Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Analyzing The Accessibility Of Sports Facilities In Missoula, Montana, Quinn T. Peacock

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

The purpose of this survey is to understand the qualitative value of the public field inventory that will be analyzed based on quantitative data. We want to understand not only the assumed factors from data that affect rec-participants behavior, but what the individuals have to say about it for themselves as well.

Evaluating The Effect Of Nil Laws On College Athletic Department Revenue, Dylan C. Cherullo

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

This paper examines the impact of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) laws on revenue for public Division I universities' athletic departments, challenging the long-standing debate within the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). Utilizing panel data from the Knight Commission on College Athletics, which encompasses over 350 public Division I universities from 2002 to 2021, this study employs a difference-in-differences model. The model investigates state-level changes in university athletic department revenue from sponsorships (sponsrev), with special focus on the post-NIL law era. The analysis is bolstered by controls for various factors including ESPN’s FPI data, coach and equipment expenditures, and COVID-19 …

Firewise Landscaping: Homeowner Knowledge, Behaviors And Educational Preferences, Kendal Beauvais, Rowan Grassi, Frederick Gleasman

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Although wildfire is a natural process in fire-adapted forests, it poses growing socioeconomic and health threats. Urban development and expansion into the wildland-urban interface (WUI) has heightened wildfire exposure, putting tens of thousands of homes at risk in Montana alone. The Firewise USA program was created to reduce the risk of home ignition and loss in the WUI. The program encourages WUI homeowners to engage in mitigation efforts such as using Firewise landscaping strategies to create a defensible zone around their homes and using building materials that decrease overall ignition risk. Despite strong evidence that Firewise mitigation strategies are effective, …

Sentence Length And Perceptions Of Dangerousness As A Function Of Race, Attributional Complexity, And Ability To Meet Bail, Hannah Baldwin

Psychology Theses

Defendant race and ethnicity impact sentencing length decisions, leading to discrimination in the criminal justice system. Aspects of the pretrial process that strongly correlate with a defendant’s socioeconomic status, the use of cash bail, may also influence sentencing length, given the negative stereotypes about individuals of lower socioeconomic statuses. Relatively few studies have explored the impact of cash bail use on sentencing decisions or sought to understand why use of cash bail might influence these decisions. The current study investigates the impact of defendant ability to meet bail (yes v. no) on judgments of sentence length and dangerousness within the …

The Predictive Effect Of Parent Closeness On Substance Use For Coping In Adoptees: An Application Of Motivational Models Of Substance Use, Alison B. Klein

Psychology Theses

To explain a previously observed triad of substance abuse, adoption, and poor mental health adjustment in adoptees, the proposed study applies the Substance Use Motivation Model. This model would suggest that adoptees are motivated to use substances to negatively reinforce (remove or mitigate) depression and anxiety symptomology. Parent closeness is an established protective factor against negative mental health symptomology and substance use, suggesting closeness may influence the relationship between negative mental health symptomology and motivations to use substances for coping. To test this relationship, 100 adoptees were administered the Substance Use Motives Measure (SUMM), the Personal Health Questionaire-9 (Depression), the …

The Evolution Of Stereotypes About Alcohol Dependency In Film: Gender, Family, And Treatment, Jordan Sweenie

Psychology Theses

When watching films, people seek reflections and depictions of themselves and their experiences, something that they can understand and relate to. Movies are often looked at to decide, either subconsciously or consciously, how we view society, widespread issues, and one another—Oscar Wilde wrote that “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life” (Wilde, 1891). This is particularly true in how we as a society view mental illness, and what kinds of stigma are reinforced or rejected through the film industry. Accurately portraying any form of mental illness in film can be difficult, as experiences are subjective and no two …

Examining The Effect Of Witnessing Sexual Harassment On School Engagement: The Moderating Role Of Gender, Emily Sgritta

Psychology Theses

The following study investigated the potential relationships between directly or indirectly witnessing sexual harassment, the witness’ gender, school engagement, and psychological distress. Participants from an undergraduate university (N = 168) responded to a survey in which they answered questions relating to witnessing sexual harassment and their psychological distress, burnout, school engagement, and perceived social support after the event. For purposes of analyses, potential relationships on psychological distress and school engagement were examined further. Participants who directly witnessed sexual harassment reported lower school engagement than participants who didn’t report directly witnessing sexual harassment. Direct witnesses reported lower levels of vigor, dedication, …

Near-Universal Marriage, Early Childbearing, And Low Fertility: India’S Alternative Fertility Transition, Narae Park, Sangita Vyas, Kathleen Broussard, Dean Spears

Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVETo compare fertility in India to both low-to-middle-income and high-income countries (LMICs and HICs) and describe the patterns that have accompanied India’s transition to low fertility.

