Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Illegitimate Bodies In Legitimate Times: Life, Liberty And The Pursuit Of Movement, Brian Culp

Faculty Articles

Drawing on Michel Foucault’s concepts of state racism and biopower, the author of the 26th Delphine Hanna Lecture presents several claims: (a) that the idea of the illegitimate outsider in Western world governments like the United States has largely been influenced by ancient Greek ideals, (b) that a host of policies and intentional actions by power brokers create derision and hierarchies between “old” and “new” immigrant groups, and (c) neoliberal ideology couched in actions that aim “to protect the state” is nothing more than a recoding of traditional racist rhetoric that expands systemic racism. The author identifies the capabilities approach, …

Examining The Extent And Impact Of Surveillance On Animal Rights Activists, Cassandra Boyer

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In the post-9/11 era, the USA PATRIOT Act provided law enforcement agencies broad powers to investigate citizens believed to be potential or perceived domestic terrorist threats. Preceded by the Animal Enterprise Protection Act (AEPA) of 1992, the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) of 2006 delivered to these same agencies laws under which animal rights (AR) activists could be charged as domestic terrorists. Considered to be potential domestic terrorist threats under the Green Scare era, AR activists became prioritized as state-sponsored surveillance subjects.

This thesis seeks to determine the extent of surveillance on AR activists as well as its impact in …

Societal Opinon Of Government And Private Agencies’ Surveillance Capabilities Post 9-11, Stephanie E. Kaplan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States has placed an increased focus upon government and private agencies to engage in surveillance practices in order to combat terrorism. The passing of the United States PATRIOT ACT (2001) expanded the surveillance capabilities of law enforcement officials thus allowing both federal and state agencies to legally wiretap a range of communication devices. Under the justification of “fighting terrorism,” federal and state agencies now have more access to sensitive data on/about a range of persons including subjects of interest. Legal scholars (Bam, 2015, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), …

Conflicted Provision: Exploring The Intersection Of Social Support And Deception, Courtney Lane Mcdaniel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Social support and deception are both significant elements of close relationships. Social support involves verbal and nonverbal behaviors that are used when an individual is trying to help another person (Vangelisti, 2009). Social support is imperative to relationships, and as such, plays a large role within friendships, romantic relationships, and professional relationships alike. Research has suggested that friends in particular are one of the most enduring and irreplaceable sources of social support (Burleson, 1994; Burleson & Goldsmith, 1998; Floyd, 1995; Floyd & Parks, 1995). Thus, because friends comprise the strongest support system for many individuals, studying how deceptive communication functions …

Cooling Down Crime Hot Spots: Impact Of Saturation Patrol On Crime Hot Spots In Las Vegas, Nevada, Rachel Ware Stephensen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As law enforcement agencies embrace technology, hot spots policing has enjoyed popularity. The esteem of the strategy is not without warrant, as many studies show its effectiveness. The policing strategy simply involves focusing police resources on a specific area or areas of concentrated crime. An abundance of policing tactics exists to address problems within these areas. Many studies tout significant crime reductions in hot spot areas, with some police treatments proving more effective than others. Other studies discuss trepidation regarding geographically focused police efforts. Therefore, law enforcement’s strategy in an area must involve careful consideration of the associated benefits and …

President Barack Obama Responds To Gun Violence: A Rhetoric Of Transformation., Gabriela Tscholl

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Over the course of his presidency Barack Obama responded to 15 incidents of gun violence. Moments of tragedy serve as one of the greatest tests of presidential leadership as they require the chief executive to articulate a definition of tragedy that enables citizens both to understand and to work through the experience. It is through the act of definition that presidents increase their rhetorical power, thereby allowing them to advocate or advance specific policy proposals. This thesis examines seven of President Obama’s memorial speeches: Fort Hood, TX (2009); Tucson, AZ (2011); Newtown, CT (2012); Washington, D.C. Navy Yard (2013); Fort …

International Responses To Human Trafficking: A Comparative Secondary Data Analysis Of National Characteristics, Olivia Germaine Tuttle

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Human trafficking is a rising international issue that has become a key concern for human rights organizations and governments throughout the world. As such, new policies are being developed and implemented to combat the problem. A guiding standard for these policies is the United Nations (UN) 2003 Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, which established a formal definition of human trafficking. While the UN Protocol was a significant step in the fight against human trafficking, it is limited by its framework, which focuses heavily on criminalization and punishment of traffickers. Recent discourse and …

