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Juvenile Court Officers’ Perceptions Of Innovation Adoption; What Personal And Contextual Factors Make A Difference In Levels Of Adoption? An Exploratory Mixed-Method Study., Brenda Jean Moran

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This exploratory research examined levels of innovation adoption among Juvenile Court Officers (JCOs) in a Midwestern state. The researcher applied Everett M. Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation model as the study’s framework. According to Rogers (2003), innovation is “an idea, practice or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption” (p. 475). The study sought to determine the extent that demographic and work-life variables such as gender, office location, caseload, years of service, personality/temperament and employee engagement contributed to levels of innovation adoption by JCOs. This study examined the characteristics of individuals and contexts in …

Witnessing Inter-Parental Violence At Home: Adolescents And School Achievement, Renita Dawn Robinson-Tyrance

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Children’s exposure to violence is a serious social problem, but little is known about the educational implications for adolescents witnessing violence between parents. This study uses social learning theory (SLT) to examine the relationship between high school-aged adolescent students who witness parental intimate partner violence (IPV) and academic performance demonstrated by their grade point averages (GPA). A secondary analysis of data collected from the survey of 1,132 adolescent students in a medium sized, suburban/rural city was conducted. Of the respondents, 83% of the students did not witness parental IPV between parents. Students witnessing the most parental IPV had the lowest …

I Ain't Do Nothing: The Social And Academic Experiences Of Black Males In A Dismantled School, Don Sawyer

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation is an ethnographic study of the experiences of Black eighth grade males attending an urban middle school dismantled in the midst of mandated educational reform in a Central New York school district. Some of the students were the victims of repeated school closures and were left behind because of a lack of space in other schools as a result of efforts to disperse students across the district. These students are part of a group that attends classes in a small section of their former building that has been converted into a high school. To gain insight into the …

Labeling Research Deviant: A Comparative Analysis Of Federal Ad Hoc Commissions On Human Subject Research, Brian W. Rossana

Masters Theses

A review of the literature suggests there is still reason for concern due to the nature of deviant research in the past and the continued existence of ambiguous guidelines in particular organizational contexts. Federal ad hoc commissions have been a prominent environment where the absorption of the social reaction to deviant events and discussions regarding bioethics has transpired. The goal then was to ask what conditions of commissions lead to the presence of a research deviant? A convenience sample of nine U.S. federal ad hoc commissions was performed utilizing a method known as crisp-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (csQCA). The results …

A Good Old Age: Experiencing A Satisfying Life, Kaitlin Thimann

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The definition of successful aging has been changing, however, there is a lack of current studies on existing aging trends and how to experience a good old age. The purpose of this study is to identify and describe themes and factors that can lead to an individual experiencing a good old age. This study is a qualitative, exploratory ethnography in which interviews were used to gather information on a good old age from adults aged sixty-five and older. The study revealed that there were several common factors throughout the interviews. Physical and mental health, social support, and financial stability are …

Second Language Gesture And Acculturation In Study Abroad Contexts, Christie Marie Gardner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Motivationis an integral part of learning; Gestures are an important aspect of human communication, and culture plays a significant role in shaping all of these human elements. This study explores the relationship betweensocial, cultural-historical activityand second language(L2) gesture acquisitionas student motivations both drive, and emanate from, the L2 learning process. Six American students participating in a study-abroad program in Chile were evaluated at three different levels of L2 proficiency (beginning, intermediate, and advanced) for L2 gesture articulations and motivational developments. During the semester-long investigation, three audio-video recorded interviews were conducted to observe L2 gestural behaviors, and two e-mail logs were …

What Works In Suicide Bereavement: What Helps And What Hurts?, Quintin Hunt

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Suicide is one of the most painful grief experiences that any family may experience. The suicide bereavement literature, though small, is replete with research that shows family and systemic impacts of suicide. The literature also includes constant calls for family- and systemic-based intervention as every part of society is impacted. Research in the field of marriage and family therapy, however, has ignored suicide and suicide bereavement almost entirely. The purpose of this qualitative study is to develop a more thorough understand of the grief that survivors of suicide experience and to systemically understand what helps and hurts the grieving process. …

Perceptions And Definition Of Infidelity: A Multimethod Study, Sarah Schonian

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Most couples in committed relationships have implicit or explicit rules regarding infidelity. However, not all partners view infidelity in the same way, and the discrepancy in opinions can lead to problems in the relationship and can complicate the healing process. The purpose of this study was to better understand how people define infidelity and the variables that influence perceptions about infidelity. A mutlimethod design was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data on participants' perceptions and definitions of infidelity. Quantitative data was collected through participants' answers to questions on a scale about perceptions of potentially unfaithful behaviors that was developed …

