Digital Commons Network^™

The Inequities Of Job Loss And Recovery Amid The Covid-19 Pandemic, Rogelio Saenz, Corey Sparks

Carsey Publications

In this policy brief, authors Rogelio Sáenz and Corey Sparks discuss the wide variations in unemployment and the level of job loss during the COVID-19 pandemic across the nation’s demographic groups that have historically suffered disparities in the workforce, including persons of color, women, and immigrants. It is particularly unfortunate that the calamity of the pandemic comes on the heels of major improvements in job prospects that these groups made over the last decade, as the workforce emerged from the Great Recession.

The benefits associated with the CARES Act of March 2020 expired in July, leaving tens of millions of …

Sociopolitical Silos: Environmental Views And The Multiplicative Effect Of Same-Party Friends, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Joel Hartter, Curt Grimm

Faculty Publications

Analysis of climate and other environmental questions on three regional survey projects conducted over 2017–2020 (9,000+ interviews) elaborate on the well-known importance of political factors by adding support for three newer propositions. First, strength of political identification predicts climate-change views within the ranks of conservatives but not within ranks of liberals, evidence that conservatives’ climate-change views are more politically determined. Second, factor analysis suggests that climate-change beliefs meet statistical criteria for being an indicator of sociopolitical identity, alongside the traditional indicators of ideology and party, or the newer one of Trump support. This result calls for caution interpreting models that …

Outlaw Operators: Prevention Failures And The Resurgence Of Black Lung In Central Appalachia, Aysha Bodenhamer

Carsey Publications

In this brief, author Aysha Bodenhamer describes how prevention failures in the coal mining industry have resulted in the resurgence of black lung disease. Caused by the chronic inhalation of coal and silica dust, black lung is progressive, incurable, life-altering, and fatal. Despite it being a preventable disease, black lung is resurgent among coal miners in Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia. Fieldwork including in-depth interviews with miners, clinic workers, black lung attorneys, government employees, and lay advocates, and a case-study analysis of two black lung clinics in southwest Virginia inform this analysis. These data reveal that coal operators routinely evade …

Towards An Equity Competency Model For Sustainable Food Systems Education Programs, Will Valley, Molly Anderson, Nicole Tichenor Blackstone, Eleanor Sterling, Erin Betley, Sharon Akabas, Pamela Koch, Colin Dring, Joanne D. Burke, Karen Spiller

The Sustainability Institute Publications

Addressing social inequities has been recognized as foundational to transforming food systems. Activists and scholars have critiqued food movements as lacking an orientation towards addressing issues of social justice. To address issues of inequity, sustainable food systems education (SFSE) programs will have to increase students’ equity-related capabilities. Our first objective in this paper is to determine the extent to which SFSE programs in the USA and Canada address equity. We identified 108 programs and reviewed their public facing documents for an explicit focus on equity. We found that roughly 80% of universities with SFSE programs do not provide evidence that …

Why People Move To And Stay In New Hampshire, Kenneth M. Johnson, Kristine Bundschuh

Carsey Publications

Migration is important to New Hampshire’s demographic future. Traditionally, the state has grown both because of migration into it and because of the surplus of births over deaths. However, recently all of New Hampshire’s population growth has been due to migration.

In this brief, authors Kenneth Johnson and Kristine Bundschuh analyze data from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center’s Granite State Poll to examine the characteristics of two groups of current New Hampshire residents—recent migrants and established residents—to understand why people move to and choose to stay in the state. Their findings illustrate that migration decisions are influenced by …

Why People Move To And Stay In New Hampshire, Kenneth M. Johnson, Kristine Bundschuh

Carsey Publications

Migration is important to New Hampshire’s demographic future. Traditionally, the state has grown both because of migration into it and because of the surplus of births over deaths. However, recently all of New Hampshire’s population growth has been due to migration.