Modern Palestinian Filmmaking In A Global World, Sarah Frances Hudson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation employs a comprehensive approach to analyze the cinematic accent of feature length, fictional Palestinian cinema and offers concrete criteria to define the genre of Palestinian fictional film that go beyond traditional, nation-centered approaches to defining films. Employing Arjun Appardurai’s concepts of financescapes, technoscapes, mediascapes, ethnoscapes, and ideoscapes, I analyze the filmic accent of six Palestinian filmmakers: Michel Khleifi, Rashid Masharawi, Ali Nassar, Elia Suleiman, Hany Abu Assad, and Annemarie Jacir. After a detailed examination of each filmmaker’s body of work, I examine the trends that occur across the genre that have the greatest impact on the Palestinian filmic …

Leadership In Sports, Helen Récaborde

Senior Theses

In order to structure my thesis I will centralize it around the book The student leadership challenge by Kouzes and Posner. It is a book that outlines ‘The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership’ that are common when leaders are able to make amazing things happen. The goal of the book is to demonstrate how any person can be a leader regardless of age and experience. Therefore, another goal of my thesis is to investigate how much some of the top coaches in USC athletics use this model whether implicitly or explicitly for themselves and the leaders on their team. The …

Healthcare Accessibility For Syrian Refugees: Understanding Trends, Host Countries’ Responses And Impacts On Refugees’ Health, Gertrude Morgan Dadzie

Public Administration & Policy

The Syrian civil war, now in its 6th year is the biggest refugee and humanitarian crisis in present times. Since March 2011, over 11 million Syrians have fled out of their country to neighboring countries, Europe and other parts of the world. Associated with refugee movement is the movement and spread of communicable and non-communicable diseases among Syrian refugees and beyond. The war also continues to affect the psychosocial and emotional states of Syrian refugees, especially young people and children. This paper seeks to identify trends in health conditions among Syrian refugees and those who are internally displaced within the …

Did Citizens United Get It Right? Campaign Finance Reform And The First Amendment – Finding The Balancing Point, Morgan R. Knudtsen

Political Science

No abstract provided.

The Presidency And The Media: An Analysis Of The Fundamental Role Of The Traditional Press For American Democracy, Lauren Mannerberg

Political Science

The President is the most important political figure in the United States and as such he is a large topic in the news media. Despite seemly large changes in recent years with new media, an unprecedented presence in the White House, and shifts in the political nature of the nation, the press’s fundamental role in reporting on the Presidency has not changed in our democracy. Democracy needs a free press in order to have an informed citizenry and throughout American history this freedom has remained constant. A history of journalism and the presidency reveals that although the press has gone …

From Digital Repositories To The Library Catalogue: Two Workflows For Transforming Metadata, Amy Leigh Allen, Deborah E. Kulczak, Mary A. Gilbertson

University Libraries Faculty Publications and Presentations

Making a connection between digital repositories and library catalogues is an issue many libraries and archives face, especially when dealing with items that traditionally received full cataloguing records. This paper explores different workflows for reusing metadata to create catalogue records, connecting the two resources together. In order to have one interface to search both the older physical items and newer digital items, the archives and technical services department of the University of Arkansas Libraries worked together to create different workflows to save time and eliminate the need for double entry, using the open source software MarcEdit and XML Notepad. Two …

Modeling The Drivers Of Land Use Change In Ada County And Canyon County, Idaho, Using A Regression Discontinuity Design, Christopher Hans Felt

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Urbanization and land use change are widespread phenomena and the primary drivers of global ecological change. Researchers from both the social and natural sciences have investigated the effects that land use change has on environmental services and the effectiveness of regulatory bodies in mitigating its harmful impacts. Although there is research on local governmental bodies and their effectiveness in controlling land use change, county governments have often been overlooked. In this article, I study the effectiveness of county governments in controlling land use change using a regression discontinuity design (RDD). The RDD is a quasi-experimental approach that provides stronger support …

Evaluation Of A Social And Emotional Learning Curriculum Integrated Into A Middle School Health Classroom, Stephanie Susan Skiba

