Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Bulletin No. 42: The Mamacoke Conservation Area, Glenn Dreyer, Robert Askins, Scott Peterson

Bulletins

No abstract provided.

Young, Successful, And In The Wrong Job?, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

What happens when you land a job that puts you years ahead of your peers but suspect you may have made a career mistake?

Hillary Clinton, The White House And The Trump Card, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

The former First Lady is ahead in the polls but a Trump loss will not spell the end of the Republican Party

Student Engagement And Collaboration: Creative Approaches To An Evidence-Based Learning Space And Management Framework, Tamera Hanken, Gulcin Cribb

Research Collection Library

Singapore Management University (SMU) Libraries’ learning spaces are managed on the basis of an active collaboration between students and library staff. The SMU Libraries’ experience affirms Logan’s (2012) statement that “…intelligent collaborations between librarians and students is a partnership that enhances both the library and the students” (318). Beyond this, an outcome of the partnership between SMU students and library staff has created an evidence-based learning space design and management framework and brought about learning outcomes for both students and library staff. These collaborations have strengthened competencies ranging from critical thinking, problem solving and research skills to stakeholder management, scenario …

W&L Law Library Annual Report 2015-2016, The Law Library At Washington And Lee University School Of Law

Law Library Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Black Faces In White Spaces: The Influence Of Predominately White Congregations On Black Congregants’ Sense Of Community And Racial Identity, Eunice O. Makinde

MA Community Psychology Theses

The purpose of this research is to explore the sense of community Blacks feel within predominately White congregations, and the ways those feelings may be tied to Black congregants’ racial identities. Research has primarily focused on predominately Black churches and the way these institutions affect Black congregants’ sense of community and racial identity. In this paper, the role the church has played in Black lives will be explained and sense of community and racial identity will be defined and discussed. The historical context of the Black church will be used in the evaluation of predominately White churches in order to …

Outliving Love: Marital Estrangement In An African Insurance Market, Casey Golomski

Anthropology

Marital estrangement and formal divorce are vital conjunctures for married women’s kinship relations and life course, where a horizon of future possibilities are revalued and negotiated at the interstices of custom, law, and social and ritual obligations. In this article, after delineating the forms of customary and civil marriage and the possibilities for divorce or estrangement from each, I describe how some married women in Swaziland and South Africa mediate this complex social field for their children and families through pensions and continuing to pay for their partners’ insurance coverage. This was not solely out of avarice to reap future …

Impact Of Communication Appeals On Recycling Behaviors Among Undergraduate Students, Ning Zhu

Open Access Theses

The present thesis aims to understand factors influencing student recycling behaviors, and to investigate effective communication approaches to increase such behaviors. An online survey was conducted to examine the relationships between student recycling frequency in different contexts, students’ attitudes toward the environment, barriers to their recycling, students’ perceptions of communication messages, and communication media they think to be effective. Descriptive statistics, ANOVAs, t-test, simple linear regressions, categorical multinomial logistic regression, and a chi-square test were conducted, and the data was collected from a large land-grant university in the Midwestern United States. A total of 537 questionnaires were answered.

The …

The Thinker 4.8, Amy Thompson

Library Newsletters

The Thinker newsletter for August 2016.

Attitudes Toward Migration Across European Countries: Results From Iccs 2009, Wolfram Schulz, Bruno Losito

Civics and Citizenship Assessment

The European Union is a region with high levels of migration, both from outside the EU as well as between member countries (OECD, 2012). The movement of people into some European countries from former colonies, as well the recent increased movement of people between countries in Europe, is leading to more multicultural communities in many European countries. Recent events resulting from the Syrian refugee crisis have highlighted the challenges that results from having to balance the rights, cultures and traditions of diverse groups in society. Education plays an important role in facilitating cohesion in society (Ajegbo, Kiwan, & Sharma, 2007; …

Latinotwitter: Discourses Of Latino Civic Engagement In Social Media, Alison N. Novak, Kristine C. Johnson, Manuel Pontes

College of Communication & Creative Arts Departmental Research

Twitter, like other social media platforms, has been identified as a space for cultural groups to debate political ideologies, engage civically, and even form action strategies for social change. Since 2014, the #LatinoTwitter hashtag has been used by Latino users for these purposes. Despite the popularity of the hashtag, few studies have examined it or its users. This study provides the results of a discourse analysis of the 31,000 tweets from 2014–2016 that use the hashtag. The findings indicate Twitter has become a popular platform for Latinos to debate political issues, find parity between ethnic communities, and even promote Latino-centered …

