Digital Commons Network^™

The Structural Determinants Of Health: How Systemic Racism Facilitates Community Violence In Washington, Dc, Nadia Altaher

Sociology Between the Gaps: Forgotten and Neglected Topics

No abstract provided.

Household Charitable Giving Among U.S. Working-Class Families, 1918-1919, Joanna Short

Economics: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works

This paper examines household charitable giving in the period just before the New Deal increased government involvement in social services. The 1918-19 BLS Cost of Living Survey provides a window on middle-class giving to church, charity, and patriotic organizations, as well as investment in Liberty Bonds. A lognormal hurdle model is used to estimate the probability of any giving, and the amount given, to different types of organizations. From this, we estimate income elasticities of giving and the substitutability of giving to different types of organizations. The results are compared to findings from studies on modern giving. I find that …

Change The World One Worm At A Time!, David C. Goff

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

My Capstone Project aims to blend the old with the new. It's about taking tried-and-true farming practices and breathing new life into them with innovative, sustainable solutions. It seeks to balance making a living from the land and caring for it for future generations.

The project's core revolves around Organic Worm Tea, a natural product we've been developing and testing. This process involves rolling up our sleeves, getting our hands dirty, and observing the tea's effect on various farms, including those run by immigrant farmers who bring unique farming traditions from their home countries.

But this project isn't just about …

Making Home: The Role Of Social Networks On Identity, Health, And Quality Of Life Among Rural Lesbian And Gay Older Adults, Marc A. Guest, Elizabeth G. Hunter, Nancy E. Schoenberg

UK CARES Faculty Publications

Background and Objectives: Gay and lesbian older persons face a host of health inequalities related to their identity as they age. Challenges to health access and appropriate social support may be even more exacerbated for those living in rural environments; this may be due to the lack of supportive and affirming social connections. This project aimed to explore and describe the social networks and the relationship of these social networks to identity, health, and quality of life of gay and lesbian individuals in rural communities.

Research Design and Methods: Social network data on network type, size, and social capital were …

Organizing The Process, Erika Arellano

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

The capstone project that I chose to complete for this semester is program organization. Our developmental preschool program offers services for children with disabilities from three to five years of age. Having a well-organized and structured program is a foundational must as so much time is consumed with paperwork and meetings. As a first-year preschool teacher, I started the school year with more questions than answers, and answers that confused me even more. The way it is currently set up is with piles and piles of loose files stacked up on a desk, and post-it notes with all sorts of …

Migraine Journeys: An Exploration In Connecting Cultures, Ashley D. Barnes

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

"Migraine Journeys: An Exploration in Connecting Cultures" is a research project that looks at headaches from different cultures. Through the blog "Beyond Migraine Pain," this project looks at how different cultures use language, how they think about headaches, and how they treat them. The goal is to shed light on how migraines affect people and communities around the world and get rid of the stigmas that come with this disease. Such as women only being the only ones to get migraines and not men, the fact that very simple everyday actions can manage migraines because they aren’t “that serious”, and …

Fundraisers For Pajamas For Residents At Deasano Assisted Living, Melissa Ruvalcaba

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

After brainstorming and drawing on my final proposal for my project in 492, I decided that I either created two different kinds of fundraisers for those in need at Desano Assisted living or I create an event where people donate essentials for the nursing home. I came to the conclusion that creating fundraisers and providing the residents with their needs/wants from the funds raised was more beneficial. Raising money myself is going to give me the opportunity to provide the residents with personalized items that will provide them with a better quality of life. It has and will continue to …

At The Heart Of Our Communities: Parent/Caregiver & Youth Leadership, Deschutes County System Of Care, Callie H. Lambarth

Center for Improvement of Child and Family Services Publications

In lieu of an abstract, here are the vision and goals of the Deschutes County System of Care:

Vision
The vision of System of Care is to create an array of services and supports for children, youth and young adults in Deschutes County that are youth- and family-driven, community-based, and culturally and linguistically responsive.

