Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Listen To My Story: An Autoethnographic Account Of A Manic Episode, Allison Whitmire

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Bipolar disorder is a very complicated disease. It's first complexity is that it is a mental illness, so it is "invisible" and there is much stigma attached to seeking treatment. The second complexity is that there are both the highs of mania which contain hallucination and delusions for many as well as the lows of depression. These moods cycle throughout one's life. The third complexity is that because bipolar is both genetic and environmental in origin it steeps itself into the roots of family trees and causes generational trauma. Through examining how bipolar disorder has affected my life, these complexities …

The Value Of An Academic Library As Told By Its Users, Gabbi Anzalone

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Academic libraries serve many purposes and many users, and no one library is exactly alike. This project seeks to begin pinpointing the value of UNO’s own academic library, Criss Library, through the voices of students, faculty, and staff. These primary users will be the focal point, and their responses will aid in analyzing the common concerns, appreciations, and themes surrounding a library’s value. There will be an analysis and synthesis of insights that is based on both user perspectives of the individuals who have offered responses and broader trends in the perception of academic libraries. It is evident that academic …

Cultural Of Authenticity And Commodification: Analyzing The Aesthetic Waves And Collective Culture In The 2010s And 2020s, Stefanny Leung Yu

Student Theses

The “authentic self” is curated, aestheticized, and most notably, commodified. Digital algorithms, likes, views, and engagement are more than just digital metrics, they are the management of performance. For millions of other users — including the author herself — social media is the locus of personal expression. Most notably, sites like Tumblr, where users in the 2010s posted hazy images or overly filtered graphics along with melancholic song lyrics that match the vibe of the moment, expression was earnest and idealized. Today, social media in the 2020s, new creators like Hannah Neelaman, better known as Ballerina Farm, dress in pastoral …

Sustainable Agricultural Practices And Societal Impacts: A Case Study In Central Belize, Lily Hunt

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the relationship between climate change, sustainable agriculture, and rural development through a case study in Central Belize. Built from observations, interviews, and academic research gathered during a summer internship with the Belize Ministry of Agriculture, the research explores the challenges small farmers face as they navigate worsening climate threats - including drought, wildfire, and resource scarcity. With climate change accelerating at a faster rate in Belize than in many other countries, agricultural resilience has become a national priority. This internship focused on collecting applications for the Sustainable and Inclusive Belize Program, a government initiative that provides financial …

The Odds Of War: Links Between Conflict And Service Member Health, Duncan E. Mcnees

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

With the recent uptick in global tension and warfare between states, it is increasingly important to understand the nature of different types of conflict and how they affect the most important resources any nation's arsenal - the service member. Although there is a significant amount of raw data for casualties across all recent U.S. conflicts, there are remarkably few studies that examine the impact of specific conflict types directly on veteran disability levels. This paper uses recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Community Population Survey (CPS) Veterans Supplement to examine three major conflict periods and their differing effects on …

Rebuilding The American Dream: Understanding And Alleviating First-Time Home Buyer Affordability Challenges In Northwest Arkansas, Samuel R. Butler

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

Homeownership is a cornerstone of the American Dream. It is linked to numerous socioeconomic benefits such as social cohesion, civic engagement, imbalance in opportunities, education, and public health. However, in recent years, housing affordability across the nation and in Northwest Arkansas has become challenging.

Part I of this thesis explains the importance of homeownership nationally and the deteriorating conditions of first-time homebuyers. It explains the key drivers of housing affordability over time, and it explains the connection between zoning and affordability.

Part II focuses on the housing market in Northwest Arkansas (NWA). I forecast the NWA housing demand, which highlights …

Spillover Effects Of Foreign Direct Investment Within Japan's Industries, Kenshi Kawade

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the relationship between inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Total Factor Productivity (TFP) across Japanese industries to evaluate FDI’s potential for economic revitalization in Japan. Despite policy efforts under Abenomics to attract more FDI, Japan continues to lag behind other developed economies in foreign investment levels, hindered by structural barriers such as keiretsu networks and limited absorptive capacity. Using industry-level panel data from 1994 to 2018, this study applies Granger causality tests and panel regression models to examine the direction and magnitude of FDI spillovers on productivity. The results indicate a one-way causal effect from FDI to …

The Switch: Determinants Of Family School Modality Choices During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Steicy Dorfi Lopez

