Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Profiles In Leadership: Women Of Color Elected To Office In Massachusetts, Center For Women In Politics And Public Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

In 2015, UMass Boston’s Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy released the first-ever publication exploring the elected leadership of women of color in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts largely to make known the contributions of female electeds of color across the Commonwealth. The publication also aimed to delve into what hinders and what facilitates the elected leadership of women of color. This 2021 updated publication contains profiles of the 174 women of color who have been elected to key policymaking positions and offers quantitative analysis to better understand office-holding patterns.

Evident in the profiles is the centrality of community …

Moving Beyond The Individual: Applying Cultural Identity To Stigma Theory And Methodology, Emily Reichert

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Scholarly research on the topic of stigma has endured through half a century, formally beginning in 1963 with Goffman’s influential work, “Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity.” Since then, top researchers in a wide range of fields have contributed toward further elucidating the expansive processes of stigmatization and anti-stigma initiatives for a growing number of marginalized experiences. It is within this growing body of work, however, that inconsistencies and contradictions become more onerous and limit the scope of future research. These limitations include a) competing camps of pro- and anti-stigma initiatives toward public health aims, b) siloed approaches …

Evaluation Of Α-Pyrrolidindovalerophenone (Α-Pvp) And Its Isomers In Male And Female Sprague-Dawley Rats Trained To Discriminate Mdpv, Kaley Cargile

Masters Theses

Recreational use of synthetic cathinones, 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and α‐pyrrolidinovalerophenone (α‐PVP), has become increasingly popular, thus prompting characterization of their behavioral and neurochemical effects. MDPV has been studied for several years now, though there is still much unknown about α‐PVP, and its isomers. The primary objective of this study was to characterize the discriminative effects of α‐PVP and its isomers in comparison to MDPV. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to discriminate 0.5mg/kg MDPV from saline injections under a fixed ratio 20 (FR 20) schedule of food reinforcement. Substitution tests were conducted with MDPV (0.05-0.5mg/kg), α‐PVP (0.05-0.5mg/kg), (S)-α‐PVP (0.05-1mg/kg) and …

The Effect Of Anxiety On Academic Performance Among English Language Learners College Students, Sergine Cadet

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

English Language Learners (ELLs) who can write and read competently can fully participate in American schools, work environments and the society. However, ELLs face challenges while learning the English language. Anxiety is characterized as one of the issues impacting the learners’ accomplishment, which involves stages of communicative anxiety, fear of adverse assessment, test anxiety, and anxiety of English classroom. Moreover, anxiety is identified as being prevalent in the field of education and psychology as one factor that has negative influences in language acquisition (Hashemi, 2011). Studies have shown that there is a relationship between anxiety level and academic performance of …

Development Of Spiritual Competency In Counseling: A Pilot Research Study Of Graduate Students At End Of Training, Rebecca Dawn Hill

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Researchers suggested religious practice and spirituality are multicultural or diversity counseling competencies. Professionals who treat religious and spiritual concerns are sought by a majority of clients. Religious and spiritual training is critical for the ethical treatment of the client, a part of developmental wellness and integrated holistic health theories, and also vital to optimum physical and mental health development. Yet, spiritual and religious competencies are often neglected in graduate studies, leaving counselors fearful and inadequately trained to address spiritual and religious concerns with clients. The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) requires training in graduate education …

Madwomen And Mad Women: An Analysis Of The Use Of Female Insanity And Anger In Narrative Fiction, From Vilification To Validation., Lindsay Haralu

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

This project examines the use of female insanity and anger in narrative fiction, as demonstrated by the character of the madwoman. Madness is a concept that has long been gendered female throughout Western history, in medicine, language, religion, and culture. Socially and culturally constructed madness can be used to determine the boundaries of society, the norms and values from which “madness” deviates, while the character of the madwoman can be used to demonstrate how women have challenged these boundaries and how the roles of women and definitions of femininity have changed over time. This study analyzes the madwoman trope from …

