Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

"Assessing The Library: A Christian Liberal Arts College's Library-Wide Assessment Project", Amy James

The Christian Librarian

This article reports on a library-wide assessment project at Spring Arbor University’s White Library. It highlights the methods used to assess each element, along with a recap of the findings, and a section covering the successes and caveats. The library’s website was evaluated using a focus group strategy where users completed a set of tasks using the website. The physical space was evaluated using a whiteboard approach. The freshman research instruction program at the White Library consists of one and two shot library sessions. The current teaching approach was assessed using “muddiest point cards”along with surveys.

Bailey's "Race And Redemption In Puritan New England" (Critical Book Review), Jill D. Botticelli

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Juggling Junior Year: The Junior Leadership Experience, Natascha Borgstein

Senior Honors Projects

In 2017, the Center for Student Leadership Development (CSLD) piloted a program entitled Sophomore Breakthrough Experience as an incentive for students to become interested in leadership and pursue a leadership minor. Along with the specific Freshman year and Senior year courses and programs that were already offered by the CSLD, Junior year was then the only year without a main CSLD event. Therefore, I helped design and execute a program specifically for the Juniors at URI. For many students, Junior year represents a shift in focus that can be especially stressful. Many important decisions need to be made and skills …

Charter School Performance In Rhode Island, Lena Vye

Senior Honors Projects

In the last few decades, there has been considerable debate over whether or not charter schools are beneficial to the American education system. Charter schools are given government funding, but they have independence from the established educational system. Charter school supporters argue that increased autonomy and innovation in teaching, as well as competition between schools, improves the quality of education. Opponents of charter schools argue that charter schools are not more effective than public schools. However, the research is mixed: some studies suggest charter schools perform better, some suggest they perform similarly, and some suggest that they perform worse than …

The Role Of Head Trauma In Emotion Dysregulation Among Victims Of Partner Violence, Aleksandra Fryc

Senior Honors Projects

The project I completed explores the relationship between head trauma and emotion dysregulation, or the inability to modulate the intensity and/or duration of emotional responses in a flexible manner in order to meet individual goals and situational demands (Gratz & Roemer, 2004), among victims of domestic violence. The rationale and importance of the project included the possibility that the findings of this study can inform future research in topics including head trauma, emotion dysregulation, and domestic violence. Despite evidence linking emotion dysregulation to both domestic violence and head trauma, no investigations to date have examined whether head trauma stemming from …

Villains, Morality, And Redemption: A Content Analysis Of Children’S Movies, Iqra Ishaq

Senior Honors Projects

Research on children’s movies has yielded important findings on messaging about gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, (dis)ability, mental illness, aging, and even death. All of this research has recognized the important role children’s movies play in children’s upbringing and informal education. Not only do children’s movies reflect the commonly-held values of the time, but they impart these values to their audience. Children, as the target audience of these movies, are extremely susceptible to absorbing these values and messages.

My research examines what messages children’s movies impart about villains. It includes a content-analysis of 80 full-length animated movies released by Disney, DreamWorks, …

A Study Of Communication And Hispanic Cultural Values Within The Family, Gabrielle Lafond

Senior Honors Projects

Every human being has a unique communication style, which has often been carefully and significantly molded by family members during their upbringing. Cultural variations in those communication styles are common because different ethnic groups possess their own standards or values for what constitutes effective and appropriate verbal and nonverbal communication. For my project, I focused on communication patterns and cultural values practiced by young adults within Hispanic families, specifically regarding the concepts of familism, respect, and conflict. Familism is a value often associated with Hispanic families and it revolves around the notion that family is paramount in a person’s life. …

Policy Implementation On The Flint Water Crisis, Esoheosa Igbineweka

Senior Honors Projects

The world is made up of 75% water and it may seem unbelievable that water scarcity still exists. It is one thing to have access to water, but having access to clean water is a major problem not only in developing countries around the world, but also in developed countries such as the United States. That’s right! The U.S. which is considered one of the most developed countries worldwide, is facing a crucial water crisis that’s affecting millions of people. In 2014, The Flint Michigan Water Crisis became a public health crisis that shocked the nation. Residents and civilians in …