Theses and Dissertations

Although approximately one-fourth of adolescents have a mental health disorder only half of them receive treatment. The goal of this study was to determine if Strong Kids, a social and emotional learning curriculum, implemented over a 4-week period could help decrease internalizing symptoms and increase resilience in middle school students, something not previously investigated. This study also measured social and emotional knowledge as measured by the Strong Kids questionnaire. Additionally, treatment fidelity and social validity were measured. The study used a non-equivalent, control group design. The sample consisted of 148 students: 70 in the treatment group and 78 in …

Natural Disaster Films: A Social Learning And Perceived Realism Perspective, Melissa Seipel

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the relationship between social learning and perceived realism in the context of an entertainment media text, the 2015 movie San Andreas. As a fictional natural disaster movie, this film depicts several safety and survival techniques that could potentially be observed and adopted by audience members should they face a similar situation (i.e. major earthquake). While the majority of these techniques align with professionally recommended behaviors, a few are misleading. This study investigates the perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and behavioral intentions different groups of audience members hold concerning the behaviors they observed in the film. Participants were grouped by …

Fitspiration: Social Media's Fitness Culture And Its Effect On Body Image, Makenzie Norton

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Social media’s largest platforms, especially Facebook and Instagram, has revolutionized the average American’s accessibility to new subcultures, usurping the societal influence of traditional media forms while retaining many of their marketing methods. The following capstone research discusses how the fitness subculture and fitness-related content on social media affects male and female body image and body ideals. Through a content analysis of current literature, I provide connections between the marketing of fitness in American media and its influence on men and women’s body image. Using social comparison theory, I analyze prior research that explains the causes of body dissatisfaction and explain …

Functional Limitation And Depressive Symptomatology: Considering Perceived Stigma And Discrimination Within A Stress And Coping Framework, Robyn Lewis Brown

Sociology Faculty Publications

This study examines whether perceived stigma and discrimination moderate the associations between functional limitation, psychosocial coping resources, and depressive symptoms among people with physical disabilities. Using two waves of data from a large community study including a representative sample of persons with physical disabilities (N = 417), an SEM-based moderated mediation analysis was performed. Mediation tests demonstrate that mastery significantly mediates the association between functional limitation and depressive symptoms over the study period. Moderated mediation tests reveal that the linkage between functional limitation and mastery varies as a function of perceived stigma and experiences of major discrimination and day-to-day discrimination, …

The Issues And Complexities Surrounding The Future Of Long Duration Spaceflight, Solomon Miiro

Graduate Student Works

The Comprehensive Exam put forward by this proposal is intended to address the learning objectives covered by the Master of Aeronautical Science Degree with specializations in Aviation Aerospace Safety Systems and some limited aspects in Human Factors in Aviation Systems. This will be accomplished by researching the following topics: effects of long duration spaceflight on crew performance and functioning and the steps that should be taken to enable long term spaceflight mission crews in lieu of accomplishing important missions; a human factor analysis should current human-machine design interfaces be enhanced to make manual rendezvous and docking in space easier to …

Facilitating Pre-Service Teachers To Learn The Mathematical Practices And Engage English Language Learners, Jim Ewing

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

A methods course attempted to help pre-service teachers facilitate the engagement of English language learners (ELLs) in Mathematical Practices from the Common Core State Standards. When 22 elementary pre-service teachers were taught a mathematics lesson in Spanish, most were unable to make sense of the lesson. This made them more aware of challenges ELLs may face when they attempt to engage in Mathematical Practices. The pre-service teachers developed their own strategies to facilitate ELLs. The findings suggest that pre-service teachers not only better empathized with ELLs after being taught in another language, they also learned Mathematical Practices more deeply.

