.
Lgbtqia+ People And Religious Trauma, Cira Abiseid
Lgbtqia+ People And Religious Trauma, Cira Abiseid
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (or questioning), intersex, and asexual people (LGBTQIA+) experience religious trauma caused by the harmful messaging often aimed at sexual and gender minorities. Identity dissonance can be created when LGBTQIA+ people find their religious and sexual or gender minority identities at odds with each other. A review of existing literature revealed themes of identity erasure, internalized homophobia, and resilience, but there was limited research involving this population. This qualitative study centers the voices of those who have experienced religious trauma based on their identities and works to understand their healing journeys. Fifteen LGBTQIA+ individuals participated …
Portal, M'Shinda Abdullah Broaddus
Portal, M'Shinda Abdullah Broaddus
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Portal is a series of large-scale multimedia collages that work to show the intersections between three very different and Tim-specific imagery. The imagery utilized, and the intersections highlighted aim to acknowledge a deep cultural history of how black men have been stripped of their personhood in visual media, and how that history has negatively impacted/impacts the way that black men are able to exist in reality.
The Role Of Multiracial Identity On Chronic Health Conditions In The U. S.: Evidence From The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, Anna Ruth Jinlong Wahls
The Role Of Multiracial Identity On Chronic Health Conditions In The U. S.: Evidence From The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, Anna Ruth Jinlong Wahls
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Abstract Racial identity as it informs health disparities has largely been examined using monoracial groups and a binary framework. This study, informed by critical race theory and stress process theory, investigates the relationship between multiracial identity and health. Data from the 2021 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, a national telephone survey that collects health data on adult aged respondents, will be analyzed using a set of regression techniques. Specifically, the number of chronic health conditions reported by those identifying with more than one race will be compared to the number of conditions reported by monoracial individuals.
A Podcast - Inspirando El Futuro: Stories About Latina Leaders In Northwest Arkansas, Wendy Echeverria
A Podcast - Inspirando El Futuro: Stories About Latina Leaders In Northwest Arkansas, Wendy Echeverria
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This project aims to showcase the Latina leaders in Northwest Arkansas and empower other Latinas to dream and achieve more. With the Latin American and Hispanic communities growing rapidly, it’s essential to highlight research and changes being done in local communities. The project is a five-episode podcast. Each episode features a Latina leader and experts, and it takes a deep dive into who Latinas are, their challenges, successes, and so much more.
Forging Community In The Ouachita Foothills Of Southwest Arkansas: Duckett Township, Homesteading, Distilling And Race, Lisa C. Childs
Forging Community In The Ouachita Foothills Of Southwest Arkansas: Duckett Township, Homesteading, Distilling And Race, Lisa C. Childs
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Community was key to successful subsistence agriculture in Arkansas, especially in the Ouachita foothills in southwest Arkansas (including Polk, Howard, Montgomery, Pike, Garland Counties) and Oklahoma (McCurtain, Pittsburgh, LeFlore Counties) until the 1940s. Nearly a quarter of Arkansas’s land remained in the federal government’s name twenty years after statehood, and even more of the land in the western Ouachita foothills. Much remains unknown about how farming communities were formed in this area from the end of the Civil War until approximately World War II. As seen in the Duckett community in northern Howard County, while family connections were important to …
A Quantitative Examination Of The Influence Of Social And Structural Communication Variables On The Social Connectedness Of People Experiencing Homelessness, Shawn Michael Evans
A Quantitative Examination Of The Influence Of Social And Structural Communication Variables On The Social Connectedness Of People Experiencing Homelessness, Shawn Michael Evans
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This thesis examined the influence of social and structural communication variables on the perceived social connectedness of people experiencing homelessness in the Northwest Arkansas (NWA) and Joplin, Missouri areas. This study employed the ecological perspective of communication infrastructure theory (CIT; Ball-Rokeach et al., 2001) and a communication perspective which envisions communicative interaction as constitutive of social experience. Using survey data from 166 participants, this study examined 11 research questions and hypotheses drawn from extant literature on homelessness, social connectedness, and CIT. ANOVAs, t-tests, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed a complex relationship between individuals and the communicative environment. This study …
Multivariate Fairness For Paper Selection, Reem Alsaffar
Multivariate Fairness For Paper Selection, Reem Alsaffar
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Peer review is the process by which publishers select the best publications for inclusion in a journal or a conference. Bias in the peer review process can impact which papers are selected for inclusion in conferences and journals. Although often implicit, race, gender and other demographics can prevent members of underrepresented groups from presenting at major conferences. To try to avoid bias, many conferences use a double-blind review process to increase fairness during reviewing. However, recent studies argue that the bias has not been removed completely. Our research focuses on developing fair algorithms that correct for these biases and select …
Exploring Leadership In An Extreme Environment: A Haiti Farm Project, Tami Strickland
Exploring Leadership In An Extreme Environment: A Haiti Farm Project, Tami Strickland
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This qualitative case study examined the impact Situational Leadership Theory II® has on followers in a small community in Haiti. Many studies have examined Situational Leadership Theory II® in corporate environments, but not in the low-income context of Haiti. The study focused on how the leadership characteristics and adaptability levels of an expatriate influenced the construction and the ongoing management of a Haiti egg farm project, which is timely based on the volatility currently in the country prior to and after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. Using various data gathering instruments, the study explored the expatriate’s leadership …