Digital Commons Network^™

Examining The Association Between Fictive Kin Care, Parental Attachment And Emotional Distress In College Students, Roxanne Watts

Master's Theses

Having a supportive and secure relationship with parents can predict less emotional distress in college students. In addition to parental support, many families leverage fictive kin caregivers to provide support. This is especially true in communities of racial and ethnic minorities. The present study investigated the association between fictive kin care, parental relationships, and emotional distress in college students. One hundred fourteen (N = 114) college students completed measures that assessed parental and fictive-kin relationships, social support, and emotional distress. A COVID-19 pandemic-related distress measure was also administered. Three hypotheses were tested. First, it was hypothesized that fictive kin …

Intermittent Standing And Prior Exercise As Strategies To Prevent Arterial Stiffening That Can Arise From Prolonged Sitting, Alexander Wright

Master's Theses

Prolonged sitting can cause adverse vascular responses, including elevations in aortic stiffness which might contribute to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Few studies have investigated the impact of intermittent standing and/or prior exercise as strategies to mitigate these deleterious vascular changes. Purpose: to explore vascular health responses to prolonged sitting, with and without intermittent standing and/or prior exercise. Methods: 15 males aged between 18 and 31 years were recruited. Participants completed a control condition (Sitting Only), and three randomized strategy conditions (Sitting Plus Standing, Exercise Plus Sitting, Exercise Plus Sitting Plus Standing). For all conditions, measurements of carotid-femoral PWV (cfPWV) were taken …

Emotions In Work And War: Comparisons Of Emotional-Cultures Of New Deal Ccc Enrollees And Wwii U.S. Army Enlistees, 1933-1945, Maeve Losen

Master's Theses

Though the Great Depression and Second World War were consecutive eras and overlapped in numerous aspects, scholarship often overlooks the commonalities between these periods. To demonstrate these eras’ shared qualities, this thesis examines the relationship in emotional-cultures—the cultural norms that dictated how individuals felt and demonstrated their emotions—among Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees and U.S. Army enlistees during WWII.

The broad intent of this undertaking is to place the cultural history of the Great Depression and WWII in conversation and to show the advantage of inter- and multidisciplinary work by applying anthropological and historical theories of emotion. Though the historical …

Patterns Of Academic Help-Seeking In Undergraduate Computing Students, Augie Doebling

Master's Theses

Knowing when and how to seek academic help is crucial to the success of undergraduate computing students. While individual help-seeking resources have been studied, little is understood about the factors influencing students to use or avoid certain re- sources. Understanding students’ patterns of help-seeking can help identify factors contributing to utilization or avoidance of help resources by different groups, an important step toward improving the quality and accessibility of resources. We present a mixed-methods study investigating the help-seeking behavior of undergraduate computing students. We collected survey data (n = 138) about students’ frequency of using several resources followed by one-on-one …

Virtual Teams During Covid-19: A Study On Group Perceptions, Emergent States, And Outcomes, Thomas Montagna

Master's Theses

Due to the COVID‐19 pandemic, university students were forced to transition to emergency remote learning that, for many, required an abrupt shift from traditional face-to face instruction. The current study leveraged the unique opportunity provided by the change in communication modalities to compare pre and post pandemic perceptions of teamwork. Using the input-mediator-output-input (IMOI) framework, this study sought to discover how group processes, emergent states, and outcomes differed for face-to-face and virtual group work. As part of a retrospective pretest design, a convenience sample of fifty-two graduate students from the University of New Haven completed a single survey that asked …

Translatina Immigrant Mental Health Wellness: Suggestive Intervention Strategies The City Of San Francisco Should Consider Adopting, Valeria Vera