Factors In Public School Settings That Result In Teacher Agency, Jessica Hadid

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

A quality system for educating a nation’s youth depends upon a teaching force that continually learns, and applies its learning outcomes to active problem solving and development. Many current school and district models minimize teacher ability to engage in meaningful change, ultimately undermining the teachers’ sense of personal and professional agency. Literature suggests that internal forms of motivation are likely to result in the development of agency via self-determination of actions and behaviors. This mixed methods study examined five public schools in a small K-12 district through the lens of self-determination theory. An initial set of quantitative data were collected …

Humanization Of The Enemy: The Pacifist Soldier And France In World War One, Daniel E. Stockman

Senior Theses

Not all French citizens were enthused by the prospect of war in 1914, nor were they all so willing to embrace a dehumanized view of the enemy. Some French citizens believed the “Great War” to be a patriotic endeavor. Propaganda encouraged this nationalism and the dehumanization of the enemy. “Political” pacifism existed within the French Third Republic psyche following France’s defeat in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War. However, these pacifistic undertones were systematically undermined as France began to militarize itself. Drawing from a series of notebooks, and established academic sources, this paper shows that some French soldiers endured a world at …

The Experience Of Generalized Anxiety Disorder Through The Lens Of Abraham Lincoln: The Effects Of Mental Health Stigma, Daryl Claude Medina

Senior Theses

Living with generalized anxiety disorder, also known as GAD, in the United States of America is difficult not only for the individual, but also for the people around him or her. Lifestyle changes have to be made, family dynamics need to be adjusted, and last but not least, all relationships must become flexible. In fact, these major life changes are never fixed and must continually adapt to the needs of the individual with generalized anxiety disorder since it is a lifelong medical condition. As with any other mental illness, dealing with generalized anxiety disorder takes great sacrifice in terms of …

Displacement Matters: The Socioeconomics Of Gentrification In Richmond, California, Alicia Kae Miller

Senior Theses

The focus of this research paper is the escalating displacement of African American residents in the City of Richmond, California, whose ancestors helped to make the Richmond Shipyards into one of the most essential shipbuilding operations in the United States during World War II. Utilizing current briefs, regional/national newspaper articles, and literature from the field of urban renewal, this paper examines the impacts of gentrification on already marginalized people of color. By studying the current unease about gentrification in Richmond and profiling regional case studies, this paper will provide important insights for more equitable urban revitalization that does not displace …

Is Community Based Policing The Answer? Yemen’S Fight Against Aqap, Maximilian Kaehler

Senior Theses

Throughout history we have seen drastic changes in methods for combating terrorism; however, as a society we have never been able to find an effective solution. In recent years we have seen countries use community based policing in an effort to fight terrorism at home; how would adopting community based policing efforts help or hurt countries throughout the Middle East in combating terrorism? I believe that implementing community based policing into these countries would drastically improve civilian and government relationships as well as hinder terrorists’ ability to recruit new member from these areas. I conduct a multi-case study then apply …

Presidential Campaigns And Social Networks: How Clinton And Trump Used Facebook And Twitter During The 2016 Election, Jack Davis

Senior Theses

The advancement in social media technology has greatly improved how people from around the world can communicate with each other. This has been quite apparent during the 2016 presidential election year, as many people have taken to social media to find their news sources and share opinions. This paper examines the use of Facebook and Twitter by the Clinton and Trump campaigns to connect with voters. These two modes of communication have been used by the campaigns to advertise their campaign and take stances on a variety of issues. By using content analysis, data from the two campaigns’ social media …

Aquaponics: Redefining Education For Our Youth, Joshua Peal

Senior Theses

In America, we are seeing a lack of effectiveness with our K-12 schools. This costs the school districts and taxpayers money with very little return guaranteeing an ongoing investment into adulthood. Students finishing high school have very little if any applied learning and technical skills, and still need to accomplish at least four years of college or a trade school to be able to compete, even for a job not requiring a degree. Of those high school graduates, half and growing do not feel that they are prepared for college. Students also have little understanding of, or experience with, the …

The Gender Wage Gap In The Film Industry: A Review Of Literature, Christine Pires

Senior Theses

The gender wage gap is defined as the difference between the amounts of money paid to women and men, often for doing the same work (Cambridge, 2017). The gender wage gap is a reoccurring financial issue in all aspects of the business world. Most all career paths have had a wage gap between men and women. Having equal pay for equal work should be a thing of the past. However, women today are still fighting to close the wage gap and work equally in all fields. The film industry is one of the largest entertainment industries in America and still, …

Bibliotech, May 2017, Dr. C.C. And Mable L. Criss Library, University Of Nebraska At Omaha

BiblioTech

UNO Libraries' Digital Newsletter, BiblioTech, May 2017, Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library, University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Management Education Out Of Africa, Howard Thomas

Asian Management Insights

Is a distinctive African managementeducation model possible,achievable, or even advisable?