Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Covid-19: The Industrial Prison Complex And Black Bodies, Christian A. Rodriguez

Student Publications

COVID-19 has exposed a variety of issues and insecurities in our world since its eruption in 2020. While it is heavily discussed, debated and researched, much of the virus’ impact is not covered in communities and areas where marginalized bodies suffer disproportionately. One of the most undermined and blanketed populations in our country during the time of the pandemic (and for decades before) is the prison population, which has seen soaring cases and deaths since the virus first touched down in the states. Much of the prison population consist of black men and women and sadly mirror the same health …

Cannabis And Its Historical Role In America’S Intentional Segregation Of Race, William E. Kelley

Student Publications

One of the more dramatic shifts in attitudes towards a particular trend or culture we have seen during the turn of the century is none other than attitudes towards marijuana. The Cannabis plant, commonly known as marijuana, has been illegal in the United States for a while now. In the past ten years, we have seen an influx of states and countries relaxing their attitudes towards marijuana, and it's potential benefits. While this shift in attitude towards a relatively harmless drug is a step in the right direction, many are unaware of the sinister and racist history behind outlawing the …

Measures Of Ethnicity: Competing Concepts In Search Of Clarity, Daniel R. Jones

Student Publications

Why have many researchers historically relied on combined measures and explanations for the scholarship on ethnic polarization and ethnic fractionalization? In this article, I argue for the adoption of a new research mechanism that differentiates between both variables in order to test them independently vis à vis their relationships to civil war severity. The presence of a more ethnically polarized state seems to make it more difficult for the opposition groups to coordinate and to mount an effective attack/opposition against the government, thus limiting overall casualties. This also increases the difficultly for the government forces to identify the group(s) that …

Examining Biobehavioral Indicators Of Adhd In Children With Fxs, Hannah Pressler

Senior Theses

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity behaviors that are inconsistent with developmental age. Children with fragile X syndrome (FXS), a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder, are often diagnosed with comorbid ADHD (53-59% of males with FXS). Despite the prevalence of ADHD in FXS, little is known about the early manifestation of ADHD. The current project aims to explore group differences in play behaviors between children with FXS and typically developing (TD) children as well as the correlation of infant play behavior and heart activity to future ADHD attention outcomes. Participants included male children with FXS and …

Bingo! Engaging History Of Science Students With Primary Sources, Leigh Rupinski

Scholarly Papers and Articles

This case study examines the process of creating an interactive and engaging lesson plan for the History of Science course, HSC 201: The Scientific Revolution. History of Science students tend to be undergraduates majoring in science or medical related fields, rather than the humanities, who need to fulfill an intensive writing or general education requirement. For most, if not all of them, this session would be the first time they experienced hands-on interaction with historical resources. Accordingly, the archivist sought to create a less traditional lesson plan that would foster a sense of fun and interest in the materials.

The Present And Future Law Enforcement Workforce: A Generational Comparison Of Motivators For Entering And Remaining In The Profession, Nicole Cain

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Recruitment and retention are persistent issues within the law enforcement organizations because positions are remaining vacant and fewer people are attracted to the profession. The purpose of this research study was to understand the differences between generational cohorts and specifically the millennial generation’s motivation for entering and remaining in the law enforcement profession, as well as their satisfaction with their career choice. This quantitative, non-experimental research study utilized a survey method to address six research questions. A convenient, purposive sample consisting of sworn police officers from one mid-size law enforcement agency located in central Florida represented the study’s data source. …

The Efficacy Of Foreign Aid In Counterterrorism Efforts, Carter A. Hanson

Student Publications

A literature review investigating the effectiveness of foreign aid in countering terrorism, and donor countries' motivations to allocate foreign aid with the stated goal of combating terrorist insurgencies in recipient nations. In the post-9/11 period, the United States has increasingly invested in counterterrorism efforts, making the assessment and examination of the effectiveness of these efforts all the more important for American policymakers and citizens alike.

