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Conference Program & Schedule: 7th Annual Interdisciplinary Conference On Human Trafficking

Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking: 7th (2015)

Keynote Speakers: Dr. Kevin Bales & Siddharth Kara

Conference Supporters: UNL College of Business Administration, UNL Vice Chancellor’s Office for Research and Development, UNL College of Journalism and Mass Communications, UNL College of Law, UNL College of Arts & Sciences, UNO College of Public Affairs and Community Service, Nebraska Family Alliance, UNO School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Women’s Fund of Omaha, UNL Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Office, The Forsythe Family Program on Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, The Journal of Human Trafficking, published by Routledge, Dr. Kevin Bales (providing free copies of his book), Tom Tidball Photography, …

Reconciling Lgb And Christian Identities In The Rural South, Brandi Woodell, Emily Kazyak, D'Lane Compton

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Drawing on in-depth interviews with rural Christians living in the South who identify as lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB), this study analyzes how they negotiate their religious, geographic, and sexual identities. We find that most interviewees employed two strategies to reconcile their Christian and gay identities: emphasizing a personal connection to an accepting God and finding a local church in their rural community in which they felt accepted. We argue that rural contexts influenced interviewees’ reliance on these strategies and show how individuals can construct multiple interpretations about themselves, which do not always align with existing cultural assumptions. In addition, …

Effect Of The Physical Environment On Teacher Satisfaction With Indoor Environmental Quality In Early Learning Schools, Stuart Shell

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

While the quantity and quality of teacher-child interactions plays a key role in emotional and cognitive development for children, there is scant evidence regarding the contribution of physical environment to child outcomes. This study seeks to understand better the relative importance of variables within the physical environment for occupants. The research design targets teachers’ satisfaction with the physical environment as the outcome variable, based on the assumption that teachers who are more satisfied with their classroom provide higher-quality interactions with children. Teachers from two early learning schools with a total of 31 classrooms completed a written survey that asked about …

Exploring The Academic And Social Experiences Of Homeless College Students, Quinton D. Geis

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis focuses on the experiences of college students who are facing homelessness, specifically from an academic and social lens. A hidden group within institutions of higher education, these students face many challenges that include economic instability, social isolation, or difficulty navigating the collegial environment. These challenges provide the opportunity for resilience but lack of support creates obstacles that may make degree attainment seem impossible.

Using a phenomenological approach, students were asked to participate in two interviews. Data gathered suggests that participants hide their homelessness from others. Lack of social support experiences, diverse living situations, and unique circumstances illuminated the …

2014 Journalism Graduate Skills For The Professional Workplace: Expectations From Journalism Professionals And Educators, Bernard R. Mccoy

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

With 2015 graduations approaching, accuracy, ethical principles, and good news judgment were identified as top skills college journalism graduates should possess for the professional workplace, according to a national survey of journalism educators and professionals. There are sharp differences, though, between respondent groups over how well college journalism programs are doing preparing journalism graduates for journalism careers, as well as the perceived importance of social media, mobile, and digital reporting skills. The survey asked journalism professionals and educators to rank skills and experiences journalism graduates need for the professional workplace. Respondents included 665 professional journalism managers, non-managers, and educators. Respondents …

Characteristics Of An Appropriate Instructor-Student Relationship In Allied Health, Julie K. Morbach

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In most allied health educational programs, the instructors are individuals who are experts in their field, but do not have a certificate in teaching. Furthermore, these individuals may feel a sense of loneliness when transitioning from working in a department with co-workers to being the sole instructor of a discipline-specific program. Because of this sense of isolation and the amount of time spent with the same students, instructors may begin to perceive students more as friends and confidants. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions of educators regarding the instructor-student relationship in allied health programs in …

Getting "Bi" In The Family: Bisexual People's Disclosure Experiences, Kristin S. Scherrer, Emily Kazyak, Rachel M. Schmitz

