Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Applying Sen's Capability Approach To Understand Work And Income Among Poor People In India, Mahasweta M. Banerjee

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Applying Sen's capability approach, this paper explores income poor individuals' capabilities—abilities, skills, resources, and opportunities at personal, inter-personal, and structural levels—for work and income. It reports on data collected from 92 individuals identified through purposive sampling and interviewed face-to- face. The study found that 11% of respondents had varied work capabilities and earned a relatively high income; 49% of respondents had some work capabilities and were in the medium income bracket; 40% of respondents had few work capabilities and remained below the poverty line; and 8% of respondents with even fewer work capabilities were not working. Implications include expansion of …

Review Of All I Want Is A Job: Unemployed Women Navigating The Public Workforce System. Mary Gatta. Reviewed By Joyce Bialik., Joyce Bialik

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Mary Gatta, All I Want is a Job: Unemployed Women Navigating the Public Workforce System. Stanford University Press (2014), 168 pages, $19.95 (paperback).

Review Of Can’T Catch A Break: Gender, Jail, Drugs, And The Limits Of Personal Responsibility. Susan Starr Sered And Maureen Norton-Hawk. Reviewed By Brandy Henry, Brandy Henry

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Susan Starr Sered and Maureen Norton-Hawk, Can’t Catch a Break: Gender, Jail, Drugs, and the Limits of Personal Responsibility. University of California Press (2014), 216 pages, $29.95 (paperback).

Review Of Ghettoside: A True Story Of Murder In America. Jill Leovy. Reviewed By John Decarlo., John Decarlo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Jill Leovy, Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America. Spiegel & Grau (2015), 386 pages, $28.00 (hardcover).

Review Of Café Culture In Pune: Being Young And Middle Class In Urban India. Teresa Platz Robinson. Reviewed By Michael Gilbert, Michael Gilbert

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Teresa Platz Robinson, Café Culture in Pune: Being Young and Middle Class in Urban India. Oxford University Press (2014), 320 pages, $55.00 (hardcover).

Can People Experiencing Homelessness Acquire Financial Assets?, Allison De Marco, Molly De Marco, Alexandra Biggers, Maggie West, Jonathan Young, Rachel Levy

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Through an innovative Individual Development Account (IDA) program run by the Community Empowerment Fund (CEF), individuals at risk for or experiencing homelessness receive financial education, access matched savings accounts, and have saved a total of $89,831.55. This is notable as low-income individuals often lack access to the means to build assets, which can moderate financial distress. In this mixed-method study we examine the program's impact through administrative data, surveys, and qualitative interviews. Of the 17 interview participants, 15 opened an account, saving an average of $1,356.24 toward housing, emergency savings, cars, education, and computers. Few U.S. IDA programs have served …

A Heated Debate: Theoretical Perspectives Of Sexual Exploitation And Sex Work, Lara Gerassi

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The theoretical and often political frameworks of sexual exploitation and sex work among women are widely and enthusiastically debated among academic and legal scholars alike. The majority of theoretical literature in this area focuses on the macro perspective, while the micro-level perspective regarding causation remains sparse. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the philosophical, legal, and political perspectives pertaining to sexual exploitation of women and girls and addresses the subsequent controversies in the field.

Review Of The End Of Normal: The Great Crisis And The Future Of Growth. James K. Galbraith. Reviewed By Charles Levenstein, Charles Levenstein

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

James K. Galbraith, The End of Normal: The Great Crisis and the Future of Growth. Simon and Schuster (2014), 304 pages, $26.00 (hardcover), $16.00 (paperback).

Archaeological And Historical Research To Establish The Jasper County, Missouri Civil War Museum And Park, Christopher Dennis Dukes

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

In May, 1863 a group of Confederate guerillas led by Major Thomas Livingston attacked Union troops at William Rader’s farm in western Jasper County Missouri. The guerillas killed eighteen Union troops, who were unarmed at the time, and mutilated their bodies. Most of them were from the first African American regiment of the civil war. The following day Union troops retaliated by burning the town of Sherwood, Missouri and multiple homesteads in the area. These events caused an increase in the brutality of the civil war in Southwest Missouri. To commemorate these conflicts and provide a “living history” site for …

Archaeological And Historical Investigations Of The Robert Newsom Farmstead (23cy497), Callaway County, Missouri, James Adam Halpern

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Scholarly research on slavery in the U.S. has focused on large commercial plantations in the Old South. Yet a majority of slaveholders and nearly half of the enslaved lived in smaller slaveholding houses and family farms (Burke 2010:4). This study helps redress the dearth of research on small slaveholdings through study of the Robert Newsom Farmstead, or "Celia" Site (23CY497), located in Callaway County, Missouri. The research goal is to model the antebellum spatial organization of the landholding, thereby increasing our understanding of slavery at the Newsom site and on non-plantation slaveholdings generally. This was accomplished through collection and analysis …

Iran As A Strategic Threat To The U.S. In The Middle East And Its Impact On U.S. Policy In The Region, Aaron Michael Craig Richards

