Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Understanding School And Interethnic Relations Of Mexican Immigrant Youth In A Post-Industrial Community, Roberto Martinez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

There is a dearth of literature on how immigrant groups understand minority groups in the United States, in particular, African-Americans. Increased technology and more rapid global movement in the 21st Century challenges 20th explanations of assimilation (Chicago School) and necessitates more research focused on how immigrant groups and racialized minorities interact to negotiate new worlds. This ethnographic research was conducted over thirteen months during 2012 and 2013 in a post-industrial neighborhood in the northeast that had been the site of 11 purported anti-bias attacks against Mexican immigrants during the summer of 2010. Research questions focused on: 1) Mexican immigrant youth …

The Words And Worlds Of Disability: Discourses On Disablement Within The Situated Practices Of Service Providers, Enitza C. Carril

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

From a traditional perspective, disability stood outside the normal bounds of development, belonging within the realm of pathology and the disabled person was defined as deficient. Disability may also be characterized as an instance of human diversity and disabled as a designated identity that is socially constructed in an ongoing process—an interaction between individuals and social contexts. The process of disablement is linked to discourses used to define and act upon people ascribed with a disabled identity. This study assumes that disability is an instance of human diversity, a valid developmental trajectory, which is enacted and embedded in sociocultural, political, …

Loans’ Impact On International Relations: Venezuela As Lender And Borrower, Leonela C. Medina Baez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Foreign aid can be allocated through grants and loans each of them having different repercussions in the hierarchical relations between donor/recipient and lender/borrower. This study focuses on the effects of bilateral loans in international relations. The relation created through bilateral loans is conditioned by the payment or cancellation of the debt: a client-patron relationship between lender and borrower remains when there is not debt payment, conversely, when the borrower pays off its debt to the lender on time, the relation of domination does not take place. However, how the relation is transformed if one state is both lender and borrower? …

Saving Animals: Everyday Practices Of Care And Rescue In The Us Animal Sanctuary Movement, Elan L. Abrell

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This multi-sited ethnography of the US animal sanctuary movement is based on 24 months of research at a range of animal rescue facilities, including a companion animal shelter in Texas, exotic animal sanctuaries in Florida and Hawaii, and a farm animal sanctuary in New York. In the last three decades, animal welfare activists have established hundreds of sanctuaries across the United States in an attempt to save tens of thousands of animals from factory farms, roadside zoos, and other sites of contested animal treatment. These facilities function as laboratories where activists conceive and operationalize new models for ethical relationships with …

Mobilizing For Capitalism: How Islamic Civil Society Makes A Market Economy Possible In Turkey, Dean G. Schafer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis asks how international actors – in this case, the IMF and World Bank – advance their neoliberal projects. Specifically, it looks at the local context. How do economic reforms pass from IMF policy into national law? Who does the IMF cooperate with? What strategies are used, and what makes them effective for enacting and legitimizing policy? It starts by looking at the history of political mobilization in Turkey after WWII, when it took its first IMF loan. Turkish political parties have commonly sought electoral success through populist economic policies built on patron-client relationships. However, economic populism is a …

Utilizing Linguistic Context To Improve Individual And Cohort Identification In Typed Text, Adam Goodkind

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The process of producing written text is complex and constrained by pressures that range from physical to psychological. In a series of three sets of experiments, this thesis demonstrates the effects of linguistic context on the timing patterns of the production of keystrokes. We elucidate the effect of linguistic context at three different levels of granularity: The first set of experiments illustrate how the nontraditional syntax of a single linguistic construct, the multi-word expression, can create significant changes in keystroke production patterns. This set of experiments is followed by a set of experiments that test the hypothesis on the entire …

Mental Health Practitioners’ Understanding Of Informed Consent With Adolescents, Blanca I. Santana

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of informed consent on the delivery of psychiatric services to adolescents and the way in which mental health practitioners understand and address informed consent in their treatment of adolescents. A key focus of this study examined how informed consent influenced adolescent mental health utilization and retention.

