Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Ai And Affective Polarization: The Ethos, Pathos, And Logos Of Political Rhetoric, Odette A. Henry

Student Theses and Dissertations

Campaign messages created using artificial intelligence (AI) tools were used in the 2024 Presidential election. AI videos, images, and audio recordings were used for the first time in campaign strategies to influence voters. The purpose of this research is to examine the AI campaign messages to identify rhetorical strategies used to influence voters. A selection of campaign artifacts was analyzed according to Aristotelian rhetorical strategies – ethos, pathos, and logos. Aristotle states that these techniques can be manipulated in the interest of political persuasion. The findings support his position and indicate that most 2024 AI campaign messages are partisan, manipulative, …

Let's Talk About Sex, Baby! Gender Roles In Parent-Child Sexual Communication, Alexandra Henrici

Dissertations and Theses

Parent-child sexual communication remains a fruitful avenue to increase safe sex behaviors, which are currently in decline by today's adolescents. Historically, mothers have reported engaging in parent-child sexual communication more than fathers do. Previous scholarship suggests this difference could be due to traditional gender role beliefs or conflicts with traditionally masculine attributes. Using social cognitive theory and social role theory, this study conducted a cross-sectional survey on parents of children aged 9 through 16. Positive relationships existed between outcome expectations, self-efficacy, and level of detail in sexual and reproductive health conversations between parents and children. Though no statistical difference was …

Impact Of Trap-Neuter-Return Programs On Municipal Spending, Natalie Maria Hanna

Student Theses and Dissertations

Trap-neuter-return (TNR) programs are an effective way to reduce the number of free-roaming cats without relying on euthanasia by preventing further reproduction. Despite substantial research into the effectiveness of TNR, few studies explore the financial implications of implementing TNR at the municipal level. The purpose of this research was to identify if there is a relationship between the implementation of TNR and municipal spending on animal services by analyzing annual budgets and financial reports pre- and post- TNR implementation in a single municipality alongside shelter data in the same time period. Findings in this research suggest that implementing a TNR …

Social Perception Of Bipolar Disorders On Employment Outcomes, Mary E. Henson

Student Theses and Dissertations

An important component to quality of life in those living with bipolar disorders is employment. Employment gives people an opportunity to provide for themselves and others, granting them the ability to live bountiful lives. For those with mental health diagnoses, it also provides them with economic access to affordable treatment. Literature agrees that many people with these diagnoses, specifically people with bipolar disorders, are less likely to be employed and maintain employment. It is likely that a lack of employment is due to stigma faced from employers and colleagues. Many studies have investigated internal stigma of bipolar disorders, but there …

News Portrayals Of Women In The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Zinnia Sheikh

Student Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how The New York Times visually framed women in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A quantitative content analysis of 592 news images of gender (male, female) and objects was conducted through the lenses of framing theory and visual framing theory to understand gender representation in conflict reporting. The photo sample analyzed a period of two years, starting from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2024. The findings indicate that The New York Times portrays women as victims more often than men, which supports the previous traditional gender portrayals of women showing them as victims. However, the findings challenge the …

Why Yelling Feels Like The Only Option (And What To Try Instead), Vanessa Brouse

Student Works

Why Yelling Feels Like the Only Option (and What to Try Instead) explores how emotional dysregulation in parents can lead to reactive patterns like yelling, shutting down, or withdrawing, and how these responses impact children’s emotional development. Drawing on principles of emotional regulation, the piece offers practical, compassionate strategies for parents to break intergenerational cycles and build stronger, more connected relationships with their children. This article is especially relevant for parents, caregivers, and educators interested in trauma-informed parenting, emotional resilience, and behavior challenges.

The War On Tourer: An Analysis In Terrorism’S Effect On Tourism, Jacob M. Strawn

Student Theses and Dissertations

Tourism is the third largest global export, representing seven percent of all global trade(UNWTO 2021). Many developing countries now depend on tourism to achieve sustainableeconomic growth, a core component of the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Priorstudies of this phenomenon focus on isolated case-studies, mostly based on limited data. Inthis thesis I examine how terrorist incidents and fatalities affect international tourist arrivalsin 93 developing countries from 1995 to 2020. Special focus is placed on potential variablesthat may effect some countries more than others like Post-9/11 Anxiety. An increase in terrorattacks is associated with a decrease in tourism. A separate analysis …

Revising And Consolidating The Dsm-5 And Icd-11 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders Into A Dimensional Spectrum-Based Disorder: A Literature Review, Samuel Milton Shatsky

University Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the clinical, cultural, and theoretical implications of replacing the current DSM-5 and ICD-11 categorical diagnoses of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) with a unified dimensional framework: trauma spectrum disorder (TSD). The proposed TSD model addresses ongoing concerns around diagnostic inflation, treatment misalignment, and clinical confusion stemming from binary trauma categorizations. This thesis explores whether adopting a dimensional diagnostic model to replace DSM-5 and ICD-11's current PTSD and CPTSD designations could lead to improved treatment outcomes and diagnostic clarity.

