Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

South-South Relations And The English School Of International Relations: Chinese And Brazilian Ideas And Involvement In Sub-Saharan Africa, Anthony Petros Spanakos, Joseph Marques

Department of Political Science and Law Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The rise of large developing countries has led to considerable discussions of re-balancing global relations and giving greater priority to understanding South-South relations. This paper, in exploring the central ideas of Chinese and Brazilian foreign policy and the behavior of these two rising Southern countries toward Sub-Saharan Africa, argues that the English School of International Relations is well suited to understanding the intentions and actions that characterize South-South relations.

Local Tobacco Control: Application Of The Essential Public Health Services Model In A County Health Department’S Efforts To Put It Out Rockland, Lisa D. Lieberman, Una Diffley, Sandy King, Shelley Chanler, Maryanne Ferrera, Oscar Alleyne, Joan Facelle

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

In 2000, Rockland County, a small suburban county north of New York City, dedicated $1 million of its Master Settlement Agreement funds to a comprehensive tobacco control program, Put It Out Rockland. Developed and implemented by the county health department, this program used an essential public health services model and an ongoing financial investment, within the context of strong statewide tobacco control efforts, to lower adult smoking rates to 9.7% and to reduce both smoking among youths and exposure to secondhand smoke over the ensuing decade. By combining state funds and local dollars for a total of $6.75 cost per …

Short- And Long-Term Associations Between Widowhood And Mortality In The United States: Longitudinal Analyses, J. Robin Moon, M. Maria Glamour, Anusha M. Vable, Sze Yan Liu, S.V. Subramanian

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Background

Past research shows that spousal death results in elevated mortality risk for the surviving spouse. However, most prior studies have inadequately controlled for socioeconomic status (SES), and it is unclear whether this ‘widowhood effect’ persists over time.

Methods

Health and Retirement Study participants aged 50+ years and married in 1998 (n = 12 316) were followed through 2008 for widowhood status and mortality (2912 deaths). Discrete-time survival analysis was used to compare mortality for the widowed versus the married.

Results

Odds of mortality during the first 3 months post-widowhood were significantly higher than in the continuously married (odds ratio …

Moral Economy And The Upper Peasant: The Dynamics Of Land Privatization In The Mekong Delta, Timothy Gorman

Department of Sociology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This paper examines how people mobilize around notions of distributive justice, or ‘moral economies’, to make claims to resources, using the process of post‐socialist land privatization in the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam as a case study. First, I argue that the region's history of settlement, production, and political struggle helped to entrench certain normative beliefs around landownership, most notably in its population of semi‐commercial upper peasants. I then detail the ways in which these upper peasants mobilized around notions of distributive justice to successfully press demands for land restitution in the late 1980s, drawing on Vietnamese newspapers and …

Measuring Phonetic Convergence In Speech Production, Jennifer Pardo

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Phonetic convergence is defined as an increase in the similarity of acoustic-phonetic form between talkers. Previous research has demonstrated phonetic convergence both when a talker listens passively to speech and while talkers engage in social interaction. Much of this research has focused on a diverse array of acoustic-phonetic attributes, with fewer studies incorporating perceptual measures of phonetic convergence. The current paper reviews research on phonetic convergence in both non-interactive and conversational settings, and attempts to consolidate the diverse array of findings by proposing a paradigm that models perceptual and acoustic measures together. By modeling acoustic measures as predictors of perceived …

When Poverty Is The Worst Crime Of All: A Film Review Of Gideon’S Army (2013), Jessica S Henry

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This review of the Sundance Award-winning documentary film, Gideon’s Army, examines the disparate impact of the criminal justice system on the poor and, particularly, poor people of color.

Strength, But Not Direction, Of Handedness Is Related To Height, Ruth E. Propper, Tad T. Brunyé, Karly Frank, Sean E. Mcgraw

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Left-handers are reputed to be shorter than right-handers. However, previous research has confounded handedness direction (left- versus right-handedness) with handedness strength (consistency with which one hand is chosen across a variety of tasks; consistent- versus inconsistent-handedness). Here, we support a relationship between handedness strength, but not direction, and stature, with increasing inconsistent-handedness associated with increasing self-reported height.

