Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Local Partisan Agreement And Trust, Mike Pulsipher, Kelsey Eyre

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

Americans are more distrusting than ever. On every metric, there has been a noticeable and substantial decline in trust of government, media, and business. This important trend has received a lot of academic and press attention and has been identified in nearly every state and every demographic. Curiously, despite decades of falling crime, fraud, and corruption, Americans are also less trusting in each other. While changes in trust for government, media, and business have looked quite different for Democrats and Republicans, partisans have shown similar declining trends in general trust.

Ecological Disruption In The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Jane Allen

Ballard Brief

Ecological disruption is an issue that is affecting the wildlife and people that live in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Climate change and oil drilling are two of the main causes of ecological disruption in the ANWR. The native people and wildlife are the ones being affected by the ecological disruption and deterioration. Food source decline and land degradation are some of the ways that climate change is affecting these people. Oil drilling and government involvement in the lands of Alaska is causing the degradation for many Alaskans to worsen. Oil drilling destroys ecosystems and harms the native animals, …

Data For Caveat Emptor-Scan Quality Of Elsevier’S Digital Backfile Pdf Collection, Gregory M. Nelson, Paul Kj Robbins

ScholarsArchive Data

The data set contains two Supplementary Files that contain (1) metadata for 31 of Elsevier's journal backfile packages and (2) metadata and results of a PDF scan quality study.

Losing Control To The Controller: Mmorpg Video Game Addiction And Mediating Roles Of Player Motivations, Abbie Speed

Theses and Dissertations

Using a quantitative survey distributed to regular players of MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) (N = 777), the current study employed a correlation matrix and a parallel mediation model to assess the relationship between play frequency, motivating factors, and video game addiction. The results demonstrated that each of these elements were related to one another to varying degrees (p < .001). The motivating factors identified by Yee (2006) included achievement, immersion, and social interaction, which were tested as mediators and indicated that achievement (a1 = 0.2817, p < 0.001; b1 = 0.4073, p < 0.001) and immersion (a2 = 0.3217, p < 0.001; b2 = 0.2574, p < 0.001) are mediators in the relationship of play frequency and addiction. Social interaction was not significant as a mediator (a3 = 0.3217, p < 0.001; b3 = -0.0235, p = 0.6753). Higher levels of addiction were present for those who were motivated by achievement (rewards) and immersion (storyline/diversion) to play more frequently per week. However, those who were motivated by social interaction to play frequently did not demonstrate a statistically significant relationship with higher levels of addiction. Findings suggest that motivating factors of gameplay may have a mediating effect on the relationship between play frequency and addiction.

Coming And Going To Zion: Conceptualizing Emigrant Motives Of British Latter-Day Saints, 1840-60, Samuel Benson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the push- and pull-factors that caused Latter-day Saint converts to emigrate from the U.K. between 1840 and 1860. A close reading of firsthand accounts written by 50 emigrants suggests that temporal and spiritual motives are deeply intertwined in the minds of early Mormon emigrants, and distinguishing between the nature of these factors is difficult. Several patterns emerge in the study of these accounts: first, economic factors were intertwined with millenarian belief; second, the allure of charismatic authority (prophets) or communication with God was influential; third, the doctrine of “gathering” was central to their decision-making, though the focus …

Cognitive Effects Of Grammatical Gender In L2 Spanish Acquisition: A Study Among Latter-Day Saint Returned Missionaries, Hannah Cagle

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The current study aims to explore the cognitive effects of L2 Spanish acquisition and the role that spending time in the target language country has on L2 learners’ categorization of inanimate objects. Three groups of participants were analyzed: monolingual English speakers, L2 Spanish speakers that learned their Spanish while serving missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) abroad, and L2 Spanish speakers that learned their Spanish while serving LDS missions in the United States. Using a Qualtrics survey, participants were tasked with pairing a list of adjectives stereotypically associated with males or females (Williams & Bennett, …

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Hakimas And “Enlightened” British Men: Female Medical Professionals In Midcentury Great Britain And Egypt, Izzy Maire

