Digital Commons Network^™

Why Am I The Only Black Student? An Examination Of The Expected Level Of Engagement At Indiana Universities For High Achieving African American Students Based On Precollege Factors, Zoretta Ward-Holloway

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to investigate the individual and school level precollege factors, including student engagement levels, associated with high achieving African American graduates of varied high school types to ascertain whether a relationship/pattern emerges that provides a profile and helps to explain the interactions between multiple levels of ecological factors that impact academic success in high school and expected level of engagement in college. The Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) instrument was used to consider self-reporting archival data of high-performing African American students as a means of gathering the voices of students. BCSSE instruments from …

Immigration, Sanctuary Counties, And Crime: A Safety Net For Vulnerable Populations?, Carson Duca

Sociology and Criminology Undergraduate Honors Theses

The literature for the relationship between immigration and crime has been growing in recent decades, but the research on how immigration sanctuary policies are associated with crime is relatively underdeveloped. There is much theory that describes how immigration sanctuary policies could make the police more effective and efficient due to increased correspondence levels, which also has the potential to increase crime reporting rates. The current study advances the extant literature on the relationship between immigration sanctuary policies and crime. To do so, ordinary least squares (OLS) regression techniques are run to analyze how the presence of immigration sanctuary policies along …

The Feminist Cultural Exchange Between Japan And The United States: A Study Of Articles 14 And 24 In The Japanese Constitution, Kiara Adams

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This paper explores the feminist cultural exchange between the United States and Japan, focusing on how this exchange has shaped each country’s respective feminist movement. A central component of the paper is its examination of the histories of women’s rights in both nations, shaped by key historical events such as war, economic crises, and feminist activism, and how these histories have influenced current gender policies. It also explores how cultural narratives, including the creation myths of Japan and the U.S., have defined gender roles and women’s rights in each country. Through historical analysis, the paper examines the reciprocal influence between …

Early Career Teachers' Perceptions And Preparedness For Culturally Responsive Teaching When Teaching Black Youths With Behavior Challenges., Erica Brooks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In my study, I explore the perceptions and preparedness of early career teachers in the context of culturally responsive teaching (CRT) when instructing Black youth with behavior challenges. Early career teachers play a vital role in shaping the educational experiences of their students. Their beliefs and readiness to employ CRT practices are critical factors in addressing the unique needs of Black youth, particularly those facing behavioral difficulties. I investigated the perceptions of early career teachers regarding the importance of CRT and its effect on the learning environment. I examined how these teachers perceive the value of cultural responsiveness in managing …

Foster Care, Substance Use, And Social Determinants Of Health In South Carolina: A Geographic Approach, Patricia Carbajales-Dale

All Dissertations

Foster care is a critical intervention for vulnerable children, with approximately 400,000 children entering the system annually in the United States. Parental substance use, second only to neglect, is now a leading cause of foster care entry. While previous research has explored the relationship between socioeconomic factors and foster care, few studies have incorporated spatial approaches at the neighborhood level to understand how factors such as economic inequality, healthcare disparities, and substance use influence foster care entries. This study addresses that gap by integrating spatial analysis and machine learning techniques to examine the geographic and social dynamics underlying foster care …

Laundry Program Evaluation, Jacen Greene, Sandra Comstock, Marisa Zapata

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

Nearly 4,000 people were reported as experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Multnomah County in 2023 (Theriault, Roots & Okeke, 2023). Studies by the Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative (HRAC) at Portland State University and other researchers have identified an urgent need for free laundry services among people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the Portland region. A lack of access to clean laundry is associated with negative impacts on mental and physical health, as well as environmental impacts from wet or dirty textiles that are discarded rather than being reused.

In an attempt to address these and other issues, the City of Portland …

The War Within: Mexican Drug Cartels And The Impact Of The Drug Trade On Society And Governance, Haris Mohammad

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the origins, activities, and societal impacts of Mexican drug cartels, while assessing the effectiveness of governmental and international responses to their development and influence. This thesis examines the evolution of the cartels, starting with their collaboration with traffickers in Colombia and concluding with their supremacy in the global drug trade. The investigation elucidates the social and political factors that have facilitated their growth. These factors include pervasive corruption, economic disparities, and inadequate governance, all of which have fostered an environment conducive to the emergence of cartels.

This thesis examines the detrimental effects of cartel involvement on Mexican …

The Personality Profile Of Libya’S Muammar Gaddafi, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This research report, prepared for the France 5 television documentary “Le Monde en face: Kadhafi, la folie d’un dictateur,” presents the results of an indirect personality assessment of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi from the conceptual perspective of personologist Theodore Millon.

