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Positive Outcomes: Strategies For Assessing The Progress Of Youth Involved In The Justice System, Jeffrey A. Butts, Emily K. Pelletier, Lila Kazemian

Publications and Research

This report examines the shift in U.S. youth justice systems toward using adolescent development science to improve interventions and measure youth success. It emphasizes the adoption of Positive Youth Development (PYD) principles, which focus on fostering positive relationships and skills rather than just preventing recidivism. The report highlights various frameworks—such as the Developmental Assets model and Positive Youth Justice model—that align with PYD principles and research on desistance from crime. These frameworks offer a path for transforming youth justice systems into strengths-based approaches that promote long-term positive outcomes.

Latent Toxoplasma Gondii Infection Moderates The Association Between The C677t Mthfr Polymorphism And Cognitive Function In U.S. Adults, Andrew Nathan Berrett

Theses and Dissertations

Sufficient blood concentrations of folate and the products from its metabolism are necessary for several cellular functions. The C677T MTHFR polymorphism, present in over half of the U.S. population, reduces the efficiency of folate metabolism and has been linked to the onset of multiple psychiatric disorders and cognitive decline. The intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii can infect the human brain and is associated with increased prevalence of psychiatric disorders and cognitive decline. In vitro studies have found that Toxoplasma gondii may salvage unmetabolized folate from host cells. Since the C677T MTHFR polymorphism and infection by Toxoplasma gondii both affect folate metabolism …

Discovery Orientation, Cognitive Schemas, And Disparities In Science Identity In Early Adolescence, Patricia Wonch Hill, Julia Mcquillan, Amy Spiegel, Judy Diamond

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Why are some youth more likely to think of themselves as a science kind of person than others? In this paper, we use a cognitive social-theoretical framework to assess disparities in science identity among middle school–age youth in the United States. We investigate how discovery orientation is associated with science interest, perceived ability, importance, and reflected appraisal, and how they are related to whether youth see themselves, and perceive that others see them, as a science kind of person. We surveyed 441 students in an ethnically diverse, low-income middle school. Gender and race/ethnicity are associated with science identity but not …

Positive Outcomes Of Divorce: A Multi-Method Study On The Effects Of Parental Divorce On Children, Grant W. Mohi

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

Previous literature on parental divorce focuses on the negative effects it has on children and young adults in terms of relationships (romantic and familial) and academic standing. The implications of such research are that parental divorce brings harm to families and, consequentially, should be avoided for the sake of the children's wellbeing. What is often missing from this research is a focus on the potential positive outcomes of parental divorce. The current study explores the effects of parental divorce on young adults' ability to form and maintain romantic relationships, exploring the possibility for positive outcomes of parental divorce on young …

What Is Appealing?: Sex And Racial Differences In Perceptions Of The Physical Attractiveness Of Women, Rachel Sewell

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

Beauty and physical appearance are considered to be of great importance in today's society. In the U.S., many strive for physical perfection, and much attention is focused on the way one looks. A beauty ideal has been created over time through the combination of several elements within American culture, and this ideal image attempts to define female beauty as fitting into a certain mold. Certain characteristics have been deemed the most attractive when it comes to female physical attractiveness, and a model of beauty has been presented by the media. This research focuses on whether everyone buys into that ideal. …

Using Photovoice With Adults With Developmental Disabilities To Measure Camp Goals, Haley Alexandra Allmond

Honors College Theses

This project addressed the perspectives of adults with developmental disabilities in a residential camp setting, with a particular focus on health beliefs. It involved 15 participants with a range of diagnoses in participatory action research using Photovoice, which is a technique that allows marginalized groups the ability to voice specific needs through photography. For the purposes of this project, subjects took photos and examined evidence of healthy living skills learned during the camp experience. After analyzing data collected, the researcher identified four separate definitions of health discussed by participants. Study findings suggest that the residential camp experience has a positive …

A Social–Ecological Perspective For Riverscape Management In The Columbia River Basin, Brian K. Hand, Courtney G. Flint, Chris A. Frissell, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Shawn P. Devlin, Brian P. Kennedy, Robert L. Crabtree, W. Arthur Mckee, Gordon Luikart, Jack A. Stanford

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Riverscapes are complex, landscape-scale mosaics of connected river and stream habitats embedded in diverse ecological and socioeconomic settings. Social–ecological interactions among stakeholders often complicate natural-resource conservation and management of riverscapes. The management challenges posed by the conservation and restoration of wild salmonid populations in the Columbia River Basin (CRB) of western North America are one such example. Because of their ecological, cultural, and socioeconomic importance, salmonids present a complex management landscape due to interacting environmental factors (eg climate change, invasive species) as well as socioeconomic and political factors (eg dams, hatcheries, land-use change, transboundary agreements). Many of the problems in …