METHODS We use data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), the United Nations (UN), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to observe factors associated with fertility decline in 36 Indian states and 76 countries.

RESULTS Although fertility in India has declined to levels similar to HICs, women’s entry into marriage and initiation of childbearing are more in line with patterns found in LMICs. The vast majority of women in …

Teaching Information Literacy In An Undergraduate Class On The Geography Of The Middle East, Reecia Orzeck

Faculty Publications - Geography, Geology, and the Environment

Geography instructors have a role to play in helping their students to become more information literate. This is especially important today, given the complex and dynamic nature of our informational landscape, and given the evidence that young people lack much of the knowledge that is needed to engage with information critically. This paper reports on the effectiveness of an information literacy module that was included as part of a course on the Geography of the Middle East. It describes the design and rollout of the module, and the results of a study designed to assess the effectiveness of the module …

New Green Revolution In Ghana: Perceived Benefits, Challenges, And Implications For The Environment, Daniel Kpienbaareh, Abubakari Ahmed

Faculty Publications - Geography, Geology, and the Environment

This paper reflects on Africa's new green revolution (NGR) movement by drawing data from Ghana as an illustrative case to assess the benefits and challenges of NGR and discuss the long-term environmental implications of NGR interventions. We draw insights from agrarian change theory to understand the complexity of local, national, and international factors that interact to produce changes in agricultural systems that affect smallholder farmers in poor settings. Data were collected using qualitative methods based on the lived experiences of farmers and analyzed to understand farmers’ perspectives. We identified increased yield and income levels as crucial benefits of the NGR. …

A Geospatial Approach To Assessing The Impact Of Agroecological Knowledge And Practice On Crop Health In A Smallholder Agricultural Context, Daniel Kpienbaareh, Jinfei Wang, Isaac Luginaah, Rachel Bezner Kerr, Esther Lupafya, Laifolo Dakishoni

Faculty Publications - Geography, Geology, and the Environment

In the context of food insecurity in resource-poor settings, agroecology (AE) has emerged as an important approach promoted for improving crop productivity, yet few studies have demonstrated how a combination of agroecological methods can improve crop health and thereby crop productivity. Using a geospatial approach, this study investigated whether agroecological practices can improve crop health in smallholder contexts. We compared leaf area indexes (LAIs) of crops on AE and non-AE farms and prospectively predicted the impact of AE using vegetation indexes (VIs). We found that crops on AE farms produced higher average growing season LAIs for maize and pigeon peas …

Military Cooperation And The Relocation Of Quapaw And French Settlements In Colonial Arkansas: A Case Study In Colonial International Relations, Morris S. Arnold

Arkansas Archeological Survey Academic Papers

A previous article made the case that the Quapaw Indians had played a role in the defense of Arkansas Post, and had entered several colonial wars on the side of the French, during the time that France had claimed sovereignty over the Arkansas country.

The purpose of the present effort is to describe and explain the origin and nature of the alliance between the Quapaws and the French, and to identify the considerations that led the tribe to conclude that it was often in its national interest to collaborate with the French in their defensive and offensive military operations. The …

Manifestations Of Communicative Resilience In Experiences Of Serial Arguments Among Adult Children Of Harmful Parental Alcohol Use, Brooklyn Willis

Master's Theses

This thesis investigated the ways in which adult children of harmful parental alcohol use manifest resilience through the lens of the Communication Theory of Resilience (CTR). The CTR presents five communication processes by which resilience, which is the ability to overcome hardship, is demonstrated. Serial arguments, the repeated and unresolved conflicts that occur between romantic partners, were utilized as the context to study resilience. Interviews were conducted to learn about perceptions of serial argument resolvability and the ways and frequencies in which resilience manifested. A pre-interview survey gathered information pertaining to relationship satisfaction and perceptions of resilience. A thematic analysis …

The Relationship Between Loneliness And Experiential Avoidance After Implementation Of A Self-Compassion Intervention, Alyssa Mielock

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

An individual’s perception of a social relationship is distinct from an individual’s difficulty forming and maintaining social relationships. Loneliness is defined as an individual’s distress resulting from the discrepancy between perceived and desired social relationship quality. In the short term, loneliness may act as a motivator for an individual to seek social support to minimize distress. However, long-term loneliness is associated with physical and psychological impairments. There have been several risk factors identified that contribute to chronic loneliness, such as social isolation, psychopathology, and ineffective coping strategies. Ineffective coping may be one mechanism by which loneliness is associated with psychopathology …

Grasping Love : How Relationships Help Us Know God, Dennis Gregory Mcelyea

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Lusting After God : Sexual Struggle As A Catalyst For Spiritual Intimacy And Healing, David L. Janvier

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Dual Lives And Incongruent Selves: The Impact Of Culture And Parenting On The Development Of Self In Young Adults In Karachi, Pakistan, Sara Admani

