Digital Commons Network^™

Pinkwashing Palestine: Exploring The Perceptions Of Utah College Students, Addison Fish

Student Research Symposium

The United States' role in the escalation of the Israeli occupation of Palestine has become a subject of heated political debate, especially on college campuses.

• This project investigates college students’ perceptions of pinkwashing and Israel

• Aims to understand how their perceptions affect their stance on the occupation

• Goal is to provide insight into how we can understand and critically engage with pinkwashing narratives and support Utah-local advocacy movements, as well as broader political campaigns in the U.S

Religious Trauma And Young Adults: What Is Their Perspective?, Ethan Lefevre

Student Research Symposium

How does religious trauma influence young adults' perspectives on organized religion and spirituality?

Effects Of Cbt For Anxiety On Sleep Quality (A Proposed Study), Brin Bement

Student Research Symposium

Good sleep has consistently been associated with good mental and physical health, yet nearly 1 in 5 Americans report sleep disturbances. Sleep-related problems (SRPs) are highly comorbid with anxiety, and the two variables have a bidirectional relationship.

How Has Lgbtq+ Representation In Media Influenced The Perceptions And Identities Among Both Lgbtq+ And Non-Lgbtq+ Individuals Ages 18-24?, Miki Beckstrom

Student Research Symposium

The modern era has allowed for a new age of storytelling. As our society continues to diversify, the question we must ask ourselves, how is the media we consume reflective of our society? Internet discourse surrounding representation of race, sexuality, and gender have continued to infiltrate our community and be a topic of contention. This study hopes to explore both the positive and adverse effects that LGBTQ+ representation in media can have.

How Do The Implications Of A Juvenile's Surroundings Genuinely Affect Them And Their Upbringing?, Ramon Ramirez

Student Research Symposium

Traditional theories assume that socioeconomic status and residential mobility in a neighborhood are linked to criminal behavior, but the findings showed that variations in ethnic composition didn’t have a significant effect.

Digital Audience: The Bystander Effect On Social Media, Riley Carlisle

Student Research Symposium

In the United States, cyberbullying is a massive problem that shows no sign of slowing down. - Cyberbullying effects 46% of teens aged 13-17 (Vogels, 2022)

- We are more connected than ever before

- Cyberbullying will only increase as we become more connected over social media

How Are Mental Health Professionals Impacted By Their Personal Religious Beliefs Within A Client-Interaction Setting?, Olivia Kenney

Student Research Symposium

Understanding how mental health professionals’ personal religious beliefs influence client interactions is important to ensuring ethical, productive, and effective care.

Soc 3110 Presentation, Eduardo Valles

Student Research Symposium

Introduction

What do you think is the percent of inmates in jails/prisons that have a mental illness?

Urban Green Space And Violent Crime Rates: Urban Green Spaces Promote Safety, Wellness, And Community Connection, Athena Degroff

Student Research Symposium

• Some studies suggest that well- maintained green spaces can deter crime by fostering community interaction, increasing natural surveillance, and reducing stress- related aggression.
• However, other research indicates that poorly maintained or isolated green spaces may provide opportunities for criminal activity.
• Understanding these patterns is essential for designing safer cities.

Did Covid-19 Change How Adolescents Connect? Analyzing Social Media's Role In Post-Pandemic Relationships, Tessi Hurst

Student Research Symposium

The Covid-19 pandemic significantly increased social media use among adolescents, altering the way they formed and maintained relationships. As in-person interactions became limited, social media platforms played a crucial role in shaping social behaviors.

Existing research highlights the shifts in friendship quality, mental health and social interaction patterns, revealing both positive and negative effects.

37. Protest 2025. Protest At Applied Engineering Building 2 [Photograph]

LGBTQIA+ Archive Class Projects

Citation: Villatoro, J. (2025, April 9). Students protest during Applied Engineering Building ribbon cutting, Gov. Reynolds is a no-show. Northern Iowan, 1.

Description: Front page of "The Northern Iowan" paper titled "Students protest during Applied Engineering building ribbon cutting, Gov. Reynolds is no-show".