From Reformatories, To Today, And Into The Future: What Needs To Change For Female Offenders, Alyson Berry

Senior Honors Projects

In society, and within the criminal justice system, women have always been deemed insignificant and many of their problems have been neglected. Even as time has progressed, convicted women's physical and mental needs are still disregarded as well as their motivation, risk, and recidivism rates. Since the late 1800s, the number of incarcerated women has risen. This indicates a need for change in the current system to decrease the population of female offenders and their likelihood of becoming repeat offenders. In order to determine what aspects have worked and which ones need to be revised, different time periods need to …

Criminal Justice Systems: Impacts That Transcend Borders & Prison Bars, Erika Yeager

Senior Honors Projects

Historically, the concepts of criminal justice and punishment have been core facets of many societies and cultures. The evolution of crime and punishment is unique in different places across the world and across cultures. The incarceration of individuals across the globe has turned into an epidemic; according to the Institute for Criminal Policy Research, there are almost 10.4 million individuals imprisoned around the world (“Global Prison Trends” 7). By researching this political and sociological phenomenon, more insight is gained into the tangible impacts systemic models of criminal justice have on societies and countries as a whole. These individualized systems and …

Labor Market Policies And Women’S Labor Market Activity In The United States And Germany, Brianna Repke

Senior Honors Projects

In terms of per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and many other measures, the United States and Germany are both economic leaders in the global world. However, gender gaps persist in the labor markets of both countries. This paper examines these gender gaps and various labor market policies that are intended to reduce them. The policies examined include gender equality policies and family-oriented policies in the two countries. Over the last few decades, most of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries have experienced low and decreasing birth rates. In response, several countries have introduced parental leave regulations …

Non-Pharmacological Approaches To Stress Reduction And The Treatment Of Migraines, Megan O'Connell

Senior Honors Projects

Migraines are a disabling neurological medical condition that affects about 12% of the population. Traditionally, migraines are managed with medication however many patients still experience migraines even while on medication. Stress reduction methods such as meditation, deep breathing, reiki, yoga and hypnosis can help with the treatment of a variety of diseases. This study examines the effects of these non-pharmacological treatments on migraines. First, a systematic literature review was completed to explore the effectiveness of alternative treatment approaches. Twenty-four studies were included in the review and the literature concluded patients with migraines can benefit from psychological interventions. Second, a qualitative …

The Role Of Dreams, Intuition, And Social Influences On Conscious Decision-Making Processes, Robert Bouffard

Senior Honors Projects

The average person makes approximately 35,000 conscious decisions per day, which, accounting for the daily amount of sleep a person gets, is equivalent to a decision madeevery two seconds. Upon realizing the frequency, I sought to find a distinctive connectionbetween the conscious and unconscious when it pertains to how people make decisions. I hypothesized that people make decisions regarding their personal relationships with the help of intuition, which I considered to be the ultimate link between our dreams and our conscious thought. I also believed the concept of intuition was entirely dependent on our processing and decoding of dreams. In …

Examining Intimate Partner Violence, Christine Wagner

Senior Honors Projects

Intimate partner violence is an often overlooked and misunderstood issue in contemporary society. Contrary to what some may believe, intimate partner violence is more than just abuse that results in a physical injury. There are several other subcategories under the umbrella term ‘violence,’ such as physical non-injury, emotional harm, financial harm, verbal abuse, and sexual violence. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men experience sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime. Additionally, according to the National Intimate Partner and …

The Yosakoi Festival And Rural Revitalization In Kōchi Prefecture, Japan, Amy L. Kostka

Senior Honors Projects

Japan has been experiencing a population decline in rural areas since post World War II. Rural prefectures including Kōchi have been participating in nationwide efforts as well as local efforts to maintain population and hopefully attract more people to these areas. These efforts have been collectively categorized under the term rural revitalization. Rural revitalization has many aims: to encourage pride in local cultural practices, to attract tourists and new residents, and to boost local economies. In this study I examined how a festival might assist in rural revitalization efforts. Exploring the literature involving revitalization efforts provided the scaffolding for my …

Fostering Meaning Making In Grieving Adults With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Teresa Graziano

Senior Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

How To Discuss Politics Without Wanting To Kill Someone, Jessica Craven

Senior Honors Projects

Studies conclude that from 1990 to today, American society has become increasingly politically polarized, making cooperation among people who hold opposing views difficult and striking compromise on issues increasingly unlikely. Polarization is a major impediment to effective policy-making and communication; which is necessary for policy decision-making and implementation.