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This essay will examine Iran's nuclear program and foreign and defense policy and how these threats shape U.S. defense and foreign policy in the region. Iran's advanced nuclear program is only one aspect of its goal to reaching regional hegemony in the Middle East. Iran looks to establish itself as a dominant power in the region by employing non-military tools such as promoting Shiism and Iranian ideology and supporting Arab and non-Arab political leaders and groups friendly toward Iran. Meanwhile, the United States and other world powers are concerned about Iran's enrichment program being diverted to develop nuclear weapons, which …

Examination Of The Effects Of Media Consumption On Mood And Body Dissatisfaction Using Ecological Momentary Assessment, Brooke Lauren Bennett

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The current study aimed to assess the effects of media consumption on body dissatisfaction and negative affect using Ecological Momentary Assessment, a method of assessment over time and in the participants' naturalistic environment. Thirty undergraduate female participants were assessed randomly five times per day for five days via text messages sent to their phones. During each assessment, participants reported the number of minutes spent watching TV, reading a magazine, and using the internet, as well as their current levels of negative affect and body dissatisfaction. Results demonstrated that the total time spent consuming media was a significant predictor of guilty …

Understanding The Victim-Offender Overlap: An Exploratory Study, Christine Kay Hannis

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The strong and consistent relationship between criminal involvement and victimization is one of the most persistent documented findings within criminological research. The current problem associated with this relationship involves the lack of studies on the nature and extent of why this overlap exists, with even less research focusing on the perspectives of the offenders who identify themselves as victims. The current study attempts to better understand the victim-offender overlap by analyzing the experiences of criminal offenders who also identify as victims of crime, within the context of various theoretical perspectives. Various themes emerge to elaborate on the nature of the …

Gaming And Aggressive Tendencies: The Effects Of Conflict Simulations On Behavior And Political Decision-Making, James Gilmore

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Simulations and war games have seen increasing use not only in the military, but various other agencies throughout the United States Federal Government as well. There seems to be a gap in the relevant literature examining if there are any effects on foreign policy decision-making after participating in these games, however. I deployed a survey at a local paintball place, to test for any noticeable effect on people's foreign policy preferences after they take part in a conflict simulation. The results of my research demonstrated a greater need to examine the effects of conflict simulations on decision-making processes. Some of …

Utilizing A Time-To-Shelf Study To Start A Conversation On Change, Sally Gibson

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

Over the course of nine months in the 2013-2014 academic year, the Cataloging, Acquisitions, and Processing (CAP) Department at Illinois State University conducted a time-to-shelf study. The original purpose was to gather benchmark data and determine the length of time needed for a book to reach the shelves. The findings uncovered the need to evaluate workflows in order to improve the department’s performance. A review of the literature and the data from the time-to-shelf study enabled the department head to start a conversation about workflow changes with the subject selectors and the CAP staff.

Changes to any process-related workflow are …

Personal Benefits Of Volunteering, Kelsey D. Howard

A with Honors Projects

A paper discussing the personal benefits of volunteering in relation to the author's volunteer experiences with the Eastern Illinois Food Bank

Personal Space At Parkland College, Latianna Dumas

A with Honors Projects

Through three observations of social cues of students in a community college lounge area, the author concludes that personal space is not mutually exclusive with rudeness. Rather, allowing others their personal space is a way of showing respect.

State Of Metropolitan Housing Report: 2015: A Year Of Change., Lauren Heberle, C. Hinko, C. Norton, A. Smith, K. Pugh, A. Sizemore, S. Sizemore

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Ethnography In Action: Active Learning In Academic Library Outreach To Middle School Students, Samantha Godbey, Nancy Fawley, Xan Goodman, Susan Wainscott

Library Faculty Research

This article describes an outreach activity developed and coordinated by academic librarians as part of a state program for low-income middle school students. Rather than offering a traditional library tour, the library organizers wanted to provide the middle school students with a meaningful experience that would encourage active participation, critical thinking, and alleviate library anxiety. As a spin on the traditional tour, students applied an ethnographic approach to learning about the library. The authors describe the development and implementation of the activity and provide recommendations for other librarians involved in outreach to K-12 students.

Living Without Recognition : A Case Study Of Burmese Refugees In Malaysia., Meagan Floyd, Michael Zeller, Jason P. Abbott

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Altrusim, Fact Or Fiction?: An Exploration Of Altruism And Egoism In The Context Of Religion And Service Learning, Sarah Pawlicki

A with Honors Projects

This research paper questions the existence of true altruism, by discussing social psychological, philosophical, and theological theories regarding altruism and egoism. The author then discusses her findings in the context of two service learning projects which involved volunteering at the Champaign County Humane Society and Salt and Light, A Christian ministry that provides job counseling, computer access, a thrift and food store. She concludes that, rather than questioning the existence of true altruism exists, the focus should be on doing good for others, regardless of motives.