Why Do Families Relinquish Care Of Children With Intellectual Disability And Severe Challenging Behaviors? Professional’S Perspectives, Jessica Ng, Paul Rhodes

The Qualitative Report

Relinquishing care of a child with developmental disabilities can be a traumatic experience for parents. The aim of this study was to explore the perception of professionals regarding the relationships within families and service systems that contribute towards the relinquishment of children with Intellectual Disability (ID) and challenging behavior. Fifteen disability professionals were interviewed from a variety of disciplines, each having been involved in supporting a family while they relinquished care. A constructionist grounded theory approach was used for analysis, with data interpreted through a systemic lens. An accumulation of factors led to relinquishment, including the cumulative isolation of mothers …

What Are The Characteristics Of Vitamin D Metabolism In Opioid Dependence? An Exploratory Longitudinal Study In Australian Primary Care, Albert Stuart Reece, Gary Hulse

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

OBJECTIVE: Compare vitamin D levels in opioid dependence and control population and adjust for relevant confounding effects. Nuclear hormone receptors (including the vitamin D receptor) have been shown to be key transducers and regulators of intracellular metabolism and comprise an important site of pathophysiological immune and metabolic dysregulation potentially contributing towards pro-ageing changes observed in opioid-dependent patients (ODPs).

DESIGN: Longitudinal prospective comparing ODPs with general medical controls (GMCs).

SETTING: Primary care.

PARTICIPANTS: Prospective review comparing 1168 ODP (72.5% men) and 415 GMC (51.6% men, p

INTERVENTIONS: Nil. Observational study only.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: Serum vitamin D levels and relevant …

From Outsiders To In-Betweens : Identity Negotiation Of Thai Female Migrants In Hong Kong, Yu Zhang

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

As a multicultural cosmopolitan, transnational migration has an inseparable relationship with the socio-economic development of Hong Kong, the phenomenon of transnational marriage between Hong Kong men and Southeast Asian women has become one of the influential factors impacting the family and social structure in this city. This research aimed to investigate the complicated identities of Thai female migrants within this specific socio-demographic group in Hong Kong. This study, guided by identity, gender, and narrative perspectives, examines the subjective experiences of Thai female migrants through their journey of transnational migration to Hong Kong from an intersectionality perspective. Therefore, the central focus …

A Gender-Non-Conforming Method: Trans* Methodologies For Trans* Subjects, Ilia Forkin

sprinkle: an undergraduate journal of feminist and queer studies

This paper analyses the methodology of sociological studies on gender-non-conforming (GNC) subjects in the context of prominent critiques by GNC theorists who have asserted the necessity of centering the needs, perspectives, and cultural work of transgender (trans*) and GNC academics and subjects. The paper explains how studies which favor an interactionist model of sociology prioritize notions of gender which uphold heteronormativity and erase the lived-experiences of the subjects they concern. As a solution to this obstacle, this paper proposes strategies to assist in the creation of participatory models of sociology which engage with gender in a way which reflects the …

Mexican-Origin Parents’ Stress And Satisfaction: The Role Of Emotional Support, Tierney K. Popp, Melissa Y. Delgado, Lorey Wheeler

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Guided by a process model of parenting and the integrative model, this study examined sources of emotional support (i.e., partner, maternal, paternal) as related to stress and satisfaction resulting from the parenting role in a sample of Mexican-origin young adult parents who participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) during Wave IV. Participants were male and female parents (26–35 years of age; 59% female; N = 737) who had children and a partner. Results from structural equation modeling revealed support from mothers as salient; high levels of maternal support were associated with high levels …

"Canada Is My Home. It Is All I'Ve Ever Known": The Impact Of Bill C-43 On Permanent Resident In Canada, Erica Subramaniam

Social Justice and Community Engagement

This paper examines the impact of Bill C-43, “The Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act,” on permanent residents (PRs) who immigrated to Canada as a youth and have come to regard Canada as their “home” despite their precarious migration status. Through qualitative research methods, data on the experiences of PRs and their understandings of “home,” “place,” belonging and consciousness was collected through interviews. Jay and Trevor’s stories are presented through a case study research design, highlighting their complex identities and experiences while also examining how the risk of deportation under Bill C-43 can strip them from all they …

Social Care Students’ Learning In The Practice Placement In Ireland, Fiona Mcsweeney, David Williams