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson’s pursuit of a medical education and career in Great Britain in the 1860s sharply contrasts with the rise of a class of female medical practitioners or “hakimas,” in Egypt in the 1830s. The two stories are especially noteworthy when examined together since Great Britain colonized Egypt in the 1880s, severely limiting opportunities for women in medicine in the now-occupied nation. Elizabeth and women in Egypt, were both negatively impacted by British attitudes toward women, despite Great Britain’s image of itself as a modern, enlightened nation. Drawing on a range of primary sources, including the personal correspondence of …

An Evaluation Of Epa Communication On Climate Change From 1997 To 2022, Adam Johnson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Because the United States is responsible for such a large percent of the world’s emissions, its actions to combat climate change is especially significant. As the main speaker for the U.S. on climate change, it is important the EPA uses effective communication strategies. In this paper we evaluated the effectiveness of the EPA’s communication. To do so, we evaluated publicly available press releases from the EPA from 1997 to 2022. To measure effectiveness, we incorporated a range of factors that climate communication experts have identified as particularly important. Our analysis found that the EPA effectively communicates in light of some …

Turn Towards Each Other: Emotional Connection As A Catalyst For Marital Satisfaction, Especially During Times Of Conflict, Brooke W. Williams

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis explores research-based factors that contribute to a healthy relationship and the benefits of creating and enhancing emotional connection in marriage, primarily from John Gottman and Sue Johnson. One outcome of improved emotional connection between spouses is that when conflict occurs – and it will – the couple will be better equipped to behave in mature, respectful, and effective ways. A healthy marriage looks different for individual couples yet all have defining characteristics that turn spouses towards one another and build their marital friendship. Examples include the following: avoiding the four horsemen of the apocalypse (criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and …

Christianity On Homebrew: Alessandro Valignano, Indigenization, And Japan's Hidden Christians, Brayden Lane

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the historiographical connections between Alessandro Valignano and the localized tradition of Christianity that produced the hidden Christian communities of Japan in the seventeenth century. Valignano, as overseer of Jesuit missions in Asia in the late sixteenth century, implemented policy changes designed to bolster the number and quality of laymen clergy assisting the Westerners with missionary duties. Valignano faced criticism for his overestimation of the time needed for training and for his methodology, but his efforts to train and support laymen clergy contributed to a rising trend of Christianity as a unifying tradition for local communities. The laymen …

Mujeres Latinas En Acción: Pragmatic Feminism And The Longevity Of Grassroots Organizations, Lindsey Meza

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In 1973, Mujeres Latinas en Acción was formed in the midst of the Chicano Movement. Simultaneously, Chicana feminists were working in and breaking from Chicano organizations to fight for egalitarian gains. Pilsen, a neighborhood in Chicago and the home of Mujeres Latinas en Acción, was a hotbed for Chicano and Latino activism during this period. The women who founded MLEA saw similar disparities in social services offered to women in Pilsen that Chicanas around the country were noting. The ways in which Chicanas were approaching these feminist ventures varied. Based upon my studies of Mujeres Latinas en Acción, I argue …

A Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Audit Of The American Families Of Faith Project: Exploring Lifespan Spiritual Development In Religiously And Racially Diverse Families, David C. Dollahite, Justin J. Hendricks, Loren D. Marks

Faculty Publications

Social science and religious studies scholars should endeavor to broaden theories, methods, and samples to be more inclusive. Therefore, we have conducted an “equity audit” of the American Families of Faith (AFF) project. We evaluated the diversity, equity, and inclusion of the AFF project’s (a) research team, (b) products, and (c) samples. We then discuss the reasoning behind the decisions that resulted in the existing strengths and limitations of the project, the fruits of this and previous evaluations (including a presentation of some narrative accounts from parents and youths across several religious-ethnic communities across the US), opportunities for growth, and …

Made In His Image: How Christian God Image Influences Interpersonal Judgments Of Severe Mental Illness, Austin Davis