Master's Theses

Translatina immigrants in the United States often suffer from intersectional traumas due to their race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and immigration status — putting them in a vulnerable position socially, psychologically, economically, and medically. Due to their positionality in the intersections of migration, criminalization, cissexism, and mental health, they are often more marginalized and have greater needs than communities with privileged sociocultural identities. As a particularly vulnerable group, they need guaranteed access to gender-affirming healthcare that is inclusive of mental health services. Despite Translatinas’ need for mental health services, there exist many barriers making services inaccessible and insufficient in San …

Examining Communibiology During Adrenal Stress Scenario Training In Feminist Self-Defense: An Experimental Study, Daniel A. Van Hook

Master's Theses

In communication episodes featuring heightened stress, interactions that are perceived as threatening and evoke a sense of powerlessness often predict a cycle of victimization. Meanwhile, social interactions which affirm safety and agency amidst stress foster empowerment. This study utilized Hoplology, which studies stress inoculation against aggression and posttraumatic stress, and Communibiology, the study of neurobiology as an antecedent and outcome of communication, to explore (a) whether Adrenal Stress Scenario Training in Feminist Self-Defense (ASST-FSD) produces a physiological response to promote stress inoculation, (b) how anxiety impacts physiological response, and (c) reports of mental toughness. A 4-day ASST-FSD training pilot study …

Three Miles Per Hour: Shifting From Performance To Heart Orientation Among Seventh-Day Adventist Pastors, Royce A. V. Odiyar

Master's Theses

This thesis examines the presence and impact of performance orientation among Seventh-day Adventist pastors. It identifies multiple factors involved in perpetuating performance orientation and includes strategies to shift from performance to heart orientation in life and pastoral ministry. Using a mixed-method design, this research collected qualitative data via focus groups and quantitative data via an online survey. There was a total of eight focus groups with thirty-three participants, and the online survey gathered fifty-one responses. Focus group participants and survey respondents included both men and women from North America who were ethnically diverse. The research revealed significant concerns regarding pastoral …

The Significance Of Hosea 13:11: A Study Of The Monarchy In Ancient Israel, Tuo Wang

Master's Theses

Problem

In Hosea 13:11, God said that "I gave you a king in My anger and took him away in My wrath." Why did God say that? What is the meaning of this expression? It is obvious that God expressed a negative view in this verse. Regarding the reason, why God held such an attitude, there are four common understandings: (1) because of the sins of the Israelites, (2) because the Israelites did not trust God in demanding a king for themselves, (3) because God wanted to give the Israelites a lesson in their disobedience, (4) because God denied the …

Adventist Culture In The Ussr, Dmitrii Fokin

Master's Theses

Any religion, including Christianity, is not only a system of beliefs and doctrines, but also patterns of behavior that make up a certain culture of its followers. The degree of development of religious culture and involvement in it largely determines the self-identification of members of communities of various denominations. It can be expressed through the following markers: everyday behavior, the presence of specific vocabulary, the formation of oral, musical, visual and written creativity of a particular religious movement. This is true of Seventh-day Adventist culture as well.

Statement of the Problem

However, to date there is no full-fledged study on …

Abolition Is Not Abstract: Zines And The Transmission Of Revolutionary Cultural Capital, Austin Wonder

Master's Theses

Abolition as a theory and practice-whether in relation to the institution of the prison, systems of policing, or the carceral state as a whole-has received relatively little attention or serious appreciation within the discipline of Sociology. Calls for the abolition of policing and prisons are often taken for granted as naïve and radical demands, perceived as being disassociated from the material conditions of reality. Nonetheless, abolitionist analyses provide a unique and critical perspective from which to explore alternatives to addressing pervasive police violence and mass incarceration through strategies which do not rely upon, or increase the power of, the criminal …

Risk Perception And Response Among International Students Of The University Of Southern Mississippi, Elida Lopes Souza Rocha

Master's Theses

Given the exposure of university campuses to hazards, disaster mitigation is a critical element of higher education policy. Although U.S. higher education institutions are leaders in the global education market, emergency warning systems give little consideration to how international students perceive risk, prepare for hazards, or access warning technologies available to them. This poses several questions regarding the suitability of hazards mitigation practices and the welfare of international students.