Implementing Information Literacy (Il) Into Stem Writing Courses: Effect Of Il Instruction On Students’ Writing Projects At An Urban Community College, Miseon Kim, Mercedes Franco, Dugwon Seo

Publications and Research

The purpose of this study was to implement information literacy (IL) into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) writing courses at an urban community college, investigate if students’ information literacy (IL) skills were improved through library one-shot instruction, and determine if there was an association between IL skills and students’ writing performance. Students in the experimental group attended the library instructional class and students in the control group had no library class. Students’ research papers were scored using the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) Information Literacy VALUE Rubric to grade the effectiveness of the library instruction (Association …

Racism In America: A Psychological Approach, Brett S. Burton

Student Publications

America is a country that has racism interwoven into its history and ingrained within its society. Blacks have been subjected to this racism and oppression for generations, and at a higher level than other minority groups. More recently in American society, we can see a transition from overt discrimination to covert discrimination through policies and legislation that affect racial groups differently. Foucault and Bentham’s Panopticon can be used to discuss the true systematic violence imposed on blacks and we can further that discussion by investigating the War on Drugs and Mass Incarceration and how they represent reincarnations of previous Babylonian …

Roman Catholicism In Ukraine: The Contemporary Situation, Social Acceptance, And Social Service, Tetiana Havryliuk, Maryna Lukashenko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article investigates the historical peculiarities of the formation and specificity of the current stage of development of Catholicism in Ukraine. It considers the spiritual, socio-cultural, economic, and political prerequisites for the resumption of the activity of the Roman Catholic Church during the revival of Ukraine's independence in the 1990s. A quantitative comparison of dioceses since the end of the last century has been undertaken and their patterns of growth have been identified. The main achievements of the largest Catholic churches in the country since Ukrainian independence have consisted in building its ecclesiastical structures and expanding its community networks and …

Development Of The Greek Catholic Church In Independent Ukraine: Persons, Historical Heritage, And New Trends, Mykhailo Kobryn, Olena Lyovkina, Hennadii Khrystokin

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article analyzes historical features and tendencies of the development of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (the UGCC) in the period of independence of Ukraine. It considers the prerequisites in which this church has begun its revival in the early 1990s after the official ban on church activity in the Soviet Union. Three stages of the development of the UGCC have been identified which correspond to the times of the various church leaders’ management. The first stage in the development of Greek Catholics corresponds to the time when the community was governed by Ivan-Myroslav Lyubachivsky. The main tasks of that …

The Lasting Impacts Of Mass Consumerism And The Disposable Culture: A Proposition For The Development Of Plastic Shopping Bag Bans In Texas Law, David Brewster

St. Mary's Law Journal

This Article addresses the developing state of plastic bag bans in Texas municipal and state jurisprudence. The Article recites the history of plastic bag bans and their impacts on the environment, the issues pertinent to municipal powers as regulatory devices, and analyzes the most recent case regarding bag bans in Texas, which is the Texas Supreme Court’s opinion in City of Laredo v. Laredo Merchants Association. The Article makes suggestions about how to move forward in developing municipal plastic bag bans for the benefit of the environment, and addresses the immediate impacts of bag ban litigation and legislation in …

Boom Or Bust: Examining The Relationship Between High School Recruiting Rankings And The Nfl Draft, Nicholas E. Tice

Senior Theses

The goal of this thesis is to model the probability of a high school football player’s chance of being drafted based on information taken from their recruiting profile. The response variable is binary and defined as drafted (1) or undrafted (0). The independent variables were collected by scraping data from the recruiting websites including height, weight, position, hometown, recruiting grade and other socioeconomic factors based on the player’s high school. 247Sports and ESPN were the two recruiting services used and compared in this study. Because of the binary nature of the dependent variable, logistic regression and decision trees were chosen …

Race And Urban Development Of Arsenal Hill, Sc, Samira Nematollahi

Senior Theses

This thesis is a study on the Columbia neighborhood Arsenal Hill. It is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Columbia, but most of the neighborhood’s history is largely erased. In this paper, I studied the progression of change in Arsenal Hill with the goal of assessing who wielded power and to what extent race played a role in the neighborhood’s development. I find that race was the fundamental mover of change and that all other decisions and factors revolved around it. The initial decline of the neighborhood stemmed from its racial heterogeneity which then progressed into developers seeing Arsenal Hill …

This Was The One For Me: Afd Women’S Origin Stories, Christina Xydias

Faculty Journal Articles

Next to the Alternative for Germany (AfD)’s nationalism and anti- immigrant attitudes, natalism and support for traditional gender roles are key components of the party’s far right categorization. Women are not absent from parties like the AfD, though they support them at lower rates than men and at lower rates than they support other parties. In light of women’s lower presence in far-right parties, how do women officeholders in the AfD explain their party affiliation, and how do their explanations differ from men’s? An answer is discernible at the nexus between AfD officeholders’ publicly available political backgrounds and the accounts …