The National Social Distance Study: Ten Years Later, Vincent N. Parrillo, Christopher Donoghue

Department of Sociology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The Bogardus social distance scale, which measures the level of acceptance that Americans feel toward members of the most common ethnic and racial groups in the United States, was administered six times nationally between 1920 and 2001. Replicating the most recent study with its revised list of ethnic and racial groups, the authors of this study analyzed a stratified random sample of 3,166 college students, making it the largest national social distance study ever conducted. The findings indicate an increase since 2001 in the mean level of social distance toward all ethnic groups, as well as in the spread between …

Meaning And Spirituality In Adolescence : Practices And Perspectives Of School Counselors, Jill Elizabeth Schwarz

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Adolescence is a crucial life stage involving aspects of identity development and decision-making that have potential life-long consequences. Researchers have found that a sense of meaning and purpose is related to a number of beneficial factors during adolescence, including resilience, healthy self-esteem, academic engagement, and overall well-being. Spirituality is a main avenue through which many individuals find a sense of meaning and purpose and may be one of the mediating factors between adolescent meaning-making and well-being. Despite this knowledge, there is a lack of research involving the use of meaning-based counseling in the schools. There is also evidence that students …

Stereotype, Structure, And The Job Interview : Do Explanations Make A Difference?, Emily Fritzky

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

No abstract provided.

Challenging The Authority Of The Medical Definition Of Disability: An Analysis Of The Resistance To The Social Constructionist Paradigm, Christopher Donoghue

Department of Sociology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This article attempts to explain why the social constructionist paradigm has failed to replace the medical model in American disability theory. The social movement led by American disability activists attempted to reframe the definition of disability using a minority group model based on the social constructionist paradigm. This paper argues that the disability movement was unable to successfully advance the social constructionist paradigm because the activists accepted the Americans With Disabilities Act (1990) despite its ideological basis in the medical model of disability, and the social constructionist theory does not adequately account for the importance of structural constraints to redefinition

Violence Among Young Adults Receiving Housing Assistance: Vouchers, Race, And Transitions Into Adulthood, Tamara Leech

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Scholarly literature has been very attentive to violence among adolescents whose families receive vouchers. Yet, it provides little information about violence among the more than 400,000 very young adults who head households that receive vouchers. This article explores this relationship, paying particular attention to life course considerations and racial context. Data on 18–22-year-olds, numbering 208, who received housing assistance and participated in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 in 2002 indicate that normative theoretical models may not accurately capture the relationship between the transition to adulthood and violence within this group. Results also suggest that among those who experience …

Empowerment-Based Positive Youth Development: A New Understanding Of Healthy Development For African American Youth, Raphael Travis Jr., Tamara Leech

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

A shift occurred in research about adolescents in the general population. Research is moving away from deficits toward a resilience paradigm and understanding trajectories of positive youth development. This shift has been less consistent in research and practice with African American youth. A gap also exists in understanding whether individual youth development dimensions generate potential in other dimensions. This study presents an empowerment-based positive youth development model. It builds upon existing research to present a new vision of healthy development for African American youth that is strengths-based, developmental, culture-bound, and action-oriented. It emphasizes the relationship between person and environment, the …

Religious Practice And The Phenomenology Of Everyday Violence In Contemporary India, Vikash Singh

Department of Sociology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This article focuses on ‘dread’ in religious practice in contemporary India. It argues that the dread of everyday existence, which is as salient in a biographical temporality as it pervades the phenomenal environment, connects and transfers between religious practices and everyday life in India for the marginalized masses. For such dread, dominant liberal discourses, such as those of the nation, economy, or ego-centric performance, have neither the patience nor the forms to represent, perform, and abreact. Formulated in dialogue with critical theory, phenomenology, and psychoanalytic theory, this article conceives of religious practices in continuum with the economic, social, ethical, and …

Alternative Hospital Gift Bags And Breastfeeding Exclusivity, Yeon Bai, Shahla M. Wunderlich, Rickie Kashdan

Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Scholarship and Creative Works

The type of gift bags given to new mothers at the time of discharge from the hospital can influence their confidence in breastfeeding. Most hospitals in the US continue to distribute commercial gift bags containing formula samples despite the reported negative influence of commercial bags on the duration of breastfeeding. This study compared breastfeeding outcomes in women receiving three different kinds of gift bags at discharge. A prospective intervention study was conducted during the 2009-2010 in New Jersey. Three breastfeeding cohorts were recruited and assigned to three groups: COMMERCIAL received discharge bags containing formula samples, BF-INFO received breastfeeding information and …

Work, Performance, And The Social Ethic Of Global Capitalism: Understanding Religious Practice In Contemporary India, Vikash Singh