Undergraduate Honors Theses

After a review of the relevant literature on God image and interpersonal judgment theories and research, a priming study was used to analyze the relationship between God image and judgment of people with severe mental illness. Participants made judgments of a video presentation of a man with schizophrenia either before or after being given a questionnaire about their God image. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) analysis showed no statistically significant differences between those who were primed to reflect on their God image before making the judgment and those who were not, although the small effect size (d = -0.30) indicated …

Perspectives On Lifespan Religious And Spiritual Development From Scholars Across The Lifespan, Megan Gale, Justin J. Hendricks, David C. Dollahite, Loren D. Marks

Faculty Publications

The purpose of the article is to share our perspectives on the key influences of lifespan religious and spiritual development as scholars from across the lifespan (i.e., the four authors are from different generations, including Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Gen Z). Our perspectives are heavily influenced by our combined 60+ years of research experience in examining the connections between religion and family life. Our discussion is organized around Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological framework and the process-person-context-time model. Within this framework, the key factors we discuss that influence religious/spiritual development include (a) process (i.e., person-religion mismatch and family processes), (b) person …

Child Abuse In Residential Homes Of Ghana, Alyssa Minor

Ballard Brief

Children placed in residential homes in Ghana suffer from physical violence and physical neglect more often than children in family-based homes. In overcrowded residential homes, many basic needs are often not being met, and the use of physical violence is common due to inadequate funding, lack of training, lack of clear policies, and years of normalizing violent disciplinary actions. This problem of child abuse within residential homes of Ghana creates financial burdens on the country and negative psychosocial effects for children suffering from neglect or physical violence, hindering their ability to reach their full earnings potential. Very few interventions have …

Religious Discrimination Against Muslims In France, Jackson Dille

Ballard Brief

Due in large part to its colonial past, France is home to one of Europe's largest Muslim populations-comprising nearly 9% of the country's population. Relations have not always been easy between France's Muslim and non-Muslim populations, and 42% of French Muslims reported feeling discriminated against in a 2019 study. The discrimination felt by French Muslims stems in large part from France's unique approach to secularism, called Laicite, blowback from recent terrorist attacks, and the stereotyping of Muslims in public discourse. Due to this discrimination, France's Muslim population faces increased economic disadvantages and a lack of representation across multiple levels of …

Front Matter

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

New Iscsc Website

Comparative Civilizations Review

After several years of faithful service, the ISCSC website has received a much needed facelift. The new site is more attractive, has more content, and is far easier to navigate.

The Cycles Of Progress And Regress In Ethiopian Civilization And Politics, Tseggai Isaac Phd

Comparative Civilizations Review

This is a study of the historical traditions of Ethiopia and their value as basis for national identity considering the inescapable evolutionary trajectories of modernization.

Specific watershed events with catastrophic effects besieged Ethiopia, resulting in the precipitous decline of the values, dignity, and solemnity of the Ethiopian State. Challenges that contributed to the distancing of Ethiopia’s institutional identity from the loftiness of its roots will be covered.

The political and religious history of Ethiopia will be highlighted to establish landmark events of history, politics, and religion. Specific crises resulting in shifts in values, as well as various reactions to these …

Civilizational Heritage In The Age Of Innovation: Exploring The Importance Of Civilizational Heritage In The 21st Century, Bibi Pelić, Ulrike Michel-Schneider

Comparative Civilizations Review

‘What has civilizational heritage to do with innovation?’ you may ask. ‘I just got the latest iPhone and don’t see any connection.’ You would not be the only one to ask this question.

If we backtrack a thousand years or so and look at innovations from the past, such as the Via Appia or the Colosseum, did the Romans think about civilizational heritage when they built these two magnificent structures? Did they care about civilizational heritage? What about the ancient Egyptians whose building innovation, ‘the pyramid,’ is still an enigma for us today?