A Feel For The Game: Ai, Computer Games And Perceiving Perception, Marc A. Ouellette, Steven Conway

English Faculty Publications

I walk into the room and the smell of burning wood hits me immediately. The warmth from the fireplace grows as I step nearer to it. The fire needs to heat the little cottage through the night so I add a log to the fire. There are a few sparks and embers. I throw a bigger log onto the fire and it drops with a thud. Again, there are barely any sparks or embers. The heat and the smell stay the same. They don’t change and I do not become habituated to it. Rather, they are just a steady stream, …

Characteristics That Motivate A Volunteer Workforce: A Case Study Of One Of America’S Largest Volunteer Organizations, Jono Anzalone

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A vast amount of research exists on organizational development and leadership theory targeted for organizations with a paid workforce as well as literature that discusses volunteer motivation and management. However, existing literature fails to address leadership theory, practices in organizational development, and performance improvement for a volunteer-led workforce, one in which both volunteer and paid staff compose the workforce. A bridge of the gap in literature is needed to help inform training and development practices of the American Red Cross and other non-governmental organizations. In addition, high volunteer turnover and low satisfaction has a costly impact on organizations critical …

Relationship Quality In Kin And Chosen Kin Familial Networks, Eliza Thor

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Family relationships are sources of both stress and support for most individuals. They are also among the most resilient, offering support through long periods of conflict. Growing scholarly research on LGB families demonstrates that LGB individuals face greater levels of conflict, which stems from a lack of acceptance of their identities. As of yet, little work has directly compared LGB familial relationships to heterosexual family relationships. This study seeks to fill this gap by comparing the relationship characteristics of LGB and heterosexual individuals using network data drawn from the Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (2018 and 2019). I employed multilevel …

Ethnic–Racial Socialization Mapping In Ethnic–Racial Minority Populations: Exploring The Efficacy Of An Intervention To Increase Well-Being And Secure Ethnic–Racial Identity, Mackensie Minniear

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In this dissertation, I explore the benefits of developing an intervention entitled ethnic-racial socialization mapping. Previously, researchers have developed the importance of establishing a secure ethnic-racial identity in ethnic-racial minority populations, as it is tied with increased well-being. Additionally, researchers have called for interventions that highlight the role of ethnic-racial socialization in minority populations, as this process is connected with a secure ethnic-racial identity. I answer these calls by reviewing current research, leading to the creation of ethnic-racial socialization mapping as an identity intervention. In chapter 1, I explore how ethnic-racial identity and ethnic-racial socialization has been conceptualized, as well …

Dead Wolf To Red Wolf: Virginia Reintroduction Habitat Suitability, Hector Gomez

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

Red wolves (Canis Rufus) are the most endangered species of wolves. All red wolves currently in the wild are in the Albemarle Peninsula in North Carolina. Red wolf population in the Albemarle decreased from a peak of around 113-149 wolves in 2014 to 15-17 wolves in 2021. Most red wolf mortalities for this wild population occurred from anthropogenic causes such as accidental shooting, poaching, and vehicle strikes. The purpose of this study is to assess the suitability of the Delmarva Peninsula as a potential reintroduction site for another red wolf population. To do so I analyzed the land cover, deer …

Working Our Way Out Of Privilege: Lessons From South Africa On Preparing White Americans For A National Transitional Justice Process, Susan R. Wysor Nguema

Social Work (Undergraduate) Faculty Publications

This study utilized difference-in-differences analysis to determine likelihood of confidence in four major public institutions over three periods of time in South Africa and the United States, two prior to South Africa’s transitional justice process and one after. Results indicate that Black South African confidence rose while White South African confidence dropped drastically. American confidence levels, for both races, remained relatively consistent over all three time periods. The drastic drop in White South African likelihood of confidence points to possible feelings of loss related to power and privilege. These results provide insight for social workers interested in addressing racial injustice …

Vocational And Life Skills Monthly Data Update: April 2020, Uno Nebraska Center For Justice Research, Katelynn Towne

Reports

Grantees use an online data management system to submit data on participants served under their Vocational and Life Skills programming. This data is due monthly and reflects all services provided during the previous month to participants. Evaluators at the Nebraska Center for Justice Research work with grantees directly to manage data entry errors on an ongoing basis during update calls and site visits.

