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Articles 4921 - 4950 of 8231

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Narrative Identity Of Foster Youth As A Component Of Readiness For Independence, Jessica Woodbury, Jini Roby Aug 2013

The Narrative Identity Of Foster Youth As A Component Of Readiness For Independence, Jessica Woodbury, Jini Roby

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Researchers in a variety of disciplines have begun to describe identity development as having a narrative character (Kellas, 2005; Vangelisti, 2004). They explain that narrative identity consists of a self-perception which is rooted in personal and shared (especially within the family) stories (Vangelisti, 2004). These stories, or core memories, help us to define who we are, as well as our ultimate value and potential. With this research we desired to further the understanding and application of narrative identity theory as it applies to the fragmented personal and collective stories of children in foster care.

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Substance Abuse In Adolescent Literature, Megan Rogers, Dr. Sarah M. Coyne Aug 2013

Substance Abuse In Adolescent Literature, Megan Rogers, Dr. Sarah M. Coyne

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Over the past 50 years the effects of being exposed to questionable material in the media has been studied. During this time, a large body of research has accumulated which suggests that exposure to behaviors such as substance abuse, sexuality, violence, and other forms of aggression have an impact on the behavior of the consumer and how they view the world. These effects have been studied and found to be fairly consistent among various forms of media such as music, movies, video games, and television. Although a great deal of research has been conducted on the subject, hardly any studies …

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Negotiations Of Household Labor And Child Care And Perceptions Of Fairness Across The Transition To Parenthood: A Longitudinal Study, Brandon Mcdaniel Aug 2013

Negotiations Of Household Labor And Child Care And Perceptions Of Fairness Across The Transition To Parenthood: A Longitudinal Study, Brandon Mcdaniel

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The birth of a couple’s first child brings about more profound changes and challenges to the family unit than any other developmental stage (Vessey & Knauth, 2001). This transition has been associated with a deterioration of couple communication, sexual intimacy, and overall marital satisfaction with an increase in conflict (Cowan, 1995; Belsky & Pensky, 1988). A major contributor to the dramatic changes accompanying parenthood is the increase in household labor and child care responsibilities (Bond, Galinsky, & Swanberg, 1998; Cowan & Cowan, 1992). Conflicts over participation in household labor and perceptions of fairness in the home have been identified as …

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Creating A Sentence-Level Syntactic, Morphological And Lexical Feature Identification Application, Ross Hendrickson, Dr. Deryle Lonsdale Aug 2013

Creating A Sentence-Level Syntactic, Morphological And Lexical Feature Identification Application, Ross Hendrickson, Dr. Deryle Lonsdale

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Elicited imitation (EI) was originally used to study L1 acquisition in children and has since been applied to L2 oral proficiency testing (Chaudron, 1994). The PSST research group I am involved with has been researching EI as a viable method of language proficiency testing for some years now. An EI test consists of a series of sentence-length items that a subject must repeat verbatim after hearing each one. The sentences must be carefully chosen for their lexical, morphological, syntactic, and semantic content as well as for their length (usually counted in syllables). The primary impetus for this research project lies …

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The Least You Should Know About Teaching A Second Or Foreign Language, Danielle Shurtleff, Lynn Henrichsen Aug 2013

The Least You Should Know About Teaching A Second Or Foreign Language, Danielle Shurtleff, Lynn Henrichsen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

People from a wide variety of different backgrounds and ages participate in teaching English to speakers of other languages. Many will be going abroad to countries where people need English to advance their education or employment. A majority of them will not have the training and experience that they should have to effectively teach English and are not in a position, due to finances, timing, or location, to get a TESOL degree or certificate. I am working with Dr. Henrichsen on a project that will solve the problem of inexperienced teachers going abroad with little or no knowledge or experience. …

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Greek Philosophy And The Christian Church Fathers, Michael Hansen, Dr. David Paulsen Aug 2013

Greek Philosophy And The Christian Church Fathers, Michael Hansen, Dr. David Paulsen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In this project I intended to establish what doctrinal evolution can be seen in the Judeo-Christian tradition between the Second Temple period and the Post-Apostolic age. My hope was to document significant movements in theological attitudes that can be attributed, at least in part, to Greek philosophy.

