Digital Commons Network^™

Perceptions Of Varying Types Of Health Conditions Among Arkansas Tech University Students, Leala A. Sorrell

ATU Scholars Symposium

Attitudes towards minor ailments, psychological conditions, chronic illnesses, and disabilities were measured among students of Arkansas Tech University through an online questionnaire. 10 questions were asked for each condition type for a total of 40 questions. Participants were asked to rate their level of agreeance from 1-5, 1 being “highly disagree” and 5 being “highly agree”. High scores (higher response rate of “strongly agree”) represented attitudes of Talcott Parsons’ sick role theory. Low scores (higher response rate of “strongly disagree”) represented attitudes of the ICF model and inclusiveness. The minor ailments/illnesses scale had the lowest mean score of 27.186. The …

Who Cares For The Caregivers: How Being A Caregiver Impacts Cancer Survivorship, Cristy Romero

Sociology & Anthropology Student Scholarship

Cristy Romero ’23
Majors: Sociology and Biology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Brandon C. Martinez, Sociology and Anthropology

With an aging population, informal caregiving is rising and is the predominant way for people with chronic illnesses to receive care. Providing care for someone with a chronic illness can take a toll on the caregiver. Caregivers often develop their own chronic illnesses such as cancer. Compared to Whites, Latinx cancer survivors and their families experience disproportionate adverse effects of cancer and cancer therapy as a result of physical, emotional, and financial challenges. This highlights racial/ethnic disparity in cancer survivorship. Due to the interwoven …

Book Review: The Secret Life Of Secrets: How Our Inner Worlds Shape Well-Being, Relationships, And Who We Are, Michele Hoffnung

Sociology Between the Gaps: Forgotten and Neglected Topics

No abstract provided.

The Artist's Arsenal: Hiv+ Women Artists, The ‘War On Aids’, And Reclaiming Illness Narratives, Mekha Varghese

Art and Art History Honors Papers

This work uses the methodologies of both art history and medical sociology through the ‘syndemic’ framework to engage in close readings of two selected artworks, Exit (1997) by Nancer LeMoins and Violation of Africa (1984) by Affrekka Jefferson. An interdisciplinary approach to these works enables consideration of how multiple marginalized identities—i.e., living with a stigmatized illness, being a woman, being LGBTQIA+, being a person of color—appear in visual art and shape illness experience; these ideas are investigated through a formal and iconographic reading of the selected artworks. Placing art as the foundation of this analysis reveals its astounding impact and …

The Effect Of Youth Sports Participation On Health Outcomes For Immigrants In The United States, Emma Kennedy

Honors Theses

My study investigates the relationship between youth sports participation and health outcomes for immigrants using a quantitative statistical analysis of secondary data. Given the theory behind the relationships between physical activity level, sense of community, and health outcomes, I test the hypothesis that immigrants are positively impacted by youth sports participation on a significantly higher level compared to non-immigrants. Using Stata as my statistical analysis software tool, I measure the associations between immigrant status, sports participation, and various indicators of health such as BMI and reports of chronic illness. I found that sports participation is associated with improved general health …

Targeting The Gap In Mental Health Advocacy For First-Year College Students, Hailey Kurtz

Honors Projects

The transition from high school to attending a university has been shown to have an impact on the mental health and well-being of first-year university students. First-year students struggle with anxiety and depression in relation to being in a new environment, feeling lonely, fitting in, and taking more academically rigorous coursework. Current students have an awareness of what mental health and well-being resources on their campus are available to them, but such resources are not widely used, though a majority of students indicate that they do or have struggled with their mental health. This indicates that though students are struggling …

The Role Of School-Home Communication In Supporting The Development Of Children’S And Adolescents’ Digital Skills, And The Changes Brought By Covid-19, Mai Beilmann, Signe Opermann, Veronika Kalmus, Joyce Vissenberg, Margus Pedaste

Journal of Media Literacy Education

School-home communication is a growing research field in social sciences, particularly in education sciences and communication studies. While previous studies have paid much attention to the importance of school-home interaction in supporting primary academic socialisation and progress of elementary school pupils, the role of teacher-parent communication and collaboration in influencing the development of children’s and adolescents’ digital skills remains an under-researched area. This paper employed thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with education experts in six European countries, providing an insight into their opinions and views on the problems in communication between homes and schools. The analysis identified main problems in …

Volume 14, Ireland Seagle, Dalton C. Whitby, Cassandra Poole, Rachel Cannon, Heidi Parker-Combes, Devon G. Shifflett, Antonio Harvey

