Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Choose Your Own Adventure: An Analysis Of Gender Inequality In Higher Education, Topaz Szewczok, Bethany Parslow

Senior Honors Projects

This project explores how gender inequality in contemporary society impacts the individual’s experiences in their career path, especially in regards to higher education. We document experiences that gender minorities have in their academic disciplines and gain insight on how individuals overcome or do not overcome being the gender minority. Our data come from in-depth interviews with college professors and survey responses from college students in gender segregated fields such as nursing, STEM, early education, and family studies. For this study, according to information gathered and published by the university, a “gendered field” at URI is determined by two thirds or …

They Tried To Make Me Go To Rehab: A Study Of Rehabilitation In United States Corrections, Kayla J. Toole

Senior Honors Projects

Rehabilitation has been a staple of the prison system in the United States since the 1700s. The idea that a criminal could be resocialized into a functioning individual in society has been the basis of the prison systems since they first began. Rehabilitation is always evolving in the criminal justice system and being improved to have more impact on recidivism rates. In this project, I examine the cultural and structural explanations for different forms of rehabilitation over time. I found that rehabilitation at various points has been influenced by religious, medical, psychiatric, and sociological understandings of crime.

Currently, rehabilitation combines …

Associations Between Family Functioning And Adolescent Health Behaviors, Megan S. Fleming

Senior Honors Projects

Background: The obesity epidemic has been a concern across the globe, affecting about 20% of adolescents in the U.S. Physical activity and nutrition-related behaviors that develop during adolescence carry through into adulthood. Adolescents’ perceptions of how their family functions may be associated with health behaviors, including physical activity and diet.

Objective: To determine whether there is an association between perceived family functioning and adolescent health behaviors among a national sample of adolescents aged 11 to 16 who participated in the 2009-2010 Health Behaviors of School-Aged Children survey.

Methods: Participants reported on demographics and measures of family function, which included …

Bridging The Generational Gap: Where We Were, Where We Are, And Where We Are Going, Lauren E. Kidd

Senior Honors Projects

The purpose of this project was to connect multiple generations through meaningful discussion and learning. The educational aspect was critical, because learning occurs throughout the life course. Education is a fundamental way to initiate multigenerational conversation. An indirect goal of the project was to question preexisting stereotypical beliefs held about members of specific generational cohorts. Bridging the generational gap is important in establishing a society with equal distribution of information, ideas, and understanding. In many circumstances different generations do not participate in meaningful exchange with each other. In order to successfully progress in a direction desired by the majority of …

“Do You Not Know What Happens To Mothers In America?”, Angela Santopietro

Senior Honors Projects

Joan Kofodimos, author of, Balancing Act: How Managers Can Integrate Successful Careers and Fulfilling Personal Lives (1993), defines work-family integration as, “Having a satisfying, healthy, and productive life that includes work, play, and love; that integrates a range of life activities with attention to self and to personal and spiritual development; and that expresses a person’s unique wishes, interests, and values.” It is particularly important to help working mothers gain work-family integration, also known as work-family balance, because of the effects on family, work, and society. The burden of work and family often falls disproportionately on the shoulders of working …

Recruitment And Retention Of Childhood Bereavement Center Facilitators, Katherine A. Guilfoyle

Senior Honors Projects

When I first visited FRIENDS Way (the only childhood bereavement center in Rhode Island) to fulfill a class requirement for Honors 119- Loss in the Lives of Children and Adolescents, I realized that I had come across an incredible group of individuals. The facilitators at the center were volunteers; people who gave their time and talent to help grieving children. Many of the children had lost a parent, sibling or grandparent and I thought about how important and special the work of the facilitators is. A number of questions ran through my mind: what makes people want to do this …