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Front Matter

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Divergence Between The Teachings And Practice Of Islam: A Civilizational Analysis Of Muslims In Indonesia, Hisanori Kato

Comparative Civilizations Review

Indonesia is a country of cultural as well as religious diversity. Even before the advent of Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism were widespread in the region. Some think that Islam in Indonesia spread to the archipelago through interaction with local civilizations. Although Islam has become a majority religion in Indonesia today, long-standing local cultural traditions, ones that have existed throughout its recorded history, are often still maintained and practiced widely in Indonesia. These pre-Islamic traditions have a profound association with nature, and the people tend to appreciate animistic entities.

The Geographic Clash Of Civilizations?, Mojtaba Sadeghi

Comparative Civilizations Review

The Geographic Clash of Civilizations represents a significant geographic-civilizational reality and process, a phenomenon that has occurred and is expected to unfold increasingly in the third millennium. Understanding, analyzing, and forecasting this phenomenon relies solely on the geographic conceptualization of civilization. Through that perspective, the world is undergoing another instance of the geographic clash of civilizations, a clash more profound than the Clash of Civilizations, impacting the survival or collapse of human civilizations. The geographic clash of civilizations epitomizes an inescapable conflict between the soul (das-man) and the body (no-da-sein) of a civilization, stemming from …

Book Review: Arabia Felix: From The Time Of The Queen Of Sheba (Eighth Century B.C. To The First Century A. D.), Tseggai Isaac

Comparative Civilizations Review

Arabia Felix is a book about Sheba, “modern Yemen” with added highlights on the broader region of Arabia. The author gives an in-depth analysis on how Arabia captured the attention of ancient empires. Arabia also conducted rich trade with her contemporary civilizations such as the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Persians who “encountered caravans of aromatic products coming from South Arabia.”

The Dravidian And Āryan Migrations In Europe And India, Alexander Jacob

Comparative Civilizations Review

Much has been written about the relationship between the Indo-Āryans and the Dravidians. Debates have proliferated on the question of whether the Āryans invaded Dravidian India or whether they were indigenous to Dravida. If we consider the literary evidence of the ancient Indians we can inform a different view of the origins of Indian Brāhmanical religion and the historical relationship between the two major population groupings of India.

Book Review: Why War?, Stephen T. Satkiewicz

Comparative Civilizations Review

Pay any attention to current events and it seems that war and conflict are everywhere: from the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, to the eruption of conflict in the Middle East in October 2023, to on-going geopolitical tensions in the Pacific over the status of Taiwan. It was only a decade or so ago that many were confidently predicting not only the decline but the outright end of war, as Steven Pinker boldly argued in his The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined.

Full Issue

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Of University General Education Assessment Practice, Joseph H. Hanks

Theses and Dissertations

Many-facets Rasch modeling (MFRM) is an effective way to compensate for rater effects (e.g., rater leniency/severity) in the ratings assigned during rater-mediated assessment. While a fully crossed MFRM rating design, in which all raters rate every rating object, is the ideal from a psychometric standpoint; fully crossed designs are rarely implemented in practice because of the resource burden they impose on assessment personnel. Thus, incomplete rating designs, where each rater does not rate all rating objects, are the norm. However, unless assessment personnel consciously attend to a variety of aspects of rating design, incomplete rating designs may suffer from design …

Emergent Leadership, L2 Oral Proficiency, And Social Networks During Study Abroad, Nicole C. Whitby

Theses and Dissertations

Research shows that study abroad (SA) provides a unique, yet varied outcome for students seeking to improve their target language oral proficiency during study abroad SA (Freed et al., 2004). Contemporary work in second language acquisition (SLA) during SA has looked beyond individual behaviors of sojourners to analyze social networks as a structure with significant influence on outcomes, yet emergent leadership has not been addressed within social network analysis in SA. To address this gap the current study employed a computational social network approach. This mixed methods study analyzes the social networks of 30 SA sojourners from a large private …

How Belief In God Impacts Marital Conflict And Resolution For Women Of Faith, Elizabeth Kay Madsen

Theses and Dissertations

Frequent conflict is a significant relationship risk factor for divorce, but it has also been shown that religion strengthens marriages, specifically in ways that give direction and motivation for couples in resolving marital conflict or other marital hardships. Thus, a study of how successful religious couples resolve conflict is pertinent in helping us better understand how to strengthen marriages and families. Our qualitative study of 113 highly religious women of diverse faiths and races found that women's perceived relationship or connection with God reportedly impacted conflict resolution and coping with marital hardship. Results suggest greater reconciliation and unity with the …

Exploring The Intergenerational Links Between Parent And Child Couple Conflict Styles: Attachment Behaviors And Forgiveness As Moderators, Ashley Forbush

Theses and Dissertations

Conflict is a fundamental element of couple relationships, and the styles of conflict partners use can either enhance or undermine couples' relationship satisfaction and stability. Previous research has found clear links between parent and adult children's conflict strategies, but little is known about how adult children can change their conflict approach from what they observed in their family of origin, especially when they come from homes with dysfunctional forms of conflict. To better understand what factors help children change their style of conflict, the current study used data from 1,077 married couples from the CREATE study. Multinomial logit regression was …