Arthur: Where Did He Go?, Siddarth Palaniappan

A with Honors Projects

This essay discusses the historical and mythological origins of King Arthur. Concludes that, while there is enough evidence to identify individuals in history that correlate with the legend of Arthur, a preference toward romanticized Aurthurian tales was created through repeated use in both Christian institutions and British politics to promote financial and political agendas.

Evaluation Method, Task Outcomes And Group Structure As Counteracting Strategies Of Social Loafing In Manufacturing Industries Of Pakistan, Khurshid Alam, Arshad Ali, Fazli Subhan

Business Review

The study examines task evaluation techniques; task outcomes and group structure composition in counteracting social loafing. The approach espoused in this paper is to assess the conventional literature that provides strong support for existence of social loafing phenomenon in groups and to predict counteracting from aforementioned variables.Based on latest literature innovative ways for combating social loafing are discussed. Results provide conclusive support that enhancing evaluation method, task outcomes and group structure were associated with reduced occurrence of social loafing. At group level increased conjunctive task and reward interdependence, heterogeneity and peer evaluation increase social loafing while increase in task meaningfulness, …

The Impact Of Scheduled Meal Breaks On Icu Nurses, Ericka L. Privitt

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Practice Innovation Projects

The goal of this practice improvement project was to evaluate the impact of scheduling meal breaks for intensive care unit nurses at a Midwestern hospital. A literature review identified stress a main source for burnout and the nursing shortage. Recommendations for the creation of a healthy work environment were found and a program to schedule meal breaks was implemented over a nine week period. The Meal Break Impact Survey was utilized to gather pre and post-survey data. The following data was collected on the Meal Break Impact Survey: (a) demographics; (b) questions in Likert scale response on availability, access, beliefs, …

List Of Economics Department Pamphlets, Penny Stover

Economics Pamphlet Series (1985-2016)

No abstract provided.

Examining The Impact Of A Fatigue Intervention On Job Performance: A Longitudinal Study Across United States Hospitals, Megan Gregory

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fatigue in healthcare providers has been linked to dangerous outcomes for patients, including medical errors, surgical complications, and accidents. Resident physicians, who traditionally work long hours on minimal sleep, are among the most fatigued. In attempt to mitigate the impact of fatigue on resident physician performance and improve patient safety, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) implemented a fatigue intervention program in 2011 for medical residency programs in the United States. This caused a significant decrease in the number of hours that first-year residents were permitted to work, compared with hours worked by first-year residents in prior years. …

Can Mutual Trust Explain The Diversity-Performance Relationship? A Meta-Analysis, Pereira Jennifer Feitosa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Trust is gaining attention for its benefits to both teams and organizations as a whole (Fulmer & Gelfand, 2012). The difficulty of building it in comparison to the ease of destroying it calls for a deeper understanding of trust, as well as its relationship with critical team outcomes (Colquitt, LePine, Piccolo, Zapata, & Rich, 2012). Unfortunately, current research has progressed in a disjointed manner that requires the integration of findings before a more parsimonious and descriptive understanding of trust at the team-level can be developed. Beyond this basic understanding, research is needed to explore the nature of trust in teams …

Feedback Intervention Perceptions: Development And Validation Of A Measure, Brandon Young

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reactions toward performance feedback have critical implications for organizations and are of great interest to practitioners. Unfortunately, the measurement of employee experiences with feedback intervention varies widely and the literature is flooded with atheoretical, untested measures. Measurement is also commonly done at a global reaction level, largely neglecting the complexity of feedback intervention. The current study presents and tests a new multidimensional measure of feedback intervention perceptions. The measure is intended to capture facet level perceptions regarding the characteristics of five feedback intervention components (i.e., Performance Measurement, Feedback Content, Feedback Delivery, Organizational System Support, and Feedback Source). Items were generated …

The Nuts And Bolts Of Leadership Training: A Meta-Analysis, Christina Lacerenza

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Organizations within the United States spent over $70 billion on corporate training in 2013; 35% of this budget was allocated to management and leadership, making this field the leading training area for organizations (O'Leonard, 2014). Despite this spending, only 13% of companies believe that they have done a quality job training their leaders (Schwartz, Bersin, & Pelster, 2014). This calls into question the utility and effectiveness of current initiatives. In response, this study meta-analytically organizes leadership training literature to identify the conditions under which these programs are most effective. Thus, the current meta-analysis provides the following contributions to the field: …

Kentucky Forestry Economic Impact Report 2014, Jeff Stringer, Billy Thomas, Bobby Ammerman, Alison Davis

Kentucky Forestry Economic Impact Reports

Forests cover one-half of Kentucky and provide a wide range of benefits to the commonwealth. One of the most notable benefits is the economic contribution that we gain from the utilization of timber and wood resources. Analysis of Kentucky’s forest and wood industries in 2014 indicated an estimated direct economic impact of $8.3 billion (up 4.4% from 2013). These industries employed over 28,200 individuals. Total economic impacts were estimated at $12.8 billion and 57,700 jobs in 2014. Kentucky is one of the leading producers of hardwood forest products in the south and exports wood products across the nation and the …