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

There are many similarities in gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals’ coming out experiences, but bisexual people face unique challenges. Despite this, an explicit focus on bisexual people is missing from family research. Using family systems and cultural sociological perspectives, the authors analyzed how social and cultural factors shape disclosure processes for bisexuals as they come out to multiple family members. After analyzing qualitative data from a diverse group of 45 individuals, they found that bisexual people navigate monosexist and heterosexist expectations in their family relationships. Cultural constructions of bisexuality shape the ways that bisexual people disclose their identities, including how …

Tiers 2 & 3 Intervention: Dropout Screening & Early Warning, Natalie Hoff, Amber Olson, Reece L. Peterson

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

Understanding the various risk factors and how they may impact a student’s success in school or their decision to drop out is very important. Identifying these factors and understanding which students are at-risk can help schools to take action early and reduce dropout rates. One method of doing this is to implement a universal, or school-wide, dropout screener. These screeners flag students at risk for individual or multiple variables and are helpful in keeping track of which students are in need of immediate assistance or intervention, which students should be watched carefully, and which students are on track for …

Tier 1 Intervention: Dropout Screening & Early Warning, Natalie Hoff, Amber Olson, Reece L. Peterson

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

Understanding the various risk factors and how they may impact a student’s success in school or their decision to drop out is very important. Identifying these factors and understanding which students are at-risk can help schools to take action early and reduce dropout rates. One method of doing this is to implement a universal, or school-wide, dropout screener. These screeners flag students at risk for individual or multiple variables and are helpful in keeping track of which students are in need of immediate assistance or intervention, which students should be watched carefully, and which students are on track for …

Relational Behavior Of Leaders: A Comparison By Vocational Context, G. Ronald Gilbert, Robert C. Myrtle, Ravipreet S. Sohi

Department of Marketing: Faculty Publications

Organizational researchers widely acknowledge that positive relational behavior is associated with leadership effectiveness. In this exploratory study, we seek to extend previous research examining contextual factors that influence leadership style based on the characteristics of person–vocation fit. Using information derived from a 360° assessment that included one’s top managers, peers, and subordinates (N = 934), we find that leaders working in settings that attract Holland’s Social (S) types demonstrate more positive relational behavior than those who work in Realistic (R) type work settings. Our research also indicates that the relationship between leadership style and perceived effectiveness varies based on …

Convergent Validity Of The Strength-Based Behavioral And Emotional Rating Scale With Youth In A Residential Setting, Kristin Duppong-Hurley, Matthew C. Lambert, Michael H. Epstein, Amy Stevens

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Strength-based assessment has been identified as an appropriate approach to use in planning treatment and evaluating outcomes of youth in residential settings. In previous research the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale-2, a standardized and norm-referenced strength-based measure, has demonstrated adequate reliability and validity with youth served in community and educational settings. The purpose of the present study was to examine the internal reliability and convergent validity of the BERS-2 by comparing the test to the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Symptoms and Functioning Severity Scale (SFSS). The results indicate that the scores from the BERS-2 are internally consistent …

Psychometric Evaluation Of The Symptoms And Functioning Severity Scale (Sfss) Short Forms With Out-Of-Home Care Youth, Thomas J. Gross, Kristin Duppong-Hurley, Matthew C. Lambert, Michael Epstein, Amy L. Stevens

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND—There is a need for brief progress monitoring measures of behavioral and emotional symptoms for youth in out-of-home care. The Symptoms and Functioning Severity Scale (SFSS; Bickman et al., 2010) is one measure that has clinician and youth short forms (SFSS-SFs); however, the psychometric soundness of the SFSS-SFs with youth in out-of-home care has yet to be examined.

OBJECTIVE—The objective was to determine if the psychometric characteristics of the clinician and youth SFSS-SFs are viable for use in out-of-home care programs.