The current data derives from an active database, from which data is being entered and updated daily. Data values, including previously submitted information, may fluctuate depending on the duration of lag between service delivery and data entry. …

Patient, Hospital And State-Level Policy Characteristics Associated With Prevalence Of Treating Opioid Use Disorder In United States Emergency Departments, Rafeek Adeyemi Yusuf

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The opioid crisis in the United States was declared a public health emergency due to escalating and untoward human, financial, and systemic consequences and effects on the nation. Opioid use disorder (OUD) comprising opioid abuse and dependence is devastating because of its associated chronic relapsing nature, overutilization of healthcare services, rising morbidity and mortality rates, and high cost of care. Efforts to address this have not made significant positive impacts. It is thus imperative to reassess the influence of factors associated with OUD. This study answered the question, what patient-, hospital-, and state-level policy factors were associated with prevalence of …

Identifying Risk Factors For Chronic Kidney Disease Of Unknown Origin In Six Central American Countries And Houston, Texas, Erika Figueroa-Solis

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a public health problem that is recognized worldwide. The type of CKD in Central America does not fit the “usual” CKD encountered in countries with upper middle-income economies, and is also often referred to as CKD of undetermined cause (CKDu). Evidence suggests that CKDu is a disease of occupational origin that can be brought on by a combination of exposures: hot environments, high physical job demands, inadequate hydration protocols, and effects of other nephrotoxic agents. Many gaps remain in knowledge related to CKDu and its putative risk factors, geographic distribution, distributions of renal function in …

All Rise: Factors Affecting Decision Making Of United States Supreme Court Justices, Benjamin L. Barker

Tenor of Our Times

Despite the widespread perception that judges are not political beings and should rule in an impartial manner, it seems that discourse surrounding the Supreme Court is more partisan than ever, and that the Justices themselves are ruling in a partisan manner. What factors make Supreme Court Justices rule in a partisan manner? In order to find out, I examine the ideological direction of each Justice’s vote in each Supreme Court case from 1946 to 2019 in light of factors concerning the individual Justice such as their political party affiliation and the party of the President who appointed them. I find …

Managing Chronic Pain Through Advancements In Transcranial Brain Stimulation Technology Currently Used For Depression, Ashley N. Skinner

Honors Thesis

The purpose of this thesis is to bring attention to alternatives to using analgesics or painkillers and potentially addictive opioid analgesics. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) has been proven successful in treating medication-resistant depression. This literature review will look at the links between pain and depression and examine adaptations to TMS coils in hopes of being able to stimulate the regions of the brain that interpret pain. By looking at current advancements in TMS, we can work towards adapting TMS to stimulate deeper regions. The final section of this thesis will examine how making these alternatives more popular will impact pain …

Bibliotech, April 2020, Dr. C.C. And Mable L. Criss Library, University Of Nebraska At Omaha

BiblioTech

UNO Libraries' Digital Newsletter, BiblioTech, April 2020, Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library, University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Communo Magazine, Spring 2020, School Of Communication

CommUNO Magazine

CommUNO magazine was produced by Magazine Editing, Design and Production students and is currently published annually by the UNO School of Communication: 6001 Dodge Street, ASH 140, Omaha, NE 68182: Phone: 402.554.2600. Fax: 402.554.3836. For more information, follow us on Twitter@ CommUNO, join the “UNO School of Communication” page on Facebook or visit communication.unomaha.edu.

European Citizens' Attitudes Towards The European Union And Integration, And The Question Of Sovereignty, Dylan Hruska

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Since the referendum in 2016 that stated the United Kingdom was to leave the EU, many were wondering what caused them to leave. Many point to the theory that integration into the European Union was the cause, however we will look into other factors such as attitudes by analyzing the works of theorists, researchers, professors, and others to answer the question if the EUs encroachment on sovereignty, rise of nationalism, and the attitudes towards the EU are the possible factors to leaving the EU. I analyze political identities, occupation, and overall feelings on the EU and EU policies to see …

To What Extent Did Title Ix Create Equality Within Athletics: Analyzing Female Athletic Participation In High School Institutions, Kellyn M. Webster

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Since Title IX was signed into law in 1972, the legislation has long been associated with athletics. After the passage of Title IX, high school level and any other federally funded institution, now had to promote gender equality, including athletics. However, even though equality was and still is required, those demands are still not being met. Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics and the Civil Rights Data Collection in the 2013-2014 school year, I examine equality within high school athletics. I analyze the characteristics in high schools throughout the United States to determine what types of schools …