Digital Commons Network^™

Cause For Optimism? Child Poverty Declines For The First Time Since Before The Great Recession, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Jess Carson, Andrew P. Schaefer

Carsey Publications

New data released on September 18, 2014, by the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that child poverty fell by 0.4 percentage point between 2012 and 2013, to 22.2 percent. Though still significantly higher than in 2007 when the Great Recession hit (18.0 percent), and higher than at its conclusion (20.0 percent) in 2009, the decline from 2012 may be cause for optimism. Estimates suggest the number of poor children declined by roughly 300,000 between 2012 and 2013.

Accountability And Its Metaphors: From Forum To Agora And Bazaar, Ciarán O’Kelly, Melvin J. Dubnick

Faculty Publications

In this paper we seek to develop a ‘relational’ perspective on accountability and on so-called ‘unaccountability.’. We focus on Mark Bovens’s use of the forum metaphor in his accountability model, arguing that his relational perspective is too narrow. We advocate instead a far broader and more fundamental engagement with the idea of relational accountability. Expanding the metaphors, we point to two other accountability spaces: ‘agora,’ a primordial accountability space and ‘bazaar,’ an emergent accountability space rooted in ground-level exchange between different actors. Assertions about ‘unaccountability,’ we argue, very often reflect a failure to appreciate the fundamentally relational nature of accountability: …

Husbands’ Job Loss And Wives’ Labor Force Participation During Economic Downturns: Are All Recessions The Same?, Kristin Smith, Marybeth J. Mattingly

Sociology

Earlier research showed an added-worker effect for wives when their husbands stopped working during the Great Recession (December 2007–June 2009) but not when husbands stopped working in recent years of prosperity (2004–2005). By including one recession per decade for the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, this article builds upon that research by using Current Population Survey data to compare wives’ labor force responses to their husbands stopping work across three recessions to determine whether wives’ employment responses during the Great Recession differed from those during earlier recessions. Additionally, we hypothesize motivations for wives entering the labor force and consider the occupations …

Getting Kids Out Of Harm's Way: The United States' Obligation To Operationalize The Best Interest Of The Child Principle For Unaccompanied Minors, Erin B. Corcoran

Law Faculty Scholarship

The government estimates by the end of the fiscal year over 90,000 children will enter the United States. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 58% of these children were forcibly displaced and are potentially in need of international protection. However, in U.S. immigration law unaccompanied children are often seen as illegal migrants and law enforcement prioritizes their “alien” status over their status as children. As the crisis escalates, many of these children are being housed at emergency shelters in icebox-cold cells – nicknamed hierleras, Spanish for freezers, with no access to food or medical care, while DHS …

The Oyster Is Their World, Beth Potier

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Trends In Bullying And Peer Victimization., David Finkelhor

Crimes Against Children Research Center

Increased attention to bullying in recent years has created the impression among some observers that the problem has been on the rise. But at the same time, crime and violence in general, and youth violence in particular, have been decreasing overall in the US. Could this decline apply to bullying and peer victimization?

In this bulletin, we will summarize the trends, from youth surveys that have tracked bullying specifically, and also those that have tracked closely related phenomena such as school assaults, school thefts, school fighting and school hate speech.

These surveys generally show declines in bullying and peer victimization, …

Families Continue To Rely On Wives As Breadwinners Post-Recession, Kristin Smith, Andrew P. Schaefer

Carsey Publications

This brief uses data from the 2013 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey to examine how President Obama’s proposed expanded eligibility and higher credit values might affect tax filers in both rural and urban America. Authors Jessica Carson and Marybeth Mattingly report that proposed changes to the earned income tax credit (EITC) will increase the share of workers without a qualifying child eligible for the EITC equally in rural and urban places, although rural residents are more likely to be eligible under both current and proposed policies. The average increase in the credit is $476, more …

Related Foster Parents Less Likely To Receive Support Services Compared With Nonrelative Foster Parents, Wendy A. Walsh, Marybeth J. Mattingly

Carsey Publications

This brief identifies gaps in support services among foster parents using data from a nationally representative survey of children involved in the child welfare system (the second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being). Authors Wendy Walsh and Marybeth Mattingly report that the percentage of foster parents who received recent support services (within a six month timeframe) varies dramatically by foster placement and support service type. Kinship foster parents (both formal and informal) in all households regardless of poverty status are less likely to have received training, used respite care, or participated in peer support groups in the past six …

Amphibian Contributions To Ecosystem Services, Daniel J. Hocking, Kimberly J. Babbitt

