Digital Commons Network^™

Protections And Liabilities: Parental Attributes Of Lynch Victims, Peter Shumway Polhill

Theses and Dissertations

Minimal research has focused on how lynching was not purely an individual-level event but, at times, was a family-level process. Prior research has focused on the economic forces, social factors, and individual level attributes that changed the probability of being lynched. Research studying these topics has identified that marginalization, status, distinctiveness, and the racial threat hypothesis contribute to lynching. However, this research has not studied child victims and how parental level attributes may intersect differently with these theoretical perspectives. Using machine-learning tools, I created census linked data which identifies the families of child lynch victims and other non-victim families in …

Sexually Transmitted Diseases Among Adolescents And Young Adults In Brazil, Sabrina Ruiz

Ballard Brief

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are infections that are mainly transmitted through sexual contact. These infections are typically caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites and can affect anyone who is sexually active. Some of the most common types of STDs include chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and human papillomavirus (HPV). STDs pose a significant global health problem, with young people in Brazil being particularly vulnerable. They are at a higher risk of contracting STDs due to several factors, including risky sexual behavior, substance abuse, and sexual violence. The consequences of contracting STDs in this population include cervical cancer, chronic pelvic pain, and pelvic …

Becoming Good: Muslims Pursuing Moral Personhood In A Rural French Town, Clayton S. Van Woerkom

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how members of a Muslim community (made up of migrants and their descendants from various parts of North Africa, West Africa, Turkey, and elsewhere) in a small town in France seek to become moral persons through Islam. I argue that this quest for moral recognition is informed simultaneously by Islamic and French Republican values, which my French Muslim interlocutors usually conceive of as being consistent with one another. I contrast this analysis with other scholarly approaches to Islam in France that have generally explored the way non-Muslims perceive Islam to be at odds with Frenchness, how Muslims …

Healing Practices And Ritual Feasts Among The Nabateans: A Study Of Absorbed Residues From Ceramics On The Ad-Deir Plateau, Jake Hubbert

Theses and Dissertations

Eastern Cistern B on the Ad-Deir Plateau is unusual in its breadth and variety of ceramic vessels represented by thousands of sherds. These sherds raised significant questions about the purpose and use of the vessels that they originally came from. This thesis argues that the ceramic vessels that were deposited in Eastern Cistern B represent the deposited remains of an ancient Nabataean ritual feast. Furthermore, this thesis also helps to answer the questions surrounding what the ceramic containers once held and their relationship to that ritual meal. This thesis identified residues absorbed within the ceramic fragments through the use of …

Having "The Talk": Discrepancies In Parent-Adolescent Sex Communication Frequency And Quality Associated With Adolescent Sexual Esteem, Joanna Beth Eldredge

Theses and Dissertations

Repeatedly, parents have reported more frequent and higher quality sex communication with adolescent children than adolescents report taking place. The current study analyzes the discrepancy in parent-child report of sex communication with three main focuses: the magnitude of the discrepancy, whether parent or adolescent perception is more associated with adolescent sexual esteem, and whether the discrepancy is associated with adolescent sexual esteem. Using data from the Healthy Sexuality Project, we analyze a random sample of 620 families using a hierarchical linear regression to measure whether a discrepancy in parent-adolescent reports of the frequency and quality of sex communication has influence …

Viejo Period Architecture In The Casas Grandes Region Of Northern Mexico, Samuel J. Jensen

Theses and Dissertations

The Casas Grandes region of northern Mexico is an understudied, though important, part of the culture area that has come to be known as the Northwest/Southwest (NW/SW). What studies have been conducted in the Casas Grandes region have focused on the Medio Period (approximately 1200-1450 AD) and the large site of Paquimé. Only a small amount of research has been conducted on the preceding Viejo Period (approximately 700-1200 AD). In this thesis, I create a clearing house of published Viejo Period architectural features excavated in the Casas Grandes region. I also analyze those features to develop our understanding of the …

Online Self-Compassion Training Vs. Expressive Writing: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Lauren Benyo Linford