METHODS—The participants included 143 youth receiving residential treatment and 52 direct care residential staff. The current study assessed internal …

Development And Validation Of A Social Cognitive Theory-Based Survey For Elementary Nutrition Education Program, Elisha Hall, Weiwen Chai, Wanda Koszewski, Julie A. Albrecht

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: The Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) is a widely used model for developing elementary nutrition education programs; however, few instruments are available to assess the impact of such programs on the main constructs of the SCT. The purposes of this study were: 1) to develop and validate a SCT-based survey instrument that focuses on knowledge, behavior, and self-efficacy for fifth grade students; 2) to assess the relationships between knowledge, behavior, and self-efficacy; and 3) to assess knowledge, behavior, and self-efficacy for healthy eating among the fifth grade students.

Methods: A 40-item instrument was developed and validated using content validity …

Tribal Water Rights: Exploring Dam Construction In Indian Country, Jerilyn Church, Chinyere O. Ekechi, Aila Hoss, Anika Jade Larson

United States Public Health Resources

Introduction – Tribal Environmental Public Health

The environment, particularly, land and water, play a powerful role in sustaining and supporting American Indian and Alaska Native communities in the United States. Not only is water essential to life and considered — by some Tribes — a sacred food in and of itself, but environmental water resources are necessary to maintain habitat for hunting and fishing. Many American Indian and Alaska Native communities incorporate locally caught traditional subsistence foods into their diets, and the loss of access to subsistence foods represents a risk factor for food security and nutrition status in indigenous …

Citations And Convictions: One Community’S Coordinated Response To Intimate Partner Violence & Efforts Toward Offender Accountability, Kerry Beldin, Allison Lauritsen, Henry J. Dsouza, Bob Moyer

United States Public Health Resources

In 1996, a coordinated community response (CCR) was formally established in a mid-sized Midwestern city to improve the criminal justice response to intimate partner violence (IPV). Data for this study included all IPV-related incidents to which the local police department responded since the establishment of the CCR for a fourteen year period. Effective CCRs provide for IPV offender accountability through citation and prosecution of IPV-related crimes. Concerns about demographic variables affecting citation and prosecution rates have been identified in the literature. Compared to national statistics, gender differences were consistent but higher citation and conviction rates were identified in this community. …

Elizabeth Gaskell In Middlemarch: Timothy Cooper, The Judgement Of Solomon, And The Woman At The Window, Barbara Hardy

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

In 'Silly Novels by Lady Novelists" Gaskell and Harriet Martineau were the only living novelists George Eliot praised, and very briefly. George Eliot and Gaskell never met but corresponded, admired each other's work, and in several books George Eliot unconsciously drew on details and characters from Gaskell novels.3 There are three important details in Middlemarch - which Gaskell never read because she died before its publication - deriving from Cousin Phillis, Wives and Daughters, and North and South.

Chapter 56 of Middlemarch is a meeting-point for history and the personal life. Caleb Garth's social confidence rings loud as he speaks …

The Culture Of Honors, Susan J. Koch

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

As I began to consider the value of honors at the University of Illinois at Springfield, the first thought that came to mind was this sentence from Wendell Berry’s 1987 book, Home Economics: “The thing being made in a university is humanity.” Our honors program “makes humanity” in a unique way that adds value to the educational experience for the individual honors student at the same time that it adds value and benefit to the university and, by extension, to humanity beyond.

Self-Represented Litigants And Civil Case Dispositions In Missouri: An Impact Analysis, Anne Dannerbeck Janku, Joseph A. Vradenburg

Court Review: Journal of the American Judges Association

Access to justice is an important issue for the Missouri judiciary as it is for many other states. The issue fostered several recent national initiatives,1 including a 2010 Department of Justice Access to Justice Initiative.2 Part of the agenda for that initiative involves identifying ways to ensure fair and just outcomes for all parties to a case. Some observers of the judicial system have expressed concern that self-represented litigants may not experience fair and just outcomes. As part of Missouri’s own access-to-justice initiatives, this study was undertaken to understand how self-representation impacts outcomes in civil cases.