SSLA Culminating Experience

This study explored the influence of culture and perceived parental expectations and control on the development of self. In addition, it examined the resulting incongruence between the ideal and real-self leading to false-self behaviour and mental health deterioration. Carl Rogers' theoretical framework on self, served as the basis for this research, which used an interpretative phenomenological analytic technique. In-depth interviews lasting between 30 and 45 minutes were used to gather the data. Eight participants (four men and four women) who attended the university Institute of Business Administration (IBA) and lived in Karachi were chosen using a combination of volunteer and …

Transphobia In Class, Anti-Trans Legislation At The State: A Commentary On Navigating Harm And Hope In A Social Work Education Program, Emera Greenwood, Megan S. Paceley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

EG (they/them): I was misgendered on day one of my BSW program; isolation and transphobia continued for two years. While I did my best to advocate for myself, I learned that you can't fight institutionally entrenched oppression alone.

MP (they/them): EG joined my class mid-semester after repeated incidents of transphobia. For two years, during an onslaught of anti-trans policies across the U.S., we advocated for changes in our school and social work education.

EG’s experience is not unique. Numerous studies document transphobia experienced by transgender and gender expansive (TGE) social work students and the lack of TGE content, visibility, and …

Leveraging Environmental Stewardship Mapping And Assessment Research As A Relational Process For Ecology With Cities, Bemmy Jennifer Maharramli, Michele Romolini

Center for Urban Resilience Scholarship

Increasingly, scholars, policy makers, and others have put forth that governance and management of urban environments requires a consideration of cities as social-ecological systems, necessitating involvement from a broad range of actors. Yet the research on environmental governance and development of tools to support it is often completed for rather than with those responsible for carrying out the work. We examined a university-led research e��ort on urban environmental stewardship in Los Angeles (LA), USA. A university urban research center conducted an environmental StewardshipMapping and Assessment Project (STEW-MAP) in Los Angeles County, which draws upon network analysis andGIS to better understand …

Complex And Varied: Factors Related To The Research Productivity Of Academic Librarians In The United States, Kristin Hoffman, Selinda Adelle Berg, Kristine R. Brancolini, Marie Kennedy

Librarian Publications & Presentations

Academic librarians face multiple barriers in conducting the research that is expected in their work, yet they still manage to successfully complete it. This study aimed to identify the factors that contribute to their success. Through an online survey sent via email to a random sample of academic librarians in the United States, we gathered and analyzed quantitative data about education and experience, demographics, success factor statements, and research productivity to determine which factors are related to increased research output. We found that three categories of factors—Individual Attributes, Peers and Community, and Institutional Structures and Supports—contribute positively to overall research …

Poc In Lis Summit 2023 Impact Report, Aisha Conner-Gaten, Nataly Blas, Jennifer Masunaga, Marisa Ramirez, Jessea Young

Librarian Publications & Presentations

While there are many conferences for information workers, very few highlight the voices of marginalized identities and provide a platform for discussion for their research interests. According to a 2010 American Library Association survey, 88% of credentialed librarians identify as white. In our vision for this summit and the future of libraries, People of Color in Library and Information Science Summit at Loyola Marymount University encouraged the representation of diverse topics and perspectives and as a part of this work acknowledged that the racial disparities we see in the library and information science (LIS) field reflect inequities in other parts …

Reproducibility In Management Science, David Moore, Miloš Fišar, Ben Greiner, Christoph Huber, Elena Katok, Ali I. Ozkes, Management Science Reproducibility Collaboration

Finance Faculty Works

With the help of more than 700 reviewers, we assess the reproducibility of nearly 500 articles published in the journal Management Science before and after the introduction of a new Data and Code Disclosure policy in 2019. When considering only articles for which data accessibility and hardware and software requirements were not an obstacle for reviewers, the results of more than 95% of articles under the new disclosure policy could be fully or largely computationally reproduced. However, for 29% of articles, at least part of the data set was not accessible to the reviewer. Considering all articles in our sample …

Developing Resilience Online: Evaluation Of Synchronous And Asynchronous Resilience Interventions For Filipino College Students, Ma. Regina Hechanova, Rosanne M. Jocson, Arsenio S. Alianan, Junix Jerald I. Delos Santos, Jason O. Manaois, Gilda Gomez, Gina R. Lamzon

Psychology Department Faculty Publications

This study evaluated two forms of a resilience intervention amongst college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilising a randomised controlled trial design; it examined the impact of a synchronous and asynchronous resilience interventions versus a control group that did a journaling intervention. Outcomes measured included coping behaviour; non-reactivity; wellbeing; stress; depression and anxiety. Participants consisted of Filipino college students randomly assigned to three groups: synchronous online resilience group (n = 135); asynchronous resilience group (n = 121) and control group (n = 127). Results revealed that students who went through the online synchronous resilience reported a significant reduction in depression …