The first step to effective cooperation is an open conversation between opposing sides. This project seeks to determine methods, based on moral framing, that create an open conversation between proponents of opposing views on a given political issue. The national gun debate, gun rights versus gun control, was used to create political …

Terrorism In The Modern Day, Michael Ricker

Senior Honors Projects

Terrorism has long plagued the global community in its goal of achieving sustained peace and security. Through the decades, terrorist groups have had varying levels of success in achieving political goals and realizing their groups ultimate objective(s). In addition, there have been a multitude of prominent ideologies in terrorist groups that have proved impressionable throughout modern history. This article aims to determine if certain ideological groups are more effective than others in achieving their goals and whether terror groups exploit certain ideologies or, conversely, if certain ideologies produce terrorism. By conducting a comparative case study of published research and utilizing …

Variants Of Emotional Expressivity & Complexity Across Cultural Groups, Nazaret C. Suazo

Senior Honors Projects

Emotions are largely considered to be universal, suggesting that their expression should be similar across cultural groups (Ekman, 1972; Ekman et al., 1987). However, some studies indicate that variability exists in the way emotions are expressed, perceived, and rated across differing racial and ethnic groups (Matsumoto & Ekman, 1989). These differences may occur as a result of differing customs and beliefs regarding culture and group identity. While previous research has compared differences in emotional experiences between White and Asian samples, few studies have looked at these differences by comparing other racial and ethnic groups. The current study extends previous work …

Validating The Kubinyi Et Al. Personality Scale In Shelter Dogs, Gianna Zavota

Senior Honors Projects

The aim of this study was to apply the dog personality scale used in the study, Dog and owner demographic characteristics and dog personality trait associations, (Kubinyi et al. 2009) to resident shelter dogs. The personality was originally developed and adapted for dog personality based on a 48 item Human Personality Inventory available from The Big Five. In the study, owners were asked to characterize their dogs using this scale, and in this study a researcher used the scale to characterize dogs at various animal shelters. The four main personality traits measured were calmness, boldness, trainability, and dog …

Social Media's Affect On Self Image And Daily Life, Sarah Falkowski

Senior Honors Projects

In the US alone over 244 million people use social media daily. Social media has become a huge part of the world today, helping people stay connected, share, influence, and interact. Though social media has many constructive aspects, it can affect its users in many negative ways. This research looks deeper into the way people use social media, how it’s content can be damaging, and the emphasis people place on their social media image. The study conducted looks further into how social media’s effects vary between age groups and genders. Results show that females between 16-20 are most negatively affected …

Pyschosocial Well-Being And Efforts To Quit Smoking In Pregnant Women Of South-Central Appalachia, Brittney Stubbs

Undergraduate Honors Theses

A sample of 1,031 pregnant women from five prenatal practices participated in Tennessee Intervention for Pregnant Smokers (TIPS), an expanded 5A’s (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, Arrange) program. Stress, self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and disordered eating were hypothesized to differ among three groups: pregnant women who never smoked, pregnant women who smoked but quit prior to birth, and pregnant women who smoked and did not quit prior to birth. Smokers who quit were lower in stress and higher in self-esteem than those who did not quit. Non-smokers were lowest in stress and depression, and highest in self-esteem. These findings may lead to …

Self-Rated Health, Healthcare Satisfaction, Healthcare Adherence, And Medical Mistrust: The Moderating Role Of Rurality, Stephanie Alu

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The current study is part of a broader study called the Women’s Reproductive Health Survey (WRHS) which aimed to examine various aspects of women’s life experiences. This study examined the moderating effect of rurality on several factors of healthcare in a sample of women between the ages of 18 and 50. Self-rated health (SRH) was hypothesized to predict healthcare satisfaction, healthcare adherence, and medical mistrust. Furthermore, rurality was hypothesized to weaken the relationships between SRH and healthcare satisfaction and adherence; it was further hypothesized to exacerbate the relationship between SRH and medical mistrust. A survey containing a single-item measure of …

