Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Lgbtq+ College Students Hopeful Future Expectations, Savannah Hull

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Background- The LGBTQ+ community has seen a recent rise in policies and bills that limit or take away rights, including those that limit access to gender-affirming healthcare and remove LGBTQ+ education from schools. These policies have been difficult for the LGBTQ+ community. Objective- The aim of this study was to compare the difference between cishet (cisgender heterosexual) college students levels of hope and LGBTQ+ college students levels of hope, specifically hope in relation to their futures. Methods- This study utilized a cross-sectional design. Qualtrics surveys were distributed and participants answered questions using the Hopeful Future Expectations scale in order to …

A Parent's Guide To Social Media Safety, Catherine Grimley

Gator TeamChild Juvenile Law Clinic

The goal of this White Paper is to provide parents and other caregivers with a compilation of literature from some of the most popular social media platforms in one convenient place. It aims to help parents understand what parental controls and account settings are available, so they can facilitate important conversations with their teens regarding social media safety.

A Pilot Study Considering Pain-Relieving Medications And Opioid Knowledge And Use Among Elite Athletes, Jackie Vandertuin, Dalya Abdulla, Stephanie Lowther-Gagnon, Miranda Manolakos

Publications and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

There Is No More New Frontier: Analyzing Wildfire Management Efforts In The United States, Morgan D. Gafford

Journal of Legislation

Congress needs to address the major wildfire problem by enacting more legislation that works alongside state governments and their own fire management goals. It is time for Congress to take wildfire suppression legislation more seriously and move it beyond the introductory phase. It is time for Congress and the other branches of the federal government to work together. It is time for everyone—but especially Congress—to fully comprehend the detrimental effects the most severe fires have on the environment, society, and the economy.

Streamlined Workflow For Qualitative Data Analysis With Whisper And Atlas.Ti, Bella Ratmelia, Bryan Leow, Danping Dong

Research Collection Library

Qualitative research, often reliant on interviews and focus groups, stands to benefit significantly from the latest advancements and innovations in AI. This workshop presents a practical and efficient research workflow with two powerful tools—Whisper and ATLAS.ti—to streamline the process of qualitative data analysis.

Whisper is an open-source machine learning model for speech recognition and transcription by OpenAI. With the ability to achieve human-level accuracy in speech recognition, it significantly reduces the time and effort required for transcribing, saving your time for more valuable work.

Moving beyond transcription, the workshop presents ATLAS.ti, a well-established qualitative data analysis tool. Learn how to …

Ai And Advocacy: Maximizing Potential, Minimizing Risk, Matthew Salzano, Nicholas Fung, Ada Lin, Sofia Marchetta, Faith Colombo, Kaylah Davis, John Flynn, Carlos Fuentes, Fion Li, Malar Paavi Muthukumaran, Angelica Paramoshin, Chrisanne Pearce, Vianney Ramos, Charles St. Hilaire, Xi Zheng, Wei Zhuang

School of Communication and Journalism Faculty Publications

New Generative AI tools are revolutionizing writing and communication. This report focuses on AI and advocacy, the act of influencing public policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions. This report identifies three major opportunities and accompanying risks, plus one strong recommendation for advocates considering using AI. We argue that AI can be useful for advocates, but they must be careful to center human judgment and avoid risks that could distract from their important work or even contribute to societal harms.

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, Spring 2024, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2 New Faculty and New Club on Campus
Page 3 2024 URSCAD Awards
Page 4 Day of Scholars 2024
Page 5 SDSU's First Representation at the Association for Anatomy's 2024
Annual Conference
Page 6-7 2024 Honor's College Convocation
Page 8 Other Student Activities
Page 9 Faculty Awards
Page 10-11 Other News
Page 12 2024 Drone Day and American Association of Geographers Convention - Hawaii
Page 13 55th Annual Geography Convention
Page 14 2024 Stethoscope Ceremony
Page 15 Open PRAIRIE Data

Impact Of Perinatal Escitalopram Exposure On Adolescent Behavior, Jessica Bezenah - Bottorff

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Escitalopram (EST), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), is an antidepressant frequently used during pregnancy, yet there is limited knowledge of its long-term effects on maternal use. Past studies suggest that maternal exposure may adversely affect the fetus, which may be due to the hyperserotonergic environment caused by the nature of SSRIs during early development. Modifications of the serotonergic system in offspring during certain critical periods of development may result in long-term behavioral and cognitive changes in adulthood. Further, recent human studies have demonstrated that prenatal exposure to SSRIs in humans may increase susceptibility to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and …

The Effects Of Student Choice On Motivation And Writing Skills, Laura Annunziata

Master's Theses

This mixed methods action research study investigates the potential effects of student choice on motivation and academic performance in writing-based assignments in a fourth-grade classroom. Baseline data was collected prior to implementation of student choice writing activities and then used to compare writing samples collected post intervention. The baseline data suggests that students’ attitudes towards autonomy are positive. Having choices was important to them and helped them learn better. However, data also indicates that while students were motivated to write using choice, many of the reading and writing competency scores dropped during journal entry writing samples. Data shows that while …