Assessing Consistency Of Three Perfectionism Scales, Brianna Lawry

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Perfectionism is generally described as a personality trait characterized by excessively high standards, overly critical evaluations of performance, and disproportionate amounts of distress in response to perceived flaws or failure. However, there is some debate as to whether perfectionism is a stable personality trait or a fluctuating state attribute. To investigate this, the current study assessed the test-retest reliabilities of the three most widely used perfectionism scales (the APS-R, HFMPS, and FMPS) over a three-week period and examined the influence of various contextual variables. Data from this college sample (N=43; mean age=21; SD=3.7) demonstrated high reliability and internal consistency for …

The Impact Of Remote Learning In The Wake Of Covid19, Dominique Richards

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

With COVID19, the University of Akron and many other universities had to adjust how they taught students. They went from primarily in-person classes to primarily remote classes as well as hybrid classes. This project is meant to determine how students at the university were affected by this change regarding their overall satisfaction with remote learning. Students at the University of Akron were surveyed in September 2023. The questions regarded demographics, location during the semesters (from spring 2020 to current), impact on study habits, impact on grades, impact on social life, satisfaction with courses, and general thoughts on online learning. Questions …

Health Misinformation During Epidemiological Crises, Bethany Stefan, Alexis L. Emich, Katrina R. Lamp

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Health misinformation is more prevalent than ever in the modern age and poses serious risks for those who believe it. Medical fallacies can become especially harmful during periods of widespread disease when the misinformed respond in ways that increase threats to public health. The purpose of this systematic review is to describe and critically appraise the evidence about how health misinformation during endemics and pandemics can influence behaviors and responses, as well as the implications of interventions affecting these behaviors. A systematic search of the literature with inclusion/exclusion criteria using CINAHL Plus with Full Text, MEDLINE, and PsychINFO resulted in …

Variation In Ohio Police Response To Mental Health Crises, Brett Dietrich

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The following paper aims to identify and explain variation in Ohio police department methods of response to calls for service (CFS) involving mental health crises. Police response to mentally ill or disturbed individuals has become a topic of increased discussion in recent decades. Communities have attempted to bring reform to this area with alternative solutions, including specially trained police officers, co-response with social workers, or community-based response teams. Geographic and demographic factors such as police department size, population served, and availability of mental health resources impact how communities and police departments approach this issue. This paper consists of a literature …

2023 Scotus Report: Americans Reacted With Disgust And Sadness Toward The Scotus' Recent Rulings, Yi Luo, Bond Benton, Jin-A Choi, Keith Strudler, Keith Green

College of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

On June 29, SCOTUS struck down affirmative action, ruling the race-conscious admissions programs at colleges and universities unconstitutional. Then, on June 30, SCOTUS handed down another landmark ruling which outlawed student loan forgiveness and terminated President Biden’s plan to provide student loan reliefs for tens of millions of Americans. This high court’s decision on student loans will likely affect one in eight Americans, leaving student loan borrowers feeling frustrated, defeated, and angry. As online media have increasingly played a central role in facilitating civic engagement and shaping individuals’ decisions on contested issues, this study thus examines how social media users …

Human Interaction With The Divine, The Sacred, And The Deceased: Topics That Warrant Increased Attention By Psychologists, Thomas G. Plante, Gary E. Schwartz, Julie J. Exline, Crystal L. Park, Raymond F. Paloutzian, Rüdiger J. Seitz, Hans-Ferdinand Angel

Psychology

Humans have likely been attempting to communicate with entities believed to exist, such as the divine, sacred beings, and deceased people, since the dawn of time. Across cultures and countries, many believe that interaction with the immaterial world is not only possible but a frequent experience. Most religious traditions across the globe focus many rituals and activities around prayer to an entity deemed divine or sacred. Additionally, many people–religious, agnostic, and atheists alike–report communication with their departed loved ones. During highly stressful times associated with natural disasters, war, pandemics, and other threats to human life, the frequency and intensity of …

Sugar And Spice: Sex, Money, And Social Media, Rachel Elizabeth Davis

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

Interest in transactional sex, or the provision of a sexual relationship in exchange for gifts and/or money, has increased in recent years among researchers, nongovernmental organizations, and law enforcement officials as increasing numbers of women self-identify as hypergamous, indicating their interest in forming heterosexual partnerships with men of higher status. Hypergamous women may identify as sugar babies, spoiled girlfriends, or high-value women. A sugar baby is a woman providing romantic companionship to an older man, known as a sugar daddy, in exchange for money and/or gifts. A spoiled girlfriend is a woman whose partner provides her with money and/or gifts …