New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station Publications

Ecosystems provide essential services for human society, which include provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services. Amphibians provide provisioning services by serving as a food source for some human societies, especially in Southeast Asia. They also serve as models in medical research and provide potential for new pharmaceuticals such as analgesics and anti-viral drugs derived from skin secretions. Amphibians contribute to regulating services by reducing mosquito recruitment from ephemeral wetlands, potentially controlling other pest species, and indirectly through predation of insect pollinators. Often neglected, ecosystems also provide cultural services to human societies that increase the quality of human life through recreation, …

2014-2015 Graduate Studies Granite State College University System Of New Hampshire, Granite State College

Granite State College Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Key Findings And Recommendations From The Coös Youth Study: Research From The First Half Of The Study, Michael S. Staunton, Eleanor M. Jaffee

Carsey Publications

In this brief, authors Michael Staunton and Eleanor Jaffee review the key findings and recommendations from research conducted in the first half of the Coös Youth Study, which began in 2008 and is planned to continue through 2018. The study explores young people’s decisions about their educational and job opportunities in rural northern New Hampshire and their plans to stay in their home region or move away. The authors discuss the highlights of these topics: youth aspirations and perceptions of regional opportunities, substance use and mental health, participation in extracurricular and out-of-school activities, youth retention and out-migration, and community attachment …

News Briefs, Unh Communications And Public Affairs

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Public Insurance Drove Overall Coverage Growth Among Children In 2012, Michael J. Staley

Carsey Publications

Using data from the American Community Survey, this brief examines the rates of health insurance coverage among children under 18 in the United States by region and by rural, suburban, and central city residence between 2008 and 2012. Author Michael Staley reports that, between 2011 and 2012, overall rates of health insurance coverage among children increased slightly (0.3 percentage point); 92.8 percent of the nation’s children had health insurance in 2012. Rates of public health insurance coverage for children grew from 28.3 percent in 2008 to 38.1 percent in 2012, whereas rates of private health insurance coverage for children decreased …

Rural Environmental Concern: Effects Of Position, Partisanship And Place, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Joel N. Hartter, Thomas G. Safford, Forrest R. Stevens

Sociology

The social bases of environmental concern in rural America resemble those for the nation as a whole, but also reflect the influence of place. Some general place characteristics, such as rates of population growth or resource-industry employment, predict responses across a number of environmental issues. Other unique or distinctive aspects of local society and environment matter as well. We extend earlier work on both kinds of place effects, first by analyzing survey data from northeast Oregon. Results emphasize that “environmental concern” has several dimensions. Second, we contextualize the Oregon results using surveys from other regions. Analysis of an integrated dataset …

Proposed Eitc Expansion Would Increase Eligibility And Dollars For Rural And Urban “Childless” Workers, Jess Carson, Marybeth J. Mattingly

Carsey Publications

This brief uses data from the 2013 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey to examine how President Obama’s proposed expanded eligibility and higher credit values might affect tax filers in both rural and urban America. Authors Jessica Carson and Marybeth Mattingly report that proposed changes to the earned income tax credit (EITC) will increase the share of workers without a qualifying child eligible for the EITC equally in rural and urban places, although rural residents are more likely to be eligible under both current and proposed policies. The average increase in the credit is $476, more …

Granite State College, University System Of New Hampshire 2014-2015 Catalog, Undergraduate, Granite State College

Granite State College Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Do You Trust Scientists About The Environment?, Lawrence C. Hamilton

Carsey Publications

In this brief, author Lawrence Hamilton examines the results of a Granite State Poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center in late January–early February 2014. The poll asked about public trust in scientists, along with other questions on science, political, and social issues that help to place the science-trust results in perspective. Almost two-thirds of New Hampshire residents surveyed say that they trust scientists to provide accurate information about environmental issues. Only 12 percent do not trust scientists to provide this information. Wide disparities occur along party lines, however, regarding this and other questions about science. The …

Immigration To Manchester, New Hampshire, Sally Ward, Justin R. Young, Curt D. Grimm

Carsey Publications

This brief analyzes immigration and refugee resettlement in Manchester and the effects on the city’s demographic composition, as well as the implications for its future. Authors Sally Ward, Justin Young, and Curt Grimm report that Manchester, New Hampshire, like the nation, is experiencing a new wave of immigration. In the past, most of the city’s immigrants tended to come from Canada and Europe. Today, they are most likely from Latin America, followed by Asia and, to a lesser extent, Africa. The rate of refugee placement in Manchester has remained relatively steady since the 1990s. Of all refugees who arrived in …

Peer Acceptance And The Emotional Well-Being Of Disabled Individuals, Abigail Burmeister

Perspectives

This study is about how knowing someone with a disability affects an individual’s level of acceptance for others who have a disability. In addition, this paper will also look at previous research on how different levels of peer acceptance affect the emotional well-being of those with disabilities. Under the supervision of our professor and the university staff, my classmates from Methods of Sociological Research at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and I compiled a list of research questions pertaining to our individual studies and sent the link to our Qualtrics survey to approximately 300 other UNH students via Facebook …

