Digital Commons Network^™

Parks, People And Pixels: Evaluating Landscape Effects Of An East African National Park On Its Surroundings, Jane Southworth, Joel N. Hartter, Michael W. Binford, Abraham Goldman, Colin A. Chapman, Lauren J. Chapman, Patrick Omeja, Elizabeth Binford

Geography

Landscapes surrounding protected areas, while still containing considerable biodiversity, have rapidly growing human populations and associated agricultural development in most of the developing world that tend to isolate them, potentially reducing their conservation value. Using field studies and multi-temporal Landsat imagery, we examine a forest park, Kibale National Park in western Uganda, its changes over time, and related land cover change in the surrounding landscape. We find Kibale has successfully defended its borders and prevents within-park deforestation and other land incursions, and has maintained tree cover throughout the time period of the study. Outside the park there was a significant …

Challenges In Resource Rich Communities: Finding The Path To Redevelopment, Cynthia M. Duncan

Carsey Publications

Northern Forest Higher Education Resource Network Annual Meeting

Review Of: Neil Safier, Measuring The New World, Jan V. Golinski

History

No abstract provided.

The National Juvenile Online Victimization Study: Methodology Report., Kimberly J. Mitchell, Janis Wolak, David Finkelhor

Crimes Against Children Research Center

The National Juvenile Online Victimization Study (N‐JOV) was conducted by the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. Wave 1 of this study was funded by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. Wave 2 of this study was funded through grants from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice.

Researchers collected information from a national sample of law enforcement agencies about the prevalence of arrests for, and characteristics of, Internet sex crimes against minors in the …

Place Effects On Environmental Views, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Chris R. Colocousis, Cynthia M. Duncan

Sociology

How people respond to questions involving the environment depends partly on individual characteristics. Characteristics such as age, gender, education, and ideology constitute the well-studied "social bases of environmental concern," which have been explained in terms of cohort effects or of cognitive and cultural factors related to social position. It seems likely that people's environmental views depend not only on personal characteristics but also on their social and physical environments. This hypothesis has been more difficult to test, however. Using data from surveys in 19 rural U.S. counties, we apply mixed-effects modeling to investigate simple place effects with respect to locally …

Granite State College 2010-2011 Catalog, Granite State College

Granite State College Catalogs

No abstract provided.

The New Hampshire, Vol. 99 [100], No. 51 (May 7, 2010), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire. This volume was printed as 99, but it is the 100th volume in the series. This was corrected in pencil.

Gender Differences In Sitting Positions Of College Students And An Explanation Of These Differences, Celie Morin, Jessica Maxfield

Perspectives

This article explores the differences in the sitting positions of college men and women. After conducting unobtrusive observations of 83 students at the University of New Hampshire, we analyzed our data and found that there are differences in the way men and women sit. Men tend to sit in open positions while women tend to sit in closed positions. Differences in leg positions were more notable than differences in arm positions. In regard to arm and leg combinations, the most common combination for men was open arm/open leg. There were no significant differences between arm and leg combinations of women. …

The Indirect Effects Of Family Structure On Drug Use In Adolescents, Maureen Corsetti

Perspectives

This paper focuses on explaining the significant relationship between family structure and adolescent drug abuse. Significant differences in drug abuse frequency and patterns among adolescents living in two-parent, step-parent, and single-parent households does not show to be directly related to family structure, but rather attributable to the variation of social controls and family processes that occur among the diverse types of households. My thesis is that adolescents living in two-biological-parent households will be less likely to participate in drug abuse than adolescents living in one-parent or step-parent households because there is more supervision and monitoring as well as a better …

Family, Peers And School Programs And The Influence On Juvenile Marijuana Use, Victoria Vinciguerra

Perspectives

Drug use has is a common form of deviance among adolescents. This paper focuses on the different ways that social institutions try to positively or negatively influence juveniles from becoming involved in drug use. I will provide evidence on school programs and give conclusions on the helpfulness of them. I will also write about the parent-child relationship and whether or not this is a main influence of substance abuse. Finally, the peer group will be analyzed to determine how much of an effect they might have. These three factors will be explored throughout the content of this literature review. By …

Why Are Students Dropping Out Of School? The Factors That Contribute To The United States High School Dropout Rate, Christopher Lund

Perspectives

With a very fluctuating economy and an unstable job market, a high school diploma as well as a continued education is becoming extremely important. An increasing amount of businesses will not even consider a job application unless a person has a high school diploma. The Bureau of Labor Statistics contains data showing the increase in opportunities that a person with a high school diploma has in comparison to a person that has dropped out of high school. The data shows that only 55% of high school dropouts were employed from the year 2000 through 2005 as opposed to 71% of …

The Failure Of Drinking Age Laws, Claire Hanchey

Perspectives

The Minimum Legal Drinking Age was set at 21 after the passing of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act (NMDAA) of 1984. The NMDAA “required all states to raise their purchase and public possession of alcohol age to 21, or risk losing federal highway funds under the Federal Highway Aid Act” (Drinking 2002: 2). By 1987, all 50 states were on board and the MLDA was established. Since then, there are many reasons and statistics that pro-MLDA advocates point to as evidence that drinking age laws are successful, useful, and beneficial to society. However, for each point supporters make, there …