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Does Ratifying International Treaties Affect Compliance With Sex Trafficking Norms In Countries?, Maren Perkins, Dr. Valerie Hudson Aug 2013

Does Ratifying International Treaties Affect Compliance With Sex Trafficking Norms In Countries?, Maren Perkins, Dr. Valerie Hudson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Sex trafficking is a growing problem worldwide. My research explores two questions: first, are states who sign the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (2000) more likely to comply with anti-sex trafficking norms than countries that do not? Second, if states do comply is it because of societal respect for women’s rights, or because of economic or membership incentives with anti-trafficking entities such as the United States and the European Union? The theory advanced by my research is that ratifying the Protocol, which is a pledge by the country to combat …

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Social Equality Norms For Race, Gender, And Religion In The American Public During The 2008 Presidential Primaries, Scott Riding, Dr. J. Quin Monson Aug 2013

Social Equality Norms For Race, Gender, And Religion In The American Public During The 2008 Presidential Primaries, Scott Riding, Dr. J. Quin Monson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

During the course of last year’s U.S. Presidential Election, many political analysts speculated that racial prejudice among American voters would hurt Democratic nominee Barack Obama in his bid for the White House. Candidates Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney faced similar questions about gender and religious biases against their campaigns. If these biases exist, their presence runs against the grain of the political ideal — that any qualified candidate should have a fair shot at the highest political office in the country. Our research explores the existence and prevalence of these biases in context of the 2008 Democratic and Republican Presidential …

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What We Want: The Oral Histories Of Low-Caste Indian Widows And How They Navigate Their Surrounding Ideological And Social Context, Suzanne Powell, Dr. Valerie Hudson Aug 2013

What We Want: The Oral Histories Of Low-Caste Indian Widows And How They Navigate Their Surrounding Ideological And Social Context, Suzanne Powell, Dr. Valerie Hudson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I left on my field study with the goal of learning about the practice of widow abandonment by placing it within the larger social, political, and economic structure of Hindu India. I surmised that widow abandonment was creeping down into the traditionally less-orthodox South India because low caste groups were trying to prove just how Hindu they were – trying to legitimize a move into the upper, more pure high caste ranks. I sought to understand the practice by understanding how women fit into Hindu ideology, how they perceived themselves as a result of living in such a society under …

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Helping Willing Hands: Educating Single Mothers To Create Skills-Based Resumes, Kiel Willmore, Dr. Maureen Rice Aug 2013

Helping Willing Hands: Educating Single Mothers To Create Skills-Based Resumes, Kiel Willmore, Dr. Maureen Rice

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I had two main objectives for my creative project when I received an ORCA grant earlier this year. First, the project was aimed towards helping local single mothers, who not having the chance to obtain a secondary education, create skills-based resumes rather than education or experience-based resumes in order to help them obtain greater career options. I was hoping that by providing such service, it would not only help lift the community around us, but that it would bless the lives of single mothers’ families and help bolster them towards more fruitful careers.

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The Role Of Relationships In The Conversion Process: An Lds Sample, James W. Phillips, Dr. Kristin Hansen Aug 2013

The Role Of Relationships In The Conversion Process: An Lds Sample, James W. Phillips, Dr. Kristin Hansen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I consider this ORCA project to be a successful one on all accounts. The goals that were originally outlined at the onset of this project (forming an original research paper and presenting at a major academic conference) were met and future collaborations with Dr. Kristin Hansen suggest that we can publish our work in a scholarly journal. From the beginning, through the completion of the ORCA grant project, and continuing until the present, this mentored learning experience has been a fulfilling and productive endeavor.