Adolescent Self-Disclosure And Father Involvement Transactions Across Early To Midadolescence, Stephanie Blickfeldt

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the transactional relationship between father involvement and adolescent self-disclosure from early to midadolescence. Four hundred and ninety-six adolescents reported on their general self-disclosure to fathers, and mothers reported on father involvement behaviors and maternal involvement behaviors at ages 11, 13, and 15. Results from a longitudinal cross-lagged model indicated a unidirectional relationship from father involvement to child self-disclosure in both early and midadolescence, and a transactional relationship from adolescent self-disclosure to father involvement in early adolescence. A multiple group analysis by gender revealed that both unidirectional and transactional relationships were significant for boys only. Future research efforts …

The Conceptions And Practices Of Motherhood Among Indo-Caribbean Immigrant Mothers In The United States: A Qualitative Study, Darshini T. Roopnarine

Dissertations - ALL

No abstract provided.

Becoming The Best Mom Or The Best Doctor? Gender Inequality And Medical Students’ Specialty Choice, Casey L. Lawson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In anticipation of an expected national shortage of primary care physicians, 24 medical students from the East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine were selected through a snowball sample and participated in in-depth interviews. A major aim of the study was to explore the social and economic factors influencing students’ specialty choice and career interests. Students’ perceptions of “rural” environments, student debt, professional obligations, specialties, and preceptorship experiences were analyzed. Students’ gender heavily influenced their feelings about choosing a medical specialty, as did their stereotypes of physicians in particular medical fields. The thesis concludes with recommendations for challenging negative …

Race, Social Disorganization And Delinquency, Alina Bazyler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The overrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities in crime has been an issue of debate. Some evidence, however, has shown that racial differences in offending are largely accounted for by economic disadvantage. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 4,290), the relationship between race and delinquency was examined looking at social disorganization factors. It was hypothesized that there would be racial and ethnic differences in delinquency and that these differences would be accounted for by social disorganization factors, specifically collective efficacy and economic disadvantage. The results show that compared to White adolescents Hispanic adolescents …

Evaluating The Smart Steps For Stepfamilies: Embrace The Journey Program, A Hierarchical Examination, Katie L. Reck

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Over the past decade, relationship education has grown as a means of enhancing couple relations. This study examines the experiences of 2,828 ethnically diverse and low-income adults who participated in the Smart Steps for Stepfamilies: Embrace the Journey program, a 12-hour stepfamily education program. Self-report measures of relationship quality, couple commitment, and relationship instability were gathered prior to and immediately after the Smart Steps intervention as well as six weeks, six months, and one year post-program. Results suggest that stepfamily participants experienced increases in relationship quality; however, these increases reduced to near pre-program levels one year after the programs completion. …

Good Hair, Bad Hair, Dominican Hair, Haitian Hair, Katie E. Saunders

Master's Theses - Sociology and Anthropology

The goal of this research is to build on the literature concerning presentation practices of racial and national identity. The research examines presentation practices of race and national identity among Haitian heritage residents of the Dominican Republic (DR). Haitian immigrants have been an important part of the Dominican economy and the Dominican way of life since the beginning of the 20th century. Their descendants have to manage between Haitian and Dominican identities, while under the incredible pressure of anti-Haitian prejudices. The current literature concerning Dominican presentation practices asserts that normative presentation practices hide racial blackness. However, more recent literature questions …

Determining The Feasibility Of Implementing An Effective Fungiculture Program With The Peace Garden At Illinois Wesleyan University, Mackenzie Rivkin '14

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

The Peace Garden at Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU), the organic garden at the small liberal-arts university in Bloomington, Illinois, is devoted to growing nutritious, pesticide-free food to be sold locally in an attempt to counterbalance the various food-related issues which stem from conventional food systems. Mushrooms, fungi with many nutritional benefits, are not currently produced by the Peace Garden. However, the unique nature of mushrooms may be attractive to certain consumers and could further contribute to the Peace Garden's mission if produced. This study, conducted September to December 2013 is guided by the following question: What is the feasibility of …

Students Teaching Students: A Method For Collaborative Learning, Jean Halley, Courtney Heiserman, Victoria Felix, Amy Eshleman

Publications and Research

The Student Small Group Presentation (SSGP) model, a student-centered approach, is introduced and applied to learning communities. Similar to the jigsaw classroom, small groups of students in learning communities are responsible for teaching material to their peers. Unlike other jigsaw techniques, presentation groups in the SSGP teach an entire lesson based on collaborative work conducted outside of class. Presenters are responsible for thorough analysis of course material as they lead a discussion among a small group of peers. Students meet with the same small group throughout the semester, creating a feeling of intimate community within the larger learning community. By …

How (And Why) Nclb Failed To Close The Achievement Gap:Evidence From North Carolina, 1998-2004, Roslyn Mickelson, Jason Giersch, Elizabeth Stearns, Stephanie Moller

The Bridge: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal & Social Policy

Recent state and national policy changes for public education are premised upon the idea that high-stakes tests can improve student outcomes and close achievement gaps. Opponents maintain that such policies fail on both counts. Using a unique longitudinal dataset from North Carolina, we find that high-stakes tests have failed to close achievement gaps associated with social class and race, and that the persistence of these gaps is related, at least in part, to academic tracking. Such findings add to the questions being raised about such policies as No Child Left Behind.

