Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

An Analysis Of Poverty Convergence: Evidence From Pennsylvania Counties, Angel Alcantara, Stephanie M. Brewer, James J. Jozefowicz

The Journal of Economics and Politics

This paper extends applications of unconditional and conditional β-convergence and σ-convergence analysis to poverty rates in a panel data sample of Pennsylvania counties during the period 1990-2019. Spatial structural breaks between rural and urban counties in Pennsylvania plus the possibility that Philadelphia County is an outlier are acknowledged to avoid spurious inferences. The findings support the existence of unconditional β-convergence in the pooled, urban, and rural samples with non-metropolitan areas exhibiting the greatest convergence. However, the largest conditional β-convergence is observed for urban counties, and this outcome is robust to the exclusion of Philadelphia County. Graphical evidence evinces a greater …

Murray Library October 2023 Newsletter, Murray Library

Library Publications

What's new at the library? News and information about Murray Library at Messiah University written by its staff.

• Food for Thought events
• Friends bus trip to DC
• Friends Dinner and Lecture
• Trivia Night recap

Exploring Expansion Of Biogas Energy Production On Homesteads, Small-Scale, And Large-Scale Farms, Morgan Powell

Student Project Reports

No abstract provided.

Does Child Care Works Work? An Exploration Of Pennsylvania’S Child Care Subsidy Program, Samantha J. Martin

The Gettysburg Journal for Public Policy

This article explores the theory and implementation behind Child Care Works, Pennsylvania's child care subsidy program. The article then studies and evaluates the policy through three criterion: effectiveness in providing families with low cost but high quality child care, efficiency in how it uses resources dedicated to childcare in the state, and the equitable distribution of access to childcare. Child Care Works has the potential to increase access to childcare and employment in Pennsylvania, but the current budget does not allot enough money to the program for it to be as helpful as it could be.

2023 Sacs Symposium Schedule, Jennifer L. Thomson

2023 SACS Symposium

Thank you for joining us as we celebrate the excellent research that has been conducted by the students of the School of Arts, Culture and Society. The week will kick-off with a research symposium on:

Monday, April 24th in Hostetter Chapel from 8 am - 8 pm

Student researchers will presenting their data in both poster and oral presentation formats.

At Messiah, we believe in educating "men and women toward maturity of intellect, character and Christian faith". Through inquiry and scholarship, our students and faculty seek to glorify God and grow in wisdom and understanding of His creation.

Dr. Peter …

Murray Library April 2023 Newsletter, Murray Library

Library Publications

What's new at the library? News and information about Murray Library at Messiah University written by its staff.

• Library Student Research Grant
• Fueled by Failure event
• Chat with a Librarian
• Seed Library

Murray In A Hurray Fy23, Sarah K. Myers, Murray Library

Library Publications

Murray Library at Messiah University created a unique marketing tool called Murray in a Hurry. This newsletter is typically distributed every two weeks and is hung in all bathroom stalls. It provides information on library events, new materials, literary quotes, grammar, and humor. This combined document includes all 12 issues during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Murray Library March 2023 Newsletter, Murray Library

Library Publications

What's new at the library? News and information about Murray Library at Messiah University written by its staff.

• Mini Golf in the Stacks
• Human Library
• Seed Library officially open

Murray Library February 2023 Newsletter, Murray Library

Library Publications

What's new at the library? News and information about Murray Library at Messiah University written by its staff.

• Upcoming Bingo Night
• Student Snapshot – Meet Paige Horne
• Congratulations to Michael Rice
• Murray Library participating in the 2023 Messiah University Humanities Symposium
• Championing Literacy on the National MLK Day of Service

Arlen Specter: How A Jewish Boy From Kansas Became A Mediator For Middle East Peace, Georgia G. Skuza

Arlen Specter Center Research Fellowship

Amongst all the things Senator Arlen Specter had accomplished in his thirty years as a United States Senator, one of the most fascinating is that of the late Senators work on the Israel-Palestine conflict. The long-held debate of the borders surrounding Israel & Palestine has made politicians and people chose sides. As a Jewish individual, Senator Specter had to set aside his religious and personal beliefs to affectively pass legislation in the state of Pennsylvania and United States Congress. One of Senator Specter’s largest areas of study was Middle East Diplomacy. His Pro-Israel stance led him to have an aura …

Murray Library December 2022 Newsletter, Murray Library

Library Publications

What's new at the library? News and information about Murray Library at Messiah University written by its staff.