Methodology consisted of an extensive literature review of the field's current research. Using the …

As Good As It Gets? Comparing Clients’ And Treatment Providers’ Perceptions Of Engagement Barriers And Facilitators For Exposure And Response Prevention Ocd Treatment, Samuel Mutschler-Aldine

University Honors Theses

This mixed-methods study compared clients' and providers' sentiments toward research-based themes on barriers and facilitators of client engagement in treatment. For individuals with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), engagement in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy is a crucial ingredient of successful treatment and symptom remission. Therefore, it is imperative to thoroughly understand the perspectives on engagement barriers and facilitators of people with field experience: ERP patients and therapists.

The researcher administered two Qualtrics surveys to thirty current providers and six current or former clients of ERP for OCD. Each survey contained five-point, Likert-style scales to measure the level each participant agreed …

Efficacy Of New Jersey's Child Protection Policy Among Local Superior Courts, Nerissa G. Collins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the existence of New Jersey Department of Children and Family (NJDCF) policy guidelines, it remained unclear whether New Jersey superior courts consistently applied these principles and guidelines in Department of Child Protection and Permanency (CP&P) child abuse cases. Limited research had been conducted to examine how courts interpreted and adhered to these policies in legal rulings, leaving a gap in understanding how NJDCF principles influenced judicial decision-making. This gap in the literature made it difficult to assess whether policy guidelines effectively shaped court outcomes in ways that supported child protection and welfare. Child protective advocate attitudes and opinions concerning …

Bias In Media Portrayals Of Filicide Cases Involving African American Women, Channing Lelar Collins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study was conducted to examine racial disparities in media portrayals of filicide cases involving African American and Caucasian women, exploring how systemic biases and societal narratives influenced public perception, policy, and the child welfare and legal systems. Using a qualitative content analysis of 42 cases involving African American women and 20 involving Caucasian women, framing techniques, language, and imagery were analyzed. The research addressed three questions were (a) What narratives and framing were used?, (b) How did these differ across racial lines?, and (c) What are the broader societal and systemic implications? Results showed that media coverage of African …

Contributions Of California Teacher Librarians To Student Achievement, Keith Curry Lance, Caitlin Gerrity

Learning Hub

This article assesses the contributions of California Teacher Librarians (TLs) to student achievement, specifically in the area of English Language Arts and Literacy. This comparison-of-means analysis employed two major datasets: the California Department of Education (CDE) school library evaluation survey and California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) data, both for the 2022-23 school year. This study found that students who met or exceeded ELA standards were more likely to be in schools with: a full-time, certified TL rather than a part-time TL or no TL; a TL–full- or part-time–rather than no TL; a TL staffing a single library …

The Impact Of Child And Parent Trauma Exposure On A School-Based Trauma-Focused Child Intervention, Andrea Donis

Master's Theses

National statistics demonstrate that vast majority of Latine youth living in low-income neighborhoods in the United States experience on-going trauma exposure throughout their life. However, most trauma-focused therapies were designed without considering the impact that experiencing new trauma exposure during treatment may have on treatment effectiveness, limiting our understanding of the potential attenuation caused by new traumatic experiences. In addition, most youth research has focused on the impact of child trauma exposure, with little attention given to the impact of parental trauma exposure on child treatment outcomes despite the salient role that parents play in child development. In particular, little …

Amplifying Extremism: Small Town Politicians, Media Storms, And American Journalism, Nik Usher, Jessica C. Hagman

Communication: Faculty Scholarship

Within a week, a no-name Republican state representative from a town of 384 people in Illinois catapulted from obscurity to a prime-time appearance on Fox News' Ingraham Angle. This newly empowered politician, Darren Bailey, would go on to steer the pro-business Republican party in Illinois toward extremism. Democratic backsliding emerges across all levels of politics, but the threats posed by small-town politicians have been overshadowed by national-level politicians. This microstudy of a single politician's debut in the public eye showcases a novel approach to media corpus construction that combines proprietary and open databases, aggregated search tools, and targeted searching, and …

Veterans In Utah: Services, Gaps, And Opportunities, Troy Allan

All Current Publications

This fact sheet, the first in a series, provides an overview of veteran services in Utah, identifying existing resources, areas of unmet need, and opportunities for strategic investment. It is intended for veterans, policymakers, community leaders, and organizations committed to strengthening the health and well-being of Utah’s veteran community, with particular attention to those aging in rural and underserved areas.

Sounding Resistance: The Young Stunners And The Rise Of Urdu Rap In Pakistan, Shanzay Salman

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

No abstract provided.

Beyond The Priesthood: Patriarchy, Faith, And The Feminist Movement With The Lds Church, Chelsee M. Niebergall

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

No abstract provided.

Kindling, Cosima Pellis

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

No abstract provided.

Meditation On Winter's Bare Trees, Reng Zhao

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

No abstract provided.

Young Boy And The Wallet, Isdaly Reyes

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

No abstract provided.

Mexican American, Isdaly Reyes

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

No abstract provided.

