Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Are You Ready For Your Close-Up? Creating A Library Promotional Video, Peter Bremer

Library Publications

Learn how to create a promotional library video for your library using the multimedia software Camtasia. Challenges and lessons learned are explored by detailing one reference librarian’s efforts at creating a Ask A Librarian video.

The Impact Of Foreign Remittances On Poverty In Nepal: A Panel Study Of Household Survey Data, 1996-2011, Udaya R. Wagle, Satis Devkota

Economics & Management Publications

Using data from the longitudinal panel surveys of 1996, 2004, and 2011, this paper examines the dynamics of foreign remittances and their impact on poverty in Nepal. The intent is to explore how foreign remittances have evolved and impacted poverty and economic well-being of households. Focusing on a consistent set of households across the three survey rounds in a balanced panel format helps examine the effect of foreign remittances with appropriate controls. Results from methodologically consistent, random-effects regressions that correct for potential attrition and heterogeneity bias support significant poverty-reducing and, more accurately, economic well-being-enhancing effects of foreign remittances especially when …

The 'Bulgarian Situation': Constructing The Myth Of A 'National Mentality' In Bulgarian Discourse And Its Effect On Agency, Nadezhda Sotirova

Communication, Media, and Rhetoric Publications

This study examines the mythic form of the ‘Bulgarian situation’,which is evoked and managed in moments of social interaction,and during enactments of oplakvane (complaining) in Bulgarian discourse. Based on ethnographic examination of naturally occurring talk, interviews, and various media data, the article constructs the larger cultural narrative available in Bulgarian discourse,which explains the origins of a national identity,linked to a ‘national mentality’ developed over a historical period.This national identity is constituted communication, and highlights a deeply cultural notion of nationality and biology as intricately connected, and developed in the context of the Ottoman occupation,and the following period of socialism. Such …

Responding To The Child Care Shortage: Case Studies Of Innovation In Greater Minnesota, Nathan Bean

Center for Small Towns

This report features seven accessible case studies that highlight different community approaches to increasing child care access. The case studies are built on information gained from interviews with those involved in the efforts. Each case has “key words” that allow readers to quickly understand its context and model. The cases highlight the shortages that led to community efforts, what assets were available, and why communities chose the solutions they did. The options available to each community look different because of their unique assets, but the report synthesizes valuable insights that may be useful for others looking for solutions. Some of …

Climate Refugees: Establishing Legal Responses And U.S. Policy Possibilities, Steven Tetrick

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

“Climate Refugee” describes a person who is forced to leave their home or community due to changes to the local environment, such as rising sea level, drought, famine, or other side effects of climate change. A study from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees estimates that with the current rate of climate change, 250 million people will become climate refugees by 2050. Under the current global institutions, climate refugees are not granted legal refugee rights and there are no specific legal frameworks protecting them at the international or national levels. This paper will focus on refugee and immigration policy …

Why Can't We Be Friends? Rapprochement In Us Foreign Policy, Karyssa Scheck

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

This comparative case study examines which factors lead the United States to reexamine its policies toward countries with which it has severed diplomatic ties. I theorize that two particular factors are instrumental in foreign policy decision-making when it comes to reversing US foreign policy to improve bilateral relations: perception of economic benefit for the US and perception of international pressure on the US to change its policy. I evaluate the presence and importance of these factors in the cases of US rapprochement with Iran, Libya, Vietnam, and Cuba, as they represent recent, major changes in the course of US foreign …

The Resource Curse: A Look Into The Implications Of An Abundance Of Natural Resources In The Democratic Republic Of Congo, Erin Nichols

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

This paper’s purpose was to look at why the Democratic Republic of the Congo faces consistent economic and political instability despite having an abundance of natural resources. The goal was to connect the economic instability and overall downfall of the Congolese government with the notion of the resource curse which focuses on the concept that countries who have an abundance of natural resources tend to have less economic growth and experience more conflict. This has been done by examining the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s past of colonization as well as its current issues such as conflicts within and near …

Elections, Rhetoric, And Policy: Comparing The Rise Of Far-Right Nationalism In Western Europe And The United States, Ruby Debellis

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

Western Europe and the United States have both seen an increase in the number of elected officials who represent the far-right ideologically. In this paper, I investigate the reasons behind the rise of far-right nationalist parties, as well as the impacts it has on policy and implications for international relations. To do this, I compared recent election results from Western Europe and the US, the populist rhetoric used by these parties and their candidates, and the subsequent changes in immigration and trade policy due to far-right politicians enacting their agenda. Through this comparison, I concluded first that the elections in …

A Cry And An Outcry: Oplakvane (Complaining) As A Term For Communication Practice, Nadezhda Sotirova

Communication, Media, and Rhetoric Publications

This study examined the term oplakvane in Bulgarian discourse. It refers to a communication practice – similar to complaining – and a range of associated cultural meanings for ways to construct a socio-economic and political reality. Data for this study included naturally occurring talk recorded during social events, interview responses from 50 participants, and a range of media postings from newspapers and online sources. These were examined through the lens of ethnography of communication and studies of terms for talk. By examining the term's context, potency, use, messages, meanings, and enactments, a larger cultural landscape is made available, illustrating how …

Spontaneous Thought And Goal Pursuit: From Functions Such As Planning To Dysfunctions Such As Rumination, Eric Klinger, Ernest H.W. Koster, Igor Marchetti