Goals

1. Collaboration between services, families, and youth to improve the system of supports that serve children, youth and young adults with complex and significant mental health needs.
2. Leadership that includes youth and parents/caregivers impacted by the System of Care to advise on service processes, identify system …

Missed Connections In The U.N. Agenda: Applying The Women, Peace And Security Framework To The Feminization Of Poverty, Lauren A. Fleming

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Women, Peace and Security, a multifaceted agenda intended to address the particular ways in which conflict affects women, has been on the United Nations agenda since the landmark Security Council Resolution 1325 passed in 2000. The unequal burden of poverty on women, a phenomenon that has been coined “the feminization of poverty,” has been on the United Nations agenda for even longer, since the 1995 Beijing Conference on Women. Yet, despite the fact that poverty and inequality both cause and result in conflict in a violent cycle, the problem of the feminization of poverty has not been integrated into the …

Being And Becoming Global Citizens: Measuring Progress Toward Sdg 4.7. Phase I: Monitoring Teacher And School Readiness To Enact Global Citizenship In The Asia-Pacific Region, Rachel Parker, Jennie Chainey, Payal Goundar, Sarah Richardson, Anna Dabrowski, Amy Berry, Claire Scoular

Global education monitoring

Substantive work has been undertaken to define and frame global citizenship education (GCED). Global citizenship and related terms are included in the curricula and policy statements of many diverse nations around the world (Parker & Fraillon, 2016; APCEIU, 2020b), however, the education sector often struggles to enact and monitor GCED in ways that reflect the changing conditions of students and schools. This study responds to an identified need for enhanced tools and resources for schools and systems to monitor and evaluate GCED, in accordance with United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.7. This need is particularly pressing in the …

Sleep Savvy Student Solutions Blog, Cassandra M. Hinnenkamp

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

This service-learning capstone project, Sleep Savvy Student Solutions Blog, addressed the prevalent issue of insufficient quality sleep among college students. Through this blog, the goal is to educate students about the importance of quality sleep and its direct impact on academic success. By providing valuable insights into the connection between sleep and academic performance, practical recommendations and strategies are offered to help college students achieve better sleep. The project is aimed to empower students with knowledge and tools to optimize their sleep patterns, ultimately contributing to improved overall well-being and academic achievements. A follow-up survey was sent to the blog …

The Parental Well-Being Gap Before And After The Covid-19 Pandemic, Morgan Renee Koziol

Theses and Dissertations

Prior research has examined the emotional costs and benefits associated with parenting. In general, this body of literature finds that parents experience lower levels of subjective well-being compared to non-parents—a phenomenon referred to as the parental well-being gap. There is evidence that this parental well-being gap has narrowed or disappeared altogether in more recent years. However, the COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges to parents that may have resulted in a widening or reopening of this gap once again. This project aims to test this possibility by drawing on data from The General Social Survey that capture the survey year prior …

Psu Student Housing Insecurity Interim Report, Jacen Greene, Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative, Portland State University

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Project Background

This study on student housing insecurity and homelessness was funded as part of a HUD FY2023 Community Project Funding Opportunity awarded to Portland State University. Phase 1 of the study, which led to this report by PSU’s Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative (HRAC), includes a literature review; a summary of PSU student survey results; a description of PSU programs based on interviews with staff and administrators; an analysis of programs at other institutions; and a set of recommendations for better addressing student housing needs. Phase 2 of the study will include the results of a comprehensive …

Effective Leader Development Within A Church-Planting Organization For A Changing And Chaotic World, Jeremy Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A challenge in cross-cultural church planting is developing leaders. Cross-cultural church-planting organizations like Latin American Mission (LAM; pseudonym) that lack a leadership development strategy struggle to form lasting leaders, sending missionaries with Biblical training but not leader development training. Additionally, developing leaders in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment creates specific challenges that missionaries must address. The purpose of this qualitative, Delphi method study was to investigate the leadership development perceptions and experiences among existing LAM missionaries in the regions of Latin America (Colombia, Cuba, Mexico City, Peru, Brazil, and Ecuador) to provide suggestions for improving effective leadership …

Living Below The Line: Racial And Ethnic Disparities In Economic Security Among Older Americans, 2022, Jan Mutchler, Yan-Jhu Su, Nidya Velasco Roldán

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

New estimates based on the 2022 Elder IndexTM show that the risk of economic insecurity in later life is especially high for people of color. Comparing household incomes to the Elder Index, we calculate the percentage of independent older adults with incomes that fall short of what is required to support economic security. National averages suggest that among older people living alone, 43% who are White, 59% of those who are Asian, 61% of those who are Black, and 67% of those who are Latino have annual incomes below the Elder Index. The risk of economic insecurity is lower among …