Research On How The Media Can Impact Donations From Its Viewers And How It Does So, Kristina Moritz, Kate Newman

Perspectives

Without media and especially the news, society would have no way of being informed about anything outside of their own lives. This research focuses on how the media can impact donations from its viewers and how it does so. It will touch on types of advertising imagery, how people donate and where they mostly send their donations to, and what types of news stories are the most successful in provoking a person to donating. We found that from the people surveyed, most people donate by text or online, get their news from online, and would rather donate to community destruction. …

About The Authors, Heather Dean, Zach Field

Perspectives

No abstract provided.

Shopping Behaviors Of College Students, Valerie R. Barthell, Jessica Ann Waitt

Perspectives

This research examines the shopping behaviors of college student, encompassing their use of credit cards, where they shop, and how their income affects shopping. Respondents completed a self administered 36 question survey, in which they chose the most appropriate answer. Results show statistical evidence that income and age affect college students’ shopping behaviors, use of credit cards, and amount of credit card debt. It was found that most respondents use credit cards but report little to no debt; however it was shown that the older the respondent the more debt they perceived they have. It was also found that students …

Rap Music Lyrics And The Construction Of Violent Identities, Rachel Durgin

Perspectives

This paper explores the relationship between lyrical rap music content and the construction of an adolescent‟s social identity. The lyrical content of rap music is one form of violence in the mainstream media. I will give a background of rap music content, the origins and messages behind the lyrics, then evidence to show how these lyrics affect an adolescent identity formation. Finally I will show evidence in which these lyrics affect adolescents of different races. My thesis is that the lyrics in rap music are a reflection of an oppositional culture and can therefore aid in shaping an adolescent‟s violent …

The Acceptance And Usage Of Pornography And Its Effects On College Students' Risky Behaviors And Family Formation Values, Amanda Frick

Perspectives

This study examines the relationship between the acceptance and usage of pornography and its effects on college students‟ risky behaviors and family formation values. There was a total of 224 respondents at the University of New Hampshire who answered an Internet survey regarding their acceptance and usage of pornography, as well as participation in certain types of risky behaviors and family formation values. Results found that there was a significant difference between males (61.7%) and females (6.93%) who viewed pornography at least once a week. of. However, it was also found that more than half of both men (82.98%) and …

Humor In Corporate Work Place Interactions: It's Not What You Can Do For Humor, But What Humor Can Do For You, Zach Field

Perspectives

This review examines the role of humor in work place interactions through the social constructionist perspective (Hatch 1997). That is, this review explores the ways in which people construct their interactions through humor, and the effects that has on their performance in the work place. However, according to Robinson, “any attempt to analyze humor risks taking all the fun out of the subject,” but this review is going to do just that (2001:123). Humor is often defined as being in the eye of the beholder. However, there are a few theories as to what constitutes humor. Humor is generally known …

Online Gaming Can Make A Better World: Jane Mcgonigal, Ryan B. Johnson

Perspectives

With personal feelings put aside and sociological theoretical depictions brought to the forefront, it is interesting to compare some of Jane's ideas with that of both Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. The theorist who stood out right away, being exemplified through Jane's positive attitude claims on a much larger, macro-level scale, was Emile Durkheim. Jane's ideas about transcending human's as a resource through the social fabrics of gaming into something that might solve world hunger, poverty, and global warming was nothing short of functionalism at it's best. Jane's platform for social structure and maintaining positive social order is the online …

University Of New Hampshire Students' Perceptions Of The University Of New Hampshire Police Department, Adam Gaudreault, Nathan Riggs

Perspectives

This project involves discovering the positive and negative perceptions that the UNH student body has on the UNH police department. Classes of varying sizes were given surveys that contained demographic questions, as well as questions on participants’ perceptions of the local police force. Using survey analyses from the students attending the University of New Hampshire, conclusions were made about the perceptions and several characteristics that were found to be important. Important results were that UNH student class standing is unimportant in the perceptions of UNH police; males are more negative in their perceptions of the police than females; when misconduct …

Community Influences On Individual Philanthropy: The Impact Of Social Capital, Perception, And Demographics On Charitable Giving, Genevieve Lacon

Perspectives

Why do people donate money? The phenomenon of donation is rarely questioned, and yet remains an integral part of society. Studying philanthropy, described as “private action for the public good” by Brown and Ferris (2007:85), is informative because it shows how well individuals can identify and fight social problems. With 1 million charities in the United States in 2008, the nonprofit sector employing 7 percent of the workforce, and donations making up 2.2 percent of the GDP, philanthropy is a visible presence in US society (NPT 2008). Because of this, it is important to call into investigation the elements that …

Body Satisfaction And Sex Differences In Exercise Motivations, Emma Carroll, Stephanie Lanza

