Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Let's Not Do Anything Drastic: Processes Of Reproducing Rural Marginalization In Education Policy Decision-Making, Julia M. Miller

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

At a school board meeting in micropolitan Athens County, parents of children attending the district’s smallest elementary school, Chauncey Elementary, packed in to defend the school against consolidation. They made calls for a levy to cover the impending budget shortfall and offered to reduce their classrooms by half if other schools would also bear some of the costs. They spent their holiday season defending their school, a source of vibrancy in the small town, from being closed. In the meeting, someone advocating for alternatives to closure suggested cutting administrator positions. The board response, according to one parent-leader? “Let’s not do …

The Conditions Of Oregon's Latinx Farmworkers, Kevin Alejandrez

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

The goal of this three-paper dissertation is to better understand inequalities that Latinx farmworkers endure and the ways through which these inequalities can be addressed. As such, this dissertation examines pertinent inequalities Latinx farmworkers experience in the United States, their responses to resulting hardships, and the effects that crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic have in both exacerbating hardship and expanding opportunities to challenge inequitable systems in place. This is done through an intersectional analysis of a multi-year ethnographic study conducted in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

First, paper one, titled, “Subordinate Adaptation: Intragroup Hierarchies Among Blueberry Pickers,” explores the ways in …

Parenthood, Mental Health, And Intergenerational Adversity: Exploring Gender Role Ideologies, Household Composition And Work-Family Conflict, Ashley Vowels

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

To date, research at the intersections of parenting, stress, gender, and mental health has yielded complicated and inconsistent results. The objective of this dissertation was to deepen our understanding of how parenting stress contributes to the mental health of both parents and their children, especially within the context of balancing work and family responsibilities. A three-study approach was used to assess differences by sex, gender role ideology, and household composition. Additionally, it explored the impact of parents’ characteristics on their children’s well-being in adulthood.

This project utilized secondary data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). Multivariate regression analyses …

A Confluence Of Identity, Skepticism, And Acculturation: A Grounded Theory Study On Voter Engagement Among Registered Latin American Immigrant Voters, Oscar De Tuya

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

One of the most important characteristics of a democracy is the ability of its citizens to directly elect many of their government representatives. Unfortunately, since only citizens are traditionally eligible to vote in the United States, the group of voters that ultimately influences government is smaller than the overall population. That excludes immigrants from full participation in government and contributes to conflict, which can be analyzed through various theoretical lenses, such as structural violence, basic human needs theory, and social cohesion. These realities underscore the importance of elections and of ensuring that an engaged and informed electorate is active in …

Meeting Children's Needs Through Trauma-Informed Care In A Crisis Nursery Setting, Elizabeth M. Fix

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

No abstract provided.

Underrepresentation Of Black Participants In Drug Court: Reasons Reported For Non-Admission In Six Jurisdictions, Kathryn J. Genthon

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the beneficial impacts of drug court participation, access to these programs may not be equitable across racial groups. The reasons behind racial disparities in access to these programs are not well-documented in the current literature. This study investigates disparities in access to drug court and the possible reasons they occur. Chi-square tests are used to assess for disparities in admissions between Black and White individuals referred to drug court. Additional statistical analyses addressed the association of sex and age with admission to provide a broader picture of the impact of a variety of demographic characteristics on admission to drug …

Incorporating A Developmental Perspective Into Gene Identification Models For Alcohol Use Behaviors, Nathaniel S. Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

Frequent alcohol use can lead to alcohol use disorder, which accounts for three million deaths and over 133 million life years lost to disability and death worldwide per year. Alcohol use behaviors unfold across development, beginning with initiation of drinking and progressing through various escalating stages of use. Alcohol use behaviors are also under genetic influence. Genome-wide association represents the state-of-the-science statistical methodology for identifying genes associated with alcohol use outcomes. However, contemporary genome-wide association study (GWAS) methods typically do not account for variability in genetic effects throughout development. In this project, I applied novel multivariate genomic methods to combine …

