Digital Commons Network^™

Audre Lorde - Unpacking Intersectionality And Oppression In Feminism, Maya Thomas

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Audre Lorde, a queer Black poet, is known for speaking out against many forms of oppression and the topic of feminism. Lorde defined feminism as being more than identifying as a "woman" and emphasized the importance of acknowledging all identities a woman may have, such as race, class, and sexuality. Lorde's ideology of feminism became distinct from the general definition where inclusivity was often absent. This article will explore how Lorde's redefinition of feminism has exposed the intersectionality of oppression. This article will analyze Lorde's published pieces of work and how her writing style and delivery have impacted the feminist …

The Double Bottom Line: Achieving Impact, Achieving Profit By Ramat T. Mohammed, Ramat Tahiru Mohammed

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Non-governmental organizations pursue work that is at the intersection of humanitarianism, collective effort, advocacy, and purpose. These organizations expose discrepancies and facilitate solutions. The research problem in this work centers on the operations of non-governmental organizations in Italy and Vietnam. This project explores the junction where altruism and impact meet business and profit. As such, I ask essentially explore an NGO’s approach to sustaining the convergence of growing a business and increasing social change and impact in Italy Vietnam. Prior to this research, I led with the hypothesis that the capitalist-driven global community in which we live has altered the …

Cross-Sectional Examination Of Sluggish Cognitive Tempo, Adhd-Inattentive Symptoms, And Mental Health Diagnoses In College Students, Eva Darow, Mattison Jentz, Blair Martin, Adrian Melendez, Genevieve Roth, Zoe Smith

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

This cross-sectional study examines the association between sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT), ADHD inattentive symptoms, depression, trauma, and anxiety in college students. To date, limited research has examined SCT and internalizing constructs in college students. We expect to collect self-report data from 100 participants. Data will include SCT, ADHD inattention, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), depression, and anxiety. Bivariate correlations will be examined. All significantly associated variables at the bivariate level will be entered into a regression analysis to examine how SCT is associated with these constructs together. Significant associations would suggest a need to re-evaluate the assessment of SCT.

Relation Between Bilingual Child Gesture Use And Language Development, Carla Jauregui, Perla B. Gámez Phd

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Gesture serves as a bridge for communication for children who cannot yet fully communicate verbally. Child gesture is closely related to future vocabulary scores (Rowe & Goldin-Meadow, 2009). Many studies with similar results have an English monolingual sample but not many studies have a bilingual sample. In this study, 45 bilingual participant’s gestures and their vocabulary growth were measured to see if a relation between the two existed. We found a negative relation between gesture use at 18-months and vocabulary growth from 18 to 30 months. This is an unexpected result as it does not agree with previous literature.

Implementation Of Technology In Nursing Homes To Combat Psychosocial Effects Of Covid-19, Sarah E. Totta, Regina M. Antonetti, Kaylie N. Burck, Priyali Patel

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Because nursing home residents are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, it is essential to implement significant isolation measures in nursing homes to reduce chances of exposure. While isolation is the best way to keep these individuals safe, there is evidence of negative social and psychological effects. We examine the ethical considerations revolving the decision to isolate nursing home residents, explore the negative social and psychological effects, and propose various technologies that combat these effects. The use of interactive software and video-calling technology proves effective in reducing negative psychosocial symptoms and improves the quality of life for nursing home residents.

Whale Squad Athleisure Project, Nathaniel Balli, Ethan Magrady, Emmanuel Cano, Filippo Chiaramondia, Isaac Reyes, Lennert Krueger

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Whale Squad is a group of research-ready students who are researching the market trends of leisurewear, specifically Athleisure. Athleisure, which is athletic type wear as casual wear, has become a growing trend in today’s fashion world. With its increase in popularity and influencer promotions, we are aiming to understand the factors that have, and continue to, contribute to this quickly growing industry vertical including the environment, the pandemic, branding, competition, style, advertising, etc. The ways we focused on solving the problem were utilizing market research abilities, such as Qualtrics (Surveys) and Mintel (Trend Research). Some of the variables that take …

Evaluating Written Beliefs About Women And Men Who Experience Sexual Violence, Audrey Harris

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Sexual violence impacts individuals of every identity and permeates every sector of society. Rape myths are false beliefs which perpetuate rape culture and act as a predictor of the actual perpetration of sexual violence. By administering open ended text response questions this study extends research conducted in my 2021 Provost Fellowship study and investigates undergraduate student's written endorsement of different rape myths. The findings of this study suggest that being impacted by sexual assault moderates participant endorsement of several common rape myths.