Patterns Of Activity Participation And The Well-Being Of Older Adults In Singapore, Zidane Tiew, Rachel Ngu, Yi Wen Tan

ROSA Research Briefs

Older adults participate in different types of activities and do so in varying frequencies. In this study, we utilised latent class analysis to identify underlying patterns of activity participation among the SLP respondents. We found three patterns: (i) generally active (i.e., socially, physically, and digitally active), (ii) physically and digitally active, and (iii) digitally active. Furthermore, we found that respondents who were more broadly active were more likely to experience higher levels of life satisfaction than those who were only digitally active. These respondents tended to be from higher socioeconomic backgrounds, report having better health, or had more close social …

Chronic Absenteeism: The Journey Toward Improved Attendance And Achievement In A Rural Elementary School, Charla S. Brant

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This study examined a school’s improvement efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism in a rural, high-poverty elementary school. Through improvement science, it analyzed the effects of attendance interventions on attendance improvement. It is well known that students who do not regularly attend school will also struggle with adequate progress and growth in multiple subject areas. This study aimed to use Multi- Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) to conduct specific attendance-based interventions and then evaluate their effectiveness in one rural high-poverty elementary school. It also analyzed the effect of attendance on literacy achievement measured by Acadience data. How can an elementary school …

A Search For Self Through Allyship And Advocacy ‘About, With, And As’ Multilingual Learners: An Autoethnographic Study, Molly Heeren

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This autoethnographic study uses personal memoirs to explore the author’s allyship and advocacy efforts throughout the past 24 years in the language teaching profession. Through the process of self-reflexivity and introspection, “turning points” are investigated to understand more about what influences the actions and behaviors of allyship or advocacy ‘about, with, and as’ multilingual learners. As a district level instructional coach and teacher of multilingual learners in both elementary and adult settings, the author’s revelations in teaching identity, influences of Empire, misalignment of the ‘sense of language,’ and legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice become salient issues. The dynamics …

Investigating The Impact Of An Elaborative Conversation Strategies (Ecs) Intervention On Parent-Child Interactions And Preschool Children's Science Learning Using A Single-Case Experimental Design, Yao Yao

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of the elaborative conversation strategies (ECS) intervention in improving the quality of parents' science talk during everyday home learning interactions using a single-case experimental design. Specifically, the study explored whether training parents in ECS could increase their use of these high-quality conversation strategies and enhance the quality of their science talk when engaging their children in science activities. The study also investigated how the ECS intervention impacted children's science knowledge, skills, and interest, as well as parents' attitudes toward supporting their children's science learning.

Participants included five typically developing …

Rape Beyond Fantasy: Exploring The Influence Of Booktok's Erotica And Dark Romance Literature On Young Adult Perceptions Of Consent And Boundaries, Teagan Bailey Fortune

Master's Theses

Advances in technology and media, particularly TikTok, have had a significant impact on the younger generation. BookTok, a community that emerged from TikTok, is a platform where users can promote, share, and discuss book recommendations, using “spice level” or chili emojis to indicate the rating of explicit content. While recommendations often focus on erotica and dark romance fiction, concerns arise when such content glamorizes and normalizes rape culture, especially for young adults (YA). The normalization of toxic relationships can potentially influence YA perceptions of consent and boundaries. This study explores how YA perceive rape culture and consent in erotica and …

Costly Signaling Theory, Hui Ying Ivy Koh, Norman P. Li

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Costly signaling theory is the idea that the high costs incurred by an individual to convey information about underlying qualities keeps this signal reliable, as only individuals who truly possess the quality signaled can afford to send the signal.

Ephemeral Legacy, Allison Hall

Master's Theses

Recently, my thoughts have centered on the problem of legacy. How do we forge bonds with other humans? What happens on an interpersonal level when these humans pass away, or when we pass, and they continue in life? How do queer spaces consistently offer deeper phenomena of interpersonal legacies; how does death operate as generational catalyst? I am particularly interested in putting these questions in the context of queer spaces. In queer culture, kinship is formed in ways that break from typical western notions of kinship. Despite being incoherent to western notions of family, queer bonds are extremely strong (Bradway …

Strategic (Non)Disclosure: Activation And Avoidance Of Social Ties Among Women Seeking Abortion, Kathleen Broussard

Faculty Publications

The increased politicization of sexual and reproductive health has created barriers to medically necessary care. In absence of formal health care, social ties become critical sources of information and resources, yet the disclosure of stigmatized health needs carries significant risk. How do people navigate the risks and benefits of disclosure when seeking care for stigmatized needs? Drawing on original survey data (N = 153) and in-depth interviews (N = 55) with women who attempted a self-managed abortion, I first describe the distinct roles of weak and strong ties in women’s health-seeking experiences. I then demonstrate how both partial disclosure and …

They Can't Know I Wanna Kiss Robots: Stigma And Audience Segregation In Fanfiction, Micah Arrow Callin

