Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Latino New Yorkers In The 2008 Presidential Election: The New Americans Exit Poll, Lorraine C. Minnite

Policy Documents

This report focuses on the political attitudes and vote choices of the city’s growing Latino population. An analysis of population flows in New York City since the 9/11 terrorist attacksprovides an important context forunderstanding shifts in turnout and the role immigration is playing in shaping the city’s electorate. These trends, in turn, bear on the continuing diversification of the city’s Latino population, and especially its Latino electorate. The New Americans Exit Poll opens a window onto the diversity of the New York City Latino electorate, and raises questions about the interplay of immigrant political incorporation and Latino identity.

Looking Back, Moving Forward In The Digital Age: A Review Of The Collection Management And Development Literature, 2004–8, Lorre Smith, Daryl R. Bullis

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

The collection and management of digital resources dominated collection development and management literature produced during 2004–8. Themes covered the changing nature of local collections, redefining collection management responsibilities and practices, cooperation and collaboration, and collection assessment and evaluation. The literature reflected the struggle to manage a vast array of resources while library budgets stagnated. While publishers continued to offer more bundles of electronic publications, librarians responded with strategies to collaborate and negotiate for feasible pricing structures. A culture of continuous assessment was a major topic. During this review period, access to and ownership of digital resources reemerged as a pervasive …

Current Perspectives On Tunisian Sociolinguistics, Lotfi Sayahi

Languages, Literatures and Cultures Faculty Scholarship

Despite its small size (63,170 sq miles) and a rather small population with a stable growth rate,2 Tunisia represents a rich sociolinguistic laboratory with a long history of bilingualism and language contact. The delicate position of Berber, the diglossic situation of Arabic and the increasing efforts for Arabization, the regional and social variation in Tunisian Arabic, the presence of French, and the gradual spread of English, among other closely-related topics, constitute the core themes of research within Tunisian sociolinguistics. Since the publication of R. M. Payne’s Language in Tunisia in 1983, no attempt has been made to reassess the situation …

Code-Switching And Language Change In Tunisia, Lotfi Sayahi

Languages, Literatures and Cultures Faculty Scholarship

This article quantitatively studies the patterns of Tunisian Arabic/French code-switching and the possible implications for contact-induced change in the Tunisian dialect. The purpose is to account for the extent of the occurrence of code-switching across gender lines and levels of education and assess its role in the interference from French into Arabic, both at the lexical and structural levels. Recorded semi-directed sociolinguistic interviews with twelve speakers are examined for type and frequency of code-switching and use of French borrowings.

Results show that education plays a role in distinguishing the group with a higher education from the group with only a …

Beyond ‘‘Green Buildings:’’ Exploring The Effects Of Jevons’ Paradox On The Sustainability Of Archival Practices, Mark D. Wolfe

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

The sustainability of archival institutions will be greatly affected by attempts to mitigate their carbon footprint to meet the challenges of global climate change. This paper explores how recordkeeping practices may enhance or undermine the sustainability of archives. To enhance sustainability, it is a common practice to increase the efficiency of recordkeeping practices. However, increases to efficiency may lead to a phenomenon known as Jevons’ Paradox. Jevons’ Paradox occurs when improvements in efficiency to a system or process result in an increase in use (instead of a decrease) of a resource. The failure of the paperless office demonstrates Jevons’ Paradox, …

Player Two Has Entered The Game: The Role Of Congress In The Formation Of American Foreign Policy During The Presidency Of George W. Bush, Glenn W. Caulfield

Political Science

No abstract provided.

Cultivation Of Mindfulness And Acceptance Processes In Act And Cbt: A Randomized Clinical Trial In A Pure Self Help Context, Andrew N. Orayfig

Psychology

There is a paucity of research on self-help approaches within Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT); specifically there is a need for more randomized controlled trials to elucidate the effectiveness of ACT-based biblio-therapy relative to more traditional cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). The aim of the present research, therefore, is two-fold: (a) to provide a preliminary comparison of ACT and CBT for anxiety in a self-help context and (b) to examine how the two treatments impact ACT-relevant processes in an international community sample (N=200) of persons reporting difficulties with anxiety and fear. Participants were randomized to receive either an ACT or CBT …

Post-Operative Extraction Of Oxycodone From Human Hair, Sarah Clickner

Anthropology

No abstract provided.