Ethical Implications Of Brain-Computer Interfaces: A Comparison Of Public And Provider Perceptions, Maya Roytman

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) are computer-based systems that enable communication between the brain and a device. BCIs hold promise for improving the lives of people with neurotrauma and cognitive and movement disorders, either directly or in conjunction with assistive and rehabilitation technologies. As knowledge regarding computational modeling of brain function advances, BCIs will continue to become more prevalent in clinical therapeutics.

Given BCI technology is an “iterative, goal-directed intervention in the nervous system,” BCIs raise ethical concerns regarding who (i.e. clinicians, patients, etc.) controls the device. While individual perceptions on BCIs and technical expectations have been explored, limited data comparing perspectives …

Internship: Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, Valeria Toledo

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

In my presentation, I go over the learning outcomes and Projects I am working on in my internship and also describe essential immigration policy information to bring awareness to immigration law.

Exploring Substance Use For Undergraduate Nursing Students Within Their College Experience, Gabrielle Borkorm, Cynthia Paidipati

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Substance use is a disease, which often develops during the undergraduate years. Nursing undergraduate students who typically endorsed high levels of stress exhibited higher rates of substance abuse and in this study, this is explored. This study is a sequential mixed methods study that consists of quantitative and qualitative data that was collected via online surveys (April 2019) and interviews that took place (June 2019-February 2020). The data refers to 679 undergraduate students aged 18-57 years old who were recruited by the National Student Nurses Association, and were enrolled in nursing courses at the junior or senior level.

The Impact Of Urban Green Space On Mental Health, Jana Rokitta

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

As an Environmental Studies and Psychology double major, I'm curious about how environmental factors, especially in the urban setting influence psychological constructs. During my research, I focused on urban stressors and their effect on mental health. While analyzing a case study, I looked at how urban green space can benefit mental health. Lastly, I focused on the implication of the studies for Chicago and how the uneven access to urban green space poses a social justice issue in Chicago and on a global scale. Additionally, my research includes a critical view of confounding variables that might have impacted the results.

Feminism And Forgiveness: Catholic Women's Responses To Gender-Based Microaggressions, Emily Schultz

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

In this video, I walk the viewer through a presentation on Catholic narratives of forgiveness, particularly in relation to gender-based microaggressions. I provide a project overview, brief literature review, and progress update on this 2-year project.

Tinkering With Technology, Noelle Pittman

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Informal STEM learning outside of school can offer opportunities for children and parents to interact for STEM learning (Sobel & Jipson, 2016); however, there is a lot of variability in terms of how children and parents talk about STEM, and this STEM language can affect children’s STEM achievement in middle school (Pruden et al., 2011).

The Lived Experiences Of Nursing Students In Nursing Education With Implicit Racial Bias, Seth Hawkins Huisenga

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Implicit racial bias negatively affects health care provided to patients of color and often leads to poor physical and psychological problems. Nurses that provide unbiased care create a more healing environment for their patients. This research will investigate the implicit racial biases of nurses throughout their education and how nursing students have experienced encounters with implicit bias. The objective of this study is to allow nursing students to become more aware of implicit biases, specifically implicit racial bias. There is limited research about teaching nursing students about implicit bias, but there are some accounts of medical students. The lack of …

Rethinking Recidivism, Grace Higbie, Beck Hansman, Michael Willner, Charlie O'Gorman

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Prisons are as old as civilization, yet the way incarceration looks has changed over time. One of the biggest changes is the increase of the number of people in prison, influenced significantly by the long-term rise in recidivism, or the tendency for a convicted criminal to reoffend and be re-imprisoned for a similar crime. If more people cycle in and out of the system, then prison populations rise which strains the entire justice system. This paper seeks to address recidivism in two countries with differing rates and approaches to imprisonment: the United States and Norway. We hope to provide actionable …

Do Children In The Welfare System With Different Types Of Social Support Networks Have Different Developmental/Intellectual Needs?, Bana Husseini

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Children who enter the child welfare system experience many struggles and obstacles. Often, these children do not have much family involvement such as parents, grandparents, cousins, and so on. Kin involvement is important because it provides a social support network for children, and when it is not provided, children are at a higher risk of developing developmental delays or needs. My study explored whether there’s a relationship between different types of social support networks and developmental/intellectual needs. Results showed no statistical significance between the two, suggesting no relationship between developmental needs and what type of kin involvement is present in …

The Role Of Caffeine, Nicotine And Theobromine In The Biodiversity And Function Of The Human Gut Microbiome, Thomas Gabriel Stanila