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

The K-12 system in the United States experienced substantial challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to give an overview of public, private, and homeschooling enrollment decisions during the pandemic, the changes families made between types of schooling and identify familial characteristics associated with the probability of switching in and out of public education. Knowing more about the groups exiting and returning to the public school system can help public school districts better tailor policies to attract and retain their students. Socioeconomic factors influencing a change could be signs of increasing segregation. Using a discrete choice duration model, a …

Exploring User Sentiment On Social Issues Via Neural Network Transfer Learning In Digital Communities, Ananya R. Vangoor

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Understanding public sentiment on social issues is crucial for gauging the stance of the general population. Traditionally, surveys have been a common approach for this. However, to capture more candid opinions, social media provides a rich source of unadulterated opinions. By analyzing social media statements, we can gain insights into the perspectives of specific groups. More specifically, we will investigate the attitudes of the public into the relationship between hard work and success in the workplace.

Using a neural network trained on tweets from X, formerly known as Twitter, we can categorize each tweet as either pro-luck or pro-meritocracy. But …

A World Without Prison: The Role Of Policy In Prison Abolition, Kristen Davis

Honors Theses

As concerns about mass incarceration persist, prison abolition offers an innovative approach to safety and justice. The prison abolition movement has been active in the United States since the 1970s. Despite increasingly critical attitudes of the prison system, prison abolition is yet to be accepted in mainstream policy making. Instead, policymakers focus on reform, which problematically legitimizes and reinforces locking people away as criminals. One reason why reform takes precedent may be that prison abolition is often understood in negative terms, as a movement that only advocates ending incarceration. However, its essence is better captured in positive terms, such as …

Spanish Language Accessibility Within Mississippi Courts, Meredith Dudte

Honors Theses

As the Hispanic population continues to rise in Mississippi, Spanish language access in the public sector is of increasing importance. This thesis will specifically explore Spanish language access in Mississippi courts, identifying strengths and weaknesses and recommending policy solutions based on the results. To gain a better understanding of court interpretation in Mississippi, I interviewed ten Spanish language court interpreters and two court clerks either working in Mississippi courts or courts in similar southern states. Responses highlighted two themes as strengths: the federal court interpreter test and compensation, four themes as weaknesses: compensation, standards, omissions, and dialects, and four themes …

Air And Missile Defense Threat Scenario Variation To Reduce Pretest Sensitization, Video Games As A Case Study, Julie Renee Szekerczes

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study uses fixed and variable video game types to measure pretest sensitization as a proxy for repeated and varied threat test scenarios in system performance testing of air and missile defense systems. The pretest sensitization phenomenon exists when repeated exposure to a test condition influences the participant's response. Research shows air and missile defense development correlates with video games, resulting in similar interfaces and computer operating environments. Department of Defense acquisition test and evaluation results must reflect system performance without prior knowledge of the threat scenarios confounding the results. System performance results inform acquisition decisions, such as further funding …

The Effects Of Hyper-Communication: A Quantitative Study On Workplace Productivity, David J. Olson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Today's workforce is overwhelmed with information delivered by tools designed to make them more productive. In a milieu of distraction and overload, employees are disadvantaged in processing the tremendous volumes of information they receive. This is called hyper-communication, which is associated with stress, overload, communication misalignment, and, ultimately, distractedness that impairs an employee’s work efficiency. This quantitative study presents research conducted through surveys examining hyper-communication's effects on workplace productivity. A sample of 631 respondents, solicited through social media, participated in this study. The participants came from diverse occupational backgrounds, providing cross-sectional insights into how factors like employees' titles, roles, gender, …

Documenting The Effects Of Laboratory Sorting In Zooarchaeology: Lessons Learned From The Cixwicn Project, Kristine M. Bovy, Virginia L. Butler, Michael A. Etnier, Sarah K. Campbell

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Zooarchaeologists routinely analyze assemblages that were initially sorted into major animal type (birds, mammals, fish, invertebrates) by students or lab technicians with varied backgrounds in zooarchaeology. Sorting errors are probably made in this initial phase, which can affect taxonomic representation and understanding of human–animal relationships. Recent study of the immense faunal assemblage (over 1 million NSP [Number of Specimens]) from Čḯxwicən (45CA523), a 2,700-year-old Lower Elwha Klallam village located on the coast of Washington (USA), allows us to systematically analyze trends in sorting errors. For example, 22.6% of the bird bones included in our sample were initially missorted into other …