About half the cases …

Developmental Stages Of New Graduate Student Instructional Consultants: Implications For Professional Growth, Mary C. Wright, Laura N. Schram, Kristen S. Gorman

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Effective consulting is a key skill for educational developers. Although most educational developers are new to the field, there is limited research about how new practitioners develop consulting skills. The key research question this study explores is: How do new graduate teaching consultants develop as practitioners? This study empirically applies several “classic” models of consulting to better understand new consultants’ perceived development of expertise, preferred consulting approaches, and reflection about them. The findings are generally confirmatory of the ways that classic frameworks map onto the development of consultants. They also suggest greater attention to supporting new consultants beyond “getting started,” …

Start With Us! Culturally Relevant Pedagogy In The Preschool Classroom, Tonia Renee Durden, Elsita Escalante, Kimberly Blitch

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

Using an ethnographic case study approach, we examined how teachers and parents within an eth-nically diverse early childhood program conceptualized and implemented culturally relevant peda-gogy and how these primary caregivers were encouraging children’s sociocultural development and awareness. Data sources included questionnaires, interview transcripts, and observational field notes (classroom and community). Findings suggest there were multiple strategies and resources teachers used to facilitate the sociocultural growth of young children indicative of culturally relevant practices. However, we discovered there were mediating factors that impacted how and whether teachers were able to implement culturally relevant pedagogy in the early childhood classroom.

Examining Change In Therapeutic Alliance To Predict Youth Mental Health Outcomes, Kristin Duppong-Hurley, Mark J. Van Ryzin, Matthew Lambert, Amy L. Stevens

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Objective—To examine the link between therapeutic alliance and youth outcomes.

Method—The study was conducted at a group-home with 112 youth with a disruptive-behavior diagnosis. Therapeutic alliance was collected routinely via youth and staff report. Outcome data were collected using youth and staff reports of externalizing behavior as well as behavioral incidents occurring during care. Outcome data were collected following intake into services and at 6 and 12 months of care. Data were analyzed to examine (1) if youth behavior problems at intake were predictive of therapeutic alliance and (2) if changes in alliance were predictive of subsequent youth outcomes. These …

Expanding Mental Health Consultation In Early Head Start: Recommendations For Supporting Home Visitors In Increasing Parental Engagement, Samantha L. Pittenger, Tori R. Van Dyk, Alayna Schreier, Michelle Haikalis, Mary F. Flood, David J. Hansen

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Early Head Start strongly emphasizes the importance of intervening with the entire family to promote healthy child development. Parents, in particular, are recognized as their child’s most important teacher. While Early Head Start performance standards currently mandate mental health consultation to identify and intervene with child mental health problems, there is little direct focus on the role of consultation in managing parental mental health concerns. This is problematic given that a wide body of literature outlines the impact of parental mental health on engagement in home-based programs such as Early Head Start. Investigations within the home visiting field have also …

Child Abuse, Street Victimization, And Substance Use Among Homeless Young Adults, Kimberly A. Tyler, Lisa A. Melander

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although previous research documents high rates of child abuse, street victimization, and substance use among homeless youth, few studies have investigated these three constructs simultaneously, and thus little is known about how various forms of victimization are uniquely associated with substance use among this population. The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship among child sexual and physical abuse, street victimization, and partner violence with substance use among 172 homeless young adults. Path analysis results revealed that males and those who reported parental drug problems were significantly more likely to have higher rates of substance use. Those who …

Characteristics Of Mothers Caring For Children During Episodes Of Homelessness, Melissa L. Welch-Lazoritz, Les B. Whitbeck, Brian E. Armenta

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study provides a description of the physical, psychological, and substance use problems of adult homeless women who are and are not caring for children. We also examined differences in the characteristics of these two groups of women. Interviews were conducted with 148 homeless women from three mid-sized U.S. cities, 24.3 % of whom were caring for at least one child. Our results showed that women caring for children were more likely to be sheltered and have health insurance. Homeless women caring for children and solitary homeless women were generally similar in terms of substance abuse problems. However, rates of …

Chaos, Reports, And Quests: Narrative Agency And Co-Workers In Stories Of Workplace Bullying, Stacy Tye-Williams, Kathleen J. Krone

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This study examined narratives that targets of workplace bullying told about their difficult work experiences along with how co-workers were framed in these narratives. Three different narrative types emerged from their accounts: chaos, report, and quest narratives. Co-worker responses of support or lack thereof were related to the construction of various narrative forms and the level of narrative agency evident in target accounts. The study has important implications for the difference co-workers can make in a target’s ability to withstand bullying and narrate his or her experience.