Exploring How Caregiver Multiracial Socialization Is Related To Multiracial Identity Pride, Self-Esteem, And Racial Political Identity In Emerging Adulthood, Jennie Jasperson

Theses and Dissertations

The current study examined how caregiver multiracial socialization processes play a role in multiracial emerging adults' multiracial identity pride self-esteem, and racial political identity. The constructs of caregiver multiracial socialization, multiracial identity pride in emerging adulthood, sense of self-esteem in emerging adulthood, and racial political identity in emerging adulthood were examined among 387 multiracial emerging adults between the ages of 18-29 from across the United States. To examine these relationships, multiple regressions were run to analyze data. The results of this study underscore the significance of understanding the role that socialization processes within multiracial families play in ethnic racial identity …

Defensiveness And Accountability In Couple Relationships: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Analysis, Collin Joshua Wright

Theses and Dissertations

Defensiveness is empirically well documented as a factor in breakup and divorce which have wide ranging consequences for adults and affected children, however, little research exists on what Gottman has called the antidote to defensiveness which is taking an accurate amount of accountability. The purpose of this study was to use qualitative methods to illuminate the microprocesses which take place between partners in interactions regarding accountability and defensiveness. The data was taken from part of a larger project on healthy and unhealthy relationships where semi-structured interviews were conducted from a diverse sample recruited through convenience and theoretical sampling. Constructivist grounded …

Chronic Stress And Well-Being: Testing Mindfulness As A Proposed Method To Decrease Stress In Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Madeline M. Gillies

Theses and Dissertations

Parenting is a demanding role that encompasses many responsibilities and challenges. When a child is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, there are additional demands on the parent's time, energy, and financial resources, which likely leads to increased levels of chronic stress for parents. This dissertation examines the differences in chronic stress levels between parents who have children with autism and parents who do not, using hair cortisol concentration (HCC) as a benchmark. This dissertation also explores reducing parental stress by introducing a mindfulness intervention. Participants (n = 68) were recruited and divided into two groups: Parents of children who have …

Consent Behavior, Beliefs In Action: Longitudinal Associations Between Parenting And Adolescent Consent Beliefs And Behaviors, Corinne Archibald

Theses and Dissertations

More research is needed to consider how individual beliefs and socialization agents (i.e., parents) throughout adolescence inform consent-related sexual behaviors. Thus, the current study used an ecological systems approach to the theory of reasoned action (TRA) to examine how parents' consent beliefs were related to adolescents' internal and external consent behaviors, via their beliefs about the importance of consent. Having used longitudinal, nationally sampled data from the Healthy Sexuality Project, this study ran SEM path analysis models on 386 caregiver(s) and adolescents. Results found mothers' and fathers' consent beliefs were positively associated with adolescents' consent beliefs a year later and …

Raising Hope: A Preliminary Investigation Of Hope-Strengthening Parenting, Anna Sellers Calley

Theses and Dissertations

Hope Theory defines hope as a cognitive-motivational process of seeking and obtaining goals through agency thinking and pathway building, with substantive connection to many desirable outcomes. While hope is theorized to begin developing early in life, this assumption has never been empirically investigated. This is due to limitations in established hope measurement. There is an additional gap in the research surrounding the role of parents in the development of hope. In this study, I address each of these gaps by utilizing a novel measure of hope in early childhood and running a multiple linear regression model to investigate potential connections …

Idr: Manifold Alignment For Improved Alzheimer's Prediction Using Multi-Modal Data, Jake Rhodes

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

Areas of Interest: Machine learning, data science, deep learning, random forests, manifold learning

The Negative Impacts Of Parentification On Adolescents: A Systematic Review, Reilly Reid Hawkins

Theses and Dissertations

While child abuse, maltreatment, and neglect are clear examples of the most maladaptive types of parent-child interactions (Borchet et al., 2022), there is considerable evidence for the damaging nature of parentification in terms of youth outcomes and parental/familial dysfunction. The research literature contains numerous studies related to parentification, but there is little research overtly demonstrating the systemic effects of parentification (Peris et al., 2008). It is imperative that researchers and clinicians learn more about the mechanisms involved in the parentification process. Therefore, this systematic review analyzed the research literature centered on both parentification and adolescent populations. This study assessed various …

Eugenics And Feminism: The Reflections Of Two Ideologies In The Reproductive Policies Of The Nazi Regime, The Reunification Period, And Present-Day Germany, Sydney Reil

Undergraduate Honors Theses

German abortion law is restrictive for a Western European nation of strong economic standing and with relatively liberal social policy. Additionally, Germany is one of few Western European nations without an embryopathy indication, which allows for exceptional abortions in cases of fetal defects. The law (as it stands in 2024), has been immeasurably shaped by two ideologies, eugenics and feminism, and by modern Germany’s consideration of both the ideologies themselves, and of how they influenced the reproductive policies of the twentieth century. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the influences of eugenics and feminism on German reproductive law …

Long Distance Relationships: Connections Supporting Rural Science Teachers, Tracy Marie Poulsen