Domestic Violence Against Women, Mckaye Didericksen

Student Research Symposium

Types of Abuse

• Physical Abuse
• Physical Violence
• Emotional Abuse
• Non-Physical Behavior
• Financial Abuse
• Control Financial Situation
• Sexual Abuse
• Partner Controlled Sexual and Physical Intimacy in the Relationship
• Often non-consensual and forced

Is Modern Day Dating Damaging Our Mental Health?, Kamilla Rayann Stone

Student Research Symposium

In contemporary society, dating has undergone significant transformations, with modern dating practices increasingly influenced by technology, shifting social norms, and evolving expectations. This study seeks to answer the question: Is modern-day dating damaging our mental health? Given the rising concerns about relationship satisfaction, anxiety, and self-esteem in the digital dating era, this research aims to explore the potential psychological implications of modern dating trends.

The High Cost Of Substance Use Disorder And Recidivism, Paula Hogg

Student Research Symposium

What policy changes can the Idaho State Criminal Justice System implement to address problems of high incarceration and recidivism rates for individuals with substance use disorder?

The Correlation Between Mental Health And Electronic Media Usage In Adults, Thea Lefave

Student Research Symposium

How does an adult's electronic media usage impact their levels of anxiety and depression and overall emotional well-being?

American Reads Mentor/Tutor, Rivers Tullis

Student Research Symposium

This was a great opportunity to work in the community and to learn how to better work with younger kids. For this past school year I worked for an after-school program at Summit Elementary doing a variety of educational activities. We were able to invite several different organizations to help introduce the kids to new technologies such as drones and coded remote-control cars. This helps kids to think creatively and give them opportunities to find their passion for a potential future career.

Research Presentation, Cassee Pugmire

Student Research Symposium

• How does childhood environment influence an individual's likelihood of engaging in criminal behavior?
• Home Life Situation
• Parents' Information and Involvement
• Status Offense vs Delinquent Offenses

Gendered Rehabilitation: Male And Female Offenders' Experiences In Reintegration, Ellie Hansen

Student Research Symposium

• Gender: Socially constructed roles, behaviors, and expectations assigned to women, men, girls, and boys (World Health Organization).
• Gender specific (responsive) programing: Tailored interventions addressing distinct learning styles, relationship dynamics, and life circumstances of men and women (The Oregon Intermediate Sanctions for Female Offenders Policy Group 1995).
• Recidivism: Relapse into criminal behavior after sanctions or interventions (NIJ).
• Reentry: The inevitable consequence of incarceration (Visher 2015).
• Rehabilitation: Programs reducing crime by addressing root causes and improving reintegration outcomes (NIJ).
• Reintegration: Reconnecting individuals with societal institutions as both a process and goal (Visher 2015).

Immigration, Almendra Ramirez, Leslie Villagomez

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

Immigration issues are a prominent topic in the United States. The United States is known for freedom and better living conditions. In the United States there are about 50.6 million immigrants, making up about 15% of the total population. However, an estimated 10.5 million individuals are paying the most in taxes and they help with agriculture, the immigration policy which brings fear and high risk of families being separated. The path to residency is long and difficult, especially for those seeking immediate improvements in their lives. Therefore this research seeks to bring awareness and educate the American public on this …

Prison Environment And Conditions Affect Recidivism Rates — Norway And South Africa, Hayes Breitbach, Abby Horstmann, Gus Beirman

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

Harsh prison conditions and lack of rehabilitation and reintegration programs in South African prisons reflect the high recidivism rates in the country. South African prisoners are subject to inhumane conditions such as overcrowding and health concerns, violations of human rights, and are stripped of their dignity. Paired with social stigma against those who have been incarcerated, these inhumane conditions lead to poor reintegration and higher recidivism rates. This research project advocates for prison reform focusing on rehabilitation, reintegration, and improved facility conditions. There are multiple examples of competent and humane prisons in the world, such as Norway’s correctional institutions, which …

The Importance Of Domestic Violence Reform In First World Countries, Morgan Klein, Stephanie Hines Meyers, Jasmyne Sauceda, Ark Van Donslear

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

Globally, 1 in every 3 women has experienced intimate partner violence (IPV), and the impact of this prevalent issue extends beyond the boundaries of developed and underdeveloped nations. In the United States, 22% of women have endured IPV, while in New Zealand, this figure stands at 24%. Despite the availability of national resources, frameworks adopted by developed countries are presumed to provide effective interventions through their judicial systems and policies. However, judicial injustices frequently allow perpetrators to persist in their violent behaviors without facing substantial consequences. Measures such as restraining orders or no-contact orders often fail to deter offenders effectively. …

