Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Politics And Society In Federation Era Russia: Power Elites, Music And The Shaping And Manipulation Of Culture And Identity, Hayley Ream

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the relationship between government and society in shaping and manipulating perceptions – or even illusions – of culture and identity in contemporary Russia. Russia’s relationship with the larger world is arguably playing out in a revisionist post-Soviet era framework, particularly since Vladimir Putin first assumed the role of Acting President of the Russian Federation, following the resignation of Boris Yeltsin, in December 1999. Since, the Russian government has sought to create a perception of a healthy public space within representative democratic structure of government. This is a perception the government of Vladimir Putin is committed to maintaining. …

Jane, Judith, And Gender Performance: A Butlerian Approach To Feminine Identity In Mansfield Park, Hallie Stone

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I take two complex works, Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble and Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, and read them together to gain a deeper understanding of both. My cutting-edge psychoanalytic approach to understanding Jane Austen provides a profound insight into the impact of socially-constructed expectations on performances of femininity. Butler’s work exposes interesting insights into the psychology and feminine identity of both Fanny Price and Mary Crawford while Austen’s work exposes limits in Butler’s theory of gender performativity. Although Butler claims that gender is a body’s constant performance, I add that there is a relationship between gender performance …

The Sociology Of Bullying: Prevention And Intervention Using A Three Themed Model, Darcy Bowman

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of a bullying intervention model that involves visibility, intervention and support for vulnerable populations. Vulnerable populations are considered to be LGBT youth, gender non-conforming youth, and racial/religious minorities. Research showed that factors in effective bullying intervention programs fell into the themes of visibility, support, and intervention for vulnerable populations. Guidance Counselors at three public schools in the New York State capital region answered questionnaires about how their school’s bullying intervention program incorporated the identified themes. The results indicated that schools which programs incorporated high levels of visibility, support, and intervention …

Secular Sells: How Secular Lifestyle Influences Religiosity, Elyse Clark

Honors Theses

This study examines the relationship between secular behaviors and religious behaviors among youth in the United States. While there is no doubt that these two things are intrinsically linked, the nature of that relationship has been predominantly studied in the direction of religion affecting secular behavior. However, in today’s society with secularization and the prevalence of the mass media, it makes more sense to examine the relationship the opposite way and see how secular behavior affects religiosity. Using the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) dataset and change in change modeling, causality can be established showing how behaviors such …

Dropout Or Delinquent: An Ecological Analysis Of High School Attrition Rates In Correlation To Criminal Behavior, Mallory Kiley

Honors Theses

The high school student attrition rate in the United States is unexpectedly high. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate a correlation between high school non-completion and criminal arrest rates in order to establish the importance of improving the public school system in the country. I analyze dropout rates, crime rates, and demographic differences through an ecological study of the United States. States with high dropout rates also have high overall arrest rates, families living in poverty, and are more religious. These factors are particularly present across the Southeast United States as well as the Southwest, particularly those with …

Rural, Urban, And Suburban School Communities And Their Impact On School Psychologists, Claire Crosier

Honors Theses

School psychologists play an important role today in the education of students by helping those with and without diagnosed disabilities. Their role as a school psychologist entails assessing students, providing interventions, consulting with teachers and more. This study looks to see if school psychologists have a different role depending on their community location, specifically rural, urban and suburban locations. Past research is outdated and finds varying results with some finding that the role differs depending on the setting, while others find more similarities than differences. This study found both similarities and differences in characteristics of school psychologists, the population of …

The "Give And Take" Of Medical Morality, Caitlyn Tabor

Honors Theses

Doctors face situations within the medical arena in which their conscience -- as a person and as a professional -- conflicts with patient autonomy. Consider the terminally ill patient who wishes to end all treatment and elect to receive assisted suicide, and his physician who believes that aiding in death is a moral wrong. This creates a conflict of interests between physician and patient.

Historically, a paternalistic model of physician-patient interaction was employed to deal with dilemmas, contributing to infringement of patient’s rights and a lack of understanding of ethics on the part of the physician. This manifests as the …

Los Efectos Del Machismo En El Desarrollo De Los Trastornos De Salud Mental De Las Mujeres En México, Tiffany George

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the role of machismo and how it impacts women in Mexico. Machismo dominates Mexican society where men have complete authority and control over women, thus trapping them under patriarchal rule. This thesis examines how the novel, La Genara written by Rosina Conde, highlights the detrimental effects of machismo through letters between two sisters, Genara and Luisa. This study examines the ways in which Mexican women are silenced, oppressed and abused and the ways in which societal norms affects their mental state, and sometimes to mental disorders, and it also shows that in such a society, there is …

Constructing Illness: How Society Effects Physical And Mental Illness, Madeline Marks

Honors Theses

The social construction of illness has become one of the central themes in medical sociology over the last fifty years. This field of research focuses on how society and an individual’s knowledge and experiences shape the way they understand and view certain physical and mental illnesses. Prior research has found that many people hold stigmatized views towards individuals who suffer from mental illnesses and tend to feel more sympathetic and supportive towards those who have physical illnesses. These previous studies have found that gender, age, race, education and socioeconomic status are factors that influence how a person perceives physical and …

The Criminalization Of Education: Combating The School-To-Prison Pipeline Through Disciplinary Policy And Social Change, Lindsay Hemminger

Honors Theses

This thesis builds on previous literature about the implications of zero tolerance policies, policing in schools, and the school-to-prison pipeline. I evaluate the evolution of disciplinary policies within public school districts since the abandoning of zero tolerance. Specifically, I use the Schenectady and Niskayuna districts and apply theories about discipline, class, race, and achievement to evaluate and compare the ways in which the school-to-prison pipeline and disciplinary policies function. Through a series of case studies, I found that both schools, like many others, have taken significant steps towards moving away from criminalizing and punitive disciplinary measures. However, because of the …

Sports Injury And Recovery Analyzed Using Blum's Model Of Health Determinants, Daniella Batarseh

Honors Theses

This study explores the effects of various health determinants on the ability of a college athlete to recover from a sport’s injury. Blum's Model of Health Determinants explains that there are four factors that contribute to the overall health of an individual: lifestyle, environment, medical services and heredity. Blum argued that each factor affects health to a different degree. To understand how each of these determinants affects an athlete’s recovery, different people involved in this process were interviewed, including coaches, trainers, athletes and sports psychologists. These interviews illustrated the need for an expansion within this model of health. While all …

Marriage, Religion, And Women's Happiness, Aaron Gordon

Honors Theses

This thesis studies the effect of six major religions (Catholicism, Protestantism, Orthodoxy, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism) on the gender marriage gap and the gender gap in the happiness payoff associated with marriage. Becker (1974) developed a theory on marriage claiming that individuals seek to maximize their utility through marriage. However, in some religions, individuals are coerced into marriage or have an arranged marriage, and thus, it is unlikely that such individuals’ marriage choices reflect their preferences. This paper uses data from the World Values Survey to examine whether religious people’s marriage decisions are consistent with their preferences. The results show …

Exploring Occupational Therapists' Approach To Treating Children With Autism In The School Setting, Melissa Brauner

Honors Theses

Autism spectrum disorder is one of the fastest growing developmental disabilities, affecting more than 3.5 million Americans. In order to ensure that the autism population receives the highest quality of care, it is extremely important that health professionals be equipped with the knowledge to care for individuals with the disorder in an effective manner. Occupational therapists play an important role in assisting people on the autism spectrum. For many children with autism, occupational therapy services are primarily received in the school setting. This study explores occupational therapists’ approach to managing the treatment of children on the autism spectrum in the …