Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Impact Of Sequence And Cognitive Aging On Spatial Learning From Ground Level And Aerial Perspectives, Gregory J. Degirolamo

ETD Archive

This study examined the impact of healthy aging on two important factors that are common in spatial learning. The first is the perspective a person views an environment from. The second is the sequence that the items are encountered in the environment. In order to test the effects of these factors on spatial learning, participants watched four videos in which they learned two environments from the ground-level perspective and another two from an aerial perspective. One video of each perspective presented each side of the rectangular layout sequentially and the other presented the layout in a random order. After each …

Ptsd And High-Risk Behaviors In Trauma Survivors, Richard Jason Lawrence

ETD Archive

Many previous studies have shown that trauma survivors, with and without Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), engage in more high-risk behaviors (e.g., Smith, Davis, & Fricker-Elhai, 2004). It is unclear whether the trauma exposure itself, or PTSD, is actually associated with the high-risk behaviors. The current study will be one of the first to examine differences in risk-taking between trauma survivors with and without PTSD, and will utilize the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) to test risk-taking propensity in trauma survivors. We expect that trauma survivors with PTSD will engage in more high-risk behaviors, report greater perceived benefits, and demonstrate greater …

Differences In Risk-Taking In A Trauma Exposed Population, Ruth Anna Viehoff

ETD Archive

Previous studies have shown that depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are associated with a variety of risk-taking behaviors. However fewer studies have examined how comorbidity between the two disorders can differentially affect risk-taking. This study examined the relationship between depression, PTSD, past risk-taking, and perceived benefits of risk to further determine how comorbidity affects risk behaviors. It was expected that individuals who displayed symptoms of depression and PTSD would report more past risk-taking and associate greater benefits with taking risks. Depression symptoms were found to significantly predict past drug use. This suggests that comorbid individuals who report more depressive …

Relationship Between Internal Homonegativity And Self-Harm Behaviors, Marie M. Chirico

ETD Archive

The Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) population has been shown to have higher rates of self-harm behaviors but specific interventions have not been implemented to address this discrepancy. In effort to find aspects that are related to self-harm in the LGB population, this study looks at the relationship between Internal Homonegativity, the internal shame and guilty felt for identifying as non-heterosexual, and self-harm behaviors. A sample of 983 individuals identifying as LGB were recruited through a Facebook advertisement to take an online survey. A significant and positive relationship was found between Internal Homonegativity and self-harm behaviors. Possible limitations of the …

Shape Up Your Habits, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Health/Nutrition

Bibliography and photographs of a display of government documents from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Wittgensteinian Support For Domain Analysis In Classification, Andrew Wesolek

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

Hjorland contends that in order to further the goal of linking researchers to relevant information ‘domain analysis’ should be used in concept classification. He thinks that concept classification should not strive to classify on the basis of the properties of objects, but rather on descriptions of objects that are loosely derived from human activity and social negotiation. Currently, most information scientists operate under a ‘positivist’ view of concept classification, which, Hjorland maintains, mistakenly strives for universal classification schema while muddling the comprehension of individual researchers. Though he tends to include Wittgenstein in the positivist camp for classification, Hjorland’s domain analysis …

Adverse Childhood Experiences (Aces), Service Use, And Service Helpfulness Among People Experiencing Homelessness, Heather Larkin Holloway, Jihyun Park

Social Welfare Faculty Scholarship

This study examines categories of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and service use backgrounds among a convenience sample of people experiencing homelessness (N = 224), using logistic regression analysis (n = 174) and descriptive and comparative analyses. Eighty-seven percent reported at least 1 of 10 ACEs prior to age 18. Over half (53.2%) reported 4 or more ACEs. Approximately half reported parental loss, emotional neglect, living with a substance abuser, and emotional abuse. ACEs were significantly correlated with one another. Among those who used prior services, ACEs predicted interpersonal prevention, clinical, and criminal justice services for emotional or substance …

Cooperative Strategies In Anonymous Economies: An Experiment, Gabriele Camera, Marco Casari, Maria Bigoni

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

We study cooperation in economies of indefinite duration. Participants faced a sequence of prisoner’s dilemmas with anonymous opponents. We identify and characterize the strategies employed at the individual level. We report that (i) grim trigger does not describe well individual play and there is wide heterogeneity in strategies; (ii) systematic defection does not crowd-out systematic cooperation; (iii) coordination on cooperative strategies does not improve with experience. We discuss alternative methodologies and implications for theory.