Psychology Publications

Spontaneous thoughts occur by default in the interstices between directed, task-oriented thoughts or moments of perceptual scrutiny. Their contents are overwhelmingly related to thinkers’ current goals, either directly or indirectly via associative networks, including past and future goals. Their evocation is accompanied by emotional responses that vary widely in type, valence, and intensity. Given these properties of thought flow, spontaneous thoughts are highly adaptive as (1) reminders of the individual’s larger agenda of goals while occupied with pursuing any one of them, (2) promotion of planning for future goal pursuits, (3) deeper understanding of past goal-related experiences, and (4) development …

The Effectiveness Of The Commercial Driver Medical Examination In Screening For Hypertension, Yutao Li

Undergraduate Research Symposium 2018

The Commercial Driver Medical Examination (CDME) is used to assess the medical fitness of a driver to safely operate a commercial motor vehicle. Hypertension is a disease that has been shown in prior research to cause reduced driving safety performance when not properly managed, and it is therefore important that medical examiners be able to consistently identify it in drivers. However, the CDME has historically been ineffective at screening drivers with safety-related diseases. For example, a report from the US Government Accountability Office showed the existence of a substantial number of drivers who were deemed eligible by the federal government …

Conquering Gender Stereotypes One Football At A Time, Rani Bezanson

Undergraduate Research Symposium 2018

In the U.S., gender stereotypes in sports are real. As a result, women who are involved with professional sports, either as players or have professional positions face negative stereotypes. When women have coaching positions, they feel unsupported from administrators and colleagues, which has a direct impact on their involvement and prove their credibility at their jobs (LaFountaine and Kamphoff 2016). My thesis here is that there is a relationship between the impact of negative stereotypes for women who are active in sports and their involvement. For, they do not receive sufficient support. The hypothesis, taken from the above thesis, is …

The Impacts Of Family Support On The Victims Of Sex Trafficking Seeking Professional Care, Charles D. Hassinger

Undergraduate Research Symposium 2018

According to the Polaris Project, the International Labor Organization estimates currently 4.5 million people are victims of human trafficking globally (2018). My project investigates the intersection of conventional health professionals’ treatments for the victims of sex trafficking and the role of supportive family in helping victims reintegrate into mainstream society. My thesis is, that there is, for victims to recover, a relationship between strong family support and professional health care. My research questions are: 1) Is there a relationship between strong family support of victims and successful reintegration into the mainstream of society after professional health care? 2) Will the …

Treating The Opioid Crisis: Assessing Programs To Address Overdose Deaths In West Virginia, Ruby Debellis

Undergraduate Research Symposium 2018

Problem Statement: Too many people in West Virginia are dying from opioid overdose.

West Virginia’s current policies and regulations are insufficient in addressing the opioid epidemic. West Virginia had the highest rate of overdose deaths in the country in 2016, that being 881 or 52 deaths per 100,000 people (“Drug Overdose Death Data”, 2017), and it is costing the state an estimated $8.8 billion per year (Eyre, 2018a). To address this issue, four different policy alternatives have been formulated in an attempt to decrease the number of opioid overdose deaths in West Virginia. These alternatives are allowing current trends to …

Social Media Choices And Uses: Comparing Turkish And American Young-Adults' Social Media Activism, Barbara R. Burke, Ayşe Fulya Şen

Communication, Media, and Rhetoric Publications

Advocates of new media—especially social networks, blogs, and photo/content sharing sites—argue that these tools create transformative impacts on society. Recently, around the world younger activists in popular democracy movements, uprisings, and protests, feeling disengaged by traditional forms of political discourse, have debated their positions on new media, and have used digital media to communicate, organize, and coordinate protest activities. While some media scholars suggest this is an indication that young people are active in creating a public sphere constructed by social media, there is still little real-world evidence that the technological potentials are widely realized. To address this gap, this …

Disability In Medical Spaces, Emily Johnson

Honors Capstone Projects

While there are many existing definitions of disability, the academic discipline of disability studies uses an interdisciplinary perspective to define and understand the disability experience. The idea that disability is a disease that ought to be cured, or the medical model of disability, is one of the most pervasive views of disability today. This treatment-centered viewpoint has greatly influenced the way people with disabilities receive medical care. With this project, I investigate how future physicians are taught about disability. I hypothesize that by incorporating disability studies into the medical school curriculum, as well as medical practice, there would be a …

Chinese Export Porcelain: Similarities And Differences Between Independent Nations, Australia And The United States Of America, Erica Selly

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

This paper examines various archaeological sites from both Australia and the United States in order to compare the early consumption of Chinese Export Porcelain; how the amounts of porcelain found on site reflected wealth and status in both nations, and differences in preferred design.

The Platform Strategy: Concession To Win Elections, Jon R. Antonsen

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

This paper sought to provide one answer to the question: when do parties incorporate centrist ideas in a platform? This question came about from the 1988 election: the Democrats controlled the Congress, but they wanted to regain footing in the presidency. Their previous election performance was fraught with inter-partisan conflict: the liberal House of Humphrey had fallen victim to the Vietnam War and Ronald Reagan had effectively poisoned the word “liberal.” Centrist Democrats fought with liberal Democrats over trivial issues, and the 1984 convention ended in fiery disunity. After being out of power for a long time, to reconcile their …

Picture Perfect, Peter Bremer

Library Publications

The purchasing of student art for display in a library can enhance a building while supporting creative achievement and collaboration with art faculty. One small undergraduate library shares their process for obtaining student art as well as challenges.

Staffing With Students: Digitizing Campus Newspapers With Student Volunteers At The University Of Minnesota, Morris, Naomi Skulan

Library Publications

The purpose of this paper is to examine the advantages and disadvantages to primarily utilizing undergraduate student volunteers for a long-term digitization project and to discuss methods to mitigate the disadvantages of student volunteer work.