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The Affect Of Marital Quality On Father Involvement With Children, Jessica Miner Aug 2013

The Affect Of Marital Quality On Father Involvement With Children, Jessica Miner

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The study of father involvement is a fairly new trend in research. Lamb (2000) suggested that we could define father involvement in behavior terms. These behaviors include: engagement, accessibility, and responsibility (Lamb, 2000). Fathers who are positively and behaviorally participating in these three components have, by definition, high involvement with their children. With increasing attention to the study of fathers, research has found that father involvement is a critical and unique element in the development of children: for example, higher levels of involvement influences early cognitive, language, emotional, and social development (Roggman, Boyce, Cook, Christiansen, & Jones, 2004). It is …

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Helping Willing Hands: Educating Single Mothers To Create Skills-Based Resumes, Kiel Willmore, Dr. Maureen Rice Aug 2013

Helping Willing Hands: Educating Single Mothers To Create Skills-Based Resumes, Kiel Willmore, Dr. Maureen Rice

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I had two main objectives for my creative project when I received an ORCA grant earlier this year. First, the project was aimed towards helping local single mothers, who not having the chance to obtain a secondary education, create skills-based resumes rather than education or experience-based resumes in order to help them obtain greater career options. I was hoping that by providing such service, it would not only help lift the community around us, but that it would bless the lives of single mothers’ families and help bolster them towards more fruitful careers.

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Cultural Preservation And Modern Development In The Amazon, Eric W. Linton Aug 2013

Cultural Preservation And Modern Development In The Amazon, Eric W. Linton

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In the summer of 2009 indigenous groups in the Peruvian Amazon headed a major grassroots movement against the national government in an effort to protect their lands and lifestyles. The protests brought due international attention to issues of human rights and land ownership that had previously been a local matter. Several months previous to the movement a colleague and I ventured to the Putumayo region of the Peruvian Amazon in an effort to understand the issues being faced by the people of those regions. Specifically, we aimed to understand the importance of self determined rights as a means to preserve …

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Do Grandparents Matter? The Relationship Between Emotional Closeness And Adolescent Prosocial Behavior, Jami Jackson, Dr. Jeremy Yorgason Aug 2013

Do Grandparents Matter? The Relationship Between Emotional Closeness And Adolescent Prosocial Behavior, Jami Jackson, Dr. Jeremy Yorgason

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Grandparental emotional closeness is important for both grandparents and grandchildren (e.g. Bowers & Myers, 1999; Drew & Silverstein, 2007; Crosnoe & Elder, 2002). However, in many of the studies given, the measure of intergenerational closeness has come from the grandparent (e.g. Fingerman, 2004; Drew & Silverstein, 2007). In cases where the measure has come from the perspective of the grandchild, much of the data have been collected from college‐aged young adults (Dubas, 2001; Harwood, 2001). The purpose of this study is to measure adolescents’ reports of emotional closeness to a grandparent, and to study the relationship between grandparental closeness and …

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You Raise Me Up: The Social Identity Underpinnings Of Campaign Contributions, David Lassen, Dr. David B. Magleby Aug 2013

You Raise Me Up: The Social Identity Underpinnings Of Campaign Contributions, David Lassen, Dr. David B. Magleby

Journal of Undergraduate Research

A record number of individuals financially contributed to presidential candidates during the 2008 election cycle. Many academic researchers and pundits have speculated on why these individuals chose to participate in this manner, often asserting that donors likely anticipated a personal material or policy reward for their support. Others have suggested that social similarities between donor and candidate may have played an important role. Little research exists, however, on the impact that an individual’s affiliation with an “apolitical” social group can have on their contribution decisions. I use the term here to characterize a group whose primary purpose is something other …

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Likely Voters, Low Response Rates, And Little Coverage Error: Advances In Internet Preelection Polling Methodology, Ashley Burton, Dr. Quin Monson Aug 2013

Likely Voters, Low Response Rates, And Little Coverage Error: Advances In Internet Preelection Polling Methodology, Ashley Burton, Dr. Quin Monson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of my research was to determine if internet preelection surveys administered to a probability proportionate to size (PPS) sample are able to reduce coverage error by including likely voters, even if the response rates are low. This research was conducted during the Utah 3rd District primary election in June 2008 and again in the Utah November 2008 general election. The experimentation was repeated in November to improve the sampling method and to generalize the findings to primary and general elections alike.

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Pornography Use In Non-Clinical Couples: Basic Frequencies From The Flourishing Families Project, Stephanie Blickfeldt, Dr. Randal D. Day Aug 2013

Pornography Use In Non-Clinical Couples: Basic Frequencies From The Flourishing Families Project, Stephanie Blickfeldt, Dr. Randal D. Day

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Purpose Pundits, popular press, political groups, and religious organizations make the claim that the current rate of pornography use is a determinant to society and individuals in family life (Kretchmer & Carveth, 2001). Due to the concerns expressed by such figures and my own personal concerns with the seemingly increasing rates of pornography use through the internet, my professor and I found it important to explore its actual presence. Through this venture, I was personally responsible for completing an extensive review of literature to discover what past social science research has contributed to this subject.