The study sought to explore the following questions: (1) How do practitioners understand adolescent informed consent? (2) How does informed consent affect adolescent access to mental health treatment and utilization as perceived by practitioners? (3) How do practitioners understand and describe the impact informed …

Nondescript: A Web Tool To Aid Subversion Of Authorship Attribution, Robin Davis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A person’s writing style is uniquely quantifiable and can serve reliably as a biometric. A writer who wishes to remain anonymous can use a number of privacy technologies but can still be identified simply by the words they choose to use — how frequently they use common words like “of,” for instance. Nondescript is a web tool designed first to identify the user’s writing style in terms of word frequency from a given writing sample and document, then to suggest how the author can change their document to lessen its probability of being attributed to them. While Nondescript does not …

Effect Of An Internet-Based Education Program On Self-Care Agency In People Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Darcel M. Reyes

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Both low health literacy and insufficient electronic health literacy (ehealth) impede access to reliable internet health information for people living with chronic illnesses such as HIV/AIDS. Use of reliable internet health information has been shown to improve self-care through increased understanding of symptoms, disease processes, and improvements in adherence with treatment plans.

This study examined the effectiveness of two interventions that taught people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH) how to recognize reliable internet based HIV health information. Orem’s Self-Care Theory was the framework for this quasi-experimental study that used a non-equivalent two-group design with two experimental interventions (MEDLINE and E-HELP). Participants …

Struggling To Learn, Learning To Struggle: Strategy And Structure In The 2010-11 University Of Puerto Rico Student Strike, José A. Laguarta Ramírez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

From April 2010 to March 2011, the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) underwent a two-phase strike sequence against neoliberal austerity measures. Altogether, that process resulted in the eventual concession of all of the students’ main demands, an unprecedented feat at the UPR, and a rare one in Puerto Rican history in general. In this dissertation I seek to cast light on this improbable event by examining, first, how neoliberalization patterned and contoured the choices facing the century-old UPR student movement. Second, I explore how interactions within the movement, including the framing contest among leadership teams and their interaction with the …

Essays On The Well-Being Of An Aging Population, Alice Zulkarnain

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation consists of three essays that examine health and labor issues among the middle aged and elderly.

Chapter 1. A Delayed Retirement Policy and Male Labor Supply: Evidence from the Entire Dutch Population

This chapter examines the labor supply effects of a national delayed retirement policy introduced in the Netherlands in 2009. The policy offers a reduction in taxes on labor income for each year after the age of 62 in which a person worked. I estimate the average effect of the policy on male labor supply as well as its responsiveness to the size of the incentive. Comparing …

Gendered Expression Online: Exploring Gendered Communication On Facebook And In A Collaborative Editing Task, Christina M. Shane-Simpson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

College students are increasingly using digital media, such as social network sites (SNSs) and collaborative editing tools (Wikipedia), as identity exploration tools, aligning or distancing themselves from their offline selves through the online affordances of anonymity and agentic choice. The opportunities for gender fluidity available online (Armentor-Cota, 2011) provide college students with opportunities to experiment with and manipulate varied identities in a safe space where consequences of confronting identity norms may be less severe (Turkle, 1996; Shaw, 1997). Similarly, restrictive offline gender differences may diminish in online spaces, favoring a more flexible and androgynous enactment of gender (Martin, Cook, & …

The Relative Impact Of Psychosocial Well-Being And Mental Health On The Relationship Between Economic Circumstance And Religiosity, Veronica Momjian

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Employing Norris and Inglehart’s concept of existential security as a theoretical framework, this dissertation utilizes three data points from the Americans’ Changing Lives study (1986, 1994 and 2011) to interrogate the link between the economic circumstance and religiosity. More specifically, the mediating impact of psychosocial well-being and mental health on religiosity are explored.

This dissertation hypothesizes that individuals employ religious coping strategies to deal with the stress of economic uncertainty; and when that uncertainty subsides, so too does religiosity. The results of this study show that, on average, religiosity increases during times of economic instability, and decreases when the economy …

Community Violence, School Climate, And Social-Emotional Well-Being In The Democratic Republic Of Congo, Leighann Starkey

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Despite abundant information on negative child outcomes related to school and community violence in Western nations, the impact of such violence is less well studied in low-income countries. Through secondary analysis of data from an impact evaluation of a school-based intervention in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, this study uses verbally administered questionnaires with students and teachers to examine the association between children's exposure to community violence and their social-emotional well-being, specifically concerning mental health problems and victimization by peers. In addition, this paper explores how this relationship between exposure to community violence and social-emotional well-being may be modified …

On The Syntax/Semantics Of Korean Nominal Particles, Han-Byul Chung

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this dissertation, I investigate the structural positions of i/ka-marked DPs and un/nun-marked DPs in the light of Kratzer (1988; 1995) and Diesing (1990; 1992). In Korean, unlike German (and English in part), vP-external subjects and vP-internal subjects are not distinguishable at the surface. However, by adopting Kratzer (1988; 1995) and Diesing (1990; 1992), we are able to distinguish between vP-external DPs and vP-internal DPs in Korean.