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

The human gut microbiome plays a fundamental role in the regulation and maintenance of physiological processes and homeostatic relationships in the body, with research thoroughly proving its effects beyond gastrointestinal functioning such as in immune response, psychological operation, and nutritional metabolism. Caffeine, nicotine, and theobromine—the principal bioactive compounds in regularly consumed products like coffee, cigarettes, and dark chocolate, respectively—may yield significant and variable influences on human health beyond their normal pharmacodynamics through affecting gut microbiota. Using metagenomic modeling, predictions can be determined regarding intestinal community activity as well. I hypothesize that caffeine, nicotine, and theobromine will alter microbial community composition …

Artistic Expression As A Source Of Resilience For Transgender And Gender Diverse Young People, Ashley Austin, Michael P. Dentato Phd, Msw, Joshua Holzworth, Roxanna Ast, Anthony Verdino, Edward Alessi, Andrew Eaton, Shelley L. Craig

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

There is a paucity of research exploring sources of resilience among transgender and gender diverse (TGD) young people with multiple marginalized identities. Information and communication technologies (ICT) offer unique opportunities for authentic self-expression, which is not always possible offline. The primary aims of this study were to understand unique sources of resilience among TGD youth in their online and offline lives. Using photo elicitation and grounded theory methods, we conducted online in-depth interviews with TGD young people (N = 29) between the ages of 14-25 across the United States identifying with at least one of the following social statuses: (a) …

Safe From “Harm”: The Governance Of Violence By Platforms, Julia R. Decook, Kelley Cotter, Shaheen Kanthawala, Kali Foyle

School of Communication: Faculty Publications and Other Works

A number of issues have emerged related to how platforms moderate and mitigate “harm.” Although platforms have recently developed more explicit policies in regard to what constitutes “hate speech” and “harmful content,” it appears that platforms often use subjective judgments of harm that specifically pertains to spectacular, physical violence—but harm takes on many shapes and complex forms. The politics of defining “harm” and “violence” within these platforms are complex and dynamic, and represent entrenched histories of how control over these definitions extends to people's perceptions of them. Via a critical discourse analysis of policy documents from three major platforms (Facebook, …

Wellness In The Workplace: An Analysis On The Office Environment And Mental Health In Chicago And Nyc, Kira Schoof, Arielle Mckeever, Bryn Reimer, Cassi Heintz

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Professionals in America spend five days a week, an average of 40 hours, in an office environment. These same people tailor their homes to be comfortable oases that inspire happiness, but is this same effort being made for these office spaces they somewhat call home especially after the COVID-19 pandemic? The question our team set out to ask is as follows: Should companies prioritize investing in better working environments with a focus to increase employee wellbeing and mental health? We use New York City and Chicago as subjects in our analysis to find a relationship between building aesthetics and employee …

The Match-Up Hypothesis Revisited: Matching Social Judgments And Advertising Messaging In Celebrity Endorsements, Brittney C. Bauer, Brad D. Carlson, Clark D. Johnson

School of Business: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Purpose – Although endorsers are thought to be highly effective when they match-up with a product, our current understanding of endorser match-up offers little insight for distinctions between equally attractive and trustworthy endorsers who have equivalent expertise in the product category, yet still diverge in their performance. Therefore, the main purpose of this research is to understand how a match between social judgments (i.e., warmth vs. competence) of a celebrity endorser and specific advertising appeals (i.e., symbolic vs. utilitarian) can improve consumer responses to an endorsement.

Design/methodology/approach – A preliminary study empirically distinguishes perceptions of warmth and competence …

The Method Of Critical Phenomenology: Simone De Beauvoir As A Phenomenologist., Johanna K. Oksala

Philosophy: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The paper aims to contribute to the ongoing conversation on critical phenomenology with reflections on its method. The key argument is that critical phenomenology should be understood as a form of historico-transcendental inquiry and therefore it cannot forgo the phenomenological reduction. Rather, this methodological step should be centered in critical phenomenology, and appropriated in problematized and rethought forms. The methodological assessment of critical phenomenology has implications also for how we read its canon. The paper shows that while Simone de Beauvoir did not adopt the phenomenological reduction in its full Husserlian meaning, her analyses of experience did not remain on …

Autism And Identity: Standing At The Axis Of Oppression, Samantha Chipman

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

The ratio of males to females diagnosed with autism is three to one. Medically defined as a neurodevelopmental disorder, common traits of individuals with autism include difficulty in social functioning, communication, and sensory processing. Autism has been conceptualized as a diagnosis that upholds gendered assumptions of only impacting men and boys. I argue that Feminist Standpoint Theory (FST) is an epistemic resource to better understand women and girls with autism. Epistemic injustice and FST uncovers distortions in peoples’ knowledge of autism, which contributes to its construction as a social form of identity.