Articles

The practice placement is a central component of social care education, being seen as where students develop their practice skills, self-awareness and apply theoretical knowledge. This research reports on social care students’ experiences of their practice placements, in particular how learning was achieved and what helped learning. An interpretivist approach was used in line with the acceptance of the individuality of students’ experiences. A volunteer sample of seventeen students were interviewed individually at the end of their final year in college. The interview transcripts were thematically analysed. Four themes were identified: the need for a balance between autonomy and doing …

Weathered Mountains: A Qualitative Study Of West Virginia Women And Their Perceptions Of Strength, Land, And Womanhood, Danielle Renee Mullins

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Appalachia and those living within the region have been discussed, examined, critiqued, and defined primarily by those living outside of the area, particularly following the 2016 Election. The main narratives of Appalachia form a dichotomous view of the land and its people: beautiful landscapes threatened by resource extraction and a people wrecked by the symptoms of longterm poverty and economic stagnation. Simultaneously, the Appalachian identity has been constructed around a rugged or blue-collar male identity that excludes and makes invisible the female experience. This study seeks to break through the landscape and poverty binary, as well as the male-archetype, to …

In All Fairness: Two Decades Of Cedaw And The State Of Gender Equality In Singapore, Ning Qian

Social Space

In an inclusive society, all women would have equal opportunities as men to participate socially, politically and economically. They would be valued and recognised as individuals in their own right and not primarily defi ned by their marital and reproductive status. Has this been achieved in Singapore? Contrary to common belief, the nation still has some ways to go in this regard, for signifi cant groups of women in Singapore continue to be marginalised and disadvantaged.

The Relationship Between Exposure To Lead And Criminal Behavior, Margaret Meyer, Christine Rogers

2017-2018: Scott County, Iowa Health Department

In recent years it has been made apparent that exposure to lead is a significant problem for many individuals and families. Lead exposure–whether through the air, water, or by ingestion–has been linked to numerous physical, cognitive, and social problems (Chandramouli, 2009; Nevin, 2007). Furthermore, urban, poor and immigrant populations are at a higher risk for lead exposure (Bakhireva, et al., 2013). And increasingly a connection between lead exposure and criminal behavior has been identified through both correlation studies and experiments. The high cost of exposure to lead is apparent when looking at the effects of lead over a lifetime, and …

Putting Rooted Networks Into Practice, Alida Cantor, Elisabeth Stoddard, Dianne Rocheleau, Jennifer F. Brewer, Robin Roth, Trevor Birkenholtz, Katherine Foo, Padini Nirmal

Geography

Rooted networks provide a conceptual framework that embeds network thinking in nature-society geography in order to investigate socio-ecological relations, while emphasizing the place-specific materiality of these relations. This progress report examines how geographers have put the framework into scholarly practice. The conceptual approach has enabled researchers to: 1) articulate the territoriality and materiality of networks as assemblages, which may be simultaneously rooted and mobile; 2) discern diverse types of power that flow through network connections; and 3) conduct analyses that unearth multiply-situated knowledges within networks. Challenges emerge as we seek to integrate the approach more fully with disciplinary traditions, including …

Biosocial Criminology Versus The Constitution, Karen E. Balter

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

The continually emerging field of biosocial criminology provides a basis for productively merging biology with sociological reasonings for criminal behavior. Mainstream research in criminology focuses on environmental factors as the sole reason individuals exhibit antisocial behavior patterns and may ultimately commit crimes. Criminological research has travelled in this direction for decades. The current climate within this community subscribes heavily to the notion that biology has very little to do with why people behave the way they do, and if it did, government control would be the norm. The nature of biocriminology opens a door through which constitutional issues may enter. …

Examining The Roles Of Child Temperament And Teacher-Child Relationships As Predictors Of Turkish Children’S Social Competence And Antisocial Behavior, Ibrahim H. Acar, Traci Kutaka, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Julia C. Torquati, Robert J. Coplan, Süleyman Yıldız

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The present study examined the concurrent contribution of Turkish children’s temperament and teacher-child relationship quality to their social competence and antisocial behavior, with a specific focus on the moderating role of teacher-child relationships (closeness and conflict) on children’s temperament (inhibitory control and shyness) when predicting social competence and antisocial behavior. Participants were 94 children (56 boys) with mean age of 7.05 years (SD = .88) enrolled in 24 classrooms from five elementary schools in a suburban school district in Turkey. Mothers reported on children’s temperament and teachers reported on their relationships with children as well as children’s social competence …

Fictive Kinships And The Remaking Of Family Life In The Context Of Paid Domestic Work: The Case Of Philippine Yayas, Maria Rosario De Guzman, Aileen S. Garcia, Minerva D. Tuliao