Profiling Social Media Users With Selective Self-Disclosure Behavior, Wei Gong

Dissertations and Theses Collection

Social media has become a popular platform for millions of users to share activities and thoughts. Many applications are now tapping on social media to disseminate information (e.g., news), to promote products (e.g., advertisements), to manage customer relationship (e.g., customer feedback), and to source for investment (e.g., crowdfunding). Many of these applications require user profile knowledge to select the target social media users or to personalize messages to users. Social media user profiling is a task of constructing user profiles such as demographical labels, interests, and opinions, etc., using social media data. Among the social media user profiling research works, …

Protecting The Dead: Cemetery Preservation And Disaster Planning, William Lovekamp, Steven Di Naso, Gary Foster

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Developing Cultural Tourism Through Cross-Sector Co-Operation: Evidence From The West Of Ireland, Ziene Mottiar, Bernadette Quinn, Theresa Ryan

Articles

Studies of co-operative activity in the tourism literature focus largely on linkages between tourism firms and little has been done to examine co-operation between tourism firms and those in other sectors. Yet the inter-dependency that exits between tourism and other sectors in product development is clearly apparent. One such example is in the production of cultural tourism where co-operation between the cultural and tourism sectors is a necessity. This paper reports on the findings of a project undertaken in regions in the west of Ireland. The research, identifies that while not without its challenges, there is a strong willingness for …

Rhode Island Current Conditions Index -- August 2016, Leonard Lardaro

The Rhode Island Current Conditions Index

No abstract provided.

Squeezing The Public School Districts: The Fiscal Effect Of Eliminating The Louisiana Scholarship Program On State Education Expenditures, Corey A. Deangelis, Julie R. Trivitt

School Choice Demonstration Project

Eliminating the Louisiana Scholarship Program (LSP) was proposed as a way to improve the financial situation of the Louisiana Department of Education budget in the current fiscal environment. A study released by the School Choice Demonstration Project (SCDP) found that the net fiscal impact on the Louisiana Department of Education budget would likely be an overall cost increase. In this study, we consider the effects that the removal or reduction of the program would have on individual districts. Districts would receive additional revenue from the state for affected students, but districts would also incur additional costs to educate these students. …

Analyzing Clinical Depressive Symptoms In Twitter, Amir Hossein Yazdavar, Hussein S. Al-Olimat, Tanvi Banerjee, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

350 million people are suffering from clinical depression worldwide.

Research Projects On Sexual Assault, Julie Valentine

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

This research will provide critical insights into the factors affecting SAK submission rates and the decision-making processes of law enforcement, informing policy and practice changes to enhance the handling of sexual assault cases.

Temporal Sequencing, Incident Sophistication, And Terrorist Outcomes, Brent L. Smith, Jeff Gruenewald, Brent R. Klein, Katie Ratcliff, Summer Jackson, Ian Brecht

Research Projects

There have been few efforts to examine how the planning process affects the outcome of a terrorist plot. This research brief provides some preliminary findings from an examination of the impact of the length of the planning process, the impact of multiple participants, and the volume of precursor activity on the success or failure of terrorist plots in the United States. While conventional wisdom holds true that a shorter planning process and fewer preparatory activities reduces perpetrators chances of getting caught therefore increases success rate, the new findings show that the more people involved in the planning process also increases …

Improving Refugee Services In The U.S. And Abroad, Stacey Shaw

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

This research explores the intersection of refugee resettlement and mental health, with a particular focus on how religion and spirituality influence health outcomes. By increasing awareness of the events driving these families from their homes, this study advocates for respect, understanding, and tolerance across cultures and traditions, aiming to improve the well-being of resettled refugees.

Family History Program And The Center For Family History And Genealogy, Amy Harris, Jill Crandell

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

The overall purpose of the BA in family history is to educate students in methodologies and resources used for historical family reconstitution in order to explore, from the perspective of the family, how human societies function and change over time. It is meant to prepare students for careers in family history related fields as well as to more broadly understand and appropriately analyze their world with an historical perspective in a manner that spiritually strengthens each student.