Maternal Smoking As A Predictor Of Infant Health, Gabrielle Dibella

Economics

No abstract provided.

Do Youths Lacking Proper Adult Role Models, Guidance, And Supervision, Respond To The Stresses Of Their Transition From Adolescents To Adulthood, With Gang Membership?, Uraina Owens

Criminal Justice

No abstract provided.

Incomplete Sentences: Predictors Of Failure To Complete Court-Mandated Domestic Violence Counseling, Meredith Dedopoulos

Criminal Justice

No abstract provided.

“Rise Up!”: Literacies, Lived Experiences, And Identities Within An In-School “Other Space”, Kelly Wissman

Literacy Teaching & Learning Faculty Scholarship

In this article, I consider the literacy practices that emerged in an in-school elective course centered in the literacy tradition of African American women. Drawing from spatial perspectives (Leander& Sheehy, 2004), I explore what it means to consider this course an “Other space” (Foucault,1986), as a space created without the constraints of a mandated curriculum or standardized test pressures and as a space informed by an understanding of the connections among literacies,lived experiences, and identities. Through the presentation and analysis of five vignettes, I consider how the students shaped the course to their own ends and pursued agentive literacy work …

Adults With Developmental Disabilities As A Health Disparity In The Community, Hillary R. Closs

Social Welfare

No abstract provided.

Psychosocial Needs Of Refugees From Burma: A Social Work Perspective, Audrey Tyszka

Social Welfare

The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the need for increased awareness regarding the psychosocial needs of refugees from Burma and the services they may require. Due to the current influx in resettlement of Burmese refugees, a greater focus needs to be placed on effective social work with culturally diverse groups. Refugees from Burma have experienced an immense amount of trauma and loss, which must be understood in order to foster the recovery process. This paper draws on the literature, my experience as a social work intern at the United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), and my …

Honors Journalism: Selected Writings, Matthew Joseph Boutin

Journalism Program

Contained in this writing package are the seven best-crafted and most compelling pieces of writing of my undergraduate career. They have been assembled, expanded and edited under the supervision of my project advisor, Professor Thomas Bass, into this final product. One of the benefits of majoring in Journalism I most appreciate is having the freedom to constantly explore new topics in my writing. This collection reflects the broad scope of the major, as it includes articles covering a diverse range of issues and events, as well as a media study and an autobiographical story. The composition of each of the …

Funding Terrorism: A Closer Look At Organized Crime Activity And Lethality, James Levy

Political Science

No abstract provided.

A Click Away From Democracy: The Internet’S Effect On Civil Society Development & Democratization, James Warycha

Political Science

No abstract provided.

Sovereignty Or Subjugation?: Explaining Muslim States' Aversion To Full Ratification Of Cedaw, Tania Dissanayake

Political Science

No abstract provided.

Twitter And Political And Civic Engagement: Is There A Relationship?, Ashleigh Morpeau

Political Science

Social Networking sites have become an integral part of today’s society and have changed the way people communicate with one another. In this paper, I discuss the relationship between Twitter and civic and political engagement among 18-25-year olds. I conducted a survey at the University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY Albany) campus to see if there is a relationship between Twitter usage and civic and political engagement. 198 students completed the surveys. The results of my study showed that SUNY Albany students who use Twitter were more political engaged than those students who did not use Twitter …

Justice Stephen Breyer: The Active Liberty Approach Applied, Rukayatu Tijani

Political Science

No abstract provided.

Who Does And Who Doesn’T: The Impetus For Terrorist Organization Involvement With Drug Trafficking Organizations, Cherie Nicole Brown

Political Science

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Revictimization On Coping And Depression In Female Sexual Assault Victims, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Sarah E. Ullman

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

To examine the effects of being revictimized, 555 women completed 2 mail surveys 1 year apart, reporting their experiences of sexual assault, the strategies they used to cope with those experiences, and feelings of depression. Path analyses, controlling for baseline coping and depression, revealed that those who were revictimized during the study reported using more maladaptive and adaptive coping strategies than did those who were not revictimized (β = .11 and β = .16, respectively). Further, women who were revictimized reported more depression than others (β = .15). This effect was explained in part by revictimized women's increased maladaptive coping. …

Defining Usability How Library Practice Differs From Published Research, Yu-Hui Chen, Carol Anne Germain, Abebe Rorissa

