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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Social Creatures: The Impact Of Solitary Confinement On Psychophysiological Health And How Inmates Percieve Their Humanity And Social Well-Being, Julia Austin May 2023

Social Creatures: The Impact Of Solitary Confinement On Psychophysiological Health And How Inmates Percieve Their Humanity And Social Well-Being, Julia Austin

Honors Projects

This paper will define and examine the use of solitary confinement within the United States prison system and review its mental, physical, and social impacts. As social creatures, human mental and physical well-being depends on meaningful social interactions absent in segregation units. As it currently stands, vulnerable populations, including racial minorities, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and those with developmental disabilities or psychological disorders, are at risk of irrevocable harm and abuse within these facilities from staff as well as other inmates. With a rotating 80,000 inmates held in solitary confinement every day, the current structure of the prison system deemphasizes rehabilitation and …


School Related Criminal Acts, Interpersonal Problems, And Classroom Behaviors As A Function Of The Proportion Of Black Students And Black Teachers, Leanne Zaire Jun 2022

School Related Criminal Acts, Interpersonal Problems, And Classroom Behaviors As A Function Of The Proportion Of Black Students And Black Teachers, Leanne Zaire

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

This study’s purpose was to investigate school-level behavioral outcomes in relation to the proportion of Black teachers and students in U.S. schools. Negative school outcome and academic achievement gaps are well-documented. However, many of these studies utilized small, localized populations; my research used national data and focused on the problem behaviors in school. Drawing from Critical Race Theory, I hypothesized that a greater proportion of Black teachers would reduce school student problems and negative behaviors (e.g., student verbal abuse of teachers, widespread disorder in classrooms). After receiving a restricted-use license, I utilized data from 25,818 schools from the National Teacher …


Interns And Institutions: Interactions Between Unpaid Interns And Public Policy, Hannah G. Waterman May 2022

Interns And Institutions: Interactions Between Unpaid Interns And Public Policy, Hannah G. Waterman

Honors Projects

Political, and especially Congressional, internships are all but mandatory to launch a career in politics. This text examines the demographics of how these internships are dispersed, how they are paid, who is paid, and how this manifests in full-time Congressional staff demographics. Data shows that both paid and unpaid Congressional internships belong disproportionately to white students. Top staff in the House of Representatives is similarly disproportionately white. The text also examines the inherent danger of working in Congress and the broader case for paid internships.


Not Just The Flu: The Impacts Of Asiaflucap Influenza Policy Recommendations On Southeast Asia During The Sars-Cov-2 Pandemic, Rebekah Huber May 2022

Not Just The Flu: The Impacts Of Asiaflucap Influenza Policy Recommendations On Southeast Asia During The Sars-Cov-2 Pandemic, Rebekah Huber

Honors Projects

During 2008 to 2011, a multi-year influenza pandemic study (ASIAFLUCAP) took place in six Southeast Asian countries: Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Cambodia, and Laos, to analyze their healthcare system capacities and determine appropriate policy recommendations in order that they might be better equipped for future influenza pandemics. This research expands upon that project to see if the countries that implemented higher numbers of ASIAFLUCAP policy recommendations prior to or in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic fared better than those countries which did implemented fewer recommendations. It finds that results are mixed across the sample, with no clear association between a country’s adoption …


Devil’S Lettuce Or Heaven Sent? How The Legalization Of Recreational Cannabis Impacts Rates Of Schizophrenia In Washington State., Elizabeth C. Lucas May 2022

Devil’S Lettuce Or Heaven Sent? How The Legalization Of Recreational Cannabis Impacts Rates Of Schizophrenia In Washington State., Elizabeth C. Lucas

Honors Projects

Washington State legalized the manufacturing, processing, and distribution of recreational cannabis with the passing of Initiative 502 in November of 2012. As of 2021, there are over 500 retail stores with active licenses to sell (Cannabis License Applicants, 2021). Since then, public opinion polls and state-wide surveys have found a steady increase in the percentage of the population using cannabis, including children under the age of 18. Schizophrenia is a complex disease thought to be influenced by several genetic and environmental factors. The association between cannabis use and the development of schizophrenia has been well documented (Marconi et al., 2016 …


Breaking The Cycle: An Analysis Of The Reduction Of Single Women In The Homeless Community, Luisa J. Lamagra May 2022

Breaking The Cycle: An Analysis Of The Reduction Of Single Women In The Homeless Community, Luisa J. Lamagra

Honors Projects

An analysis of homelessness with particular attention to King County and a focus on single women. This paper aims to address gender disparities in housing prioritization and homeless reduction solutions while suggesting gender-conscious policies and programs. The current system of housing prioritization is aiming to be neutral; yet it falls to the side of white, cisgender, heterosexual men. Single women without children have specific needs that are not met because the absence of children in their lives makes them insignificant, which feeds into the cyclical nature of chronic homelessness. By analyzing the specific pathways that women take into homelessness, this …