Perspectives

In this study we investigated body satisfaction and sex differences in exercise motivations. We used a questionnaire that assessed the exercise motivations: stress/anxiety, health/fitness level, mood/enjoyment, and appearance/body shape. We had 198 undergraduate participants, 114 females and 84 males between the ages of 18-23 from the University of New Hampshire, Durham campus. Self-objectification is relevant in this topic because males and females feel pressures from society to obtain the “ideal body type”. We found that health/fitness goals are the primary motivators for both males and females. There were statistically significant differences between male and female exercisers desire to lose, gain …

Attitudes About Stay-At-Home Fathers, Tanya Rouleau

Perspectives

Research has shown that stay-at-home fathers are evaluated more negatively than stay-at-home mothers (Rosenwasser, Gonzalez, and Adams 1985; Kroska 2001) and working parents (Brescoll and Uhlmann 2005). Stay-at-home fathers who are also breadwinners have been evaluated more positively than stay-at-home fathers who do not contribute financially to their families (Rosenwasser, Gonzalez, and Adams 1985). Participants in the present study were 236 students enrolled in undergraduate classes on the UNH Durham campus. Each participant read a description of one of six hypothetical parents and answered questions about his or her attitudes toward the hypothetical parent as well as his or her …

"Penny-Wise, Not Pound-Foolish", Sarah Hilton Rogers

Perspectives

Marx, Durkheim, Weber, and Goffman are all familiar names in the world of Sociology. Although the four share a common passion for sociological materials; each of these theorists view, support, and explain different situations based on their own beliefs. The article, Penny-Wise, Not Pound Foolish, written by Stephanie Saul is an article about the lengths in which obese people will go to improve their physical health. The content in this article would be interpreted differently by each social theorist, but each would have several points and ideas to illustrate the story.

The Social Factors Of College Lifestyle That May Cause Weight Gain In Undergraduate Students, Ceylan Ozberak

Perspectives

The college life is a one of a kind experience. It is usually the first time students move away from their families and become independent. It is also a time for experimentation. Many students begin to figure out who they are by getting involved in school activities, and meeting new people. It is important to make friends and meet new people in college, and for many this is done by partying at night. College is a time of change: many begin to pick up habits, such as drinking, to deal with the change. This time of change includes social problems …

Students' Perceptions Of Parental, Peer And Religious Influences On Sexual Attitudes And Behavior, Heather Dean

Perspectives

The present study examines the association between parental, peer and religious influences and the sexual attitudes and behaviors of college students. A questionnaire was administered to 128 undergraduate students between the ages of 18 and 36 at the University of New Hampshire- Durham campus. The questionnaire consisted of 43 fill-in-the-blank and multiple choice questions that inquired about demographic information, social influences and sexual activities in the 12 month period before college and the 12 month period after and including the first day of college. Results indicate that students do not feel that they were influenced significantly by parents, peers or …

Women's Sexuality And Sexual Orientation: A Sociological Explanation Of Behavior, Katie-Ann Lawrence

Perspectives

Mis-perceptions and biases surrounding women's sexual health and behavior makes it almost impossible to determine what constructs a women's sexual behavior; social forces or their personal orientation. Social forces may have a stronger influence on a women’s sexual development and behavior than orientation, which is what incites the process of how she is perceived and thus constructs her behavior. Analysis of interviews with three women will attempt to theorize a micro-qualitative explanation behind female sexual behavior; Harriet, a 22 year old identified as a gay woman; Jane, a 21year old who identifies as a heterosexual or straight woman; and Emily …

Do Community-Based Corrections Have An Effect On Recidivism Rates? A Review Of Community Supervision, Supportive Reintegration, Electronic Monitoring Programs And Their Impacts On Reducing Reoffending, Bethany Schmidt

Perspectives

This paper will examine the impact and effect community-based corrections have on the reduction of recidivism for adult offenders. More specifically, I will focus on three commonly used types of such corrections in the United States: community supervision, supportive reintegration, and electronic monitoring. I propose that these community-based correctional programs will reduce reoffending rates.

I will first provide a theoretical perspective to provide a foundational support, followed by a background of community-based corrections and their usage in contemporary American courts. I will then review the research regarding community supervision, supportive reintegration, and electronic monitoring, and discuss how these programs affect …

The Effect Of Socio-Economic Status And Related Stress On Physical Health, Makenzie Keene

Perspectives

This review is designed to investigate how socioeconomic status, and the stress related to it, can impact physical health. Much of the research relating to this topic focuses on how low socioeconomic status effects health. However, it is very important to understand the different ways that all classes effect health outcomes. An important mediating factor in the relationship between socioeconomic status and health is chronic stress. The presence of chronic stress can produce serious negative health outcomes. High stress appears on all levels of the social hierarchy, but formulates for unique reasons within the different classes.

The Effects Of Family Income, Geography, And Structure On Juvenile Crime, Kathryn Miller

Perspectives

This paper looks to explore the effect that family income, geography, and structure have on juvenile crime. These three categories have all been theorized and researched, which will help to provide a backbone for this paper. Though there are many other factors that have been linked to juvenile crime, I will focus only on these three.