This thesis investigates the relationship between USM international students and natural hazards. Responses from online surveys and semi-structured interviews data were analyzed through qualitative and quantitative methods to document the extent …

Collateral Damage: How Expanding Public Charge Policy Influences Adult Esl Enrollment, Allison M. Eckert

Master's Theses

This study used statistical analysis of enrollment records for ESL programs at community colleges throughout California from 2015-2019 to determine whether adult immigrants’ participation in public ESL programs was reduced under President Donald Trump. Immigrant families’ lesser use of public education services and means-tested federal benefits has been widely documented in the wake of Trump’s expansion of the public charge rule, which counted immigrants’ use of a wider array of public benefits against their case for residency in the United States than had any previous iteration of the rule. Failing the public charge test can block an immigrant’s entry into …

Get Into It: Unpacking The Relationship Between Hegemonic Norms And The Race And Gender Of Pop Artists, Bailey Shelton

Master's Theses

Many contemporary popular musical artists are victims of media controversy while they simultaneously make musical chat history. As a culture founded and sustained by a white supremacist capitalistic patriarchy, race and sex appear to influence the way hegemonic in-groups treat minorities and the way minorities are perceived and live within the confines of said hegemony. With the context of understanding feminist theories, hegemonic norms, parasocial relationships, celebrity appeal, and norms, the researcher wanted to understand if there are clear relationship among these frameworks in modern society. This study employed a 2x2 2between subjects factorial design method to gather information about …

Subnational Map Of Poverty Generated From Remote-Sensing Data In Africa: Using Machine Learning Models And Advanced Regression Methods For Poverty Estimation, Lionel N. Hanke

Master's Theses

According to the 2020 poverty estimates from the World Bank, it is estimated that 9.1% - 9.4% of the global population lived on less than $1.90 per day. It is estimated that the Covid-19 pandemic further aggravated the issue by pushing more than 1% of the global population below the international poverty line of $1.90 per day (WorldBank, 2020). To provide help and formulate effective measures, poverty needs to be located as exact as possible. For this purpose, it was investigated whether regression methods with aggregated remote-sensing data could be used to estimate poverty in Africa. Therefore, five distinct regression …

The Relationship Between Vitamin D Intake, Sun Exposure, Handgrip Strength And Hg Alc Levels In College-Age Adults, Janelle Melancon

Master's Theses

Vitamin D is known for its importance to bone health and calcium metabolism and plays a role in insulin resistance. Recent research has recognized its role in insulin secretion, inflammatory response, and adipose tissue changes as possible reasons for its association with insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease. The CDC (2019) reported that 20% of adolescents are now living with prediabetes. Most individuals with prediabetes progress to type 2 diabetes within ten years. Because many studies have focused on adults of all ages, it is important to research young adults. This study aimed to determine prevention efforts; therefore, the younger adult …

To Vote Or Not To Vote: An Assessment Of How Felony Convictions And Incarceration Affects Voting Practices, Tammy Ortiz

Master's Theses

Felon disenfranchisement has a long history in the United States, beginning with Jim Crow Laws, continuing with mass incarceration, and increasing with voter suppression policies and laws being created on a daily basis. This paper will include a brief history of voting suppression and how felony convictions and incarceration create further obstacles for individuals choosing to share their voices and elect officials who represent them within the government. Theories involved in this research include labeling, anomie, citizenship, and both social control and social conflict and combined will demonstrate how the criminal justice works to control individuals under supervision, so much …

Different Class: The Creation Of The Premier League And The Commercialization Of English Football, Colin Damms

Master's Theses

This project examines how English football evolved from a culture of hooliganism and poor upkeep into a popular and enterprising industry across the globe. The Premier League and its stars marketed the English game and its culture worldwide. Since the 1990s England has established itself as the leading club footballing nation. I argue that through football, and the culture and economics behind it, we can see the ways in which England attempted to change its image in the modern world. In the 1980s and 1990s Britain was confronted with its own established culture of violence, bigotry, and nationalist pride, particularly …