• Gift of Music Handbell Quartet at Murray
• Exam Cram Extra Hours
• Maximize Reading with Audiobooks
• Friends 20th Annual Dinner and Program with Anita Voelker
• Christmas Film Classics

Murray Library November 2022 Newsletter, Murray Library

Library Publications

What's new at the library? News and information about Murray Library at Messiah University written by its staff.

• What’s a seed library?
• Student Snapshot – Meet Liv Allbee
• Canadian Literature

Building Murray Library, 1977 (Photo Exhibit), Sarah Myers

Library Exhibits & Events

Murray Learning Resources Center was named in honor of the college’s architect, William Lynch Murray and his wife Geraldine. The library expansion project was completed at Messiah College, now Messiah University, in 1977.

Unlocking Rosenberger's Research, Victoria N. Ramsay

Student Publications

Homer Rosenberger's unprocessed collection lies in Musselman Library's Special Collections--a multitude of boxes filled with Pennsylvania research and memorabilia. By examining the first box in the collection, it becomes clear that Rosenberger was more than just an avid researcher, but also a man with his own history and reasons for collecting these documents in the first place.

Homer Rosenberger: Learning Beyond The Classroom, Theodore J. Szpakowski

Student Publications

Homer Rosenberger, a Pennsylvania historian, cared deeply about sharing information. He collected books and articles on the history of PA, as well as meeting minutes for the many societies he participated in. All of this material is now stored in boxes available at Musselman Library in Gettysburg, PA. This paper is a combination of research and reflection on the experience of working with the Rosenberger collection, specifically a box that deals primarily with correspondence learning and public history.

The Culture Of Appalachian Coal Miners And Its Affect On Their Culture, Joanna Mary Ferrell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this ethnographic study was to understand and describe the culture and history of the Appalachian coal mining community and how the culture is impacting their future if they face a mine closure. The theory guiding this study is the Cultural Identity Theory by Mary Jane Collier as it explains that the miners’ culture is influenced by those around them and can change based on their surroundings. There is also influence from mining history, which was explored in detail. Surveys, interviews, and observations were utilized to collect data as well as historic artifacts.

Law Library Blog (March 2022): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Sacramental Ethnicity: Women’S Culture And Vernacular Religion In Twentieth-Century America, Aaron J. Rovan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This project examines the reciprocal and evolving relationship between American women’s culture, vernacular religion, and the social development of American ethnicity. This project focuses on the roles of white ethnic women, both literary and real, in the construction, maintenance, and transmission of ethnic identity. The project highlights the connections between the folkloric performances of vernacular religion and the discursive articulation of ethnicity by focusing on two women writers and two groups of Slovak American women. The fiction of Kate Chopin and Anzia Yezierska illustrates how literary authors bring their contemporary concepts of folklore into their writing. The writings of these …

Restorative Justice And Recidivism In Formerly Incarcerated Women, Alfeia B. Devaughn-Goodwin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study explored the experiences of nonviolent women offenders over the age of 50 of all ethnicities who were formerly incarcerated and their involvement with restorative justice and recidivism from a public policy perspective. Although there was prior research on reentry of ex-offenders, the problem was that few studies focused on the barriers and success factors of reentry services for older female ex-offenders 50 years or older. The purpose of the study was to explore restorative justice and recidivism in formerly incarcerated women who were nonviolent offenders in an East Coast state with a focus on the barriers and success …

The Heart Of Everything In The Middle Of Nowhere: The Role Of Rural Identity In The Formation And Deployment Of Political Attitudes In Pennsylvania, Mikaela G. Zimmerman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The world of American politics continues to infiltrate households across the United States as technological advancement extends the reach of breaking news and government action. With this expanding reach, communities all over the country are digesting and contemplating their place in national politics more fervently than ever. At the crux of this discussion is the backbone of political engagement and action—identity and its resulting political attitudes. For decades, partisanship has been a point of contention amongst American citizens. Cities across the nation showcase protests, demonstrations, town hall meetings, and more illustrating citizens’ care for their democratized input in government affairs. …

A Gis Analysis Of Potential Wetland Mitigation Opportunities In The Brandywine Creek Watershed, Chester County, Pennsylvania, Shannon Ryan

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Wetlands provide innumerous functions and values that are beneficial to both the natural environment and economic systems. Historically these habitats have suffered significant losses and it is crucial to preserve existing wetlands and plan for future restoration opportunities. This research examines six sub-watersheds within the Brandywine Creek watershed within Chester County, Pennsylvania to determine where potential wetland mitigation opportunities occur. Using a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis, three wetland characteristics including watercourse locations, existing National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) wetlands, and hydric soils were mapped throughout each of the watersheds. Areas of agricultural easements and steep slopes were used to exclude …

Children Of The Government: Affording A Higher Education A Review Of The State Of Pennsylvania’S Recently Implemented Law That Grants Children Who “Age Out” Of The Foster Care Tuition And Fee Waivers At Every University In The State, Erin K. Cooper

Helms School of Government Undergraduate Law Review

No abstract provided.