Department of Sociology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This ethnographic essay focuses on the relationship between religious performances and the “strong discourse” of contemporary global capitalism. It explores the subjective meaning and social significance of religious practice in the context of a rapidly expanding mass religious phenomenon in India. The narrative draws on Weber's insights on the intersections between religion and economy, phenomenological theory, performance studies, and Indian philosophy and popular culture. It shows that religion here is primarily a means of performing to and preparing for an informal economy. It gives the chance to live meaningful social lives while challenging the inequities and symbolic violence of an …

Sirsi Integration With A Discovery Tool, Denise O'Shea, Kathleen Hughes, Mary Mallery

Sprague Library Scholarship and Creative Works

Presentation at regional Sirsi conference on integrating Symphony Dynix with Ebsco's EDS Discovery tool.

A Qualitative Analysis Of 4-H Program Logic Models, Stephanie Phelan

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This study explores program logic in 4-H’s positive youth development (PYD) programs. The sample was drawn from programs that have engaged in planning at both county and state levels. Using a systems perspective as a guide, this study considers the bidirectional interrelationships among multiple levels of a 4-H system. Bidirectional relationships make alignment between “local” (county) and “global” (state) levels of the 4-H system important. This study utilizes content analysis to explore activities and outcomes in 12 county-level, “local,” 4-H logic models and 1 statewide, “global” 4-H logic model. Logic models were compared within “local-local” models and between “local-global” models. …

Political Twittoric : The Rhetorical Use Of Twitter By The Obama 2012 Presidential Campaign, Kainat Najmi Abidi

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

With the entrance of the digital age, the Presidential campaign has begun accommodating the growing trend of new technologies. A campaign can reach an audience in person, on the radio, through the newspaper, on television, and on the Internet. In 2008, President Barack Obama broke the limitations of campaigning by going social, which he continued in his run for reelection in 2012. Obama tapped into the popular social network of Twitter to run a portion his 2012 campaign. By utilizing this new network, Obama’s campaign accessed the multimodal quality of Twitter to benefit their goal of winning the 2012 election …

The Relationship Between Alcoholism And Satisfaction With Life, Michael William Albert

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between alcoholism and satisfaction with life. The sample was selected from students and non-students at Montclair State University. The materials were two questionnaires, the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). The MAST had 25 questions and the SWLS had 5 questions. These questionnaires were given to subjects at a staged bake sale. The participants filled out the questionnaires and put the completed forms into marked boxes to preserve anonymity.

The data was analyzed by correlating MAST and SWLS scores. It was expected that there …

Risk Factors And Impacts Of Female Genital Mutilation Practice In Senegal, Mame Kani Diop

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

INTRODUCTION: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has significant negative physical complications on girls and women and its persistence is linked to lack of education, poverty and other socio-demographic characteristics such as region, type of place of residence, religion, and ethnicity. FGM is extremely dangerous. Even though FGM carries cultural marks, its primary objectives are social, sexual, and economic control of female sexuality. Despite the global effort to eradicate the practice and the evidence of its detrimental health consequences, FGM is still prevalent in Senegalese practicing communities.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to investigate the risk factors associated with the …

Does Personality Make A Difference On Leadership Development?, Selin Kalenderli

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Personality is one of the individual differences that should be addressed in leadership development research and practice, as it can provide one with valuable insights about identifying specific needs and personalized methods for development. The existing literature demonstrates the importance of personality traits in leadership emergence and outcomes. However, to date only few scientific investigations have explored the role of personal traits in leadership development. The purpose of this mixed method study was to explore the relationship between personality and leadership development. Fifty college students were interviewed to investigate significant developmental events they experienced and leadership lessons learned from these …

Siblings And Discrimination : A Qualitative Exploration, Jessica L. Szweada

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Research has found that experiencing discrimination is linked to a plethora of mostly negative individual and relational consequences. While a few studies have focused on its impact on interpersonal relationships including marital and parent-child relationships, none have explored its impact on sibling relationships. Siblings play a major role in individual development (Dunn & Plomin, 1991; Sulloway, 1996; Whiteman, Bernard & Jensen, 2011) and positive sibling relationships have been found to act as a buffer to environmental stressors (Gass, Jenkins & Dunn, 2007; Jacobs & Sillars, 2012). The aim of this study was to examine how siblings manage, utilize and are …

Talker Identification Learning And New Jersey Dialect Discrimination, Michael Patrick Apfelbaum

