Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Climate Change, Food Security, And The Myth Of Unlimited Abundance, Susan A. Schneider

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The Biden-Harris White House can be commended for convening the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health highlighting the critical connections between

Putting The Dietary Guidelines For Americans Into Action Through The National Strategy On Hunger, Nutrition, And Health, Rachel Fischer, Katrina L. Piercy, Janet M. De Jesus, Paul Reed, Rachel L. Levine

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The United States is facing a crisis of widespread food insecurity and exceedingly high rates of diet-related diseases like diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. To address this challenge and set a course for improved nutrition and food access nationwide, the Biden-Harris Administration hosted the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in over 50 years on September 28, 2022. In the National Strategy, released in conjunction with the Conference, the Administration identified a set of actions that the federal government will take to help achieve its goal of ending hunger and increasing healthy eating and physical activity by 2030, …

Va’S Work To Ensure Veterans’ Food Security, Christine Going

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is uniquely positioned as the nation’s largest integrated health care system, serving 9 million enrolled Veterans each year, to successfully embrace the power of an interdisciplinary team designed to meet the needs of Veterans challenged by food insecurity. In collaboration with the whole of government approach to ending hunger, VA is addressing food and nutrition security. The Food Security Office within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) was established and has representation from nutrition, social work, and nursing focusing on the causes of food insecurity among Veterans. VA’s Food Security Office and the Nutrition and …

Healthy School Meals For All: The Role Of Food Law And Policy, Thomas J. Vilsack

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The first Conference held more than 50 years ago by President Nixon in 1969 had significant impacts on our Department and the prevalence of food insecurity in our country. Nost notably, the Conference sparked significant expansions to Food Stamps, now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), from 2 million in 1968 to 11 million by 1971. The Conference also increased the reach of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), which served 2.9 million low-income children at the time of the Conference and expanded to serving nearly 8 million low-income children by 1971. Permanent authorization of the School Breakfast …

Special Issue: Hunger, Nutrition, And Health, Susan Rice

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Everyday millions of Americans face barriers to accessing food, housing, and other supports–––making the impossible decision of whether to put food on the table or cover other essential needs. Food insecurity and diet-related diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes, affect people of all ages and in all communities. It was for this reason that the Biden-Harris Administration hosted the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in September 2022. As the President said at the Conference, “No child should go to bed hungry. No parent should die of a disease that can be prevented.” It will require all …

Analyzing Student Discipline Trends In Arkansas: The 2022 Report, Sarah Mckenzie, Josh Mcgee, Taylor Wilson, Charlene A. Reid

Policy Briefs

This brief provides an overview of the findings from the 2021- 22 Arkansas Student Discipline Report. We aim to shed light on the significant trends and key student outcomes related to student discipline in Arkansas public schools. Furthermore, we assess the impact of recent policy changes in this context and recommend further policy recommendations to neutralize negative trends.

Snapshot Of The Research Publications From The Department Of Biological Sciences, University Of Arkansas, 2019-2022, Lutishoor Salisbury, Jeremy Smith

University Libraries Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report provides a snapshot of the research publications for the Department of Biological Sciences for a four-year period.

It includes tables identifying the types of publications, the research collaboration between faculty and students (graduates and undergraduates); the JCR ranking of the journals in which they published and a listing of their publications, etc.

Analyzing Arkansas's Course Credit And Unexcused Absence Policy, Sarah Mckenzie, Josh Mcgee, Sarah R. Morris

Policy Briefs

In this brief, we examine the implementation of A.C.A 6-18-222, a statewide policy in Arkansas that addresses the unexcused absences and course credit. We find wide variability in the policy’s local implementation. We suggest districts examine their thresholds and language in this policy, and implement Early Warning Intervention and Monitoring Systems to improve school culture.

How Does Increasing The Darkness Of A Plate Affect The Perception Of Both Bitter And Sweet Flavors?, Jessica Williams

Food Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Extrinsic cues like plate color have been shown to effect taste perception. Previous studies conducted show a consensus that plate colors can modulate taste perception (Piqueras-Fizman et al., 2012, Stewart & Gross, 2013). No studies, however, have investigated varying color hues and their effect on taste perception. This study aims to determine whether the change in the black to white ratio of plate color can affect consumer perception of sweetness or bitterness.