Piney Point Cascading Disaster And Environmental Conflict: An Explanatory Case Study, Ketti Davison

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this explanatory case study is to understand the sense that community members made of how and why environmental conflict manifested in the wake of the Piney Point cascading disaster. It found that intentional avoidance of local news caused community members to be unaware of the risks beforehand, of the responses in the aftermath, and of the threats that remain. The study leverages a unique opportunity to fill a gap in the research by examining a contemporary cascading disaster as it generated environmental conflict. This dissertation centers on the perceptions of directly affected community members in the Tampa …

The Challenges And Transformative Experiences Of Promoting Nonkilling With Anti-Nuclear Weapon Activists And Realists, Roland Joseph

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Decades ago, Glenn D. Paige questioned killing and violence in politics, presenting nonkilling political science as an alternative. Activists and researchers from other disciplines have joined the movement by considering this new paradigm in their disciplines. Since then, some scholars analyzed the experience of activists promoting notions related to nonkilling, including peace and nonviolence. However, no previous research focuses specifically on the experience of scholars promoting nonkilling to anti-nuclear weapon activists and realists. To fill this gap and give voice to nonkilling and nuclear weapon risks, a qualitative phenomenological study using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was conducted to answer the …

Lens On Conflict: A Content Analysis Study On The Role Of Hollywood In U.S. – Iran Relations, Farshad Farahat

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

The main purpose of this dissertation was to identify whether development of impartial, equitable and resolution based films and television shows covering the U.S. – Iran conflict could have a greater ethical, educational, entertainment and economic value for Hollywood studios and their world audience in comparison to the present contentious and stereotypical narrative portrayals. The qualitative research methodology of content analysis was thus utilized to conduct the research. Upon the step-by-step application of the methodology, the key finding of the dissertation established that diplomatic based narrative Hollywood themes of conflict resolution have a greater social, critical review and box-office value …

The Digital Footprint Effect: A Grounded Theory On The Influence Of Social Media On Human Resource Managers’ Hiring Decisions, Tanya Pawlowski

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

For over a decade, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has reported the increasing practice of hiring managers accessing social media profiles to screen job applicants (Bates, 2008). This qualitative research study investigated the role of social media in organizational hiring practices and what factors may influence human resource hiring managers’ decisions. A grounded theory methodology was applied to interview 21 human resource hiring managers with open-ended structured questions. Based on the researcher’s data collection and grounded theory data analysis, the findings showed that social media profiles play a crucial role in organizational hiring decisions when a human resource …

Reducing Workplace Conflict: A Reasonable Expectation?, Stephen Mark Kominek

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Workplace conflict is a part of everyday work life for many employees, from educationalinstitutions to businesses, and can occur for multiple different reasons. Research has shown that employees spend a significant amount of their life in the workplace and that addressing unresolved conflict is one of the costliest aspects of running an organization. The literature suggests that providing employees with the opportunity to experience greater job satisfaction may reduce the occurrence of workplace conflict. This quantitative study explored the experience of workers employed in various organizations and institutions. The theoretical frameworks applied in the study were Systems Theory and Maslow’s …

Beyond Human Error: Seafarers’ Perceptions About Their Interpersonal Conflicts In A Multicultural Workplace A Typology Of Seafarers’ Conflicts Contributing To Maritime Accidents, Eugenio Moreno

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Marine incidences and casualties result in occurrences like loss of lives, personal injuries, collisions, allisions, hull and machinery damages, and environmental damages. Therefore, this study’s purpose was to examine seafarers’ perceptions of their interpersonal conflicts on board the vessels in a multicultural workplace and to examine whether they perceive that those interpersonal conflicts may contribute to the human errors that lead to marine casualties and incidences. A two-method approach (quantitative and qualitative) was used. The theoretical framework guiding this study consisted of four theories, which were culture and interpersonal relationship conflict, social identity theory, organizational interpersonal and task conflicts theory …