Master's Theses

Fanfiction writers have long faced public stigma, which emerged with the rise of fandom and, according to recent claims, may be lessening as fandom identities gain wider acceptance. However, the practice of fanfiction writers intentionally segregating their audiences remains a deeply embedded aspect of fandom culture, with limited understanding of its underlying motivations. The purpose of this study was to analyze the audience segregation employed by online fanfiction authors in order to understand why they choose to segregate their audiences, and specifically to determine the influence of social stigma on these choices, answering these main questions: Is there segregation between …

Machine Realism: The Collapse Of Bring Chicago Home And Chicago's Radical Black Politics, Joseph Aidan Tennant

Undergraduate Student Research Fellowship

No abstract provided.

Peer Relationships, Social Identity, And Motivational Experiences In Youth Sport, Justin T. Worley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Organized sport is a setting in which youth can make friends and explore their identity. Teammate relationships may make important contributions to athletes’ social identity (i.e., their psychological connection to their sport team) and their motivation for sport. This idea was tested across three studies. A review of literature was conducted in study one to identify factors that may contribute to athlete social identity. Seven categories were identified across 60 studies including leadership factors, environmental factors, personal factors, team factors, interventions, moral factors, and interpersonal factors. Less than a third of these studies were conducted with youth athletes and interpersonal …

Appreciative Inquiry: Guiding Principles For Majority And Minority World Teams Conducting Research In Majority World Countries, Kendall Cotton Bronk, Lindsey C. Blom, Seren Fryatt, Flomo Mau Maiwo, Yabadel Appleton

Journal of Youth Development

The vast majority of youth development research takes place in minority world cultural contexts. To understand and nurture the optimal development of young people living in majority world countries, cross-cultural research teams are uniquely suited to conduct careful and culturally sensitive research in these settings. However, this is difficult. Navigating research in a new language, a different cultural context, and a far-away geographic location is challenging, and the risks of getting it wrong are high. We argue that the guiding principles of Appreciative Inquiry can help teams navigate many of the challenges inherent in conducting youth development research in majority …

Examining The Activity-Related Correlates Of Latine Parent Support Of Adolescents In Organized Afterschool Activities, Fuko Kiyama, Sandra Simpkins

Journal of Youth Development

Objective: This study examined the relations between Latine parent perceptions of their seventh grade adolescents’ organized afterschool activity and their support of adolescents’ participation in these organized afterschool activities; and, whether these relations varied based on the organized afterschool activity’s ethnic cultural features.

Background: Although parent support bolsters adolescents’ success in multiple contexts, including organized afterschool activities, we know little about what promotes parent support. Method: Using data on Latine parent perceptions (N = 143) of their support (17 items), of organized afterschool activities (8 items) and ethnic cultural features (7 items), linear regression models were used to evaluate the …

From “At-Risk” To “Aspiring” Youth:Locating Positive Youth Development In Kenya, Kennedy Karani Onyiko, Justine Amadi Orucho, Lawrence Asige, Dennis Omuse Obushe, Aden Ang'aba Esokomi, Faith Inyele Olita, Simon Kitiyo

Journal of Youth Development

The youth population bulge in Kenya comes with so many challenges such as poverty, gender inequalities, political inequities, the absence of adequate health and medical resources, low educational attainment, homelessness, increased involvement in violence, drugs, and alcohol, poor physical and mental health, a lack of key life skills, premature sexual involvement. Using inductive or “bottom up” thematic analysis, we explored experiences of the youth aged 18-34 (n=36), youth workers (n=26) and administrators of youth programs (n=22) on existing youth development programs and their alignment to the positive youth development principles. Six key findings from the study sufficed as follows: (1) …

Understanding The Association Between Neighborhoods And Adolescent Sleep: Evidence From Add Health, Sam J Neally, Breanna J P Rogers, Yangyang Deng, Mohammad Moniruzzaman, Qian Xiao, Kosuke Tamura

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Research suggests that perceived neighborhood social environments (PNSE) may contribute to gender and race/ethnicity-based sleep disparities. Our study aimed to examine associations between PNSE factors and adolescents' sleep patterns. As a secondary aim, we examined how gender and race/ethnic groups might moderate these associations.

METHOD: Data came from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n=5158; mean age=15.34 years). Four self-reported sleep outcomes were created: 1) sleep duration (hours/night), 2) short sleep (≥8 hours [reference] vs <8 >hours), 3) parental set bedtime (10:00 PM/earlier [reference] among girls vs by 11:00PM vs by/after 12:00AM), and 4) sleep satisfaction (enough …

Economic Disadvantage During Childhood, Obesity, And Diabetes Across Three Birth Cohorts Of Older Mexicans, Jesús-Daniel Zazueta-Borboa, Rafael Samper-Ternent, Rebeca Wong, Neil Mehta

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: Diabetes prevalence has increased markedly in Mexico. We examined the individual and joint contributions of economic disadvantage during childhood (EDDC) and elevated body weight on diabetes prevalence in 3 cohorts of Mexican adults.