We presented a group of volunteers two different brownies on plates varying from 100% white to 0% white in 25% increments. A 30:70 male to female gender ratio …

Sneakerhead Culture: Consumers And Their Ecological Consciousness, Maria Cervantes

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis aims to investigate the unique subculture of “sneakerheads” and their buying behavior/attitudes, catering carefully to the Northwest Arkansas community and their small community. Sneakerhead culture has gained significant popularity in recent years, with decades of history to back up the phenomenon. Sneaker connoisseurs collect these glamourous, expensive, and rare footwear and are keepsakes of self-expression and identity formation. The study employs an ecological approach to their purchases and seeks to find whether retail and non-retail sneakerheads are conscious of their ecological footprint. The research methodology involves a questionnaire that is catered towards retail or non-retail employees based on …

Denim Quality Innovation And Theory, Simeon Smith

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

Quality and its place with consumers, primarily university students, is often ignored when shopping for clothing. The aim of this creative project and accompanied research is to help answer why that is. This is needed as the denim industry weighs heavily on being one of the textile and clothing industries’ worst polluters. The rise of scaled fashion now produces an excess of garments. The purpose of this study is to create a high-quality garment and supplement it with a survey, polling students about their knowledge of quality. The survey participants, who were university students in the apparel major, had experience …

Market Outlet Choices Of Small-Scale Fruits And Vegetables Producers In Arkansas, Grace Sivilondire Mahamba

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis comprises two studies investigating the market outlet choices of small-scale fruit and vegetable producers in Arkansas. By examining the marketing decisions of producers in the region, the objective was to profile producers based on their utilization of different available outlets and identify the factors influencing their decisions regarding where to sell their products. Data from a survey conducted in the Ozark Mountain Region (comprising Arkansas, Southern Missouri and Eastern Oklahoma) during Fall of 2022 were analyzed using k-means clustering to classify producers based on their characteristics, thus establishing distinct producer profiles. Multinomial logit regression was employed to determine …

Determinants Of Market Participation Among Milk Producers In Kyrgyzstan, Akhmadjon Nurullaev

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the key factors that drive milk producers to enter the milk market as sellers in Kyrgyzstan. The study utilizes the Life in Kyrgyzstan dataset, a nationally representative survey that tracks 3,000 households and 8,000 individuals throughout Kyrgyzstan. The results were analyzed with two different models: Heckman’s two-stage and the double hurdle models. The results show that regional location, ethnic group origin, risk awareness, dependency ratio, vehicle ownership, total value of assets, distance to agro market, and family shock occurrence significantly impact both market participation and the volume of milk sales. The findings hold great significance in establishing …

Seeking And Providing Social Support In Online Forums For Individuals Experiencing Depression, Anna Gentry

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis project investigates how individuals suffering from depression seek support, provide support, and describe experiences of stigma in an online support platform. A phronetic-iterative and constant comparative approach guided an in-depth analysis of 37 posts on a discussion board designed for individuals with depression. The findings demonstrated that individuals use online discussion forums to request support both implicitly and explicitly. In response to sought support, individuals provided informational, emotional, and network support. Finally, discussion board participants discussed social and self stigma. Despite the limitations of the study, the findings indicate the utility of online social support platforms for individuals …

Decrypting The Processes Of Policy Evolution: Comparing Québec And Ontario’S Evolution Of Risk Management Policies, Frederick Clerson Guicherd

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Through policies or programs, states can influence industries to align with their vision of what a sector should become. However, this vision is subject to influence from actors of the industries which emphasize the importance of the relationship between the state and interest groups. In this dissertation, we observe the evolution of 9 Canadian agriculture risk management programs implemented by two provincial governments between 1990 and 2020 to understand how such programs coped with the new trends in agriculture. Through a review of parliamentary discussions and official documents, we evaluate the factors that justified program evolution based on the combination …

Her Story Told Her Way: A Narrative Inquiry Into Black Women’S Perception Of The Strong Black Woman., Chulyndria Chanee Laye

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The narrative surrounding the meaning of being a Black woman has historically been dominated by stereotypes such as the mammy, jezebel, sapphire, and angry Black woman. Black women have attempted to control their own narrative through the internalization of these stereotypes, leading to the creation of the Strong Black Woman (SBW) construct. While the SBW is comprised of a sense of caretaker, independence, and emotional restraint, Black women’s attempts at embodying this construct in the face of societal oppression and familial responsibilities can and often does have negative effects on their mental health. Although the behaviors associated with the SBW …