In this brief, authors Kenneth Johnson and Kristine Bundschuh analyze data from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center’s Granite State Poll to examine the characteristics of two groups of current New Hampshire residents—recent migrants and established residents—to understand why people move to and choose to stay in the state. Their findings illustrate that migration decisions are influenced by …

Granite State College Undergraduate Catalog 2020-2021, Granite State College

Granite State College Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Granite State College Graduate Catalog 2020-2021, Granite State College

Granite State College Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Affordability Challenges Drive Food Insufficiency In The Pandemic, Jess Carson, Sarah Boege

Carsey Publications

In this data snapshot, authors Jess Carson and Sarah Boege find that getting food is a problem for people experiencing food insufficiency during the pandemic, but affording food is the biggest challenge.

I’Ll Be Dammed! Public Preferences Regarding Dam Removal In New Hampshire (Pre-Print), Natallia Leuchanka Diessner, Catherine Ashcraft, Kevin H. Gardner, Lawrence C. Hamilton

New Hampshire EPSCoR

Decisions about dams, like other environmental conflicts, involve complex tradeoffs between different water uses with varying human and ecological impacts, have significant impacts on public resources and involve many stakeholders with diverse and often conflicting interests. Given the many upcoming dam decisions in New England and across the United States of America, an improved understanding of public preferences about dam decisions is needed to steward resources in the public interest. This research asks (1) What does the public want to see happen with dams?, and (2) Do demographic factors influence public preferences for dam decisions? This paper analyzes data from …

U.S. Population Growth Slows, But Diversity Grows, Kenneth M. Johnson

Carsey Publications

In this brief, author Kenneth Johnson reports that in 2019 the U.S. population grew at the lowest rate in a century because there were fewer births, more deaths, and less immigration. Fertility rates diminished regardless of race or Hispanic origin and immigration declines were also widespread. As a result, the growth rate of both the minority and non-Hispanic White population diminished. Yet, the racial diversity of the population continued to grow, according to Census Bureau estimates released on June 25, 2020.

This increasing diversity reflects two important demographic trends. The minority population is growing, and the non-Hispanic White population is …

What Do We Know About What To Do With Dams? How Knowledge Shapes Public Opinion About Their Removal In New Hampshire, Simone Chapman, Catherine M. Ashcraft, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Kevin H. Gardner

Carsey Publications

In this brief, authors Simone Chapman, Catherine Ashcraft, Lawrence Hamilton, and Kevin Gardner report the results of an October 2018 Granite State Poll that asked 607 New Hampshire residents how much they have heard, and their thoughts, concerning the question of whether older dams on New Hampshire rivers should be removed for ecological or safety reasons, or whether the dams should be kept.

Most people admitted they have not heard or read about this issue, but at the same time they agreed that dams could be removed in at least some cases. The more people heard or read about the …

The Benefits And Barriers To Living In Coös County, New Hampshire: Perceptions Of The Region From Emerging Adults, Kristine Bundschuh

Carsey Publications

In this report, author Kristine Bundschuh identifies the benefits and barriers that emerging adults, age 18–25, perceive as they make the decision to stay in, leave, or return to Coös County, New Hampshire. The main draws to living in Coös are its family and community support systems. Those with local professional and educational plans, or who have purchased a home locally, experience additional benefits. Some emerging adults say they would live in Coös if it provided the employment opportunities, diverse communities, and amenities they seek.

Exploring Communicative Adaptations Of Minority Status Individuals: An Overview Of Code Switching Literature, Angelique Georges

Perspectives

The literature review provides an overview of the development of code switches, or the event in which one changes from a non-native language to a native language, in the field of sociology. Previous sociological studies largely explored the topic of code switch, as it related to how language impacts different minority groups, such as African Americans/Blacks, Latinx, and/or Asian individuals, in terms of employment and education opportunities. In general, treatment among minority status individuals were unequal and the literature mostly focused on the listener’s perspective. Thereupon, this literature review seeks to focus on the importance of studying the speaker’s perspective, …