METHODS: Data on those 60-69 years old from the 1930-1939, 1940-1949, and 1950-1959 birth cohorts in Waves 1 (2001), 3 (2012), and 5 (2018) of the Mexican Health and Aging Study were used. EDDC was defined as the absence of a toilet in the household before age 10. Body mass status was defined using self-reported perceived body image at age 50. Diabetes was based on respondent …

Understanding The Factors Associated With The Targeting Of Prison Gangs By Specialized Gang Units (Sgus) In The United States, Bruno Aldair Zapata

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Specialized gang units (SGUs) are prominent in police departments in the United States with their sole purpose to respond to gang activity across the country. SGUs vary in the types of gangs they target, resources available, officer composition, and the types of enforcement activities they use. SGUs have encountered various controversies such as exaggerating the gang problem in the media, for distorted intelligence in their gang databases, and for racial stereotyping and harassment among Hispanics in particular. Research regarding SGUs is limited in general, but even fewer studies exist on the targeting efforts of prison gangs by SGUs. Prison gang …

The Impact Of Father-Daughter Relationships On Dating And Relationship Behaviors For African American Women: A Qualitative Analysis, Neeah A. Lofton

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examines how African American father-daughter relationships can impact their dating and relationship behaviors. This highlights an important role African American fathers play in shaping their daughter’s development and expectations within romantic relationships. The purpose of this qualitative (grounded theory) study was created to unravel the unique dynamics that shapes African American women's views on intimacy, self worth and relationships expectations. The research seeks to fill existing gaps in literature, moving beyond the notion of African American father presence to explore the emotional context that influences their daughter’s romantic lives. The research question for this study is for African …

The White Peacock – A Masculinity Study, Katherine Pollert

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the feminist movement in England was making significant progress, effectively influencing the leading artists and scholars of the time to consider the nature of female oppression and to do their part to invoke change. Among these figures, D.H. Lawrence emerged as a provocative voice on gender and sexuality. To this day, his work remains a source of significant contention, often due to the controversial representation of gender and sexuality in his novels. For decades, feminist critics have debated Lawrence’s characterization of women, some accusing his work of misogyny, with others praising his careful …

Computer Use Frequency And Cardiovascular Health In Middle-Aged And Older Adults, Meilan Hu, Shu Fen Diong, K. T. A. Sandeeshwara Kasturiratna, Andree Hartanto

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

With increased computer usage amongst midlife and older adults, concerns are emerging with regards to the potential adverse health effects of computer use given the sedentary habits it may encourage. The current study aims to investigate the relationship between computer use and cardiovascular risk in midlife and older adults. From the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States II: Biomarker Project (2004–2009) and the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS II), 2004–2006, we examined five cardiovascular risk biomarkers—high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, interleukin-6, and C-reactive protein—in relation to self-reported general …

Positive And Negative Affect Differentially Predict Individual Differences And Intra-Individual Changes In Daily Cognitive Failures In Younger And Older Adults, Ysabel A. Guevarra, Nadyanna M. Majeed, Nur Eva Alisha Binte Mohamed Hisham, Andree Hartanto

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

(1) Background: Cognitive failures, including lapses in attention, memory, and executive functioning, can negatively affect daily performance and well-being. Negative and positive affectivity have been implicated in cognitive functioning, yet their relationship with cognitive failures remains underexplored. This study investigates the impact of positive and negative affect on cognitive failures, using daily diary methods to examine both within-person and between-person associations in a sample of younger adults from Singapore and adults across the lifespan from the United States (US). (2) Methods: Participants (Singapore: N = 253, US: N = 1726) completed daily diaries over seven (Singapore) or eight (US) consecutive …

Advances In Research On Anthropogenic Drivers Of Climate Change, Andrew Jorgenson, Hassan El Tinay, Jared Fitzgerald, Jennifer Givens, Taekyeong Goh, Xiaorui Huang, Orla Kelly, Annika Marie Rieger, Ryan P. Thombs

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This chapter provides an overview of advances in social science research on the anthropogenic drivers of climate change. Anthropogenic drivers refer to the social systems and human actions causing GHG emissions, and societal factors shaping and conditioning those actions. The authors summarize the contemporary drivers research literature on (1) economic growth, (2) income and wealth inequality, (3) environmental load displacement and ecologically unequal exchange, (4) militarization, and (5) corporations. In addition to summarizing recent work, the authors identify future directions for each of these areas of research, as well as ways in which they can be better integrated.