Sharing Economy Last Mile Delivery: Three Essays Addressing Operational Challenges, Customer Expectations, And Supply Uncertainty, Nicolò Masorgo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Last mile delivery has become a critical competitive dimension facing retail supply chains. At the same time, the emergence of sharing economy platforms has introduced unique operational challenges and benefits that enable and inhibit retailers’ last mile delivery goals. This dissertation investigates key challenges faced by crowdshipping platforms used in last mile delivery related to crowdsourced delivery drivers, driver-customer interaction, and customer expectations. We investigate the research questions of this dissertation through a multi-method design approach, complementing a rich archival dataset comprised of several million orders retrieved from a Fortune 100 retail crowdshipping platform, with scenario-based experiments. Specifically, the first …

Charter School Funding: Little Progress Towards Equity In The City, Alison Heape Johnson, Josh B. Mcgee, Patrick J. Wolf, Jay F. May, Larry D. Maloney

School Choice Demonstration Project

Charter schooling has grown in popularity since the first charter school opened in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1992. Nearly 3.5 million students in the United States attended a public charter school in 2019-20. Our team has studied charter school funding equity since 2002-03 and most recently found that, in 2017-18, charter schools received, on average, 33 percent less funding than traditional public schools (TPS) in 18 cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Camden, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, Houston, Little Rock, Los Angeles, Memphis, New Orleans, New York City, Oakland, Phoenix, San Antonio, Tulsa, and Washington, DC. Each of these cities either has …

The Economic Effects Of Covid-19 On Smallholder Farmers In Kenya, Sarah Hope Brasche

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Like many Sub-Saharan African countries, the Kenyan economy heavily relies on agriculture. Agriculture in Kenya accounted for 50% of the total workforce in 2019 and 70% of the rural workforce. Though reliant on agriculture for employment and subsistence, Kenya has been historically impoverished and malnourished. Kenya has been experiencing an economic recession since 2018, which was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Relatively speaking to other African countries, Kenya managed to escape the worst health effects of the pandemic, but the economic effects were substantial. This study analyzes survey responses from 1,059 Kenyan smallholder agricultural producers on the economic impacts they …

Understanding The Environmental And Genetic Influence On Fluctuating Asymmetry And Developmental Instability In Primates, Ashly N. Romero

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explored the impact of environmental factors on the development and perpetuation of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) and sought to understand the role evolution may play in the FA exhibited in two primate populations: the free-ranging Cayo Santiago rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) and the Southwest National Primate Research Center olive baboons (Papio hamadryas anubis). Demographic, ontogenetic, secular, external, and genetic factors were examined. Specifically, this dissertation investigated FA over all ontogenetic stages, across decades, between sexes, in association with ecological catastrophes, and with tooth pathology to try and tease apart factors that may influence FA and developmental instability. This dissertation …

Analyzing The Adoption, Cropping Rotation, And Impact Of Winter Cover Crops In The Mississippi Alluvial Plain (Map) Region Through Remote Sensing Technologies, Zobaer Ahmed

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the application of remote sensing technologies in conservation agriculture, specifically focusing on identifying and mapping winter cover crops and assessing voluntary cover crop adoption and cropping patterns in the Arkansas portion of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP). In the first chapter, a systematic review using the PRISMA methodology examines the last 30 years of thematic research, development, and trends in remote sensing applied to conservation agriculture from a global perspective. The review uncovers a growing interest in remote sensing-based research in conservation agriculture and emphasizes the necessity for further studies dedicated to conservation practices. Among the 68 …

A Comparison Of Intelligent Agent Technology And Traditional Preference Assessment Implementation Methods For Preservice Speech-Language Pathologists, Brenna R. Griffen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Identifying preferred stimuli is an initial step in many evidence-based educational programs for young children. Preference assessments, such as the Multiple Stimulus Without Replacement (MSWO), provide an empirically validated way of identifying and ranking these stimuli. Traditional methods of training professionals to implement MSWO often require the presence of an expert trainer, involve lengthy instructional time, require additional training to transfer skills into the clinical or classroom setting, and necessitate follow-up training to maintain skills over time. Intelligent agent technology may overcome these challenges by providing professionals with easily accessible, consistent instruction. The purpose of the current study was to …

An Exploration Of Saudi Women’S Experiences And Perceptions Towards Participation In Physical Activity And Sports In The United States, Ahmed H. Sumayali

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A significant proportion of Saudi women are currently living in different Western countries, including the United States of America. Physical activity and sports participation play a significant role in maintaining health and well-being for all individuals. Understanding their physical activity experiences and perceptions regarding participation in sports activity during their stay in the United States is important. This study aimed to understand if the length of residence in the United States and/or acculturation to the U.S. environment could significantly change Saudi women's patterns, attitudes, and behaviors towards sports and fitness activities. This qualitative study was carried out to explore and …