Comparing Mentored Research Experiences For Undergraduates Across Institutional Contexts, Jazzmine K. Waugh, Sanya M. Surya, Mackenzie Gray, Thomas E. Keller

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Mentored undergraduate research experiences (UREs) can play a critical role in developing science identity and skills, especially for students from historically underrepresented backgrounds. This study investigates science identity and responsibility for scientific roles among scholars in a program aiming to diversify the biomedical workforce. Scholars were placed in UREs at either their home institution (a minority-serving institution [MSI]) or at a research-intensive medical institution with a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA). Methods: We analyze data from surveys administered annually to the scholars. We first compare changes in science identity for scholars placed at the MSI and the CTSA …

Understanding The Need For Gender Inclusiveness: A Case Study In Kolkata, India, Nilasree Dutta

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research focuses on examining the status of women in the selected Wards of Kolkata, India: Ward 59, 64, 65, 66, and 69. Three indicators are used to evaluate the status of women: education, nutrition, and religion. Data for this study was collected with the help of a Kolkata-based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) named Ek Tara. A complete questionnaire with open-ended and closed-ended questions was followed to conduct the survey. 353 households were interviewed to obtain the data. Several statistical analyses have been conducted using STATA software to address research hypotheses. To assess the nutritional status of women, hand grip strength …

Critical Race Historical Examination Of Summer Programs: Impact On African American Youth, Megan Lee, June Hopps, Deryl Bailey

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Brand Ownership Structure On Favorability And Authenticity Perception Of Surf Athlete Sponsorships, Tayler K. Baldwin

Journalism

This study investigates whether the ownership form of a surf brand, i.e., public or private, affects consumer authenticity and brand favorability impressions when partnered with surf athletes. Following Aaker's Brand Equity Model and relevant literature on influencer marketing and subcultural branding, the study employs a mixed-methods approach with a structured questionnaire survey (n = 526) alongside qualitative analysis of open-ended responses. Quantitative results indicate minimal variation in mean brand favorability for public compared to private brands, while privately owned brands had more consistent perceptions of authenticity across combinations of athlete partnerships. Qualitative outcomes support the assumption that privately owned brands …

United Arab Emirates: Navigating Tolerance And Complexity, Ava Brown

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

Shows how we explored a "misunderstood" place with respect and grace (Storytelling: Ava, Mustapha).

Influence Of The Solicitors General On The Supreme Court: 2011-2023, Maxwell Tobin

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

This project looks at the success rate of the OSG and how the data indicates that the government-more specifically between the executive and judicial- is not getting along. In doing so, this scholarship uses 337 Supreme Court cases where the OSG filed on these cases as an amicus brief. This project aims to fill the research gap since 2014. I argue the salience of this research is in 2020-2022 where SCOTUS has 3 new conservative members and the President during this time was leaning more progressive (even more than Obama). All of this works to explain the low success rate …

Exploring Variability Factors In Bur Oak Morphology, Karyn Morrissey

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

This project, completed for Dr. Kate Cary in the Biology department, investigates how bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) leaf morphology varies geographically. Using digitized herbarium specimens and provided data which included latitude, longitude, collection moth and year, leaf dissection, petiole length, temperature, and precipitation, the project visualizes patterns in morphology with a focus on leaf dissection (cm). Maps were generated both at the state level (Minnesota) and national level, depicting bur oak locations and morphology trends across different seasons (January-May and June-December) over the past century.  The importance of this data lies in its ability to reveal how environmental factors like …

Fish Need Shelter Too! The Importance Of Mangroves In An Aquatic Ecosystem, Karyn Morrissey

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

Mangrove trees exhibit many adaptations to living in salt water and tend to be found along marine shores. Some of these features include the ability to have their roots constantly submerged in water and stilt roots. Stilt roots are not true roots, instead they grow from the stem to the ground and provide both height and mechanical support in a somewhat fluid soil that the plants grow in. These stilt roots are thought to provide sanctuary for many juvenile fish. During our time on San Salvador Island, Bahamas (March 2025), we hypothesized that there was a relationship between distribution of …

Parenting Young Children While Coping With A Spouse's Anticipated Death: Evidence For The Dual Process Model Of Coping With Bereavement, Madison Kruse

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

Following a young parent’s untimely death, family dynamics change as remaining parent and child(ren) endure stress and cope with grief. This research presented 1) addresses a gap in the literature by providing empirical evidence for individual- and family-level restoration-oriented coping (Dual Process Model [DPM]) and 2) presents findings from semi-structured interviews that support the application of DPM with young parenting widows and children and provides implications for professional support.