Effects Of Parental Incarceration On Children’S Mental Health And Educational Success By Race And Gender, Julia Stergas

Perspectives

This literature review will evaluate the extent to which parental incarceration impacts children’s mental health and educational success and how these effects differ by race and gender. An introductory section will be followed by definitions of mental health, educational success, race, and gender as they appear in the literature. My discussion on mental health will focus on how parental incarceration places children at greater risk for poor mental health outcomes and how young boys and girls exhibit different mental health problems after experiencing parental incarceration. My discussion on educational success will focus on how parental incarceration is associated with children’s …

Effects Of Socioeconomic Status And Race On Access To Healthcare In The United States, Madeline Ohlson

Perspectives

This literature review discusses the effects of an individual or community’s socioeconomic status and race on their access to healthcare in the United States as important and controversial. Health issues affect all Americans, yet inequalities still exist in the healthcare system. Aspects of socioeconomic status and race are prevalent factors in many social problems, especially in their significant influence on access to, quality of, and availability of healthcare that a person receives. The reviewed studies discuss how social stratification regarding socioeconomic status and race lead to disparities in the field of healthcare when discussing the quality of care, health insurance, …

Effects Of Social Capital On Student Academic Performance, Matthew Pincince

Perspectives

This study seeks to examine the relationship between networks of social relationships (social capital), and academic achievement (grade point average). It provides an introduction of the topic, relevant definitions and a brief literature review of supporting studies. The survey research presented in this study was taken from a convenience sample of the University of New Hampshire students (N=471). The study found that there were statistically significant results at the 0.01 alpha level supporting the existence of this relationship. Overall, there was a positive relationship between students that took more classes with friends as well as students that were involved in …

Author Biographies, Perspectives Editors

Perspectives

No abstract provided.

Sexual Harassment In Professional Settings Among College Students And Adults, Kaitlyn Sawler, Angel Brady

Perspectives

This paper looks at sexual harassment in the workplace, comparing nationwide General Social Survey data, Carsey School of Public Policy New Hampshire data, and the data from our study of UNH Durham students. Sexual harassment is being reported in high numbers across society leading to numerous negative impacts on a person’s physical and mental well-being. We hypothesize that participants in our study will experience sexual harassment less than participants in the nation and state-wide studies. We also hypothesized that female participants from our sample will have higher reportings of experiencing sexual harassment than the male participants. Using convenience sampling, participants …

Mind The (Data) Gaps, Beth Potier

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Heavy Metals In The Arctic: Distribution And Enrichment Of Five Metals In Alaskan Soils, Clarice R. Perryman, Jochen Wirsing, Kathryn A. Bennett, Owen Brennick, Apryl L. Perry, Nicole Williamson, Jessica G. Ernakovich

Faculty Publications

Metal contamination of food and water resources is a known public health issue in Arctic and sub-Arctic communities due to the proximity of many communities to mining and drilling sites. In addition, permafrost thaw may release heavy metals sequestered in previously frozen soils, potentially contaminating food and water resources by increasing the concentration of metals in freshwater, plants, and wildlife. Here we assess the enrichment of selected heavy metals in Alaskan soils by synthesizing publicly available data of soil metal concentrations. We analyzed data of soil concentrations of arsenic, chromium, mercury, nickel, and lead from over 1,000 samples available through …

Unh: The Magazine Of The University Of New Hampshire, Spring/Summer 2020, Unh Magazine

UNH Magazine

This editon of UNH Magazine was digital only due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. This is an archived version of web content originally found at https://magazine.unh.edu/

When To Make The Sensory Social: Registering In Face-To-Face Openings, Danielle M. Pillet-Shore