Inequity In Montgomery County Public High Schools, Alex Wagoner, Carli Heimann

Media and Communication Studies Presentations

Public education is an integral part in the upbringing of American children and teenagers. While it is a right for all U.S. citizens, the quality of public education can vary greatly from school to school and from district to district. In fall of 2020, a group of students in a journalism course at Ursinus were tasked with finding and interviewing Montgomery County High School students to record their experiences at several schools in the county and highlight some of the inequities inherent in the American public schooling system. This presentation will detail two stories and a video that encapsulated our …

Urbanicity And Female Jail Incarceration Rates In 1970 And 2018: The Rise Of Rural Female Jail Incarceration, Samantha M. Caimi

HON499 projects

This paper examines the role of county urbanicity as it relates to mean female jail incarceration rates in both the United States and Pennsylvania in the years 1970 and 2018. There are three research questions to be answered in this study. The first is whether mean female jail incarceration rates vary significantly by urbanicity (rural, small/mid, suburban, urban). The second is whether the relationship between female jail incarceration rates and urbanicity changed from 1970 to 2018. The third research question is whether the findings for questions 1 and 2 will be the same for both Pennsylvania and the United States. …

Increasing Substantive Fairness And Mitigating Social Costs In Eviction Proceedings: Instituting A Civil Right To Counsel For Indigent Tenants In Pennsylvania, Robin M. White

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

The U.S. Constitution provides criminal defendants the right to a court-appointed attorney but gives no similar protection to civil litigants. Although federal law does not supply any categorical rights to counsel for civil litigants, all 50 states have instituted the right in at least one category of civil law that substantially impacts individuals’ rights. Since 2017, several U.S. cities have enacted such a right for tenants facing eviction. In so doing, these cities responded to American families’ increasing rent burden, the recent publication of nationwide eviction data, the sociological research concerning the impact of eviction, and the lack of procedural …

Sustainable Community In Literature And Lancaster County: Finding A Way Forward On Small Farms, Christine Bye

Honors Projects and Presentations: Undergraduate

"There are very few things that will motivate a thirteen-year-old child who has grown up comfortably and surrounded by supermarkets to pick green beans and to pick them joyfully. Dusty bean plants covered in yellow beetle larvae and located beneath a glaring sun do not exactly inspire an adolescent (or any sane person, really) to caper and sing. Neither do interestingly mottled rashes on the forearms - which appear after extensive rummaging through bean leaves - encourage the picker to return readily to the task. When my parents bought the family farm from my grandparents, they had some idea (as …

Recovering Thirty-Five Years Of A Factory Worker's Life, Kristie Zachar

Student Projects from the Archives

The Westinghouse Electric Corporation's plant in Sharon, Pennsylvania operated from the 1920s till the 1980s and saw a number of significant events during that period. This article uses a belt buckle that was given to one company employee as a 35-year service award, and it explores the historical significance of the object by focusing on the major events its owner was involved in during those 35 years. It looks closer into the life of one Westinghouse employee while also exploring significant events that influenced the company itself as well as the small town of Sharon, Pennsylvania.

Dirty Johns: Prosecuting Prostituted Women In Pennsylvania And The Need For Reform, Mckay Lewis

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Prostitution is as old as human civilization itself. Throughout history, public attitudes toward prostituted women have varied greatly. But adverse consequences of the practice—usually imposed by men purchasing sexual services—have continuously been present. Prostituted women have regularly been subject to violence, discrimination, and indifference from their clients, the general public, and even law enforcement and judicial officers.

Jurisdictions can choose to adopt one of three general approaches to prostitution regulation: (1) criminalization; (2) legalization/ decriminalization; or (3) a hybrid approach known as the Nordic Model. Criminalization regimes are regularly associated with disparate treatment between prostituted women and their clients, high …

Law Library Blog (September 2020): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Analyzing The Response To Covid-19 In Pennsylvania State Correctional Institutions, Elizabeth A. Rousseau

Student Publications

To evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on the Pennsylvania prison system, I collected data from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and the Marshall Project. I supplemented the data with opinion pieces and journal articles discussing the specific issues that this pandemic imposes upon prisons in the United States. In sum, population data collected from the Department of Corrections showed that only a few State Correctional Institutions saw a steady decrease in population over the 25 day study period from from June 18th through July 13th (Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, 2020). Combining testing data …