Colombia's Judicial Reform: What Now?, Maya Smith

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

A current body of research examines Colombia’s judicial institutions and focuses on the successes and failures of past reforms. While the literature is overwhelmingly negative, scholars have managed to put forward pieces of a potential solution. I draw on these analyses to answer the question, “what is the best possible course of action for Colombia’s future judicial reform projects?” Throughout this paper, I draw on Colombian newspapers, think-tank reports, survey research, and academic studies to formulate a cohesive answer. This existing literature identifies that Colombia’s weak judiciary stems from Spanish colonialism’s lasting influence, the reactive and defensive nature of judges, …

The Effect Of Parent Interaction On Pre-Reaching Infants’ Visual Attention During An Object Manipulation Task., Jalena N. Slaton

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Infants do not begin intentionally reaching for and grasping objects until around 5 months of age. The sticky mittens paradigm (SM) provides infants the opportunity to manipulate and explore objects on their own. Active SM experience has been shown to lead to positive cognitive outcomes (Libertus & Needham, 2010), including facilitating causal perception (Rakison & Krogh, 2012). While some aspects of SM that contribute to positive outcomes are well understood (e.g., active vs. passive experience), the role of parent interactions has received little attention. In this study, SM training was used to investigate the role that parents play in their …

A Network Investigation Of Eating Disorder Symptoms And Risk Factors Before And After A Prevention Program In Adolescent Girls., Jordan E. Drake

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Eating disorders (EDs) are psychological disorders characterized by disturbances in eating that commonly develop during adolescence and may be influenced by risk factors, both ED-specific (i.e., factors linked to future ED symptoms) and transdiagnostic (i.e., factors underlying multiple psychological disorders). Network analysis allows for the study of the connections between ED symptoms and risk factors by identifying central symptoms (i.e., the most interconnected symptoms) and bridge symptoms (i.e., symptoms which strongly connect across the symptom and risk factor clusters). Examining networks of ED symptoms and risk factors in adolescence can inform how risk factors influence ED development, as well as …

Military Working Dogs: Tracking Their Journey From Equipment To K-9 Heroes, Virginia Thomas

Library Scholarly Publications

The author surveys the history of legislation governing the lives and uses of military working dogs (MWD).

Maximize Use Of Library Electronic Resources To Help Students Achieve Better Board Examination Scores Through Libguides And Collaboration With A Pharmacy Educational Specialist, Wendy Wu, Karen Gessler

Library Scholarly Publications

Background

The library subscribes to many e-textbooks and Q-bank tools to facilitate pharmacy students’ preparation of North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX). Because these resources are included in various subscription packages, making them discoverable and easily accessible are important to make best use of library resources. This poster will discuss how to promote NAPLEX resources using LibGuides and deliver the specially designed quiz assignments to the students at the point of preparation and the collaboration between a librarian and pharmacy educational specialist.

Description

Resources the library subscribes for NAPLEX preparation were selected, organized, and displayed based on faculty recommendation, students' …

The East Texas Housing Market In 2021 – May 2021, Manuel Reyes-Loya, Marilyn Young

Hibbs Newsletter

This issue of the Hibbs Newsletter complements the past issue of the Hibbs Brief, The Housing Market: Will It Crash or Boom in 2021?, with recent figures related to the U.S. mortgage rates and some of the most relevant housing market indicators for the East Texas area.

Leading Climate Action Planning: A Case Study Of Local Community Practices, Mackenzie Crigger

Education (PhD) Dissertations

Given the increasing rate of anthropogenic climate change and the resulting climate impacts that communities around the world will be coping with over the next century, it is becoming increasingly important that communities, cities, and regions begin to develop climate action plans that will assist them in coping with climate impacts. As a result, it is becoming evident that understanding how to effectively develop a climate action plan (CAP) and engage a community in the climate action planning process is a question at the forefront for many municipalities. This research utilized case study to examine the process the City of …

Project Title: Home Birthing: Analyzing The Value Of Home Births To American Mothers, Julia Santini

Senior Honors Projects

There were about 3.7 million births in the United States in 2018, and a maternal mortality rate of 17.4 deaths per 100,000 live births (37.3 for non-Hispanic black women). The US also has high rates of birth interventions such as episiotomy and instrumental vaginal births, and increasing rates of cesarean sections, and while these interventions can be life saving, they do not always result in better birth outcomes. When the high US maternal mortality rates are compared to those of peer countries such as Canada and the UK, the data suggests that there is much room for improvement in how …