Caregiver Acceptability Of Differential Reinforcement Procedures For Honest Reports Of Transgressions, Stephanie C. Bowar

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

When measuring social validity, many researchers rely exclusively on subjective measures, such as questionnaires or surveys; however, these measures may fail to capture the variables that control later intervention adoption by stakeholders, and objective measures may capture these variables more accurately. Moreover, few researchers have investigated the adoptability of differential reinforcement (DR) interventions to increase children’s honesty about transgressions. We taught caregivers to implement the DR procedures reported in Lehardy et al. (2023) and measured the acceptability and adoptability of procedures using three measures: (1) a social validity questionnaire and rating scale immediately following training, (2) a concurrent-chains preference assessment …

A Mixed-Method Analysis Of The News Media Framing Of Gender Non-Conforming Victims Of Homicide In The U.S. From 2012 To 2022, Susana Avalos, Hayley Jackey, Iyan Wickel

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Recent analyses of transgender homicide victims find that the news media often uses improper terminology, delegitimizes, and victim blames them. These analyses, while insightful, are limited as they have largely analyzed cases involving trans women and trans feminine individuals. The present study employs a mixed-method approach to analyze news media articles (N = 88) published in U.S. online news media outlets about 17 gender non-conforming victims killed between 2012 and 2022. We found that most articles did not delegitimize or victim blame. However, we find (1) victim blaming occurred when reporting on cases of officer-involved shootings, (2) certain victims …

Public Attitudes Towards Non-Criminal Preventive Detention As A Function Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Matt Zaitchik, Kyle Gamache, Judith Platania

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Non-criminal preventive detention is justified by both the state’s parens patriae and police power roles. Individuals with mental illness and individuals with a highly communicable, potentially lethal disease can be involuntarily detained. Modern applications of quarantine have led to higher court decisions that address the balance between liberty and public health and safety. The inherent tensions that underlie quarantine law – individual liberty versus public safety – are apparent in our contemporary, COVID-19 America. Consequently, much of the current discussion appears to have political overtones. In order to empirically address this issue, in the current study we examine attitudes towards …

Quantifying The Potential Health Impacts Of Unvented Combustion In Homes – A Meta- Analysis, P. Jacob Bueno De Mesquita, Nuria Casquero-Modrego, Iain Walker, Brennan D. Less, Brett C. Singer

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

While a growing body of scientific literature describes the population health impacts of fossil fuel production and burning via climate and air pollution pathways, less is known about the health impacts of indoor combustion. This paper summarizes the results of studies from the last two decades that investigated the association between exposure to sources of unvented combustion pollutants in homes and a range of health outcomes. We found gas combustion to be associated with 6-28% (95% confidence intervals) increased odds of asthma symptoms, 4-51% increased odds of systemic symptoms, 7-81% increased odds of asthma medication use, and 3-12% increased risk …

Potential Causes Of Racial Disparities In Wrongful Convictions Based On Mistaken Identifications: Own-Race Bias And Differences In Evidence-Based Suspicion., Jacqueline Katzman, Margaret Bull Kovera

Publications and Research

Objective: We explored whether racial disparities in evidence-based suspicion (i.e., evidence of guilt prior to placement in a lineup) provide a better explanation of racial disparities in exonerations based on eyewitness misidentification than the own-race bias in eyewitness identifications. Hypotheses: We predicted that the own-race bias in identification accuracy would be insufficiently large to fully explain the racial disparities in wrongful convictions in cases with mistaken identification. We also predicted that possible racial disparities in the prior probability of suspect guilt before subjecting suspects to the risk of misidentification might better explain racial disparities in wrongful convictions. Method …

Differences In Religious Framing Of Muslims And Islam In American Media Coverage Before And After The Trump Campaign, Emily Greene-Colozzi, Amy Adamczyk, Senahan Kiyal Keles