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: Dr. Amorette Barber
• From the Editor: Dr. Larissa "Kat" Tracy
• From the Designers: Rachel English, Rachel Hanson
• Hungry Like the Wolf: The Wolf as Metaphor in Paramount Network’s Yellowstone: Ireland Seagle
• “Floating Cities”: Illustrating the Commercial and Conservation Conflict of Alaskan Cruise Ship Tourism: Dalton C. Whitby
• What Can You Do When Your Genes are the Enemy? Current Applications of Gene Manipulation and the Associated Ethical Considerations: Cassandra Poole
• La doble cara: un tema romántico en las obras de Larra y Hawthorne: Rachel Cannon
• Resolving a Conflict: How to …

The Manifestation Of Intra Gender Oppression In Margaret Atwood’S The Handmaid’S Tale As Results From Intentional Patriarchal Power Structures, Aliyah Browning

The Compass

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale has long been studied for its cautionary warnings about sexist ideologies that exist between men and women; seldom has it been analyzed for instances of intra gender oppression. Intra gender oppression, which this thesis seeks to define and highlight through the novel’s context, offers artificial forms of power to those in oppressed classes, enough to attract women themselves to participate in the indoctrination and policing of their own sex. This essay will highlight the ways in which Atwood’s dystopia parallels sexist beliefs held by societies past and present.

Adolescence And Stress: A Longitudinal Examination Of The Role Of Stress On Health Outcomes And The Moderating Role Of Self-Regulation And Social Support, Joshua T. Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

Stress impacts all individuals during each developmental period of their lives. Stress has been linked to various physical and mental health outcomes across the lifespan. However, adolescence may prove to be a unique time to examine stress and its potential effects on various health outcomes, as well as possible mediating or moderating factors. The purpose of this study is to examine the link between stress and body mass index (BMI) percentile while incorporating the potential mediators of anxiety, depression, and externalizing behaviors as well as the moderators of social support and self-regulation. Using a sample of 500 adolescents living in …

Exploring Hapi Incidence In Patients Admitted Through The Ed: A Quality Improvement Initiative, Alexa L. Tietgens

DNP Projects

Each year in the U.S., pressure injuries, or PIs, are responsible for more than 60,000 patient deaths and billions of dollars’ worth of treatment costs. Research shows that roughly 95% of all PIs are preventable by following evidence-based practice guidelines which include early identification of patients at risk, frequent skin assessments, and implementation of prevention strategies. However, the ED environment creates unique risks for PI development due to the routine use of hard surfaces (i.e., stretchers, backboards, exam tables) and frequent hospital overcrowding. Although nurses play a pivotal role in PI prevention, frequent staffing shortages, high patient acuity levels, and …

Cross The Finish Line: Strategies For Increasing The Retention, Persistence, And Graduation Rates Of Black Male Students-Athletes At Kentucky State University, Jamaal R. Jackson

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Ernst and Sara Lane Volgenau College of Education at Morehead State University by Jamaal R. Jackson on April 11, 2023.

Phenomenological Study: The Perceived Impact Of The Intersectional Barriers Created By Gender And Race On African American Females’ Advancement To A Senior Executive Service Within The Federal Government, Nicole Oliver

Dissertations

Purpose. This phenomenological study aimed to investigate the perceived impact of intersectional barriers created by gender and ethnicity on the advancement of African American females to the Senior Executive Service (SES) corps of the United States federal civil service. Additionally, the study sought to identify strategies used by African American females to overcome these barriers because of intersectionality and advance to the SES corps of the United States federal civil service.

Methodology. This qualitative phenomenological study used a convenience sampling method to select eight African American females who have advanced to an SES position in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. …

Beyond The Bmi: Expanding Quantitative Methods To Study Health For All Bodies, Kieran Chase, Daniel Oron

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

The public health field is beginning to reckon with its role in perpetuating and reinforcing systemic anti-fatness. Emerging evidence for the devastating health impacts of stigma call into question decades of research and policy that labels the size of people’s bodies as diseased. However, even as we acknowledge the harmful effects of stigma, the field is materially and institutionally invested in a health paradigm that centers weight loss and size-related proxies for health, such as the BMI. Public health scholars interested in questions related to nutrition, chronic disease, and exercise must begin to expand their research focus to imagine non-stigmatizing …

Unchallenged Myth: Abolish The Family And Structure, Julian Barocas

Richard T. Schellhase Essay Prize in Ethics

There are aspects of society we are taught not to question: government, education, capitalism. These are portrayed as immutable truths that, if presented with a gap in their logical system, are dependent on sidestepping them, referring to the aforementioned immutability, and relying on the status quo to keep their position as societal structures. Sophie Lewis’s most recent case for phasing out the nuclear family structure, Abolish the Family: A Manifesto for Care, demonstrates how the family is another one of these seemingly universal concepts. The unacknowledged reality of the family is historically one a tool of control rather than …

Ua45/6 Commencement Program, Wku Registrar

WKU Administration Documents

Commencement program listing graduates.