Trauma-Informed Care: Implementation Efforts In Northeast Tennessee, Kaelyn E. Bishop, Andrea D. Clements, Valerie Hoots

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Trauma has been found to be highly prevalent and associated with many negative health and social outcomes (i.e., heart disease, higher suicide risk, high-risk behaviors) in the general population. Despite these associations, trauma detection is relatively rare in service-providing organizations. Trauma-informed care (TIC) is a proposed solution that encourages trauma detection, understanding the symptoms associated with trauma, and treating trauma while actively avoiding re-traumatization to the service user. Although research about TIC efficacy has been fairly limited, there are some promising potential benefits of the practice to the client, provider, and the population as a whole. For this study, we …

Mindfulness And Religiosity/Spirituality As Protecting Factors For Internalizing Symptoms Associated With Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Moderated Moderation Model, Kayla Heineken, Diana Morelen

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events during a person’s early life that can influence their later mental health, physical health, and wellbeing. Internalizing symptoms such as anxiety and depression are common mental health outcomes associated with these events. Two factors, religiosity/spirituality (R/S) and mindfulness, are possible protecting factors to help lessen the effect of traumatic experiences on later mental health. This study examined whether R/S and mindfulness are protective factors in the relationship between ACEs and future internalizing symptoms. Further, this study examined whether the impact of R/S was influenced by an individual’s mindfulness (moderated moderation). Participants (N = …

Relationship Between Joint Attention And Language In Multiparous And Uniparous Households, Hannah C. Manis

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The present study was designed to examine differences in the effect of the number of children in the household (also known as “parity”) on the relationship between initiating joint attention (IJA) and language development. We reasoned that infants who are only children (i.e., in uniparous homes), relative to infants who have one or more siblings (i.e., in multiparous homes), would have more opportunity to engage in IJA, and would, therefore, acquire a larger number of object labels. We tested the hypotheses that: 1) there would be a positive correlation between the number of IJA bids and language overall, and 2) …

The Function Of Internet Memes In Helping Ems Providers Cope With Stress And Burnout, Caroline Drury

Undergraduate Honors Theses

EMS personnel tend to face higher burnout rates than those in similar professions, which makes them more likely to make mistakes, engage in safety-compromising behaviors, and get injured. This project examines humor used in the form of Internet memes as a coping mechanism. Internet memes are modifiable, replicable units of cultural transmission that are passed and gain influence through the Internet. I applied the Maslach Burnout Inventory to EMS related memes on the website Reddit. I found that memes that dealt with burnout typically referenced non-traumatic factors as being the source of burnout, and that these memes would often lead …

The Miracle Of Medellín’S Social Urbanism, Carlos A. Mesa

Honors Thesis

Over the last three decades, Medellín, Colombia has undergone a profound urban transformation, evolving from being labeled the “murder capital of the world” to earning global recognition as one of the most innovative cities. This transformation is largely attributed to the Medellín Urban Development Model (MUDM), which integrates social urbanism with strategic public transportation investments to promote human and sustainable development. This research examines the core elements of Medellín’s innovative development process, asking what makes the model successful and whether it can be replicated in other urban contexts.

Central to Medellín’s transformation is the creation of a multidimensional, integrated public …

Himmelfarb Library Liaison Letter - May 2019, George Washington University, Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library

Himmelfarb Library Liaison Letters

No abstract provided.

Does Simple Information Provision Lead To More Diverse Classrooms? Evidence From A Field Experiment On Undergraduate Economics, Amanda Bayer, Syon Bhanot, F. Lozano

Economics Faculty Works

This paper reports the results of a field experiment involving 2,710 students across nine US colleges, in which faculty provided incoming women and URM students with information about economics. We randomly assign students to one of three conditions: a control (no email messaging), a Welcome treatment (two emails encouraging students to consider enrolling in economics courses), and a Welcome+Info treatment (which added information showcasing the diversity of research and researchers within economics). The Welcome+Info treatment increases the likelihood of completing an economics course in the first semester of college by 3.0 percentage points, nearly 20 percent of the base rate.