The Celestial Progenitors, Caden P. Ide

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

No abstract provided.

No Evidence For Pape-Induced Jumping Performance Enhancement Following Isometric And Treadmill Warm-Ups In Team Sport Athletes, Artur Terbalyan, Adam Maszczyk, Robert Krzysztof Roczniok

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

Background: This study aimed to determine whether an isometric PAPE‐based warm-up could enhance jumping performance compared to a traditional treadmill jogging warm-up in team sport athletes. The primary focus was on assessing neuromuscular activation and performance indicators such as jump height and force asymmetry. Materials and Methods: Fifty-three athletes from basketball, volleyball, handball, and soccer participated in a controlled, parallel-group experiment. Participants performed either a unilateral isometric warm-up protocol – comprising two sets of four exercises per leg– or a 5‐minute treadmill jogging session, with jump performance assessed via countermovement jump tests on dual force plates. A split-plot ANOVA was …

Navigating Campus Partners, Dymond Bush, Sarah Campbell, Olivia Seymour

Library Staff Publications, Presentations & Journal Articles

Demonstrating the value of the library’s resources to campus partners can be challenging for librarians. In this session, learn how Bryant University Research and Instruction Librarian Dymond Bush built relationships with the Athletics Department to bring this community into the library. Olivia Jones with Salve Regina University’s McKillop Library will discuss her partnership with the Office of Multicultural Programs and Retention and their Inclusive Reading Club. Sarah Campbell, Research and Instruction librarian at JWU will explore how developing partnerships with the graphic design department and the Center for Teaching and Learning created new opportunities for instruction and pedagogy-focused professional development. …

Teaching Students To Provide Effective Feedback With The Situation-Behavior-Impact (Sbi) Framework, Steve Garwood

Rowan-Virtua SOM Faculty Teaching & Learning Seminar

We often ask medical students to provide feedback to each other and the faculty. However, we do not necessarily teach them to provide effective, actionable feedback. This research focused on the impact of providing students with a 1-hour session training them to utilize the Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI) feedback model.

Situational Analysis Of Child Labour In Coastal And Marine Activities In Zanzibar, Tanzania, Happiness Anold Moshi, Rukia Kitula

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This study analyses the situation of child labour in coastal and marine activities in Zanzibar, Tanzania, by examining activities carried out by children, the major driving factors for engaging in child labour, as well as the associated impacts to children’s schooling and wellbeing. Questionnaire survey, focus group discussions (FGDs), participant observations, and key informant interviews (KII) were all used to collect data for the study. The study involved a total of 90 children, who were randomly selected among working children in coastal and marine activities. It was found that most of the working children were involved in fishing, fish descaling, …

Ai Literacy Initiatives At Bryant University: Cross Campus Collaborations, Allison Papini, Abby Dolan

Library Staff Publications, Presentations & Journal Articles

Teaching students how to use and understand the information they receive from generative AI is a current dilemma for many educators. In this presentation, librarians Abby Dolan and Allison Papini will discuss their current work with increasing AI information literacy across the Bryant University Campus including supporting the creation of multiple chatbots and building an AI literacy curriculum for first-year students.

Sisyphus And The Digital Library: Keep Rolling That Boulder Up The Hill (Careful, It's Heavy), Ruth E. Bryan, Sarah Dorpinghaus, Megan M. Mummey

Library Presentations

Oftentimes, archivists and programmers feel like Sisyphus of Greek myth, continually rolling our boulder, the digital library, up the hill of stakeholder expectations. Since 1998, the University of Kentucky Libraries has provided online access to digital and digitized archival content through ExploreUK.uky.edu and other sites. Like many other institutions, UK Libraries has faced technological, organizational, and communication challenges in this endeavor. This presentation explores how UK Libraries responded to these challenges by expanding the decision-making team, after years of unclear responsibility and ownership, to reinvigorate internal interest and investment in the local digital library system and workflows.

Western Kentucky University Stormwater Utility Survey 2025, Warren Campbell

SEAS Faculty Publications

This survey provides data on 2147 U.S. and 82 Canadian stormwater utilities. The data is intended to provide useful data to communities that wish to enact stormwater utilities. Different fee systems are examined with the goal of avoiding legal exposure. Recently, the major source of pre-disaster mitigation funds was eliminated. States should consider state-wide stormwater utilities to make up for this loss.

Working Mothers And Children’S Social-Emotional Development: Struggling With Family And Job Roles In Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, Ignasia Paskal Mbatta

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This study aimed at examining the socio-emotional development of employed mothers’ children in the metropolis of Dar es Salaam. Early childhood socio-emotional development is crucial for shaping a child’s short- and long-term well-being, relationships, and overall mental health. An exploratory qualitative approach employing a phenomenological design, guided this study. In-depth interviews, documentary reviews, and active participant observation were used to collect data. The study sample comprised of 42 working mothers, 9 domestic workers, and 90 children under five years of age of the same mothers. Purposive sampling was used to select working mothers, while domestic workers were selected incidentally. The …