Theses and Dissertations

Self-compassion is associated with a variety of positive outcomes including well-being and positive body image. There is a need for accessible online self-compassion resources that can be disseminated to the general public. This study examined the efficacy of The Gift of Self-Compassion course (GSC): a 30-day internet-delivered self-compassion training within a non-clinical general population sample. Outcomes examined were self-compassion, well-being, and body dissatisfaction. Using a randomized controlled design, this study compared the GSC to an expressive writing (EW) curriculum. Participants were 215 adults from the general population. Seemingly unrelated regression models were used to estimate treatment differences between groups as …

Development, Reliability, And Validity Of A Measurement Of Attitudes Toward Non-Binary Individuals, Jane Green

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have commonly clustered together both binary transgender and non-binary individuals in their research studies. When assessing attitudes, it is likely that attitudes toward these two groups have been combined leading to valuable reports of attitudes missing from the literature. While measurements within the field of psychology have been created to assess attitudes toward binary transgender individuals, there currently is no measurement to assess attitudes toward non-binary individuals. As such, three studies were conducted to create a reliable and valid measurement of attitudes toward non-binary individuals. In Study 1 Part 1, 33 items were reworded and utilized from previously created …

Understanding Gendered Hierarchy In Highly Religious Couples, Jolyn C. Schraedel

Theses and Dissertations

Although religious beliefs often associate with gendered hierarchy in sociological studies, very few studies have examined religion and gendered hierarchy within intimate relationships. This study used an exemplary sample to explore how religious, heterosexual married couples view and possibly practice gendered hierarchy. Interviews from 77 highly religious, highly satisfied couples provided insight into the following themes: (1) the potential harm of hierarchy, (2) misunderstanding hierarchy, (3) rejection of hierarchy, and (4) acceptance of hierarchy. For couples who expressed acceptance of hierarchy, further exploration revealed subthemes explaining how they conceptualized this practice. Subthemes included (4a) mutual submission, (4b) joint discussion, and …

The Impact Of Independence: A Look At First-Generation College Student Writers' Help-Seeking Behaviors, Emily Durney

Theses and Dissertations

In this qualitative research study, I share first-generation college students' help-seeking experiences with writing tasks and use an affective lens to investigate how first-generation students feel when navigating various help-seeking situations. Often, students' experiences and emotions highlight their commitments to independence. In this study, I found that students' feelings of insecurity and confidence both encouraged and discouraged help seeking with writing, that students expressed determination as a central affect when describing their commitment to independence, and that loneliness is a significant affect in regards to writing help seeking and independence. These findings provide writing center faculty and tutors and first-year …

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 …

Navigating The Unfamiliar: The Lived Experience Of Elementary School Teachers As They Navigate The Use Of New Literacies During A Global Pandemic, Sydney Boyer

Theses and Dissertations

New literacies within schools is supported by both education policy and research; despite this, new literacies have yet to enter and transform the classroom. The COVID-19 pandemic offered an unprecedented opportunity to study teachers' experiences as they are required to navigate new literacies while teaching online. Therefore, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experience of three upper elementary school teachers as they navigated the use of new literacies in a Title I school during a global pandemic. Data sources included three in-depth interviews and were analyzed through a thematic approach. Data analysis resulted in identifying …

What's Gonna Happen With Us? How Friendship Networks Change After Marriage, Madeleine Meldrum

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Marriage represents a significant life transition that brings with it changes in other relationships. One of the most notable changes is a tendency for married individuals to decrease their social networks following their marriage, a process known as dyadic withdrawal. This pattern has been repeatedly observed, but there is a lack of research into the reasons and mechanisms behind withdrawal. Using semi-structured qualitative interviews with nineteen recently married young adults, I examine the changes that took place in young adults’ friendships following their marriage, as well as the reasons individuals gave for these changes. Results support the dyadic withdrawal hypothesis …

Party Contacting, Group Identity, And Covid-19: An Analysis Of Asian American Voter Turnout In 2020, Suzy Yi