Information Science Faculty Scholarship

Library/information science professionals need a clearly articulated definition of usability/ Web usability to implement intuitive websites. In this study, the authors analyzed usability definitions provided by the ARL library professionals and those found in the library/information science and computer science-information systems literature. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to identify similarities and differences between the attributes emphasized by the two sets of definitions based on information behavior models and human-computer interaction (HCI) frameworks. Results indicated that both groups overlooked critical usability elements, such as environment and information objects/content/resources. Thus, the authors proposed a working, multi-faceted definition that presents a holistic …

Critical Junctures And Puerto Rican Studies, Pedro Caban

Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Helping International Students Succeed Academically Through Research Process And Plagiarism Workshops., Yu-Hui Chen, Mary K. Van Ullen

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

Workshops on the research process and plagiarism were designed to meet the needs of international students at the University at Albany. The research process workshop covered formulating research questions, as well as locating and evaluating sources. The plagiarism workshop focused on acknowledging sources, quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing materials, citation styles, and avoiding plagiarism. The effectiveness of the workshops was measured by administering pre-and post-tests and by interviewing students several months after the workshops. The results showed that students achieved significant improvement for both the research process and plagiarism by attending the training, and they continued to apply new skills several …

Social Gerontology- Integrative And Territorial Aspects: A Citation Analysis Of Subject Scatter And Database Coverage, Elaine M. Lasda Bergman

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

To determine the mix of resources used in social gerontology research, a citation analysis was conducted. A representative sample of citations was selected from three prominent gerontology journals and information was added to determine subject scatter and database coverage for the cited materials. Results indicate that a significant portion of gerontology research, even from a social science perspective, relies roughly equally on medical resources as it does social science resources. Furthermore, there is a small but defined core of literature constituting scholarly “territory” unique to gerontology. Analysis of database indexing indicated that broad, interdisciplinary databases provide more comprehensive coverage of …

Spanish In Contact With Arabic, Lotfi Sayahi

Languages, Literatures and Cultures Faculty Scholarship

Spanish and Arabic have been in contact for long periods and in different regions. While this is largely due to the geographical proximity of the Iberian Peninsula to western North Africa, a set of historical, political and social developments helped bring both languages into close contact. Of remarkable significance was the presence of Arabic in Iberia from 711 to 1492 and, at least, for several more decades after the Reconquista was completed. This fact, as is often mentioned, led to heavy lexical borrowing from Arabic into Spanish and other Ibero-Romance languages. Also important was the introduction of Spanish into North …

Prospective Changes In Attributions Of Self-Blame And Social Reactions To Women’S Disclosures Of Adult Sexual Assault, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Sarah E. Ullman

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

The present longitudinal study examined relations between self-blame attributions and social reactions to disclosure in a community sample of adult sexual assault victims (N = 555). Cross-lagged panel analyses showed that neither characterological self-blame nor behavioral self-blame related to negative social reactions over the 1-year follow-up period. In contrast, characterological but not behavioral self-blame predicted fewer positive reactions over time. Although positive reactions did not reduce self-blame, negative reactions led to greater characterological, but not behavioral, self-blame during the course of the study. Thus, relations between self-blame and social reactions were not reciprocal but rather quite complex. The effects …

The Experience Of Mental Health Service Use For African American Mothers And Youth, Richard Thompson, Barbara L. Dancy, Tisha R. A. Wiley, Sylvia P. Perry, Cynthia J. Najdowski

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Little is known about African American families’ experiences with mental health services. A purposive sample of 40 dyads of African American youth (aged 13 to 19) and their mothers participated in a cross-sectional qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews that elicited information about their past experiences and satisfaction with mental health services. Though rarely received, group and family therapy were perceived favorably. However, both mothers and youth reported dissatisfaction centered on medication and lack of professionalism, confidentiality, and concern by providers. The failure of mental health services providers to meet basic standards of quality and professionalism may explain the low …

Confraternity And Community : Negotiating Ethnicity, Gender And Place In Colonial Tecamachalco, Mexico, Annette Dionne Richie

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Cofradías, lay religious brotherhoods introduced to New Spain by Mendicant friars in the mid-16th century, were optimal vehicles for corporate consciousness. This case study in colonialism, evangelization and ethnic politics centers on avenues and strategies for assessing, accommodating and rejecting cultural elements from "foreign" groups, as well as the freedom to assemble and incorporate, but also marginalize, others.