Citizens Without A Nation: The Construction Of Haitian Illegality And Deportability In The Dominican Republic, Sasha Miranda

Theses and Dissertations

Migrant "illegality" has increasingly become a popular topic in political debates around the world, but illegal populations are not random or self-generating, they are created and patterned (DeGenova 2002:422). Through the recent enforcement of new and existing immigration laws, the Dominican State has begun to move large populations of Haitian immigrants and their descendants into irregular or "illegal" immigration status.

A historical analysis of the relationship between the Dominican State and Haitian immigrants presents a paradox: the Dominican economy has become increasingly dependent on Haitian migrant labor, yet the Dominican State has persistently worked to force Haitians and their descendants …

On The Causal Interpretation Of Race In Regressions Adjusting For Confounding And Mediating Variables, Tyler J. Vanderweele, Whitney Robinson

Harvard University Biostatistics Working Paper Series

We consider different possible interpretations of the “effect of race” when regressions are run with race as an exposure variable, controlling also for various confounding and mediating variables. When adjustment is made for socioeconomic status early in a person's life, we discuss under what contexts the regression coefficients for race can be interpreted as corresponding to the extent to which a racial disparity would remain if various socioeconomic distributions early in life across racial groups could be equalized. When adjustment is also made for adult socioeconomic status, we note how the overall disparity can be decomposed into the portion that …

A Unique Support For Sexual-Minority Identity Development: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Of A Long-Term Formal Mentoring Relationship Between An Adult And A Youth From The Gay Community, Christian L. Rummell

Dissertations and Theses

An important need exists to build a baseline understanding of the phenomenon of formal mentoring relationships involving adults and youth from the gay community. During the formative years when gay adolescents navigate through the process of understanding, defining, accepting, and sharing their identity as a sexual minority, they are often faced with high levels of environmental risks, including victimization, stress, and negative social sanctions by others. Formal mentoring has been recommended as a potential strategy to offer unique one-to-one support to gay youth that can help to foster resilience and a range of positive outcomes, including strengthening processes involved in …

Latent Networks: Ties, Structures, And Effects Within An Anonymous Community, Daric P. Thorne

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This research sought to understand the dynamics of latent network structures – what they look like in action, how the social forces within function, and how ties within such a structure may develop. Relying on initial theory developed by Caroline Haythornthwaite (2005), incorporates empirical observations to elaborate upon network latency. Carrying out the research in a virtual community known as 4chan, a survey approach was first undertaken (N = 768) and then followed up with semi-structured interviews (N = 29). The sense of community index, version 2 (SCI-2), measured social capital exchange while cultural and symbolic capital measured participation in …

Food Sovereignty: An Alternative Paradigm For Poverty Reduction And Biodiversity Conservation In Latin America, M. Jahi Chappell, Hannah Wittman, Christopher M. Bacon, Bruce G. Ferguson, Luis Garcia Barrios, Raúl Garcia Barrios, Daniel Jaffee, Jefferson Lima, V. Ernesto Méndez, Helda Morales, Lorena Soto-Pinto, John Vandermeer, Ivette Perfecto

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Strong feedback between global biodiversity loss and persistent, extreme rural poverty are major challenges in the face of concurrent food, energy, and environmental crises. This paper examines the role of industrial agricultural intensification and market integration as exogenous socio-ecological drivers of biodiversity loss and poverty traps in Latin America. We then analyze the potential of a food sovereignty framework, based on protecting the viability of a diverse agroecological matrix while supporting rural livelihoods and global food production. We review several successful examples of this approach, including ecological land reform in Brazil, agroforestry, milpa, and the uses of wild varieties in …

Conceptualizing Communication Capital For A Changing Environment, Leo Wayne Jeffres, Guowei Jian, Sukki Yoon