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

Many scholars have examined what affects voter turnout rates among racial minorities compared to that of White voters. Racial minorities consistently turn out to vote in elections at lower rates than White voters. One method of combating low voter turnout is through party contacting, in which political parties mobilize people who are most likely to vote through activities such as door-to-door canvassing or individualized contact through mail, phone calls, and texts (Huckfeldt and Sprague 1992; Wielhouwer and Lockerbie 1994). However, because political parties direct their efforts towards those who are most likely to vote, they are more likely to favor …

The Growing Greens: How Young Postmaterialists Delivered Electoral Success For The German Green Party In 2021, Isaac Lamoreaux

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

The German Green Party seemed to be forever a secondary party in German politics. That is, until the German General Election in 2021 when they gained more seats in the Bundestag than any other party. Many wondered how such a small party could perform such a feat. Scholars, particularly Ronald Inglehart, have theorized on and studied the concept of postmaterialism. In a basic sense, postmaterialism is a set of values that turns away from safety and security concerns (materialism), and more toward what Inglehart called intellectual and aesthetic concerns (Inglehart 1971, 991–993). These concerns range from topics like freedom of …

Full Issue

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

No abstract provided.

Utah Antidiscrimination Efforts: Shortcomings, Challenges, And The Way Forward, Greta L. Asay

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

Despite being a pro-business state, Utah is not considered employee-friendly; employment discrimination is prevalent, in spite of the state and federal laws in place to protect against it. The state agency that is in place to safeguard employees against unlawful discrimination is the Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division (UALD), established by the Utah Antidiscrimination Act (UADA). While the UALD has the potential to be a powerful legal guardrail for employees, it currently is not fulfilling this potential. This paper explores the shortcomings of the UALD and argues that changes should be made to strengthen the authority of the UADA.

On Civilizational Strategic Studies, Stephen T. Satkiewicz

Comparative Civilizations Review

Given the on-going crises around the world, especially the current war in Ukraine, it has become imperative to analyze the strategic interests of the major geopolitical players in the world. Samuel P. Huntington formulated his controversial “Clash of Civilizations” thesis almost thirty years ago, but this topic has received a resurgence of interest due to Christopher Coker’s research on “civilizational states.” Coker takes this concept a bit further by arguing that different geopolitical actors disagree on how the world should be ordered.

Now is perhaps the most opportune time to examine the relevance of civilizations as well as civilizational theory …

Local Partisan Agreement And Trust, Mike Pulsipher, Kelsey Eyre

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

Americans are more distrusting than ever. On every metric, there has been a noticeable and substantial decline in trust of government, media, and business. This important trend has received a lot of academic and press attention and has been identified in nearly every state and every demographic. Curiously, despite decades of falling crime, fraud, and corruption, Americans are also less trusting in each other. While changes in trust for government, media, and business have looked quite different for Democrats and Republicans, partisans have shown similar declining trends in general trust.

Coming And Going To Zion: Conceptualizing Emigrant Motives Of British Latter-Day Saints, 1840-60, Samuel Benson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the push- and pull-factors that caused Latter-day Saint converts to emigrate from the U.K. between 1840 and 1860. A close reading of firsthand accounts written by 50 emigrants suggests that temporal and spiritual motives are deeply intertwined in the minds of early Mormon emigrants, and distinguishing between the nature of these factors is difficult. Several patterns emerge in the study of these accounts: first, economic factors were intertwined with millenarian belief; second, the allure of charismatic authority (prophets) or communication with God was influential; third, the doctrine of “gathering” was central to their decision-making, though the focus …

A Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Audit Of The American Families Of Faith Project: Exploring Lifespan Spiritual Development In Religiously And Racially Diverse Families, David C. Dollahite, Justin J. Hendricks, Loren D. Marks

Faculty Publications

Social science and religious studies scholars should endeavor to broaden theories, methods, and samples to be more inclusive. Therefore, we have conducted an “equity audit” of the American Families of Faith (AFF) project. We evaluated the diversity, equity, and inclusion of the AFF project’s (a) research team, (b) products, and (c) samples. We then discuss the reasoning behind the decisions that resulted in the existing strengths and limitations of the project, the fruits of this and previous evaluations (including a presentation of some narrative accounts from parents and youths across several religious-ethnic communities across the US), opportunities for growth, and …