Publications and Research

Over the last 20 years Muslims have received a disproportionate amount of news media attention. In 2017 they were again thrust into the spotlight when the Trump administration issued a travel ban blocking entry from seven predominately-Muslim countries. With our hand coding of over 900 newspaper articles and mixed modeling techniques, we examine the newspaper rhetoric surrounding Muslims before and during the Trump administration and across US states. We find that after President Trump’s election, fewer newspapers mentioned religion or referenced Muslim claimsmakers. We also reveal that higher state-level religious salience was associated with more newspapers referencing religious claimsmakers in …

Evaluation Of Cytokeratin-Specific Antibody And Autofluorescent Signals As Predictors Of Time Since Deposition For Saliva Samples, Dillon Ryder

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

In a forensic investigation, STR profiles generated from biological evidence can frequently be informative to identify an individual or provide an investigative lead. However, STR typing does not provide information to answer activity-level questions which can be highly important to a criminal case, such as the Time Since Deposition (TSD) of biological evidence. Determining the relative time in which a biological sample was left at a crime scene would provide additional information regarding the timeline of a crime and a person of interest’s relationship to the scene. One proposed method of estimating TSD is to use flow cytometry to analyze …

Horizontal And Vertical Transmission Of Microbes Associated With Blow Flies Of Forensic Importance, Gabrielle Alisa Burton

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Entomological and microbiological evidence can be used in the estimation of postmortem intervals (PMI). This study observes the horizontal and vertical transmission of the microbial community associated with blow flies of forensic importance. Variable region four (V4) of the 16S ribosomal DNA (16S rDNA) was amplified and sequenced from various life stages of blow flies (n=72) using dual-index high throughput sequencing strategy on the MiSeq FGx platform. No significant difference in bacterial community structure was observed between blowfly adults with carrion access and blowfly adults with no carrion access. Dysgonomonas, unclassified Proteobacteria, Escherichia, Ignatzschia, Providencia, …

Bones As An Alternative Matrix For The Detection Of New Synthetic Opioids In Cold Cases: Introducing New Animal Models For Bone:Blood Correlation Studies, Kala N. Babb

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Introduction: The growing opioid epidemic in North America presents a call to action to develop new techniques for the identification and quantitation of novel synthetic opioids in uncommon matrices. In instances of extreme decomposition and/or significant scavenging, bone may be the only matrix available. In order to develop an extraction method for synthetic opioids in bone, bone samples were obtained from animal models. The animal model of choice is the rabbit due to their exhibition of spontaneous cortical bone remodeling, a process that is exhibited in humans but not in rats and mice.

Methods: An extraction method was developed to …

Assessment Of The Acidified Hydrogen Peroxide Method On Uncontrolled Fired Cartridge Case Samples, Kylie S. Richardson

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

The use of fingerprints to identify individuals in forensic cases has been useful for many years due to the persistence and individuality of the prints. In addition, the presence of firearms in forensic casework is steadily increasing over the years. This study aims to expand upon prior research in the development and recovery of latent prints on fired, brass ammunition using an acidified hydrogen peroxide method. Although latent prints are left on the cartridge casing of ammunition during the handling and loading of ammunition into the firearm, it is hypothesized that the pressure within the barrel of the firearm during …

Investigation Into The Relationship Between Dna Content And Dna Yield Prediction And Presence Of A Multiple Contributor Cell Population In Trace Dna, Sarah Holton Roisch

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Due to advancements in DNA analysis technology and an increased ability to detect trace quantities of low template DNA, ‘touch’ or trace DNA has become a prevalent form of evidence for forensic investigations. Trace DNA is biological material left on a surface from skin cells after being touched or handled. The success rate of casework could be improved with new methods to non-destructively screen trace DNA to predict DNA yield and whether multiple cell populations are present in the evidence prior to STR analysis. Current methods of trace DNA analysis require quantifying the sample with qPCR followed by STR analysis, …

Optimization Of Microfluidic Device Methodology For Optical Trapping Epithelial Cells In A Mixture, Brittney N. Hackworth

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Evidence containing biological mixtures can make DNA interpretation more difficult due to ambiguous allele calls and artifacts that may be present within electropherograms. Separating out these cell mixtures can be advantageous to the analysts’ analysis methods for identifying STR profiles with higher accuracy. A potential cell separation method that could be implemented in the beginning of the forensic DNA workflow is optical trapping.