Negotiating With Terrorists Considered: A Review Of Scholarly Literature, Alexandru Panait

Perspectives

It is unrealistic to determine what is the most cost-effective counter-terrorist strategy without taking into account efficacy of all available counter-terrorist tactics. Logically the best strategy is that which allows one to construct a variety of tactics that tailors to a given situation. However such a meta-strategy is highly limited by the outright dismissal of a given tactic on the basis of moral arguments or assumptions. A practical analysis of a tactic is required first before asking whether it is worth keeping and what its best for when a terrorist situation is presented. While military and police options have been …

The Effects Of Caffeine On Health: The Benefits Outweigh The Risks, Danielle Ennis

Perspectives

This literature review examines the relationship between caffeine and various health effects. This paper will review the research on health risks related to caffeine consumption and weigh the balance between the risks and benefits that caffeine can provide. Although there are several risks correlated with caffeine consumption, this literature review highlights how the benefits may offset any potentials risks. The main benefits that will be discussed are enhancing physical performance, alertness, pain relief, reducing cognitive impairment, hydration, and reducing the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

Reducing United States Military Involvement, Nicolas Pacheco

Perspectives

This paper addresses the effect that a tactical reduction of United States military personnel could potentially have on the threat of terrorism against the American homeland. While terrorist factions employ varying strategies to further their causes of opposition to western society and occupation, the United States continues to discreetly carry out policies that support incumbent governments and pursue high-risk targets at the risk of civilian casualties. The impact of this hostility can be derived from historical perspectives of neocolonialism and hegemony, but it is crucial to continue to maintain global security interests to prevent international terrorism. This paper explains the …

Biographies, Perspectives Editors

Perspectives

No abstract provided.

Unh Tapped To Help White House Task Force End Campus Sexual Assault, Unh Communications And Public Affairs

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Comm-Entary, Spring 2014 - Full Issue

Comm-entary

In this issue:

Ideologies of a Gravescape by Sonja Loeser

Skepticism as Rhetorical Strategy in Scientific Argument by Leigh Fraser

The Homogenization of National Identity: A Study of Reggaeton by Ricky Wilson

Coffee as a Religion by Olivia Mullen

Metrospirituality by Kelley Ray

Environmental Protest Framing as “Ecoterrorism” by Brieanne Young

Are We Fake? The Internet Masks We So Boldly Adorn by Emily Varnese

Data Mining: The Invasion of the Personal Right to Privacy in the Digital Age by Lauren Nawfel

Apple: The Forbidden Fruit of Cult & Capitalism by Max Post

Foreigners as “Other”: Stereotyping and Categorizing in Everyday …

The New Hampshire, Vol. 103 [104], No. 47 (Apr. 29, 2014), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire. This volume was printed as 103, but it is the 104th volume in the series. This was corrected in pencil.

Predicting September Sea Ice: Ensemble Skill Of The Search Sea Ice Outlook 2008–2013, Julienne Stroeve, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Cecilia M. Bitz, Edward Blanchard-Wrigglesworth

Sociology

Since 2008, the Study of Environmental Arctic Change Sea Ice Outlook has solicited predictions of September sea-ice extent from the Arctic research community. Individuals and teams employ a variety of modeling, statistical, and heuristic approaches to make these predictions. Viewed as monthly ensembles each with one or two dozen individual predictions, they display a bimodal pattern of success. In years when observed ice extent is near its trend, the median predictions tend to be accurate. In years when the observed extent is anomalous, the median and most individual predictions are less accurate. Statistical analysis suggests that year-to-year variability, rather than …

The New Hampshire, Vol. 103 [104], No. 46 (Apr. 25, 2014), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire. This volume was printed as 103, but it is the 104th volume in the series. This was corrected in pencil.

The Increasing Diversity Of America's Youth, Kenneth M. Johnson, Andrew P. Schaefer, Daniel T. Lichter, Luke T. Rogers

Carsey Publications

This brief documents how unfolding demographic forces have placed today’s children and youth at the forefront of America’s new racial and ethnic diversity. Authors Kenneth M. Johnson, Andrew Schaefer, Daniel T. Lichter, and Luke T. Rogers discuss how the rapidly changing racial and ethnic composition of the youth population has important implications for intergroup relations, ethnic identities, and electoral politics. They report that diversity is increasing among America’s youth because there are more minority children and fewer non-Hispanic white children. Minority births exceeded non-Hispanic white births for the first time in U.S. history in 2011 according to Census Bureau estimates. …

The New Hampshire, Vol. 103 [104], No. 44 (Apr. 18, 2014), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire. This volume was printed as 103, but it is the 104th volume in the series. This was corrected in pencil.