Early Health Conditions, Family Processes, And Educational Achievements, Han Liu

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation examines how childhood health affects children’s own and their siblings’ educational attainment through home environments and family processes. While health and socioeconomic status have been recognized as reinforcing dimensions of stratification in the past few decades, their linkage has not been contextualized in the critical social institution of families. To fill this gap in prior research, this project uses rich data on childhood health, home environments, academic achievement and educational attainment, sociodemographic background, and linkages between family members from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Children and Young Adults to (1) estimate the extent to which home …

A Case For Friendship: A Mixed Methods Investigation Of Close Friendships In Adulthood, Grace Kelly

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Social connections profoundly impact mental and physical health, identity development, and overall well-being. The landscape of personal relationships has changed dramatically over the past decades. Formalized connections and older social structures are evolving (Smock and Schwartz 2020). Loneliness and social isolation are at epidemic proportions and rising, posing widespread societal consequences (Buecker et al. 2021; Cacioppo and Cacioppo 2018). Sociologists have studied relationships like kinship and romantic partnership extensively but have devoted substantially less attention to friendship as a means of providing connection (Eve 2002). My dissertation investigates the importance of platonic friendship bonds in adulthood and explores how these …

Care Labour Shortage Needs A Cure, Not More Band-Aids, Yasmin Y. Ortiga

Asian Management Insights

Retaining care workers will become more difficult for Asia’s ageing economies.

Future-Proofing Healthcare Systems, How Choon How

Asian Management Insights

This includes tackling climate change challenges too.

Building An Information Barrier For Information Overload Under The Crisis Situation, Lu An, Yusheng Wang

Journal of Scientific Information Research

[Purpose/significance]In the crisis situation, users are often troubled by information overload. In order to alleviate its adverse effects, this study proposes an information barrier construction method based on information relevance, quality, and influence. The topic model is used to classify the information, and the topics and information unrelated to the crisis events are filtered.[Method/process]Based on the ELM and crisis communication matrix as well as the existing information quality evaluation indicators, an evaluation system for the quality of microblog information in the crisis situation is constructed. According to the external and internal characteristics of microblog under the crisis, we construct secondary …

Aging In Berlin: A Community Needs Assessment, Mary Krebs, Caitlin Coyle

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

This report describes research undertaken by the Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging (CSDRA) within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, on behalf of the Town of Berlin. The goals of this project were to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of Berlin residents age 18 or older by engaging the community regarding their experiences and needs relevant to the Social Services alongside the Council on Aging’s objectives to serve the needs of all Berlin citizens 60 and older. The contents of this report are meant to inform the Town of Berlin, the Berlin …

Pregnancy In United States Immigration Detention: Listening To Migrant Women's Stories, Amanda Heffernan

Nursing ETDs

Over the last five years, dramatic shifts in immigration policy across three presidential administrations have impacted migrants arriving at the U.S.’ southern border, with unique impacts on pregnant migrants. The purpose of this study was to document, analyze and contextualize the experience of pregnancy in United States immigration detention. Specifically, the study aimed to: 1) understand the situation of pregnant migrants detained in United States immigration detention facilities between 2017-2022; 2) situate the experience of detained pregnant migrants within multiple contexts, including their own individual and family migration stories and the larger context of United States immigration policy; and 3) …

Exploring The Mentoring Experience Of High Power Distance Individuals In High And Low Power Distance Cultures, Jennifer Okoliko

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Understanding how to effectively navigate mentoring relationships across different cultures is critical for personal and professional development in an increasingly globalized world. With the growth in migration across the world, leaders are tasked with the responsibility of understanding how to connect, communicate, and create effective teams across cultures for personal and organizational success. Exploring the mentoring experiences of individuals in high and low Power Distance cultures provides a broader understanding on how the phenomena is practiced in different cultural context and highlight important lessons for leaders.

The aim of this phenomenological study was to enhance our understanding of the lived …

Conducting Oral History: Background And Methods, Katrine Barber

History Faculty Publications and Presentations

This chapter-length essay describes the practice of oral history through real world examples: the steps to conducting oral history interviews, things to consider when developing a project or an interview plan, and ethical considerations. How oral history has enlarged the historical record and changed scholarly interpretation of the past are highlighted.