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

In this chapter, we draw from our study on Filipina rural-to-urban migrant workers in the domestic care sector to illustrate how migrants make and remake family in the context of separation. The setting of our study is in Quezon City, Philippines, and our participants are women employed as yayas-domestic care workers employed to care for children. They live in their employers' homes, and most of our respondents live apart from their own children and all are living away from their nuclear families. Details of this study are laid out in an earlier paper that focused on the experience of family …

What Is My Role In Changing The System? A New Model Of Responsibility For Structural Injustice, Robin Zheng

Women's and Gender Studies Program: Faculty Publications

What responsibility do individuals bear for structural injustice? Iris Marion Young has offered the most fully developed account to date, the Social Connections Model. She argues that we all bear responsibility because we each causally contribute to structural processes that produce injustice. My aim in this article is to motivate and defend an alternative account that improves on Young’s model by addressing five fundamental challenges faced by any such theory. The core idea of what I call the Role-Ideal Model is that we are each responsible for structural injustice through and in virtue of our social roles, i.e. our roles …

Why Mowing The Lawn Can Be Complicated (Chapter 6 From Worthy: Finding Yourself In A World Expecting Someone Else), Melanie Springer Mock

Faculty Publications - Department of English

In Worthy, college professor Melanie Springer Mock sifts through the shape and weight of expectations that press Christians into cultural molds rather than God's image. By plumbing Scripture and critiquing the ten-billion-dollar-a-year self-improvement industry, Mock offers life-giving reminders that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Set free from the anxiety to conform to others' expectations, we are liberated to become who God has created us to be. If you're worn out from worrying that you've missed God's One Big Calling, and if you're tired of trying to fit yourself into some cookie-cutter Christian mold, step away from the expectations and …

Social Conflict On The Seas: Links Between Overfishing-Induced Marine Fish Stock Declines And Forced Labor Slavery, Jessica L. Sparks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite media attention detailing labor abuses in fisheries, social-ecological systems research has largely failed to consider whether fish stock declines could be contributing to increases in forced labor slavery. Empirical fisheries data suggests, though not a ubiquitous response to declining stocks, many vessels will fish longer, farther from shore, and deeper in waters to maintain yields. This effort intensification increases production costs, and Brashares et al. (2014), consistent with slavery theory, posited cheap and/or unpaid labor as an approach to offset increasing costs and continue harvesting fish species at a rate otherwise cost-prohibitive.

Using fuzzy cognitive mapping - a participatory, …

'At Least You're Not Neurotypical': Social Barriers To Mental Health At Oberlin College, Charis Justine Stanek

Honors Papers

Previous research shows that mental health issues often manifest in the late teens and early twenties, the age of many college students (Kessler et al., 2007). This report is a case study about mental illness at Oberlin College. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the subculture of Oberlin may incentivize students to maintain their identity with mental illness. Three hundred and eighty-four Oberlin students were surveyed about their perception of conversations around mental illness and behaviors of mentally ill students at Oberlin. In fifty semi-structured interviews, students were asked to elaborate on how they came …

Ua19/16/1 Wku Football Media Guide, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

WKU football media guide for 2018.

Media Marginalization Of Racial Minorities: "Conspiracy Theorists" In U.S. Ghettos And On The "Arab Street", Martin Orr, Ginna Husting

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The epithet conspiracy theorist can be understood as what C. Wright Mills called a "vocabulary of motive:' This vocabulary of motive is routinely used to dismiss scholars, journalists, and citizens who question, or worse yet document, the consolidation or abuse of political, economic, and cultural resources. The micropolitics of the term conspiracy theory have become so intense that grassy knoll (a term relating to belief in conspiracy theories about the assassination of President Kennedy) and other terms have become shorthand for those who on the one hand wear "tinfoil hats" to protect themselves from government mind-control rays and for those …

A Forbidden Act: Illicit Sex And The Colonial Heterosexual Matrix, Rain Tiller

sprinkle: an undergraduate journal of feminist and queer studies

This paper will discuss the cases in which illicit sex becomes mechanisms of disruption. The first section will explore the theoretical underpinnings of sex and the body as an access point to politics and normative critique. Then, I will discuss the examples of illicit sex in the novels Women of Sand and Myrrh and Woman at Point Zero. It is important to study the role of sex in literature to expand the symbolic understanding of sex and sexuality. It is also necessary to bring an analysis of colonial dynamics to sexuality studies in order to fully critique the racial and …

Ua19/16/1 2018 Volleyball Media Guide, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Athletic media guide for volleyball team.

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

WKU Administration Documents

General WKU athletics press releases for 2018.