The Missing Moral Dimension: Perceptions Of Transgressions And The Moderating Role Of Moral Foundations On Psychological Distress, Hannah Reas Jan 2020

The Missing Moral Dimension: Perceptions Of Transgressions And The Moderating Role Of Moral Foundations On Psychological Distress, Hannah Reas

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Anxiety and depression can be represented on a dimensional spectrum of negative affect, broadly termed psychological distress. Research has identified several factors that maintain negative emotion, but have neglected the possibility that individuals’ interpretations of moral issues in the larger macro-system affects their level of distress. Thus, the current study investigated the role of perceptions of moral transgressions, or cognitive interpretations of stimuli (“transgressions”) that violate beliefs about right and wrong, as a predictor of psychological distress. Furthermore, this study tested how perceptions of moral transgressions vary as a function of individuals’ own moral intuitions, or moral foundations. Participants ( …


The “Perfect Parent” Campaign’S Failure: Applying A Job Market Model For Successful Foster Family Recruitment And Retention, Alexis N. Collins Jun 2018

The “Perfect Parent” Campaign’S Failure: Applying A Job Market Model For Successful Foster Family Recruitment And Retention, Alexis N. Collins

Honors Projects

Since 2014, Washington state’s Department of Child and Family Services (DSHS) has seen a dramatic drop in foster care providers. From 2005 to 2015, only 102 of 1,100 foster families licensed in 2005 were still providing care. As of 2015, the number of available homes has dropped to more than 1,000 below the normal level (at 4,600. homes.) Many issues are cited as contributing to these numbers, such as problematic administrative practice, unbearable social worker caseloads, and a sluggish system unresponsive to change. Other problems include an increase in behavioral problems amongst children coming into the system. This project seeks …


How Useful Is Gsv As An Environmental Observation Tool? An Analysis Of The Evidence So Far., Katherine Nesse, Leah Airt Oct 2017

How Useful Is Gsv As An Environmental Observation Tool? An Analysis Of The Evidence So Far., Katherine Nesse, Leah Airt

SPU Works

Researchers in many disciplines have turned to Google Street View to replace pedestrian- or carbased in-person observation of streetscapes. It is most prevalent within the research literature on the relationship between neighborhood environments and public health but has been used as diverse as disaster recovery, ecology and wildlife habitat, and urban design. Evaluations of the tool have found that the results of GSV-based observation are similar to the results from in-person observation although the similarity depends on the type of characteristic being observed. Larger, permanent and discrete features showed more consistency between the two methods and smaller, transient and judgmental …


Regulation Of Recreational Marijuana In Small Cities And Counties In Colorado, Katherine Nesse, Colin Victory Dec 2016

Regulation Of Recreational Marijuana In Small Cities And Counties In Colorado, Katherine Nesse, Colin Victory

SPU Works

In November 2016 the number of states where recreational marijuana sales are legal increased to eight. Thousands of cities and counties are now on the front lines of regulating these new land uses. Local governments in Colorado, the first state to implement recreational marijuana legalization, are models for jurisdictions in other states. We study counties and municipalities in the eight micropolitan statistical areas in Colorado to learn how they regulate recreational marijuana businesses. We reviewed codes, ordinances, and other documents of 43 local governments and interviewed planners in a third of these jurisdictions. These places were purposefully selected and reflect …


Restoring Ubuntu: Ecosystemic, Biopsychosocial, Afrocentric Networks For The Trauma-Healing Of Sexual Violence Survivors In Eastern Congo, Summer D. Downs Jun 2016

Restoring Ubuntu: Ecosystemic, Biopsychosocial, Afrocentric Networks For The Trauma-Healing Of Sexual Violence Survivors In Eastern Congo, Summer D. Downs

Honors Projects

The purpose of this paper is to propose that trauma healing in the Congo should be directed by the agency of Africans, characterized by an ubuntu-based systems epistemology, and facilitated throughcreative, multi-modal networks.


Thinking Past Tomorrow: An Analysis Of Policy Efforts To Reduce Homelessness In King County, Washington, Andrew R. Bell Jun 2016

Thinking Past Tomorrow: An Analysis Of Policy Efforts To Reduce Homelessness In King County, Washington, Andrew R. Bell

Honors Projects

Homelessness and housing have become central issues in King County, Washington in recent years. This paper analyzes policies across multiple levels of government, and discusses the ways in which they have impacted homeless people in King County. This paper finds support for the idea that geographical disparity in resources has contributed to some of the challenges that King County and Seattle have experienced in their attempts to reduce homelessness.