Improving Community Adaptation Outcomes For Youth Graduating From Residential Mental Health Programs: A Synthesis Review (Summary), Gary Cameron, T. Smit-Quosai, Karen Frensch

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

The focus of this synthesis review was to understand the capacity of systems of care and integrated program models to foster successful community adaptation for children and youth graduating from children's residential mental health treatment.

Improving Community Adaptation Outcomes For Youth Graduating From Residential Mental Health Programs: A Synthesis Review (Full Report), Gary Cameron, T. Smit-Quosai, Karen Frensch

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

The focus of this synthesis review was to understand the capacity of systems of care and integrated program models to foster successful community adaptation for children and youth graduating from children's residential mental health treatment.

Anti-Trafficking Legislation In Sub-Saharan Africa: Analyzing The Role Of Coercion And Parental Responsibility, Ruby Andrew, Benjamin N. Lawrance

Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking: 4th (2012)

This article discusses the effect of US and international support for local laws to combat child trafficking in sub-Saharan African states. The annual ranking of African anti-trafficking measures, produced by the US State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (OMCTP) in conjunction with the UN Office on Crime and Drugs, not only provides an important source of data but also creates a powerful incentive for African states to effect legislative change.

We argue that, although the US supports criminalization of traffickers and the OMCTP espouses laws to deter parental inducement to support trafficking activities, the implementation of …

Economic Assimilation Of Mexican And Chinese Immigrants In The United States: Is There Wage Convergence?, Michael Seeborg, Yujie Wu

Scholarly Publications

This research determines the economic assimilation experience of Mexican immigrants and Chinese immigrants towards natives level over time after controlling for human capital and demographic characteristics. Using Census data from multiple years, this research follows cohorts of Mexican and Chinese immigrants who migrated to the U.S. prior to 1994 to investigate the impact of assimilation on the level of earnings for these immigrants. Multiple regression and simulation techniques are used to compare the earnings growth pattern for the two immigrant groups. Results show that over time there is wage convergence for Chinese immigrants toward the native level and they do …

"Illinois" And "Richard The Raker", Christopher Sweet

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

No. 58: The Disengagement Of The South African Medical Diaspora, Jonathan Crush, Abel Chikanda

Southern African Migration Programme

Conventional wisdom holds that the ‘brain drain’ of health professionals from Africa is deeply damaging to the continent. Recently, a group of North American and European neo-liberal economists has challenged this conventional wisdom, variously arguing that the negative impacts are highly exaggerated and the compensating benefits many. The benefits include various forms of “diaspora engagement” in which those who have left then engage through sending remittances, direct investment, knowledge and skills transfer, return migration and involvement in diaspora associations. A previous SAMP study of Zimbabwean physicians outside the country provided clear evidence for the “diaspora engagement” hypothesis (see No 56 …

No. 61: Unfriendly Neighbours: Contemporary Migration From Zimbabwe To Botswana, Eugene Campbell, Jonathan Crush

Southern African Migration Programme

Although Zimbabweans have often crossed into Botswana for various reasons, the numbers involved escalated dramatically after 2000 as Zimbabwe entered a prolonged economic and political crisis from which it has still not recovered. While considerable research and policy attention has been given to the migration of Zimbabweans to South Africa, their movement to Botswana has a much lower profile, except when the two countries engage in charges and counter-charges over issues such as the building of electrified fences between the two countries or the corporal punishment of Zimbabwean migrants in Botswana. At such moments, relations between these two close neighbours …

No. 62: Heading North: The Zimbabwean Diaspora In Canada, Jonathan Crush, Abel Chikanda, Belinda Maswikwa

Southern African Migration Programme

Studies of the Zimbabwean diaspora tend to focus on migrants in South Africa and the United Kingdom. This is the first major study of Zimbabwean migration to Canada. The report presents and discusses the findings of a SAMP survey conducted across Canada in 2010. It first discusses the recent history of migration from Zimbabwe to Canada and then provides a demographic and socio-economic profile of the Zimbabwean diaspora in Canada. The report also examines the linkages that Zimbabweans in Canada maintain with Zimbabwe, and the potential for return migration.