The Effect Of Sleep Deprivation On The Ability To Reappraise Negative Situations, Rebecca Campbell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sleep and emotion regulation are important components of mental health and may function interdependently in the development and maintenance of mental health disorders. Unfortunately, there is limited experimental work on the impacts of sleep deprivation on reappraisal, a common emotion regulation strategy, in adults. Furthermore, increases in negative and decreases in positive affect are often associated with sleep loss. This study aimed to examine the relation between sleep deprivation and emotion regulation by asking adults to reappraise a series of vignettes before and after a randomly assigned night of sleep deprivation or normal sleep. Additionally, measures of self-reported emotion regulation …

Differences In Due Process During Post-Conviction: Examining Jurisdictional Influence On Exoneration, Kimberly Hawkins

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research on wrongful conviction has found several factors associated with an erroneous conviction. As of yet, research has not delved into the jurisdictional effects on exoneration. Using the American State’s use of the death penalty for a proxy of punitiveness, this study will examine if there is a relationship between use of capital punishment and exoneration rates. The National Registry of Exonerations is the most comprehensive collection of exonerations to date and this secondary data source will be analyzed using logistic regression models to examine differences across policy environments. Result show that non-death penalty states have a much higher exoneration …

Enhancing Depression Screening And Treatment For Latinxs Residing In The U.S., Linda Esperanza Guzman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: In the U.S., Latinxs with Spanish as their preferred language encounter two prominent structural barriers impacting access to treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD). The first is that MDD symptoms commonly go undetected in Latinxs with Spanish compared to English as their preferred language. This might be perhaps because commonly used MDD screeners lack somatic symptom survey items culturally specific in how MDD may present among Latinxs with Spanish as their preferred language. The second structural barrier is that treatment access and completion rates are lower in Spanish-speaking than English-speaking Latinxs, perhaps due to treatments lacking the structure and …

The Hidden Role Of Religiosity In Contemporary Public Education In The United States Of America, Marilyn Anderson Rhames

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The ‘separation of church and state’ is a fundamental precept of the United States, yet the phrase itself is not written in the Constitution and even Supreme Court justices disagree on how it should be defined. The ambiguity surrounding religious liberty is perhaps most felt in K-12 public education, where the fear of inflicting faith formation on impressionable students has inspired the vision of a secular, God-neutral, government-run school system. As such, federal and state laws dictate that public school educators who coerce students by promoting or inhibiting religious devotion risk losing their jobs. Yet, the reality is that the …

Juvenile Justice System Involvement And The Transition To Early Adulthood: Does Direct Intervention Help Or Harm?, Cameron Miller Perrine

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study examines the effects of the juvenile justice system on youth as they transition to early adulthood. The present study adds to the literature by incorporating comparison groups of youths and by testing multiple explanations of recidivism: Labeling Theory and the Life Course perspective. In total, 267 adults were recruited via online survey and sorted into three groups: Externalizing Behavior and Juvenile Justice Involved, Externalizing Behavior and Not Juvenile Justice Involved, and Not Externalizing and Not Juvenile Justice Involved. In addition to demographics, participants completed measures of past externalizing behaviors, past juvenile justice involvement, social disadvantage, deviant peer …

Beef And Dairy Substitution Effects Associated With Carbon Labeling And An Information Intervention, Sara Gardner Hedgecock

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Understanding consumer perceptions of carbon emissions in agriculture is a critical step to help increase the sustainability of food consumption. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 14.5 percent of all global anthropogenic GHG emissions are estimated to be represented by livestock (FAO), and cattle, raised for beef and milk, are the largest animal species responsible for emissions, comprising over 60 percent of the livestock sector’s emissions. This motivates this study’s analysis of beef and dairy milk products and alternatives. To better understand how consumers may substitute meat and milk products when provided with information about …

Holocaust Education In Arkansas: An Exploration Of Policy Process And Implementation, Toby Lauren Wagner Klein

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Holocaust was the attempted extermination of the Jewish people--a fact previously considered to be common knowledge. However, recent national surveys find that Arkansas students have the lowest levels of knowledge of the Holocaust in the United States. A recent law mandated the teaching of the Holocaust for 5-12th grade public school students in Arkansas, however, little is known about the policy process and implementation of such a mandate. Given the magnitude of the gaps in the literature on this topic, this dissertation uses a three article format to address specific gaps and make specific contributions to the literature by …