Subadult Cortical Bone Analysis As An Indicator Of Childhood Health Status Among The Tipu Maya Population, Jaime Thomas

Master's Theses

This thesis explores juvenile health at the contact Maya site of Tipu in western Belize. The associated cemetery was excavated and provided a large and well-preserved population. Although Tipu has been a focus of many studies, few studies have focused on subadults and none on their cortical development, which can allow insight into access to necessary nutritional resources.

Some 108 femora belonging to individuals aged birth to 13 years with femora previously sectioned at midshaft provided the sample. External dimensions taken included diaphyseal length, circumference, medial-lateral diameter and anterior-posterior diameter. Additionally, cortical thickness was measured at four points, and 95 …

Perception Correction: Addressing Social Stigmatization Around Bdsm And Mental Health, Erin Afana

Master's Theses

Mainstream society’s characterization of activities and subgroups as abnormal can result in a long history of being shamed and pathologized, leading to discrimination and stigmatization. BDSM (bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadomasochism) is an alternative lifestyle with a variety of identities, characteristics and practices that are viewed by many as being outside of societal norms. The consequences of this can be seen in how society, in general, views BDSM participants, how the criminal justice system responds to issues involving BDSM, and how the mental health system perceives those who participate in BDSM activities. The purpose of this thesis …

How Do You Handle That? How Graduate Teaching Associates Engage In Sensemaking Practices To Overcome Challenges, Laura Bell

Master's Theses

The aim of this study is to explore the experiences of Graduate Teaching Associates (GTAs) and how they communicate about the challenges they face. Initially, I examined how GTAs describe difficult experiences they have during and outside of the classes that they teach or help facilitate. Then, I investigated how GTAs describe the way they recover readily from these challenging situations and continue to learn from them through the process of sensemaking. Drawing on data from in-depth interviews with 13 GTAs from six different departments at San Jose State University, a thematic analysis was conducted to connect the information shared …

Los Zetas, Neoliberalism, And Popular Opposition: A Study In Linkages, Gina R. Lyle

Master's Theses

Los Zetas are considered by security analysts to be a transformative force within transnational criminal organizations (TCO), exporting their unique model throughout Mexico. Los Zetas’ idiosyncratic interventions include their diversification of criminal operations, professionalization of TCO security, sophisticated use of media and technology, extreme forms of violent coercion, and decentralized command structure. This project aims to complicate the narrative that Los Zetas emerged because of top leaders’ sadistic tendencies or due to an inherently violent culture in Mexico by reframing the group’s evolution within historical processes. Moving beyond Los Zetas, this project examines how persons affected by Los Zetas’ indiscriminate …

Upending The "Racial Death-Wish": Black Gay Liberation And The Culture Of Black Homophobia, Kailyn Pope

Master's Theses

This thesis analyzes the origin and impact of Black homophobia found in activist spaces of mid- to late-twentieth-century American society. Black gay Americans were subjected to intersecting forms of systemic and cultural oppression that were exceedingly hard to escape due to both the homophobia in Black spaces and the racism in gay spaces. Black gay activists and artists thus had to create their own avenues of expression where they and others could fully embrace what it meant to be Black and gay. This work utilizes a Black feminist framework to explore the roots of Black homophobia and how this type …

Examining The Ecological And Social Implications Of Parklets And Plazas Across Multiple Urban Scales, Joshua L. Muller

Master's Theses

Faced with population increases but stagnant capital improvements and impacts from global warming, cities around the world are experimenting with smaller-scale and cheaper strategies in order to accommodate the new influx of residents. New York City has led the way in converting low-efficiency intersection space into public plazas with a limited range of permanently installed elements and San Francisco has pioneered the concept of the parklet, which converts two to four street parking spaces into a modular and flexible pedestrian space. I seek to answer two questions about these spaces: What are common factors influencing the viability and successful implementation …