According to Kratzer and Diesing, syntactic position of a DP has affect in the interpretation of the DP itself, as well as the interpretation of the sentence …

Bilingual Latino Middle Schoolers On Languaging And Racialization In The Us, Sarah Hesson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation explores bilingual Latino middle schoolers’ articulated understandings of their language practices as well as the links between language practices and processes of racialization and discrimination in the US. The research was conducted in the context of an after-school program whose explicit aim was to not only document students’ experiences, but to use those experiences as a basis for generating individual and collective critical understandings among participants. The findings of this case study center on the ways youth understand processes of racialization, translanguaging, and translation in the context of an English-dominant society, and how these understandings are connected to …

A Developmental Perspective On Parental Cognitions And Emotions In The Context Of A Parent-Mediated Intervention For Children With Asd, Emily R. Hotez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Previous research demonstrates that parenting-related schemas and perceptions, reflective functioning abilities, and emotional experiences (i.e., parental cognitions and emotions) play a pivotal role in predicting whether parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are actively involved in, and demonstrate capacity in, meeting their child’s needs in the context of intervention programs or services related to their child’s development. In light of these findings, researchers have focused increased attention towards investigating whether parent-mediated interventions that target children’s behaviors and developmental outcomes exert collateral effects on parental cognitions and emotions.

The current dissertation investigated a sample of 70 mothers of …

An Exploration Of The Paradox Of Bisexuality In Women: The Dawn Research Study, Anna Levy-Warren

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Research on lesbian, gay and bisexual populations has reported higher levels of emotional distress among bisexual adults than their gay and lesbian peers. Findings also demonstrate substantial variability in distress levels within populations of bisexual adults. Little research has examined reasons for this variability. Theoretical explanations for distress among bisexuals include foundations in Cognitive Dissonance Theory and Minority Stress Theory, though these theories have not addressed the variability across outcomes. The current study proposes a new theoretical model to explain variability in levels of distress across bisexual women. According to this theory, levels of psychological distress in bisexual women are …

Participation Strategies In Low-Resource Settings And Their Impact On Cognitive And Non-Cognitive Skills: A Study In Four Different Geographical Regions, Magdalena Galazyn

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In a global 21st century, positive social, cultural, emotional youth development is crucial. Theories of human development suggest that development is complex, contextual, and multidimensional. Thus, with changing conditions worldwide, it is important to understand the effects of young people’s activities in challenging circumstances and how different factors promote or hinder optimal development. Research shows that education provides positive benefits to child and youth development (Phillips & Lowenstein, 2011), but many individuals do not have equal access to resources and opportunities such as public or private schooling (Woodhead, Frost, & James, 2013), and thus show poorer outcomes on cognitive tests, …

Queering By Example: Sex Education In The Age Of Vlogging, Zoe M. Simpson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The 1990s saw the rise of third wave feminism, queer theory and the digital age. This paper looks at how the three come together in YouTube video bloggers’ promotion of queer sex-positive ideology. Sex positivism is the belief that all safe, consensual sex is healthy, while queer theory emphasizes the diversity and instability of sex and gender identities. YouTube vloggers engaged in life-streaming profit from the entertainment value of revealing personal sexual information while framing their sexual revelations as healthy, shame-free sex positivism. In doing so, they also put their unique and sometimes changing sexualities on public display, in effect …

Media Representation Of Asian Americans And Asian Native New Yorkers’ Hybrid Persona, Min Huh

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Asian Americans, having been degraded in the realm of popular media and neglected in the consumer market, have been unable to obtain a voice or leave a trace in American pop culture. The meager representation that Asian Americans rarely have is highly controlled through a distorted lens, inclined to paint them in a grotesquely exaggerated light for comic relief. The absence of Asian Americans in the media has compelled the Asian American youth to adapt the personas of different cultures in their desires for social and cultural mobility. These factors have given birth to a hybrid persona among Asian Native …

United In Political Solidarity: How Multicultural Endorsement And Group Identity Inspire Intergroup Political Solidarity Among Members Of Lower Status Groups, Justine Calcagno

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation tests a new theoretical model that describes when low status group members will work with members of higher status groups for social change, known as intergroup political solidarity. Research on intergroup political solidarity has focused on either the high status group’s orientation toward solidarity or when members of separate groups work together on behalf of a common low status group. There is thus a lack of research on intergroup political solidarity from the perspective of lower status groups.