Amplifying Collections With Oral Histories In A Virtual World: The Student Help Lived Experience Project At Queens College Cuny, Annie E. Tummino, Victoria Fernandez

Publications and Research

In response to the challenges brought on by the onset of the pandemic, the Queens College Special Collection and Archives (SCA) created the “Student Help: Lived Experience” student fellowship, designed to be completely remote. The project is an initiative to further document the activities of Queens College students who participated in both the Virginia and South Jamaica Student Help Projects in the early to mid-1960s. The Virginia Student Help Project was an intensive education effort during the summer of 1963 in Prince Edward County, Virginia where public schools were closed for five years in massive resistance to integration. The Jamaica …

A Study On The Impact Of Social Media Marketing In The Event Industry: Executing A Marketing Plan, Adrian N. Bradley

Human Nutrition and Hospitality Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

Marketing is a large part of growing one’s business or event. The objective of this study was to gain an understanding of how social media marketing increases brand loyalty, attendance, and engagement within current and potential guests over traditional event marketing methods. Through this study a data collection survey for the University of Arkansas’ Hospitality Management annual event Students Mastering the Art of Hospitality (SMASH) to gather information on the effectiveness of e social media marketing’s influence on their attendees. Unfortunately, due to a global pandemic SMASH was canceled and the researcher and honor’s committee thought it to be best …

The Effects Of Interactivity On Memory Relating To Presence In Virtual Environments, Jenny Wong

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

The overall effectiveness of virtual environments is often linked to and measured by degrees of presence, commonly defined as the psychological sensation of “being there” (Schubert et al., 1999). Psychologists agree that attention and involvement through interactivity play a role in presence (Hartmann et al., 2015; Schubert et al., 1999; Witmer and Singer, 1998). Because attention is critical in encoding information into memory storage, looking at how memory relates to presence is another topic of interest. In this study, participants (N = 30) played through a 3D virtual reconstruction of a Pompeian house under one of two conditions: free-roam …

Hip Hop Urbanist Reconstructions: Strategies & Tactics For Spatial Reparations, Isaac Howland

Architecture Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

More Than Just A Fantasy: Literary Fantasy As An Architectural Tool, Kae Schwalber

Architecture Senior Theses

Fantasy literature world building can suggest and support alternative paths for architectural practice using the super stimuli of fantasy “otherworlds” to promote and create more “placed” spaces and improve the wellbeing of communities. According to Edward Relph, the United States has had an issue with “placelessness” since the 1950’s, where building typologies are nationally distributed and rarely localized. Literary Fantasy has created worlds so desirable that they have permeated into a multi-billion dollar industry that reaches past literature, making the consumption of fictional worlds a central behavior in modern societies. The cultural importance and success of the genre is due …

Gender Differences In The Effects Of Complementary Versus Competitive Gender Stereotypes On System Justification And Tolerance Of Sexism, Jordyn Bingham

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Research has shown that people often support social systems that are not in their best interests (Kay & Jost, 2003). One way that people may justify support for such social systems is by focusing on beneficial characteristics. For example, people exhibit greater system justification when people are described as poor but happy (complementary attributes) as opposed to poor and unhappy (non-complementary attributes) (Kay & Jost, 2003). The present study examined the effects of complementary (i.e., that women and men fulfill different career roles) versus competitive (i.e., that women and men compete for the same career roles) gender stereotypes on women’s …

Nonprofit Social Media Internships: A Handbook, Allison Laroy

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

This thesis examines how nonprofits can best prepare their interns and how interns can best prepare themselves for a role in engaging audiences through social media. Through a literature review on nonprofit social media and internships, a series of qualitative interviews with interns and supervisors, and my own lived experiences as a social media intern, I develop a handbook for nonprofit social media internships. This guide is relevant to the specific experiences of nonprofit social media internships, includes advice on training, mentorship, and best practices, and finally, it incorporates further resources on nonprofit social media that interns and supervisors can …