Migrant Management In The "Calais Jungle". Intentional State Disengagement Or Expression Of The French Model Limitations?, Sarah Bekrar

Master's Theses

This thesis aims to explore the disparities between the French state’s apparent participatory efforts in the human rights regime and the exclusionary practices against migrants within the territory. What has been labeled “the European refugee crisis”- here in France, has exacerbated states’ anti-migrant behaviors of hyper securitization, politics of refoulement, and practices of burden shifting. Under the Geneva Convention of 1951 relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, France, among 149 other signatories, has agreed to recognize and apply refugee rights as outlined by the Convention and to participate in the global effort to protect them. …

Envisioning Justice And Solidarity In The Household Workplace: The Organizing Power Of Immigrant Domestic Workers And Employers In The Bay Area, Nicole Laporte

Master's Theses

Domestic workers are skilled professionals who engage in a variety of activities ranging from housecleaning, elderly care and childcare support in private households. In the United States, it is estimated that there are over 2.5 million domestic workers, the majority of whom are immigrant women of color.[1] Due to the historic racialized and gendered exclusion from labor law protections such as the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, [2] the labor of domestic worker professionals has been made invisible in the United States. Today, domestic workers are three times as likely to be living in poverty and are less …

The Inter-American Human Rights System In The Context Of Migration: Us Immigration Policies, Maira E. Delgado Laurens

Master's Theses

International human rights laws are critical to ensuring a minimum protection level for those migrating to other nations across the globe. Despite intense efforts by the United States to sidestep such policies while misrepresenting their repeated violations of human rights now taking place at the U.S.-Mexico border, these policies remain in full force in the global governance community. The actions of the Trump administration and others clearly indicate the need for political intervention to ensure such rights are maintained. Using qualitative content analysis and participatory observation, this article reviews the effectiveness of thematic hearings, under the Inter-American Commission on Human …

Contextualizing Bipoc High School Students’ Racialized Experiences Under Trump, Christina Ung

Master's Theses

This thesis contextualizes public high school experiences of self-identified students of color during Trump’s presidency. The study features three recent high school graduates from the same campus, and their perspectives on a series of topics related to their racial identity. It was important that this research served as a space for marginalized voices to share their lived experiences, as they are frequently left out of American curriculum. More specifically in this case, the high school is located in a small, rural town where the population is majority white and politically conservative. Through the lens of critical race theory (CRT), data …

Lgbtq Forced Migrants' Labor Market Integration In Mexico City: Perspectives From Mexico's Government Agencies, International Organizations, And Mexican Civil Society, Rolando Diaz

Master's Theses

Mexico holds a unique position as a country of immigration, emigration, refuge, transit, and return migration. In recent decades, researchers have built awareness on the country’s received migrants’ diverse characteristics by posing questions and tackling the challenges that certain migrants face. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) forced migrants have become increasingly visible since the exodus of asylum-seekers from Central America. Many of these LGBTQ migrants flee state and non-state actors that present life-threatening conditions for the LGBTQ community. Though Mexico as a whole is going through its own evolution on LGBTQ and migrants’ rights, its capital city has …

A Treacherous Journey Through Latin America: The Plight Of Black African And Haitian Migrants Forced To Remain In Mexico, Zefitret A. Molla

Master's Theses

The growing presence of Black African and Haitian migrants in Mexico poses a new set of challenges to a country that is already struggling to recognize the presence of Afro-Mexicans and where mestizaje still dominates the national discourse on race. Due to restrictive U.S. and Mexican immigration policies since 2016, many of these migrants have found themselves forced to remain in a country they had only intended to transit through on their journey northward to the U.S. Mexico has only recently taken the necessary steps to recognize its Afro-Mexican population which had been marginalized and erased from history. This paper …