Innovation is thus nothing new, but it …

Tyrannies Gave Rise To Martial Arts, But Enlightened Martial Philosophies Reveal A Better Way, Michael Andregg

Comparative Civilizations Review

Most of this brief review will be academic history, but one of the truisms of the martial arts is that it is never strictly “academic.” Words on paper cannot express some things at the heart of the art. Many of the most thoughtful masters of various schools have worried about how to cultivate students with the discipline and philosophical background to be “safe” for polite society. This is a similar problem for police departments and even armies. The best wish to train professionals in ways of being deadly, without empowering undisciplined people to harm innocents. Therefore, part of this paper …

Book Review: Walter Scheidel. The Great Leveler: Violence And The History Of Inequality From The Stone Age To The Twenty-First Century, Leland Conley Barrows

Comparative Civilizations Review

Inspired by the work of Thomas Piketty, particularly his Capitalism in the Twenty-First Century (2013), and Albrecht Dürer’s 1497-1498 woodcut, “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,” Dr. Walter Scheidel, Professor of Classics and History at Stanford University, argues in his massive 521-page volume that for most of human history reductions in socio-economic equality, supposedly a positive good, have resulted from more-or-less violent compressions entailing destruction and death. The implication is that in “normal” times, societies are characterized by inequality even though it is not perceived as a positive good.

Book Review: Karl E. Ryavec. A Historical Atlas Of Tibet, Michael Andregg

Comparative Civilizations Review

This is a fantastic scholarly work (20 pages inclusive, 49 detailed maps plus over 100 photos and illustrations) that adds greatly to the body of scholarship on ancient and modern Tibet. In his introduction, Ryavec explicitly calls Tibet a civilization in its own right despite many entanglements with Chinese Empires, being conquered by the Mongols, and being influenced by steady flows of trade long the Silk Road and by Buddhist monks from India promoting their brands of enlightenment to any who would listen. Thus, there came to be a predominantly Buddhist Tibet, until the communist Chinese took over from 1951-59 …

End Matter

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Iscsc President’S Report: Two Exciting Events Coming Up, Lynn Rhodes

Comparative Civilizations Review

Why was the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations created more than a half century ago by UNESCO and what has guided our comparative civilizations endeavors from then to these days?

Thinking Ahead: The Advent Of New Paradigms In International Relations Theory: “Truth Unfolds In Time Through A Communal Process.” - Carroll Quigley, Vlad Alalykin-Izvekov Phd

Comparative Civilizations Review

International Relations Theory is a branch of Political Science that studies International Relations from a theoretical perspective. Historically, it was dominated by two paradigms — Realism and Liberalism. Recently, though, among other theories and perspectives an influential Civilizational Paradigm has emerged. The paper contains analysis of the roots, significance, as well as discontents of those schools of thought. Looking into the future, the author of this paper proposes the Integralistic Paradigm in International Relations Theory.

The Soul Of Russia And The Soul Of Ukraine, David Wilkinson

Comparative Civilizations Review

This essay addresses the issue of two contemporary state identities — that of Russia and that of Ukraine.

A Comparative Analysis Of Black American Student Experiences And International Student Experiences During The Initial Months Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Leah P. Hollis Edd

Comparative Civilizations Review

The Covid-19 pandemic created an indelible mark on K-12 education — specifically, high school students transitioning to college and career. The global scope of this pandemic presented an opportunity to compare how high school cultures across the world adapted to the emergency. Further, news reports highlighted how communities of color were more susceptible to the pandemic.

To better understand how the Black student experience in middle America compared to that of other students from the global community in responding to pandemic-related educational disruption, I used Krippendorff’s content analysis procedures (2018) and a phenomenological interview process to gather and analyze data …

Book Review: Duane W Roller. Eratosthenes’ Geography: Fragments Collected And Translated, With Commentary And Additional Material, Tseggai Isaac

Comparative Civilizations Review

Duane W. Roller brought back to life the enigmatic and flamboyant Eratosthenes by capturing the rich details of Eratosthenes’ intellectual background, his personal life, Eratosthenes’ Geographika; and how Eratosthenes was received by contemporary and nascent critics in later years and decades. Eratosthenes was practical and controversial in the sense that he seemed to use unorthodox methodology of practical observation combined with creative and inventive scientific and mathematical intricacies to explain, define, and analyze his findings. He was flamboyant and fertile in his discoveries and the breadth of his creative imaginations of unparalleled perspicuity. Roller observed:

The discipline of geography …