Multiracial Identity Integration: Components, Antecedents, And Consequences, Sheila Xi Rui Wee

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Existing research on multiracials has examined how multiracials develop different racial identities. However, empirical research on how multiracial manage and integrate their identities as well as its impact are limited. This dissertation examined key antecedents and consequences associated with the unique process that multiracials undergo to achieve a positive identity via Multiracial Identity Integration (MII). In Study 1, we examined the link between MII, psychological well-being, and cognitive capacity. Results revealed a positive association between MII and psychological well-being as well as some cognitive capacity outcomes. Study 2 replicated the same relationship between MII and psychological well-being/cognitive capacity outcomes. Additionally, …

Latinos In Massachusetts Selected Areas: Brookline, Phillip Granberry, Victor Luis Martins, Michelle Borges

Gastón Institute Publications

Brookline is a town of 63,191 residents, of whom 4,272, or 6.8%, identify as Latino or Hispanic, according to the 2020 Decennial Census. Statewide, Latino residents constitute 12.6% of the total population. In Brookline, the largest population is White (65.3%), followed by Asians (19.1%). Blacks account for 3.1% of the town’s residents.

Between the 2010 and 2020 Decennial Censuses, Brookline experienced 7.6% population growth, slightly higher than the state's 7.4% growth. During this time, the White population of Brookline declined by 4.2% while the Latino population increased by more than 44.1% (higher than their statewide rate of 41.4%), the Asian …

Latinos In Massachusetts Selected Areas: Cambridge, Phillip Granberry, Victor Luis Martins, Michelle Borges

Gastón Institute Publications

Cambridge is a city of 116,892 residents, of whom 10.0%, identify as Latino or Hispanic, according to the 2020 Decennial Census. Statewide, Latino residents contribute 12.6% of the total population. In Cambridge, the largest resident population is White (60.9%). The Asian population is the second largest group in the city, making up 21.0%, followed by the Black population, which accounts for 11.2% of city residents.

Between the 2010 and 2020 Decennial Censuses, Cambridge experienced 12.6% population growth, and all major ethnic-racial groups had increasing shares. Asians and Latinos grew by more than 30%, while the Black and White populations grew …

Latinos In Massachusetts Selected Areas: Chicopee, Phillip Granberry, Victor Luis Martins, Michelle Borges

Gastón Institute Publications

Chicopee has a population of 55,560, of whom 13,027 identify as Hispanic or Latino, according to the 2020 Decennial Census. The majority of the city identifies as non- Latino White, while Latinos are the second largest population, comprising 23.4% of the population. Latinos' share of the city’s population is almost twice as high as in the Massachusetts overall population, which is only 12.6% Latino. Black, Asian, and “other” populations make up 9.8% of the city’s population.

Chicopee underwent significant population shifts between 2010 and 2020, even though its population increased by only 0.5%, much slower than the statewide increase of …

Latinos In Massachusetts Selected Areas: Fitchburg, Phillip Granberry, Victor Luis Martins, Michelle Borges

Gastón Institute Publications

Fitchburg is a city of 41,946 residents, including 12,608 (30.1%) who identify as Latino or Hispanic, according to the 2020 Decennial Census. Statewide, Latino residents contribute 12.6% of the total population. In Fitchburg, Whites make up the majority (54.6%) of the city, while Blacks and Asians account for 6.1% and 3.6% of the population, respectively.

Between 2010 and 2020, the Latino population grew by 44.5% and was only outpaced by Blacks (59.8%). With these two populations outpacing Fitchburg's 4.0% population growth during the decade, the White population experienced a 16.7% decrease. By comparison, the White population in Massachusetts declined by …

Latinos In Massachusetts Selected Areas: Haverhill, Phillip Granberry, Victor Luis Martins, Michelle Borges

Gastón Institute Publications

The city of Haverhill, Massachusetts, has 67,787 residents, of whom 15,998 identify as Latino, according to the 2020 Decennial Census. The city is majority non-Latino White (66.3%), with Latinos making up the second largest ethnic-racial group (23.6%). Latinos are a higher proportion of Haverhill’s population than of the statewide population, of which they account for 12.6%. Black, Asian, and “other” populations collectively make up only 10.1% of Haverhill’s population.

Between 2010 and 2020, Haverhill’s population increased by 11.2%, faster than the statewide increase of 7.4%. The Latino population’s 81.2% increase accounted for much of the city's growth. The statewide Latino …