This research utilized a 5W ytterbium linearly polarized laser split into two optical traps, paired with a microfluidic device to isolate spermatozoa and vaginal epithelial cells from a 1:1 mixture of vaginal fluid and 1:20 diluted seminal …

Comparison Of Cell Counts To Dna Yield In Mock Biological Evidence Samples, Jacob Sewell

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

The implementation of rapid DNA analysis systems is of interest to forensic DNA casework, as this technology exhibits a sample-to-profile time of approximately two hours with limited handling of samples. This decreases the likelihood of contamination, and can potentially reduce DNA backlogs; however, current rapid DNA analysis systems do not execute one crucial step of the forensic DNA analysis workflow: human DNA quantitation. This step is necessary for DNA profiles to be compliant with the FBI’s Quality Assurance Standard 9.4, allowing DNA profiles to be uploaded and searched within the CODIS database. Coupling traditional qPCR methods with rapid DNA analysis …

Development And Validation Of Microrna Markers For Forensic Body Fluid Identification Using Rt-Qpcr, Jane Goble

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Body fluid identification is one of the first and most fundamental steps in the forensic DNA workflow. It allows analysts to determine where a sample might exist on an item of evidence, as well as the type of sample that they are dealing with. However, current serological methods have been documented to produce false or inaccurate results in some cases, and may consume large amounts of sample during processing. Molecular methods, such as the use of microRNA and microbial profiles have been introduced as a means to increase specificity of testing, and have even been combined into a singular assay …

Evaluation Of Direct-To-Amplification Cell Lysis Techniques For Forensically Relevant Non-Sperm Cells, Rhea Arya

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

While efforts have been made to reduce the pervasive backlog of sexual assault evidence collection kits, the actual laboratory process remains very time-consuming due to the requirement of a differential lysis step before DNA purification, as well as intricate mixture analysis towards the end of the DNA workflow. Previous work in the Dawson Green laboratory at VCU has developed alternative solutions for differential extractions with sexual assault samples using both an in-tube and microdevice assay. Prior work led to the identification of an alternative sperm lysis method – alkaline lysis using 1M NaOH. However, the current lysis method used for …

Evaluation Of The Age Of Evidence In Mock Biological Touch Evidence Samples, Emma P. Hirst

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

As more sensitive DNA profiling techniques have been developed, questions about how and when the DNA was deposited have become a driving issue in forensic casework. Image flow cytometry (IFC) offers a way to estimate the time since deposition (TSD) of trace DNA samples based on individual cells' morphological and autofluorescence properties. Previous work has shown that a TSD can be determined from a single contributor in touch samples. To determine if TSD could be correctly estimated for mixtures containing a fresh deposit (less than a week old) and an older deposit, this project characterized a series of samples that …

Analysis Of Forensic Relevant Cell Mixtures Using Cellular Autofluorescence And Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (Facs), Shayla Smith

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Biological mixtures containing DNA from more than one contributor can make DNA profile interpretation challenging, especially for ‘touch’ or trace biological evidence. One approach to improve this is by differentiating cell populations from separate individuals prior to DNA profiling by utilizing intrinsic features of cells such as size, shape, and biochemical profiles. The goal of this study was to develop a new method for detecting and separating contributor populations in biological mixture samples using flow cytometry, a rapid and non-destructive approach with an unexplored potential for forensic casework. To accomplish this, two different mixture systems were investigated (1) mixtures containing …