Vitamin D Supplementation For The Treatment Of Depressive Symptoms In Women With Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Sue Penckofer Phd, Monique Ridosh, William Howard Adams, Meghan Grzesiak, Jennifer Woo, Mary Byrn, Joanne Kouba Phd, Rdn, Ldn, Patricia M. Sheean, Colleen Kordish, Ramon Durazo-Arvizu, Diane Wallis, Mary Ann Emanuele, Angelos Halaris

Nursing: School of Nursing Faculty Publications and Other Works

Aim. To determine the efficacy and safety of vitamin D₃ supplementation in reducing depressive symptoms in women with type 2 diabetes (T2D), depression, and low vitamin D. Methods. In this double-blind randomized active comparator-controlled trial, women with significant depressive symptoms as assessed by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale received weekly oral vitamin D₃ supplementation (50,000 IU) or an active comparator (5,000 IU) for 6 months. Assessments of vitamin D, 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25 (OH) D], and depression were measured at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Results. A total of 129 women were …

Conserving The American Man: Gender, Eugenics And Education In The Civilian Conservation Corps, Charles Tocci, Ann Marie Ryan

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a novel United States federal education programme that enrolled nearly three million men during the 1930s and early 1940s. This public work relief programme provides a case study of the ways that masculine, eugenicist ideas concerning public education evolved from the Progressive Era through the Great Depression. This educational philosophy was espoused by a small group of men – some educators, some not – who sought to remedy what they saw as the failures of public schooling, namely its overly feminine nature. Through an analysis of their public writings and the images that were …

Aldermanic Intern At The 46th Ward, Riya Chaudhary

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

I was an aldermanic intern at Alderman James Cappleman's 46th Ward office where I was able to learn about the city and help constituents. Throughout the internship I conducted a food drive for the homeless and gained a better understanding on the extent to the homelessness problem.

Comparing Online Surveys For Cybersecurity: Sona And Mturk, Anne Wagner, Anna Bakas, Shelia Kennison, Eric Chan-Tin

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

People have many accounts and usually need to create a password for each. They tend to create insecure passwords and re-use passwords, which can lead to compromised data. This research examines if there is a link between personality type and password security among a variety of participants in two groups of participants: SONA and MTurk. Each participant in both surveys answered questions based on password security and their personality type. Our results show that participants in the MTurk survey were more likely to choose a strong password and to exhibit better security behaviors and knowledge than participants in the SONA …

Towards A Reconsideration Of The Use Of Agree-Disagree Questions In Measuring Subjective Evaluations, Jennifer Dykema, Nora Cate Schaeffer, Dana Garbarski, Nadia Assad, Bank Of America Corp.

Sociology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Agree-disagree (AD) or Likert questions (e.g., “I am extremely satisfied: strongly agree … strongly disagree”) are among the most frequently used response formats to measure attitudes and opinions in the social and medical sciences. This review and research synthesis focuses on the measurement properties and potential limitations of AD questions. The research leads us to advocate for an alternative questioning strategy in which items are written to directly ask about their underlying response dimensions using response categories tailored to match the response dimension, which we refer to as item-specific (IS) (e.g., “How satisfied are you: not at all … extremely”). …

Opioid‐Specific Medication‐Assisted Therapy And Its Impact On Criminal Justice And Overdose Outcomes, C. Clare Strange, Sarah M. Manchak, Jordan M. Hyatt, Damon M. Petrich, Alisha Desai, Cory P. Haberman

Criminal Justice & Criminology: Faculty Publications & Other Works

Background

The overlap between justice system involvement and drug use is well-documented. Justice-involved people who misuse opioids are at high risk for relapse and criminal recidivism. Criminal justice policymakers consider opioid-specific medication-assisted therapies (MATs) one approach for improving outcomes for this population. More research is needed that explores the impacts of opioid-specific MATs for justice-involved people.

Objectives

This study sought to assess the effects of opioid-specific MAT for reducing the frequency and likelihood of criminal justice and overdose outcomes for current or formerly justice-involved individuals.

Search Methods

Records were searched between May 7, 2021 and June 23, 2021. We searched …

Social And Emotional Needs Of Emergent Bilingual High School Students: Perspectives Of Teachers, School Counselors, And School Social Workers, Elizabeth Vera, Amy J. Heineke, Anna Schultes, Plamena Daskalova

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

Thirty-three school professionals, including teachers, counselors, and social workers (70% female, 20% persons of color, 18% bilingual) shared their perceptions of the social and emotional experiences of emergent bilingual learners (EBLs) attending high schools in the Midwestern United States. In this pre-consultation data collection, themes were identified in qualitative data derived from six focus groups . Analyses revealed a variety of school and family influences tied to EBLs' social and emotional well-being, along with peer and individual factors. Participants recommended that schools should focus not only on instituting culturally-specific structures and initiatives to better support EBLs, but also intervene with …