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Researching English Language Instruction To The Deaf In Germany, Brooke Harding, Dr. Mark W. Tanner Aug 2013

Researching English Language Instruction To The Deaf In Germany, Brooke Harding, Dr. Mark W. Tanner

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The principle question this research was to address is how instructors for the deaf in Germany are approaching English language and literacy development in deaf students. (The term deaf is used in this paper to denote both deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals). English language instruction is part of the standard curriculum in schools for the deaf in Germany as a prerequisite for students to receive the secondary school certificate of completion (RealschulabschlujB) or to take the college entrance exam (Abitur). However, language learning presents deaf students with significant challenges. Language in its spoken form is virtually inaccessible to the deaf which …

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The Wired Generation: Academic And Social Outcomes, Wade Jacobsen, Dr. Renata Forste Aug 2013

The Wired Generation: Academic And Social Outcomes, Wade Jacobsen, Dr. Renata Forste

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Electronic media (EM) include social networking sites (SNS), instant messaging (IM), text messaging, email, television and movies, and video and online games. Though the use of these devices has recently exploded among college students, little research has been conducted to explore the influence they have on academic performance and face to face social interaction. We addressed this gap in the literature using survey research methods. First, we constructed an internet survey using Qualtrics online survey software. We distributed the survey, including a short questionnaire and three day time log, to all entry level and transfer students in their first year …

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Are We Making A Difference? The Effects Of Club Membership On Youth Attitudes And Behavior, Collin Flake, Dr. Renata Forste Aug 2013

Are We Making A Difference? The Effects Of Club Membership On Youth Attitudes And Behavior, Collin Flake, Dr. Renata Forste

Journal of Undergraduate Research

After several discussions with my faculty mentor and a thorough review of the existing research, I set out to examine the effectiveness of after school programs in Utah, specifically the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Greater Salt Lake area. The purpose of my research is twofold. The first is to identify the complex behavioral, academic, and mental and physical health issues that challenge youth from disadvantaged backgrounds. The second is to evaluate the effectiveness of current community programs in addressing these issues.

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Evaluating Demographic Influence On Parenting Style In Taiwan, Kevin Handley, Dr. Niwako Yamawaki Aug 2013

Evaluating Demographic Influence On Parenting Style In Taiwan, Kevin Handley, Dr. Niwako Yamawaki

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Of all the research studying the influence of stressors on parents, only a few studies have actually addressed demographic factors as stressors. Even then, there has yet to be a study that specifically seeks to delineate exactly which demographic factor predicts which type of parenting style. This project sought to delineate which demographic factors (e.g. area of residence, SES, age, and education) are predictive of maladaptive parenting styles, and which factors are predictive of adaptive parenting styles. The intent was that if certain demographics were found to be highly predictive of maladaptive parenting styles, then perhaps governments could be persuaded …

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Body Image During Pregnancy: Abstract, T. Anna Halistrom Aug 2013

Body Image During Pregnancy: Abstract, T. Anna Halistrom

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Pregnancy is a time of tremendous physical change for a woman. In light of recent research concerning how women’s opinions of their bodies affect behavior and emotional well-being, it is reasonable to ask how women feel about these physical changes during pregnancy and what factors are associated with more positive or negative body images.

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Ambivalent Sexism And The Law: The Myth Of Gender Equality, Jennifer Edgley, Dr. Niwako Yamawaki Aug 2013

Ambivalent Sexism And The Law: The Myth Of Gender Equality, Jennifer Edgley, Dr. Niwako Yamawaki

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The women’s liberation movement of the sixties and seventies has ushered in several important social and political changes in the United States. Gender inequality, however, remains an enduring problem in various institutions (Lips, 2007). The theory of Ambivalent Sexism conceptualizes and may be the key to understanding the residual occurrences of gender inequality within social institutions. Theorists Glick and Fiske (1996) believe that prejudice, though traditionally considered to be antipathy towards a certain group (Allport, 1954), can contain both positive and negative features. They contend that sexism is not simply hostility towards women, but also subjectively positive behavior toward women. …