The Impact Of Human Trafficking, Jenna Diprima, Eboni Patterson, Gabriela Meza

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

Human trafficking is a crime that has been documented since the 1500s and continues to be a significant issue, reaching unprecedented levels today. Human trafficking is an act in which an individual coerces/compels another and forces them to provide services for financial gain. Victims often come from connections with people they trust. In 2023, it was monitored that 348 people in the US were victims of human trafficking, 316 of 348 victims were children. Worldwide, however, this number is much higher standing at 49.6 million with Guatemala taking up a significant chunk as it has been estimated that 24.9 million …

How Does Social Media Influence The Self-Perceived Well-Being Of Rural Residents?, Danalee Welch-O'Donnal

Student Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Freedom To Change: Comparing U.S. And Norwegian Recidivism, Sofia Low

Student Research Symposium

The U.S. criminal justice system is set up to fail those leaving!

Predictors Of Political Participation Of U.S. Social Workers: The Mediating Effect Of Confidence, Maria Wathen, Rachel A. Young, Amy Krings, Teresa Kilbane

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

What factors are associated with social workers’ political participation, and how does political confidence mediate those relationships? To answer this question, data were collected in 2020 through an original online survey of members of the U.S.-based National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Informed by self-efficacy theory, researchers conducted a structural equation modeling (SEM) path model with political participation as the outcome variable, and political confidence as a mediating variable. Exogenous variables included: one’s self-reported political orientation, belief that social work has a political mandate, gender, and knowledge about how to effectively participate in politics. Results indicate that high political confidence …

35. Protest 2025. Hands Off! Protest [Article & Images], Holly Hudson Hill, Chris Zoeller

LGBTQIA+ Archive Class Projects

Citation: Hill, H. and Zoeller, C. (2025, April 8). Hands Off Protest. Courier, A1 & A4.

Inciting Action By Analyzing Pachirat, Rhi N. Soto

Amplify: A Journal of Writing-as-Activism

The book Every Twelve Seconds: Industrialized Slaughter and the Politics of Sight by Timothy Pachirat explores “the politics of sight”, or the intentional invisibilizing or transparentizing of repugnant acts in order to encourage or limit them, through the case study of a beef slaughter house in Omaha, NE. While also utilizing the politics of sight, Pachirat hopes for great political and social change concerning the immoral acts that happen at meat plants through a radical act of transparency: a narrative ethnography. Writers with similar goals of great change in social and political issues can make use of Pachirat’s techniques, which …

Church As Community: Religiosity And Queer Identity Among Emerging Adults In Adventist Higher Education, Chris N. Ngugi

Honors Theses

How do LGBTQ+ or “queer”-identifying emerging adults attending Seventh-day Adventist Christian institutions of higher education in the United States relate to their religiosity or relationship with religion? Within certain religious contexts (Avishai, 2020; Chiongbian et al., 2023; Lockett et al., 2023), including within the Seventh-day Adventist church (Pew Research Center, 2014), an individual’s LGBTQ+ identity may seem incongruent with commonly held stigmas, norms, doctrines, and beliefs maintained by religious group members and officials. LGBTQ+ identity and religiosity in such contexts are often described through “conflict” and “beyond conflict” theories, principally Cognitive Dissonance Theory and Identity Integration Theory (Rêgo-Moreira et al., …

A Mapping Review And Critique Of The Literature On Translation, Dissemination, And Implementation Capacity Building Initiatives For Different Audiences, Ana A Baumann, Danielle R Adams, Laura-Mae Baldwin, Rachel G Tabak, Sara Malone, Maura M Kepper, Anita D Misra-Hebert, Kathleen R Stevens, Maria E Fernandez, Sunil Kripalani

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Capacity building is critical for research and practice as the fields of dissemination, implementation and translation science continue to grow. Some scholars state that capacity building should be grounded in competencies. However, the fields are unclear in determining which competencies are relevant for whom, including the content and appropriate level of information and skills for different roles. The goal of this study was to catalogue competencies across current D&I capacity building initiatives.

Methods: We conducted a mapping review to examine to what extent are theories or frameworks used to guide capacity building, who is being trained, to what extent …

Ua19/16/2 Ahletics Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Press releases regarding general activities of the WKU Athletics Department for spring 2025.