Theses and Dissertations

Research regarding the social professional networks among rural educators is sparse but indicates that rural educators have few supportive connections with other educators. Programs designed to increase the social networks of rural educators use characteristics of similarities in school assignments and geographic distances to place educators into groups for professional development and support, but rarely use technology extensively as a tool to overcome barriers of time, distance, and cost. In one intervention designed in part to increase the professional connections between rural science teachers, Technology Mediated Lesson Study (TMLS) was implemented in a group of rural science teachers. The before …

Sex Influences Of Age Of Onset And Duration Of Illness On Patterns Of Cortical Thickness In Individuals With Schizophrenia, Rachael Olivia Slate

Theses and Dissertations

Given that the manifestation of schizophrenia varies by sex, it is hypothesized that the interaction between diagnosis and sex significantly influences brain structure and is believed to be a crucial factor in understanding the neurobiology of schizophrenia. While much is known about cortical thickness mapping of the condition, there is currently no work that has assessed how changes to the cortical mantle relate to important clinical features of schizophrenia that vary by sex, such as age of illness onset (AOO) or duration of illness (DOI). This study utilized a sex-wise approach to examining cortical thickness alterations in men and women …

Chilled Classrooms: Educator Identity And Responses To "Divisive Issues"-Related Challenges To Professionalism, Hannah Katherine Dixon Everett

Theses and Dissertations

Recently, the United States has seen a notable increase in controversy and legislation regarding "divisive" concepts and issues in education. These divisive issues include Critical Race Theory, Social Emotional Learning, book censorship, and other race and gender topics. Legislation and media coverage regarding these issues contributes to a larger trend of challenges to teacher professionalism. I build on recent literature exploring how educators experience divisive issues legislation, putting these experiences in conversation with educator identity formation and the development of a professional sense of self. I interviewed 18 secondary school teachers throughout Utah's Wasatch Front to explore (1) how teachers …

Facets Of Neuroticism As Predictors Of Heart Rate Variability And Psychological Distress, Mikel Cressman

Theses and Dissertations

Heart rate variability (HRV) and personality are related to both physical and mental health outcomes. Previous research has found a relationship between neuroticism and distress while the findings on the relationship between neuroticism and HRV are mixed. Studying the facets of neuroticism may provide a more nuanced view of the effects of personality on HRV and distress. Previous research has suggested that the vulnerability facet of neuroticism appears to be uniquely related to the cardiovascular response to stress. This study's first hypothesis is that individuals with higher scores on the vulnerability facet will have lower heart rate variability. The second …

Cameras For Girls: Nonprofit Spotlight, Angie Holzer

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

No abstract provided.

Full Issue: Artificial Intelligence And Data For Nonprofit Organizations, Angie Holzer

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

No abstract provided.

Machine Learning For Nonprofit Organizations, Justin Holzer

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Nonprofit organizations are often looking for ways to increase efficiency while operating with limited resources. With data more readily available than in the recent past, machine learning provides powerful tools for unlocking valuable insights and enabling nonprofits to do more with limited resources. This paper explores various machine learning techniques to enhance nonprofit operations with an overview of machine learning approaches, including supervised, unsupervised, semi-supervised, and reinforcement learning, and their potential benefits for nonprofit organizations. A practical use-case of donor prediction for fundraising is presented to demonstrate how supervised learning can be employed to identify potential repeat donors. The neural …

Enhancing Nonprofit Efficiency And Productivity Through Ai: Applications Of Chatgpt, Sam R. Calhoun, Angie Holzer

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

This article explores how nonprofit organizations can leverage AI to enhance efficiency and productivity. Key areas of impact include automating routine inquiries, supporting fundraising efforts, streamlining administrative tasks, aiding in program delivery, facilitating research and analysis, improving internal communication, and providing professional development. By integrating AI, nonprofits can optimize operations and focus more on their core mission, leading to greater social impact.

At-A-Glance Chart: How Nonprofits Can Use Ai/Chatgpt, Sam Calhoun, Angie Holzer

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

No abstract provided.

Authorship In The Age Of Algorithms: Adapting Copyright Law For Ai-Generated Content, Sydney Thomas

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

In the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the relationship between technological advancement and legal protection for human creators has become increasingly critical. From Stephen Hawking's admonition of the potential risks of unregulated AI to Sam Altman's advocacy for proactive regulation, this paper navigates the evolving landscape of AI innovation and copyright law. By examining the challenges posed by AI-generated content, including issues of intellectual property infringement and privacy concerns, it highlights the need for adaptive legal frameworks. Strategic enhancements to copyright law must be developed, such as bolstering fair use doctrine and expanding creator rights, to ensure the protection of …

A Blueprint For Future Achievements For Nonprofits, William B. Calder

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Nonprofit organizations hire strong leaders to articulate a vivid and persuasive picture of how the organization will be better, in a significant way, than what currently exists. Leaders should not underestimate the use of a powerful vision, as it is needed to help define the issues and challenges for stakeholders (inside and outside the organization). Leaders need to describe what success looks like and continue to task all stakeholders to assist in building the “dream.”

Operational and staffing challenges are more difficult for NPOs without an articulated, compelling, and concise vision statement. The resultant costs of not having this statement …