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Determinants Of Weekly Review Session Attendance And The Effect Of Review Sessions On Student Performance In Economics 110, Bradley Hunter, Dr. Eric Eide Aug 2013

Determinants Of Weekly Review Session Attendance And The Effect Of Review Sessions On Student Performance In Economics 110, Bradley Hunter, Dr. Eric Eide

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Every semester, each of the fifteen teaching assistants for Economics 110 classes hold two weekly review sessions, during which they solve practice test questions, discuss the implications of lecture material, and help students solidify difficult concepts. These review sessions, while provided at a relatively low cost by the Economics department (approximately $4500), also constitute for an estimated 100 student-hours per week in just one of BYU’s six sections of Econ 110.

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Desegregation And Teenage Pregnancy, Ryan Fairchild, Dr. Joseph Price Aug 2013

Desegregation And Teenage Pregnancy, Ryan Fairchild, Dr. Joseph Price

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In the United States, two out of three teenagers have sex before graduating from high school. As a result there is a high probability that young women are at risk to become pregnant while still in high school . Studies have shown that teenage pregnancy is associated with a number of adverse outcomes for both mother and child, including less human capital investment and lower future wages . Because of this, factors that could lower teenage pregnancy are important in improving the lives of both young women and future generations. Over the last 50 years, researchers have investigated various mechanisms …

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Dendroarchaology: Using Tree Rings To Document Utah’S Historic Pioneer Structures, Robert Karl, Dr. Matthew Bekker Aug 2013

Dendroarchaology: Using Tree Rings To Document Utah’S Historic Pioneer Structures, Robert Karl, Dr. Matthew Bekker

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Pioneer history is a heritage of Utah. Utah was founded on the premise of pioneers venturing from the east and settling throughout Utah. Very few of these historic pioneer structures have been dated in the state of Utah and for many of these structures there exists only a rough idea of when they were built. Other structures have been dated but the information is unpublished and therefore unavailable to the general public and the scientific community. And, though the use of tree rings in archaeology has a rich history in the southwestern United States , most research has focused on …

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Trends In The Spatial Distribution And Characteristics Of Korean-Americans, Megan Knowles, Dr. J. Matthew Shumway, Ruth Kerry Aug 2013

Trends In The Spatial Distribution And Characteristics Of Korean-Americans, Megan Knowles, Dr. J. Matthew Shumway, Ruth Kerry

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In Human Geography minimal research has been done regarding the immigration and spatial distribution of Korean-Americans. Historically there has been a detectable relationship between the degree of spatial concentration of a specific population and their degree of social assimilation. Few studies have been conducted regarding Korean-Americans as a separate ethnic group, and these studies most often focus on economic, health, and cultural aspects of the community and tend to be more local in scale.

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Twelve-Month-Olds’ Discrimination Of Monkey Faces: Evidence For Perceptual Narrowing?, Ross Magnum, Dr. Ross Flom Aug 2013

Twelve-Month-Olds’ Discrimination Of Monkey Faces: Evidence For Perceptual Narrowing?, Ross Magnum, Dr. Ross Flom

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Experience plays a critical role in the development of infants’ perceptual abilities. Studies have shown that during the early stages of development, about six months of age, infants are capable of discriminating between a large number of faces, including faces from different species or races (Pascalis, 2002). Some time after 6 months of age, infants begin to develop a facial “prototype” according to the various faces towards which they have the most familiarity. While they gain expertise on this particular face type, they lose their generalized ability to discriminate between broad ranges of different faces, a phenomenon known as “perceptual …

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Student Absences And Academic Achievement, Ian Filmore, Dr. Eric Eide Aug 2013

Student Absences And Academic Achievement, Ian Filmore, Dr. Eric Eide

Journal of Undergraduate Research

While researchers have explored a wide variety of measures designed to improve student performance, the obvious issue of absenteeism has gone largely ignored. This is even more puzzling when we consider that most policy measures implicitly rely on the students’ physical presence in the classroom in order to work. We view this project as a first step toward understanding the role of absenteeism in shaping student outcomes.

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