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Previous studies have demonstrated that individuals can be trained to identify a speaker by voice. Other research has found profound regional differences in dialect across the US, with individuals being able to generally discriminate between them at above chance levels. However, little research has investigated the ability to discriminate between two similar dialects or the effect of using bisyllabic words in talker training. The present study aims to explore the patterns of talker learning and dialect discrimination which arise from training talkers on the two predominate dialects spoken in New Jersey. To investigate such factors, the current research trained 24 …

Effects Of Emotional Content On Boundary Extension, David William Kerner

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Eye-fixation tasks have demonstrated that emotionally charged and novel stimuli draw greater attentional resources than familiar or neutral stimuli. In the present study, these findings are tested as a possible cause for the consistent scene perception phenomenon of boundary extension. Three groups of participants were shown happy, sad, and neutral images and asked to recall these images after a period of 20 minutes. A drawing task was used to assess how boundary extension effects varied across emotional content groups. Each individual drawing was assessed for distortions in central image size. Magnitude percentage changes in central image size show significant differences …

Engagement And Appraisals Of Risky Behaviors Among Repressors In A University Sample, Melissa Nicole Slavin

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Repressors are individuals who report low anxiety on the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (Taylor, 1953) and high defensiveness on the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (Crowne & Marlowe, 1960). These individuals are largely out o f touch with their true feelings o f anxiety and general distress, as indicated by discrepancies between their self-reported emotions and objectively measured physiological symptoms. Prior research has indicated that repressors underreport behaviors that could be negatively perceived, such as substance and alcohol use. This study assessed risky behaviors and appraisals o f benefits and consequences among 50 classified repressors and 50 randomly selected nonrepressors from …

The Relationship Between Aspects Of Supervision And School Counselor Self-Efficacy, Daniel Cinotti

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The purpose of this study of school counselors was to examine the relationship between aspects of supervision and self-efficacy. Satisfaction with supervision, the presence of noncounseling supervisors, role conflict, and role ambiguity were examined in relation to school counselors’ feelings of self-efficacy. The study also included previously established individual factors related to school counselor self-efficacy including gender, years of experience, teaching experience, and training and use of the ASCA National Model. A multiple regression was used to create a predictor model for school counselor self-efficacy using these supervisory and individual factors. Supplemental analysis examined factors that predicted use of the …

Adult Sibling Grief In The Eleven Years After September 11, 2001, Vincent S. Vigilione

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This is a qualitative study probing the lived experience of 11 individuals (Siblings of 9/11) who lost their siblings in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. The study is grief-oriented with a focus on 1) the journey of 11 years from the initial tragedy and loss; 2) the grief process relative to such a publicized and memorialized event; 3) the ambiguous nature of the loss as it pertains to the Siblings of 9/11 and 4) the mean-making these individuals have established over their 11 year journeys.

Main findings: 1) Ambiguity in the grief process was quite common in the …

Getting A Grip On Memory: Unilateral Hand Clenching Alters Episodic Recall, Ruth E. Propper, Sean E. Mcgraw, Tad T. Brunyé

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Unilateral hand clenching increases neuronal activity in the frontal lobe of the contralateral hemisphere. Such hand clenching is also associated with increased experiencing a given hemisphere’s “mode of processing.” Together, these findings suggest that unilateral hand clenching can be used to test hypotheses concerning the specializations of the cerebral hemispheres during memory encoding and retrieval. We investigated this possibility by testing the effects of a unilateral hand clenching on episodic memory. The hemispheric Encoding/Retrieval Asymmetry (HERA) model proposes left prefrontal regions are associated with encoding, and right prefrontal regions with retrieval, of episodic memories. It was hypothesized that right-hand clenching …

Type Of High-School Credentials And Older Age Adl And Iadl Limitations: Is The Ged Credential Equivalent To A Diploma?, Sze Yan Liu, Niraj R. Chavan, M. Maria Glymour

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Purpose: Educational attainment is a robust predictor of disability in elderly Americans: older adults with high-school (HS) diplomas have a substantially lower disability than individuals who did not complete HS. General Educational Development (GED) diplomas now comprise almost 20% of new HS credentials issued annually in the United States but it is unknown whether the apparent health advantages of HS diplomas extend to GED credentials. This study examines whether adults older than 50 years with GEDs have higher odds of incident instrumental or basic activities of daily living (IADLs) limitations compared with HS degree holders. Methods: We compared odds of …