It is proposed that recognition of group differences by the high status group influences orientations toward intergroup political solidarity. Specifically: …

On Both Sides Of The Tracks: Light Rail And Gentrification In Portland, Oregon, Nathan Eric Rochester

Dissertations and Theses

This study draws on census data and geographic information systems (GIS) to investigate the relationship between light rail transit (LRT) infrastructure development and gentrification in Portland, Oregon. While recent research using comprehensive measures of neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) supports a potentially causal link between transit development and gentrification, research into the effects of transit on property values alone tends to dominate the discourse. This study therefore seeks to build on previous research to develop an index measure of neighborhood SES and SES change based on measures of education, occupation, and income, using census data from 1980-2010. This multifaceted measure of …

Attention Deficits And Perception Of Emotion In Groups, Agnes Renee Strojewska

Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigated the relationship between attention deficits and the recognition of emotions of either individuals or groups (ensembles). Previous research has suggested that individuals with ADHD may have deficits in social cognition, specifically in recognizing the internal (emotional) states of others, though it remains unclear whether these deficits are a discrete component of ADHD or merely the byproduct of the inattention characteristic of the disorder. Perception of ensemble characteristics, or ensemble coding, has recently been the target of increased interest in perception research, and appears to represent a powerful mechanism for processing sensory information, particularly in situations when …

Dois Demystified: Getting Started With Crossref Membership And Doi Deposits, Jeffrey M. Mortimore, Ashley D. Lowery

University Libraries: Faculty Presentations

Are you interested in offering DOIs for your Digital Commons content but you’re unsure how to get started? This session will cover the basics of CrossRef membership and DOI deposits, including costs and responsibilities, DOI structure and syntax, technical requirements for manual and automated deposits, recommended workflows, and considerations for Memoranda of Understanding. Presenters will discuss the basics of XSL transformations and provide resources for preparing deposits, including sample stylesheets for journal metadata.

Height In Politics: The Role Of Height In Electoral Success In The State Of Washington, Joseph Wayne Rebbe

Honors Projects

Throughout the history of American presidential elections, the height of candidates has proven to be a statistically significant factor relative to success. This analysis examines whether the same trend applied to Washington State elections over the period 1994-2014. Ultimately, the data shows that Washington electoral results are not subject to change on the basis of candidate height – Washington elections do not reflect the presidential election trend.

Measuring Foreign Aid Effectiveness: Elite Capture Of Foreign Aid Funds, Alyssa M. Ortiz

Honors Projects

In an attempt to better understand where foreign aid is most effective for developmental purposes and poverty alleviation, this study takes a focused look at the correlation between democracy and corruption. High democratization is tested alongside corruption in foreign aid usage to determine if an inverse relationship exists. The implication is then that low levels of foreign aid corruption will be tied to increased effectiveness of development interventions. This increased effectiveness will then result in an increase of overall development. The research examines three African countries – Ghana, Zambia, Swaziland – through comparative case studies to test the democratic institutions …

Open-Minded Religiosity: Investigating The Link Between Religious Commitment And Thinking Style, Carl W. Sallee

Honors Projects

This study examined the relationship between religious commitment and thinking styles. Participants (n = 195) completed self-report measures of religious commitment, contextualism, Authoritarianism-Conservatism-Traditionalism (ACT - conceptualized as social attitudes/beliefs), and Open-Minded Cognition (OMC - conceptualized as a cognitive style). A marginally significant direct link was observed. Furthermore, when controlling for Contextualism, the strength of the negative link between SRF and OMC increased non-significantly. When controlling for ACT, mediation analysis revealed that the relationship between SRF and OMC was more indirect (via shared variance with ACT) than direct. Moderation analyses did not reveal significant results. Results tentatively suggest a negative …

Putting Assessment Into Action: Selected Projects From The First Cohort Of The Assessment In Action Grant, Darren Sweeper

University Libraries Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Editors' Introduction, Melanie O'Brien, Joann Digeorgio-Lutz, Lior Zylberman, Christian Gudehus, Douglas Irvin-Erickson, Randle Defalco, Hilary Earl

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.