Faculty Publications

This article analyzes naturally occurring video-recorded openings during which participants make the sensory social through the action of registering—calling joint attention to a selected, publicly perceiv- able referent so others shift their sensory attention to it. It examines sequence-initial actions that register referents for which a participant is regarded as responsible. Findings demonstrate a systematic preference organization which observably guides when and how people initiate registering sequences sensitive to ownership of, and displayed stance toward, the target referent. Analysis shows how registering an owned referent achieves intersubjectivity and puts involved participants’ face, affiliation, and social relationship on the line. A …

Passings In Cola, Susan Dumais

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

U.S. Fertility Rates And Births Continue To Diminish, Kenneth M. Johnson

Carsey Publications

In this data snapshot, author Kenneth Johnson discusses new National Center for Health Statistics data for 2019 that show the lowest fertility rates on record and just 3,746,000 births—the fewest since 1985. There were 570,000 fewer births in 2019 than in 2007, just before the Great Recession began to influence births. As fertility rates begin to be impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and its economic aftermath, a critical question is: how many of these births will be delayed, and how many will be foregone entirely? This has implications for health care, schools, child-related businesses, and eventually for the labor force.

Innovation In Food Access Amid The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jess Carson

Carsey Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered income losses and rising demand for food-related support, while social distancing requirements have complicated access to usual nutrition support sites. In response, government agencies, private retailers, nonprofit organizations, and volunteer networks are undertaking innovative efforts to ensure food access by vulnerable populations. By highlighting strategies that are unfolding in real time, this brief shares an array of potential approaches for private, public, and nonprofit stakeholders to use in deploying their resources.

Trusting Scientists More Than The Government: New Hampshire Perceptions Of The Pandemic, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Thomas G. Safford

Carsey Publications

In this brief, authors Lawrence Hamilton and Thomas Safford report that despite a dramatic increase in the incidence of COVID-19, and an evolving government response, there was no significant change between surveys taken in mid-March and mid-April in the shares of New Hampshire residents who reported they were making “major changes” in their daily routines, had low confidence in the federal government’s response, or expressed trust in information from science agencies.

Peer Victimization And Delinquency: A Longitudinal Analysis Of Their Relationships, Nicholas Alexander Adams

Doctoral Dissertations

The correlation between peer victimization and delinquency has long been established in the sociological and criminological literatures. However, the research to this point has focused on one or the other as an outcome. This study addresses this gap in the literature by teasing out a causal relationship between them. By using 3 waves of the Developmental Victimization Survey, peer victimization and delinquency are treated as both predictors and outcomes for each other. In doing so, this study finds evidence to support a causal relationship between experiencing peer victimization at wave 1 and later delinquent behavior at wave 3. It also …

Bullying Trends In The United States And An Analysis Of The Impact Of Prevention Programs On Bullying Subtypes And Gender, Reeve Kennedy

Doctoral Dissertations

This three-article dissertation presents three standalone articles that address bullying trends over time within the United States (US), gaps in bullying prevention program outcomes (both within the US and internationally), and the role of study and methodological features on the findings. The first article used meta-regression to establish trends in different types of bullying involvement from 1998 to 2017, identified factors that help explain variation in bullying trends, and determined differences in those trends by gender and grade. The second article used meta-analysis to examine the effectiveness of bullying prevention programs on three subtypes of traditional bullying victimization: physical, relational, …

“Speaking Of Dignity”: Interviews With Non-Unionized Adjunct Faculty Teaching In An English Department At A Catholic Church-Affiliated University, Jacob Aaron Bennett

Doctoral Dissertations

This study considers the phenomenon of “dignity” as experienced by non-unionized, part-time, English Department faculty at a Catholic Church-affiliated campus in the Northeast region of the United States; I refer to the institution as Urban Catholic University. This focus is motivated by the apparent tension between Catholic social traditions regarding labor rights and worker dignity, on the one hand, and working conditions for adjuncts as described in the literature on higher education faculty employment. To wit, the labor-positive and union-affirmative tradition in Catholic Social Teaching (CST) has been unequivocally supportive of the rights of workers to unionize since the 1890s, …