Gyno-Gerontological Discourse And The Dearth Of Old Women Narrators In British Fiction 1790-1860, Lavender Elisabeth Earnest

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the remarkable dearth of old woman narrators in British fiction between 1790 and 1860, both documenting their under-representation and explaining it as, in part, a product of a wave of medical discourse disparaging the physical and mental vitality of post-menopausal women. Regarding methodology, I perform a random sample upon a corpus of first-person novels published in the period and categorize each according to the gender and age of the narrator. This analysis exhibits, unsurprisingly, that most narrators in the dataset are either in the first half of their life, male, or both. Old women represent only a …

Perspectives On Lifespan Religious And Spiritual Development From Scholars Across The Lifespan, Megan Gale, Justin J. Hendricks, David C. Dollahite, Loren D. Marks

Faculty Publications

The purpose of the article is to share our perspectives on the key influences of lifespan religious and spiritual development as scholars from across the lifespan (i.e., the four authors are from different generations, including Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Gen Z). Our perspectives are heavily influenced by our combined 60+ years of research experience in examining the connections between religion and family life. Our discussion is organized around Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological framework and the process-person-context-time model. Within this framework, the key factors we discuss that influence religious/spiritual development include (a) process (i.e., person-religion mismatch and family processes), (b) person …

Front Matter

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

New Iscsc Website

Comparative Civilizations Review

After several years of faithful service, the ISCSC website has received a much needed facelift. The new site is more attractive, has more content, and is far easier to navigate.

The Cycles Of Progress And Regress In Ethiopian Civilization And Politics, Tseggai Isaac Phd

Comparative Civilizations Review

This is a study of the historical traditions of Ethiopia and their value as basis for national identity considering the inescapable evolutionary trajectories of modernization.

Specific watershed events with catastrophic effects besieged Ethiopia, resulting in the precipitous decline of the values, dignity, and solemnity of the Ethiopian State. Challenges that contributed to the distancing of Ethiopia’s institutional identity from the loftiness of its roots will be covered.

The political and religious history of Ethiopia will be highlighted to establish landmark events of history, politics, and religion. Specific crises resulting in shifts in values, as well as various reactions to these …

Civilizational Heritage In The Age Of Innovation: Exploring The Importance Of Civilizational Heritage In The 21st Century, Bibi Pelić, Ulrike Michel-Schneider

Comparative Civilizations Review

‘What has civilizational heritage to do with innovation?’ you may ask. ‘I just got the latest iPhone and don’t see any connection.’ You would not be the only one to ask this question.

If we backtrack a thousand years or so and look at innovations from the past, such as the Via Appia or the Colosseum, did the Romans think about civilizational heritage when they built these two magnificent structures? Did they care about civilizational heritage? What about the ancient Egyptians whose building innovation, ‘the pyramid,’ is still an enigma for us today?

Innovation is thus nothing new, but it …

Tyrannies Gave Rise To Martial Arts, But Enlightened Martial Philosophies Reveal A Better Way, Michael Andregg

Comparative Civilizations Review

Most of this brief review will be academic history, but one of the truisms of the martial arts is that it is never strictly “academic.” Words on paper cannot express some things at the heart of the art. Many of the most thoughtful masters of various schools have worried about how to cultivate students with the discipline and philosophical background to be “safe” for polite society. This is a similar problem for police departments and even armies. The best wish to train professionals in ways of being deadly, without empowering undisciplined people to harm innocents. Therefore, part of this paper …

Book Review: Walter Scheidel. The Great Leveler: Violence And The History Of Inequality From The Stone Age To The Twenty-First Century, Leland Conley Barrows

Comparative Civilizations Review

Inspired by the work of Thomas Piketty, particularly his Capitalism in the Twenty-First Century (2013), and Albrecht Dürer’s 1497-1498 woodcut, “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,” Dr. Walter Scheidel, Professor of Classics and History at Stanford University, argues in his massive 521-page volume that for most of human history reductions in socio-economic equality, supposedly a positive good, have resulted from more-or-less violent compressions entailing destruction and death. The implication is that in “normal” times, societies are characterized by inequality even though it is not perceived as a positive good.