Communication Faculty Publications

With rapidly evolving technologies, boundaries between traditional modes of communication have blurred, creating an environment that scholars still describe from viewpoints as researchers in interpersonal, organizational or mass communication. This manuscript looks at the social capital literature and argues for conceptualizing “communication capital” to help understand the impact of communication phenomena in a changing environment. The literature has treated interpersonal communication variables as components of social capital and mass communication variables as factors affecting social capital, but scholars long ago recognized their reinforcing nature, leading us to develop a concept of communication capital merging symbolic activity across domains in its …

Internet-Facilitated Commercial Sexual Exploitation Of Children., Kimberly J. Mitchell, Lisa M. Jones

Crimes Against Children Research Center

This bulletin summarizes findings from the Internet‐Facilitated Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (IF‐CSEC) component of the 2006 Second National Juvenile Online Victimization study. Following are some key findings from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention‐sponsored study: • An estimated 569 arrests for IF‐CSEC were made in the United States in 2006; more than half of the arrests involved the offender marketing and selling child pornography. • Most offenders (83%) purchased child pornography or sex with a minor, but an important minority (17%) profited from the exploitation. Profiteers appeared to be more seasoned offenders who were involved in larger, …

Developing Paradise: Tourism, The Local Community, And Nature In Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic, John Ripton Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Las Terrenas, a town in the Samanà province of the Dominican Republic, has experienced phenomenal growth of its tourist industry. Electricity only arrived in Las Terrenas in the late 1990s, yet today, more than 70 hotels and other establishments offer thousands of rooms in tourist accommodations. In little more than two decades, the population of Las Terrenas has mushroomed from a few hundred to nearly 20,000. While the forces of commercial development integrate Las Terrenas into the global economy, its municipal infrastructure simply has not kept pace. The national government finances the construction of roads and other projects to promote …

Elisabeth Croll. Feminism And Socialism In China. London, Henley, And Boston: New York: Routledge, 2011., Lin Jiao

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Global Carbon-And-Conservation Models, Global Eco-States? Ecuador’S Yasuní-Itt Initiative And Governance Implications, Conny Davidsen Ph.D., Laura Kiff

Journal of International and Global Studies

The “global carbon age” marks a structural change far beyond the economic realms of implementing carbon trade, affecting the fabric of global environmental governance and its actors. Carbon trade and conservation in the Global South have taken on various forms, and climate change mitigation efforts in light of continued rainforest deforestation are scrambling to establish effective approaches. Ecuador’s Yasuní-ITT Initiative proposes a new global carbon-and-conservation model in the Ecuadorian Amazon that leaves oil reserves of the Yasuní Ishpingo Tambococha Tiputini (ITT) oil fields underground, in exchange for international compensation payments that would be based on voluntary contributions of governments and …

Slavery In Europe: Part 1, Estimating The Dark Figure, Monti Narayan Datta, Kevin Bales

Political Science Faculty Publications

The estimation of the “dark figure” for any crime (the number of actual instances of a specific crime committed minus the reported cases of that crime within a population) has primarily rested on the ability to conduct random sample crime surveys. Such surveys are based on the assumption that victims experience crimes that are discrete, time-bound, and of relatively short duration. The crime of enslavement, however, presents a special challenge to estimation because it is of indeterminate duration. This challenge is compounded by the fact that victims of slavery are also often isolated by the stigma linked to sexual assault, …

Women And The Second Estate In 16th Century Zambezia: Gendered Powers, A 'Puppet' African Queen And Succession In Vakaranga Society, 1500–1700, George G. Levin

Master's Theses

Women in vaKaranga society of the 15th to 17th centuries have been portrayed as oppressed by an "extremely patriarchal" system, but the reality, while still fitting the simple classification of a 'patriarchal' monarchy, indicates quite a bit more negotiation of gendered powers than women, as a class, experienced in the Mediterranean or East Asia. The vaKaranga were the architects of Great Zimbabwe, the capital of a growing state, colonizing their cousins of the Zambezi river, which their Kusi-Mashariki Bantu forefathers had traversed southward a millennium before. Civil war had (apparently) split one nation into two states, Mutapa (Monomotapa) and Khami …

Prenatal Development: Annotated Bibliography, Victoria J. Molfese, Amanda Prokasky, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Ibrahim H. Acar, Xiaoqing Tu, Kate Sirota, Brian Keiser

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

For decades, researchers have investigated how events in the prenatal period impact women and their infants. These studies, particularly by researchers in the medical, neuroscience, and behavioral science fields, led to discoveries of important information regarding the prenatal events that were strongly associated with mortality (or death) and morbidity (or incidences of injury, pathology and abnormalities/anomalies, and neurobehavioral sequelae) in the neonatal and infancy periods. Among the many common findings from early research studies, two are particularly noteworthy. First, maternal and fetal risk conditions arising in the prenatal period do not do so in isolation. Sameroff and Chandler characterized this …