St. Dominic Deaf Center, May-June 2021

Saint Dominic Deaf Center

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Houston, TX

Saint Dominic Deaf Center Finding Aid

Newsletter Catholic Deaf Of Detroit, May 2021

Newsletter Catholic Deaf of Detroit

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Detroit, MI

Newsletter Catholic Deaf of Detroit Finding Aid

The Cost Of Crime: A Study On Human Trafficking, Kirsten Krug

Applied Economics Theses

Human trafficking is a billion dollar industry that impacts hundreds of thousands of individuals each year. Each year the United States alone spends millions of dollars on law enforcement programs designated to combat human trafficking.

This thesis examines the impact of those programs as deterrents for individuals who are willing to commit this type of violent crime, as well as why they might commit crime in the first place. In addition to providing an economic analysis of the impact of arrest and jail as deterrents on trafficking, the thesis will also look into what may cause an individual to fall …

Using Scrum To Teach Standards-Based K-12 Computer Science: A Prosepectus For A Master’S Level Methods Class At Buffalo State, Noah M. Pierce

Career & Technical Education Theses

Computer Science has been increasingly prevalent in K-12 education in recent decades. Most Americans believe that Computer Science is as important as other skills taught in school; further, parents are putting pressure on districts to offer Computer Science programs (1.1). To meet this demand, many teacher preparation programs are adding Computer Science Education to their offering of degrees. This thesis investigates Agile and Scrum product development as a potential method of Computer Science instruction, explores the standards relevant to a Computer Science teacher, and offers a prospectus for a new Graduate Level Methods class to prepare Computer Science teachers to …

Raj Soin College Of Business Monthly Update - May 2021, Raj Soin College Of Business, Wright State University

RSCob Monthly Update

The RSCoB Monthly Update highlights various happenings within the University community from Student updates, to faculty updates.

Effects Of Language Experience On Spontaneous Counting As An Augmentative Tool For Mapping, Caroline L. Hebert

Honors Scholar Theses

Children with less-developed number representations may use more externalized counting behaviors (Posid & Cordes, 2015). We assessed the impact of the timing of language exposure (from birth/later) and language modality (signed/spoken) on children’s mapping performance, or ability to link three number representations (e.g., dot arrays, number words, Arabic numerals), and children’s use of spontaneous counting during this task. With 48 hearing and 142 deaf or hard-of-hearing children ages 4-9 years, we investigated three research questions: (1) How do the timing and modality of children’s language exposure impact their use of spontaneous counting?; (2) How does children’s use of spontaneous counting …

Jove – Journal Of Visualized Experiments, Joanne Romano

TMC Library Newsletter (2015-)

JoVE – the Journal of Visualized Experiments – is a scientific video database that provides peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary protocols of laboratory experiments and techniques. Indexed in PubMed and Web of Science, JoVE also contains very basic and introductory education videos, suitable for students just learning their way around the lab, and graduates who need a refresher course in lab protocols.

Public Trust In Latin American Courts, Rebeca Rivas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Public trust in governmental institutions is essential for maintaining democracies and legitimacy. Without public trust to support them, courts remain vulnerable to executive and legislative attempts to curb their behavior and risk non-compliance to their decisions. While courts in the United States enjoy relatively high levels of public confidence, courts in Latin American countries generally do not. This study aims to determine the level of trust in Latin American judiciaries and identify the factors that impact public trust in Latin American high courts.

Cultural And Psychosocial Moderators Of The Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Alcohol And Marijuana Use Among Latinx College Students On The U.S./Mexico Border, Claudia J. Woloshchuk

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been historically associated with negative life outcomes among the general population. There has been no research, to the author's knowledge, on psychosocial and/or cultural moderators of the associations between ACEs and substance use among Latinx college students living on the U.S./Mexico border. This study assessed how specific constructs within the socioecological framework moderate the association between ACEs and alcohol and marijuana use. Participants (Females: N = 283, Mage = 20.86, SD = 3.71, Males: N = 111, Mage = 20.65, SD = 3.13) completed an online survey which included: demographics, the Center for Youth Wellness …