Psychology Across The Spectrum: Self-Regulation And Emotional Control In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Emily Oswald

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

This paper explores the complex relationship between self-regulation, emotional control, and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), emphasizing the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional challenges autistic individuals often face. Drawing on contemporary research, it highlights how self-regulation is linked to cognitive and language development, while difficulties in emotional control can result in increased behavioral problems and mental health issues. The paper examines the dual role of behaviors like stimming—both as coping mechanisms and as forms of authentic self-expression—and addresses the tension between traditional behavioral interventions such as Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and emerging neurodiversity-affirming practices. This paper also discusses the neurodiversity movement, noting …

Korean Adoptees: Peer And Parental Socialization, Internalized Racism, And Diasporic Identity, Josie Braun, Majel Baker, Jae Kim, Richard Lee

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

There have been approximately 110,000 Korean children adopted to the United States since the end of the Korean War in the 1950s (as cited in O. M. Kim et al., 2024). Many of these transracial adoptees were, and still are, placed into white, middle-class, Judeo-Christian families (Reynolds et al., 2017), resulting in what is termed transnational, transracial adoption (Lee, 2003). Historically, these white adoptive parents were advised to raise their Asian adoptee(s) no differently than a white biological child, with the goal of assimilation (as cited in Lee & Miller, 2009). As a result, Korean Adoptees may internalize harmful, White …

Students’ Relationships With Professors And Peers And Their Belonging Within Majors, Alicia Sylvester, Valerie Partida, Majel Baker

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

Relationships with peers and professors are central features of the college experience and may relate to how students feel about their place within their academic majors. This study hypothesized that 1) students who report more comfortable relationships with their professors would also report greater comfort within their academic major, 2) stronger peer relationships would be associated with a heightened sense of belonging in one’s major. Participants were recruited from the CSBSJU Psychology Research in Action pool (n=38) and were surveyed twice in one semester, one week apart (Time 1 and Time 2). Professor relationships was statistically significant, F(2, 34) = …

Living In Essex: A Community Needs Assessment, Sue Berger, Ceara Somerville, Caitlin E. Coyle

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

This report describes research undertaken by the Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging (CSDRA) within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, on behalf of the Town of Essex. The goals of this project were to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of Essex residents age 18 or older by engaging the community regarding their experiences and needs relevant to the Council on Aging’s (COA’s) objective to identify and serve the needs of all Essex citizens 60 and older.

Utility And Democracy In Political Campaign Advertising: Toward A Rule-Utilitarian Ethic For Political Marketing And The Ethics Of Meddling In The Other Party's Primary, Joel Lansing Reed

Journalism Faculty Publications and Presentations

Political advertising ethics has long been dominated by an adherence to the norms of democratic idealism or the highly situational ethics of act utilitarianism. This article proposes an alternative system of political advertising ethics grounded in Brandt's ideal moral code theory, a form of rules-based utilitarianism. To illustrate the relative advantage of rule utilitarianism, the author investigates the ethics of advertising campaigns aimed at intervening in an opposing party's primary. The past decade has seen a dramatic resurgence in Democratic and Republican candidates in the United States meddling in the opposing party's primary through advertising campaigns designed to exploit tensions …

A Navajo Corpus Of Historical Narratives, Lukas Denk, Melvatha R. Chee

A Navajo Corpus of Historical Narratives

The Navajo Corpus of Historical Narratives is a digital compilation of morphologically annotated narratives. They were first published by Robert W. Young and William Morgan in the 1950’s in the volumes Navajo Historical Selections (1954) and The Trouble at Round Rock (1952). Nine out of 28 narratives are included in the corpus, totaling over 10,000 Navajo words. The corpus contributes to the understanding of the Navajo language by offering interlinear glosses of words, morphemes, morphs, and a free translation. These different interlinear tiers bridge the gap between the original Navajo text and the free translation provided by Young and Morgan, …

Bibliography For "Mindfulness Reference Display", Isabella Piechota, Arianna Tillman, Annikah Carpio

Library Displays and Bibliographies

A bibliography created to support a display about mindfulness in May 2025 at the Leatherby Libraries at Chapman University.