The Self And Individualism: An Analysis On The Current Regulations Of Academic Writing, Bonnibel S. H. Walker

WRIT: Journal of First-Year Writing

Individualism, the focus or emphasis on the self, is a highly discussed and debated topic in writing. This is mostly regarding how the self should be addressed and utilized in writing. Although it there is also debate about what the self truly is, and how one can represent it in their work, veering into more abstract thought and theorizing.

The amount of individualism, or the “self” that one is able to, or should imprint onto one’s writing varies widely across numerous genres of academic writing, or even writing in general. For example, in much of scientific writing there’s a broad …

A Plague On Both Our Houses, Matthew Carley

The Diana McDonald Writer's Challenge

Matthew Carley describes similarities between the traumas often experienced by children who grow up in poverty and the traumas that we hear about with regard to war veterans. Using his own experiences growing up as an example, Carley describes the substance abuse, physical abuse, anger, and neglect that too often are experienced by children in impoverished households. In this essay, he argues for employing on behalf of poor, traumatized children the kinds of programs and interventions that we know to be effective for veterans with PTSD.

Tourism, Mapping, Retail And Recreational Trails: A Case Study Of Connectivity Between Trails And Adjacent Downtowns In Anniston, Alabama, Usa, Jennifer Green

Theses

This study examines the estimated increase in economic impact on a geography’s local economy by creating cross-marketing efforts between expanding an established outdoor recreation trail to a closely located city downtown commerce district. This research will analyze the resulting potential rise in sales/lodging tax revenues for that city by mapping the trail and downtown district, and cross-marketing the other to users of both or either venue. Potential increase in economic impact will be estimated utilizing IMPLAN methodology by assessing the economic impact on the local economy that a percentage range of increased spending resulting from this cross-marketing effort could generate.

Creating A Nontraditional Wellness Blog, Tawni M. Rising

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

This service learning project researched sources of shame humans feel about their bodies. So often what we see in the media is curated, seemingly perfect, and fake. I created a non-traditional wellness blog and website called tawnsclaimtoshame.com where I used my background in psychology, biology, anatomy, as well as research, to debunk how culture and the media defines the perfect body. The link for my blog was shared on multiple social media platforms and accessed by many different stakeholders. My blog addresses eating disorders, diet culture, the medicalization of fatness, implicit biases about weight, disparities in sex education, the flaws …

A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Of Cork Versus Traditional Shoe Insole Material, Alexandra Lum

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Shoes are conventionally produced from materials like plastic or rubber that have detrimental impacts on the environment such as exacerbating existing waste accumulation, increasing global amounts of greenhouse gasses, or releasing toxic chemicals into soils and groundwater. These impacts have pushed footwear companies to introduce more sustainable and ecologically-friendly materials in their products. Roughly half of all cork production occurs in Portugal. The present work employs a comparative life cycle assessment approach between traditional plastic and rubber insole material and cork insole material to investigate the environmental impact of each. Results show that during each stage of the insole life …

Women In Sustainable Leadership: A Case Study On The Perspectives, Opportunities, And Challenges Of Biologist And Conservationist Estrela Matilde, Ella Lyons

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Despite the relatively small population of 8,000 occupants and the minimal international recognition of the Island of Príncipe, located off of the Gulf of Guinea on the Western Coast of Central Africa, the region has increasingly become a leading example of sustainable practices to be taken on a global scale in the near future to combat our current climate crisis. This case study explores the sustainable practices that Príncipe has learned to embrace under the leadership of Portuguese conservation biologist and project manager for the NGO Fundação Príncipe, Estrela Matilde. Estrela integrates social, cultural, and environmental conservation to align with …

Variation In The Growth Parameters And Biomass Of Rhizophora Mangle Seedlings With Distances From Playa Estrella, Bocas Del Toro, Panama, Thiny Tep

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mangrove is a salt-tolerant, intertidal, tropical tree or shrub and make up a rich community of various organism. On the Caribbean coast of Panama, in Bocas del Toro, mangrove forests cover 28 km² and are dominated by R. mangle, followed by L. racemosa and A. germinans. Simultaneously, Isla Colón, the most populated and developed among all islands in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, is a tourist center. Unfortunately, tourism comes at the price of environmental degradation via alteration of natural habitats, solid and wastewater pollution. Therefore, this study aims to gain a preliminary understanding on how the …