According to the 2006 Canadian Census, there were 8,040 Zimbabweborn people …

No. 63: Dystopia And Disengagement: Diaspora Attitudes Towards South Africa, Jonathan Crush

Southern African Migration Programme

In 2008, South African Brandon Huntley was given refugee status in Canada by the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB). The unprecedented decision, based on Huntley’s claim that as a white South African he was the victim of racial persecution in South Africa, caused a firestorm. Interest in the case was particularly intense in South Africa itself where the decision was derided in the media and the South African government lodged a formal protest with the Canadian government. Over 140 high-profile South African academics also filed a petition protesting the decision with the Canadian High Commission in Pretoria. Within weeks, …

No. 57: Patients Without Borders: Medical Tourism And Medical Migration In Southern Africa, Jonathan Crush

Southern African Migration Programme

No abstract provided.

The Remittances Framework In Lesotho: Assessment Of Policies And Programmes Promoting The Multiplier Effect, Lafeela Joseph Nalane, Abel Chikanda, Jonathan Crush

Southern African Migration Programme

This study explored policies and programmes aimed at facilitating remittances inflows through formal channels and leveraging remittances for development in Lesotho. The study also looked into regulations and laws on remittances. In order to answer key questions of this study, semi‐structured questionnaires were administered to 29 institutions, including commercial banks, an asset manager, insurance companies, telecommunication companies, government ministries, parastatals, a research institution, a retailer, a savings and credit cooperative and non-governmental organizations. The gaps revealed by this study can be summarised as: the Deferred Pay Act is the only policy driving officially recorded remittance inflows to Lesotho and which …

No. 13: The State Of Food Insecurity In Harare, Zimbabwe, Godfrey Tawodzera, Lazarus Zanamwe, Jonathan Crush

African Food Security Urban Network

Harare is at the epicentre of the economic meltdown and political crisis that has devastated Zimbabwe over the last decade and led to a mass exodus from the country. Those who remained in Zimbabwe’s largest city and capital endured unprecedented hardship as the formal economy collapsed, unemployment soared and poverty deepened. Household surveys conducted in Harare with official sanction between 2003 and 2009 appear to demonstrate that food insecurity was not a particularly serious problem, a conclusion sharply at odds with reality. In 2008, at the height of the crisis, AFSUN therefore implemented its own baseline food security survey in …

Being Physically Active: Perceptions Of Recent Mexican Immigrant Women On The Arizona-Mexico Border, Donna Hartweg, Christina Isabelli, Marylyn Mcewen, Rosie Piper

Scholarship

Mexican immigrant women report being physically active prior to arrival in the United States. However, with increased years of U.S. residency, this positive lifestyle behavior diminishes, increasing their risk of obesity and chronic disease. A qualitative descriptive design was used to elicit recent Mexican immigrant women’s perceptions of “being physically active” and to describe how living in the United States has influenced their perceptions of being physically active. Three themes were inductively generated: (a) purposeful exercising, (b) being active, and (c) being active with purposeful exercising. Overall, being physically active was described within the context of daily living well below …

Difficulties Of Alternatively Certified Teachers, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Samantha J. Feinman

Publications and Research

This daily diary study followed, over a 2-week period, 252 beginning New York City public school teachers. Seventy percent were alternatively certified (New York City Teaching Fellows) and the rest, traditionally certified teachers. Alternatively certified teachers were more likely to experience stressors such as violent incidents and classroom management problems. No differences were found in exposure to stressors/difficulties such as problematic adults, student learning problems, and students experiencing emotional upset. Although differences in the rates of exposure to violent stressors could be explained by other factors (e.g., working in a low-performing school and years of experience), differences …

Culture Ontogeny: Lifespan Development Of Religion And The Ethics Of Spiritual Counselling, Glen Milstein, Amy Manierre

Publications and Research

The counsellor has an ethical obligation to treat the whole person. Humans are cultural beings and the foundation of most cultures is religion. Religion and culture are received from our early relation~ ships and modified through later relationships across the lifespan. The paper introduces the term "culture ontogeny" to emphasize that this is a biological process wherein abstract ideas of culture and religion become material in the developing neurophysiology of each brain. A framework and methods are offered to examine the changing roles of religion in clients' emotional self~ structure, inclusive of those who describe themselves as spiritual, not religious. …

Body Size And Pubertal Development Explain Ethnic Differences In Structural Geometry At The Femur In Asian, Hispanic, And White Early Adolescent Girls Living In The U.S., Daniel L. Osborne, C.M. Weaver, L.D. Mccabe, G.P. Mccabe, R. Novotny, M.D. Van Loan, S. Going, V. Matkovic, C.J. Boushey, D.A. Savaiano