Cloud-Based Land Change Modeler Application: Summer Internship With Clark Labs, Lei Rong

Sustainability and Social Justice

ABSTRACT

Cloud-based Land Change Modeler Application:

Summer Internship with Clark Labs, Worcester, MA

Lei Rong

This report provides a detailed illustration of my internship experience with Clark Labs in Worcester, MA, during the summer of 2015. The internship is about two Land Change Modeler projects which conducted by Esri. The first one is a cloud-based Land Change Model on ArcGIS online for professional change analysts. Another one is a free cloud-based App for land change analysts and the public to explore land change of 48 states in United State. This work mainly relied on TerrSet skills and Land Change Modeler …

Understand Psychiatric And Neurodegenerative Disorders, Derin J. Cobia

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

This research will contribute to the advancement of neuropsychology and neuroscience by elucidating the neurobiological underpinnings of psychosis and dementia.

Analysis Of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs In Farmers' Markets, Megan M. Thomas

School of Social Work Undergraduate Honors Theses

As health concerns for the nation increase, access to fresh and healthy produce is a simple and essential solution to the extreme levels of obesity currently being experienced. Arkansas currently has the highest rate of childhood obesity and severely high levels of food insecurity. This study investigates the efforts made by policymakers to increase access to local and fresh produce through the use of SNAP incentive programs at local farmers markets. Vendor opinions are taken into account at farmers markets in the Northwest Arkansas area to decipher the program effectiveness thus far. The implications of this study will further the …

Anti-Forensics: Furthering Digital Forensic Science Through A New Extended, Granular Taxonomy, Kevin Conlan, Ibrahim Baggili, Frank Breitinger

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

Anti-forensic tools, techniques and methods are becoming a formidable obstacle for the digital forensic community. Thus, new research initiatives and strategies must be formulated to address this growing problem. In this work we first collect and categorize 308 antidigital forensic tools to survey the field. We then devise an extended anti-forensic taxonomy to the one proposed by Rogers (2006) in order to create a more comprehensive taxonomy and facilitate linguistic standardization. Our work also takes into consideration anti-forensic activity which utilizes tools that were not originally designed for antiforensic purposes, but can still be used with malicious intent. This category …

Information Outlook, July/August 2016, Special Libraries Association

Information Outlook, 2016

Volume 20, Issue 4

All In The Game: Communitarianism And 'The Wire', Chad Painter

Communication Faculty Publications

Communitarian ethicists argue that social identity is formed by community relationships, emphasizing the connection between an individual and his or her community. News organizations are part of that community. Indeed, journalism only functions properly in terms of the public and public life, and as part of a larger community. This textual analysis study focused on the breakdown of the fictional Baltimore community depicted in the television series The Wire. Five institutions—the police force and justice system, the labor force, local and state politicians and government, the educational system, and the daily newspaper—have failed, and, in turn, the city is …

Growing The Green Energy Economy: Workforce Development And Cluster Growth In The Pioneer Valley Of Massachusetts, Nicholas B. Altonaga

Sustainability and Social Justice

Workforce development programs have a positive effect on the formation of a cluster. Incorporating these programs into cluster theory is essential to creating more robust and dynamic local growth in the emerging green energy sector. Studying programs in the green energy sector in the Pioneer Valley has shown an increase in collaboration, local and regional connectivity, and industry communication. These aspects reinforce the comparative advantage of organizations within the cluster, while downplaying their challenges . Applying this focus on workforce development is important for cementing the green energy cluster into an enduring force in the domestic economy in the 21 …

Why Doesn't Worcester Vote?, Molly B. Kazin

Sustainability and Social Justice

This research presents findings from a study of voter turnout and registration in Worcester, Massachusetts and takes steps to examine possible reasons why turnout has been consistently low in municipal elections. Specifically, it assesses educational attainment, income, race and ethnicity, and types and function of municipal government as reasons for the minimal turnout. Drawing on literature, case studies throughout the United States, and census and city clerk data, this paper will discuss reasons for voters’ lack of involvement, a comparison of seven municipalities throughout Massachusetts, and recommendations for creating a more civically engaged community in Worcester.

Understanding The Mechanism For Response Selection In Compatibility Tasks: Referential Coding Contrasted With Biological Properties Of The Hands, Nicole M. Murchison

Open Access Dissertations

Several researchers have hypothesized that the hands have unique effects on visual attentional resources and performance in response-selection tasks. This hand-specific processing hypothesis – that biological properties of the hands/palms uniquely affect visual attention and response selection – can be compared to a referential object coding hypothesis – that objects are coded in relation to other salient objects – favored in explanations of many compatibility effects. To test implications of these accounts, and specific effects that the hands (or general referential objects) have on attentional prioritization, I had participants perform three compatibility tasks using the hands or wooden blocks as …