A Dream Best Forgotten: The Phenomenology Of Karen Refugees’ Pre-Resettlement Stressors, Theodore T. Bartholomew, Brittany E. Gundel, Neeta Kantamneni

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Refugees are often forced into states of imposed vulnerability in which loss is common and migration is normative. Karen refugees from Myanmar have endured a long civil war with the Burmese government, followed by their forced relocation to refugee camps and subsequent global resettlement. This phenomenological study aimed to understand the meanings ascribed to pre-resettlement stress among resettled Karen refugees. We interviewed six participants who were identified through purposeful sampling in a Karen refugee community. Using phenomenological analysis, we identified and interpreted 286 meaning units. The meaning units were then grouped into four themes: (a) Loss From Oppression, (b) Resignation …

Hiv/Aids In Puerto Rican People Who Inject Drugs: Policy Considerations, Luz M. López, Lisa De Saxe Zerden, Philippe Bourgois, Helena Hansen, Roberto Abadie, Kirk Dombrowski, Ric Curtis

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

We commend the important work of Deren et al. that underscores the high rates of HIV among Puerto Rican people who inject drugs (PRPWID) and highlights the health, social, and service disparities between Puerto Rico and the Northeast US region. As articulated in their article, HIV/AIDS risk and substance use are not individual problems with individual consequences—the epidemic impacts community and culture, across borders and boundaries. In addition to service disparities, various socioeconomic contextual factors are associated with and may exacerbate the spread of HIV/AIDS in PRPWID, including limited educational and employment opportunities, poverty, and political disenfranchisement. Efforts to reduce …

Longitudinal Predictors Of Homelessness: Findings From The National Longitudinal Survey Of Youth-97, Brittany Sznajder-Murray

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Homeless youth represent a vulnerable and understudied population. Little research has prospectively identified factors that may place youth at risk for experiencing homelessness. The current study utilizes data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-97 (NLSY-97) to examine predictors of experiencing homelessness as a young adult (before age 25). The NLSY-97 includes a nationally representative sample of 8,984 youth. Data were first collected from these youth when they were between the ages of 12 to 18 years. The current study examined whether individual and family risk factors reported during adolescence predict homelessness by the age of 25. The findings showed …

Characteristics Of Mothers Caring For Children During Episodes Of Homelessness, Melissa L. Welch-Lazoritz, Les B. Whitbeck, Brian E. Armenta

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study provides a description of the physical, psychological, and substance use problems of adult homeless women who are and are not caring for children. We also examined differences in the characteristics of these two groups of women. Interviews were conducted with 148 homeless women from three mid-sized U.S. cities, 24.3% of whom were caring for at least one child. Our results showed that women caring for children were more likely to be sheltered and have health insurance. Homeless women caring for children and solitary homeless women were generally similar in terms of substance abuse problems. However, rates of Borderline …

Community-Level Barriers To Recovery For Substance-Dependent Rural Residents, Lance Brendan Young, Kathleen M. Grant, Kimberly A. Tyler

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This article identifies potential barriers to substance use recovery associated with rural residence. The evidence is discussed and illustrated with examples. Fourteen specific barriers to substance abuse recovery are identified within 4 broad categories: access to treatment services, access to other professionals, access to peer support groups, and barriers to confidentiality. Although telehealth, expansion of mental health care, intensive referral, and other efforts might enhance access to care, the evidence suggests practitioners and researchers should remain aware of community-level barriers to recovery from substance use disorder and work with clients to overcome them.