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Variation in structural geometry is present in adulthood, but when this variation arises and what influences this variation prior to adulthood remains poorly understood. Ethnicity is commonly the focus of research of skeletal integrity and appears to explain some of the variation in quantification of bone tissue. However, why ethnicity explains variation in skeletal integrity is unclear.
Methods: Here we examine predictors of bone cross sectional area (CSA) and section modulus (Z), measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and the Advanced Hip Analysis (AHA) program at the narrow neck of the femur in adolescent (9–14 years) girls (n …

Finding Citations To Social Work Literature: The Relative Benefits Of Using Web Of Science, Scopus, Or Google Scholar, Elaine M. Lasda Bergman

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

Past studies of citation coverage of Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar do not demonstrate a consistent pattern that can be applied to the interdisciplinary mix of resources used in social work research. To determine the utility of these tools to social work researchers, an analysis of citing references to well-known social work journals was conducted. Web of Science had the fewest citing references and almost no variety in source format. Scopus provided higher citation counts, but the pattern of coverage was similar toWeb of Science. Google Scholar provided substantially more citing references, but only …

Moving The Archivist Closer To The Creator: Implementing Integrated Archival Policies For Born Digital Photography At Colleges And Universities, Brian Keough, Mark D. Wolfe

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

This article discusses integrated approaches to the management and preservation of born digital photography. It examines the changing practices among photographers, and the needed relationships between the photographers using digital technology and the archivists responsible for acquiring their born digital images. Special consideration is given to technical issues surrounding preservation and access of image formats. It explores how integrated policies can enhance the success of managing born digital photographs in an academic setting and illustrates the benefits and challenges to acquisition, description, and dissemination of born digital photographs. It advocates for the archivist’s active involvement in the photographer’s image management …

An Examination Of The Role Of School Climate In Adolescent Test Anxiety, Lea Ann Imasa

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine intrapersonal and contextual variables in relation to test anxiety among adolescents. Participants (n=298) were students in grades seven and eight from a middle school in a suburb in southeastern Michigan. Academic self-concept was found to fully mediate the relation between academic performance (as measured by GPA) and test anxiety. The intrapersonal variables of perceived threat of tests, effortful control, and academic self-concept significantly predicted test anxiety. The contextual variables were unrealistic parental expectations and school climate. Unrealistic parental expectations was a predictor of test anxiety in a regression model including only those …

The Relationship Of Rehabilitation Counselors' Knowledge Of The Americans With Disabilities Act 1990, Attitudes Toward Reasonable Accommodation, And Job Development Efficacy, Joy Elizabeth Inniss-Johnson

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the relationship between the rehabilitation counselors' level of knowledge, attitudes towards reasonable accommodations and job development efficacy. The more knowledgeable rehabilitation counselors are about ADA, reasonable accommodations, and their attitude toward job development, the less likely their attitudes will be expected to fluctuate. In addition, there has been very little research in terms of evaluating rehabilitation counselor's level of job placement efficacy. A survey-based design was utilized to create both a quantitative description of knowledge of the ADA, beliefs about reasonable accommodations and job placement efficacy and qualitative information concerning the barriers …

It's A Birth Not A Procedure: An Ethnographic Study Of Intrauterine Fetal Death In A Labor And Delivery Unit Of An American Hospital Setting, Catherine Mcleod Griffin

Wayne State University Dissertations

Life transitions such as birth and death constitute a significant area within anthropological studies of ritual. It is important to investigate how individuals, groups, and communities organize around these events. Birth and death can be considered as rites of passage that mark key life transitions (van Gennep 1909/1960). Thus birth and death related rituals need to be investigated within the social and cultural context of American hospital settings to better understand the social organization of life, death, and personhood. In the American hospital setting, a reproductive loss at any gestational age receives the medical diagnostic label of an intrauterine fetal …

Neighborhood Risk And Protective Factors For Teenage Childbearing And Fathering, Jessica Lee Lucero

Wayne State University Dissertations

Background and Purpose:

Informed by ecological systems theory, social disorganization theory and social capital theory, this study investigates the neighborhood contexts associated with teenage childbearing and fathering for Latino and Black adolescents who resided in Denver public housing for a substantial period of time during their childhood. Specifically, I examine the extent to which teenage childbearing/fathering (between the ages of 15 and 19) are statistically related to various conditions in the neighborhoods in which these youth were raised. The purpose of this study is to examine how neighborhood effects may vary according to the timing and duration of neighborhood exposure. …