Local Traditions, Global Influences, National Belonging: Conditional Acceptance Of Cross-Gender Dance In Central Java, Indonesia, Calla Rhodes

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Indonesia has a long and rich history of cross-gender performance in which males embody femininity onstage. Until recently, these diverse, locally-specific traditions were a widely accepted cultural practice. However, modern negative associations with the LGBTQ+ community and, by extension, the West, threaten the survival of traditional Indonesian cross-gender dance. By investigating feminine male gender performance in Java, I will uncover how Indonesians draw from localized cultural traditions, as well as globalized practices like Western-style drag, to destabilize restrictive national constructions of gender. I posit that traditional cross-gender dance serves as a culturally- sanctioned outlet for male expressions of femininity that …

Agroforestry For The Future: Motivations Behind Tasmanian Farmers Planting Trees, Josh Lipp

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Agroforestry is the act of combining farming and tree planting, and many Tasmanian farmers are starting to plant trees on their properties for multiple reasons. Through conducting 9 interviews with farmers and researchers and visiting field sites, 3 main themes were identified to answer the question: why are Tasmanian farmers planting trees, and what are the benefits and downsides to agroforestry? Interviews help us understand farmers’ perceptions of agroforestry, and field data collection will prove the benefits of agroforestry in the future. Tasmania was chosen as the location of study as it is a state in Australia that largely focuses …

Exploring The Influence Of Globalization And Self-Expression In Shaping The Vietnamese Lgbtq+ Community In Urban Vietnam, Minh-Thy Tyler

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The LGBTQ+ community is estimated to make up around 9% to 11% of Vietnam’s total population. Over the past few decades, Vietnam has undergone significant changes, marked by its increasing interconnectedness with the global community. These changes have also brought about a shift in perceptions and advocacy toward the LGBTQ+ community. Also bringing along a change in attitude towards the LGBTQ+ community in Vietnam is self-expression and fashion. Through drag or wearing gender-nonconforming attire, queer individuals are able to challenge the restrictive gender binary prevalent in Vietnamese society. Self-expression and fashion are also critical in helping queer individuals form and …

Discrepancies In The Estimation Of Vaping Rates Among College Students, Cameron J. Klug

Honors Thesis

The use of nicotine inhalation products among college students is an imminent public health issue, with young-adult populations being particularly likely to take up nicotine use during their college years (American College Health Association, 2021). Even with elevated levels of nicotine vapor product use in college populations, existing surveys may still underestimate the prevalence of nicotine use among this population. This study aimed to address this issue by conducting a survey of college students at the University of South Dakota, using a peer-to-peer approach to reduce social desirability bias. The study’s survey directly stated it was being issued and analyzed …

Migrants Sans Papiers: The Impact Of Cantonal Program And Policy Discrepancies On Undocumented Migrant Healthcare Utilization In Switzerland, Denise Peng

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

While Switzerland houses what is generally considered one of the best healthcare systems globally, regional policy discrepancies leave undocumented migrants (UDM) in precarious conditions that threaten the nation’s claim to universal health coverage. Critical analyses of existing UDM-catering structures in different cantons, the Swiss Confederation member states, reveal that local discrepancies in healthcare utilization are functional gradients of cantonal support and public endorsement. Relationships with these authorities are instrumental in steering health outcomes not only with program funding and outreach but also management of studies to better understand UDM health determinants and inform future preventative measures.

UDM services and initiatives …

Brazilian Camming: The Monetization Of Intimacy In Online Sex Work, Fernanda Veiverberg

Master's Theses

This thesis addresses a form of online feminized labor in Brazil, which employs digital technology to relieve the urges for intimacy and monetary insecurity. Camming is a genre of online sex work, in which cam models sell their body image and attention online through computer-mediated interactions. It constitutes a profitable activity that employs body performance without physical contact between model and client, typical in most categories of sex work such as prostitution, and where the clients are not mere spectators as within the pornography industry because camming requires authenticity and communication. For that, I explored three conceptual spheres that combined …

“Yellow Fever” + Pornhub Statistics: A Sociological Sickness, Patricia Plachno

Audre Lorde Prize

This essay was written to explore the complexities behind "Yellow Fever," or the fetishization of Asian women. In further understanding the origins of "Yellow Fever", shining a light on historical stereotypes and microaggressions assist in problematizing this phenomenon. Pornhub's yearly statistics provide a tangible outline of the sheer volume of participants in racial fetishization.