The Effects Of Implementing Movement Breaks In Elementary Classrooms, Laura Ford

Master's Theses

This action research project investigated the implementation of movement breaks in a third-grade classroom to enhance academic performance and behavior. The short study aimed to assess whether integrating regular movement breaks into the classroom routine would lead to significant improvements in academic outcomes and behavior, particularly those students diagnosed with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Over a designated period, movement breaks were introduced at a specific interval during the school day. Data was collected through observations, surveys, and behavior tracking. Surprisingly, the findings revealed that despite the incorporation of movement breaks, there was no significant difference observed in overall academics or behavior …

Implementing Music To Increase Elementary Student Focus, Kathryn Garceau

Master's Theses

This action research project used a mixed methods design to address the effect of different types of music on student focus while performing an independent task. Despite its success with memorization, does music work equally as well on student focus? Data was collected over a period of three weeks for 30 minutes each morning for 5 days each week. The music played while students completed the task changed each week. This included lyrical songs during week one, classical music during week two, and instrumental versions of songs students knew the lyrics to during week three. Four behavior markers were observed …

Utilizing Art Therapy To Address Perfectionism In Patients Suffering From Eating Disorders: The Need To Diversify Treatment Approaches, Zara Goldberg

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Perfectionistic behaviors are highly common in people with eating disorders. This study investigates the relationship between perfectionism, shame, and the ways in which art therapy can be utilized as a primary tool in eating disorder treatment. Based on the research below and the results of this study, integrating art therapy protocols in combination with talk based theoretical work around perfectionism can improve recovery and decrease struggles with perfectionism in persons with eating disorders. Patients at a residential eating disorder center participated in four consecutive weekly group therapy sessions that integrated art therapy protocols into a preexisting talk therapy based group …

Dance/Movement Therapy And The Beginnings Of Decolonizing The Post-Restraint Process: A Literature Review, Marissa Jax

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Restraints are used to ensure and provide safety across populations and in a multitude of settings. It is also acknowledged that restraints are at a high risk of causing trauma for all involved in the restraint process (Cui, et al., 2021; Dotson et al., 2022; Rose & Slack, 2016; Singal et al., 2023). There is an abundance of research on how the body is affected by trauma (Barnstaple & Dieterich-Hartwell, 2022; Levine, 2010; Maté, 2022; Menakem, 2017; Mullan, 2023; van der Kolk, 2014). Trauma from restraints can disproportionately affect people of color and indigenous peoples (Dotson et al., 2022; Linklater, …

Regulating Through Music: A Community Engagement Project At A Therapeutic Elementary School, Lexi Ugelow

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Emotional regulation is a skill that involves an ability to be aware of what is happening both within one’s own body as well as in their surroundings. There has been some discussion and research around the way that musical activities can provide the stimuli and participatory actions to practice these skills used in emotional regulation. This community engagement project was designed as a two-time class called Big Music which gave students with special needs an opportunity to come together as a community to sing and make music. Each structured 30-minute session used techniques such as call and response, varying tempos, …

Training Grammaticality: Can People Be Taught To Perceive The Singular ‘They’ As Grammatical?, Val Willham

Undergraduate Honors Theses

As the usage of personal pronouns other than he and she becomes more mainstream, debates about their usage have become more and more common. Many of the reasons discouraging their use are rooted in negative attitudes toward people who prefer to be referred to as such (Patev, et al 2019). However, prior research has also found that perceptions of singular gender-neutral pronouns like they/them as being grammatically confusing can be an obstacle toward their use, even by people who otherwise hold positive opinions towards transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) individuals (Patev, et al 2019). Given the role that language use …

Sexual Exploitation: The Crisis And Eradicative Solution, Tonnie Adams Bracey

Student Capstone Projects

French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” I find this to be true in our current era of the digital age. Although technology has gifted a newly improved and vast method of making worldwide connections and broadening our perceptions and views, a change in how we communicate has conveniently presented itself, but the historic pattern of how we handle these new advancements have indeed stayed the same.
Smart phones are a mainstream vessel employing the world with a plethora of information while giving all sorts of people access to individual’s lives …

Dendrochronological Analysis Of The Duncan Tavern, Paris, Kentucky, Usa, Delaney Ballard, Maegen Rochner

Undergraduate Research Events

Duncan Tavern is a historical structure located at 323 High Street in Paris, Kentucky in Bourbon County. The structure currently serves as the headquarters for the Kentucky Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (KSDAR). KSDAR maintains that Duncan Tavern was originally built in the mid-1790s; the land was purchased in 1792 by Joseph Duncan, a civilian armorer in the Revolutionary War. Although Duncan Tavern has been listed on the National Register of Historical Places since 1973, a dendrochronological study of this structure was requested to quantitatively examine the legitimacy of archival and anecdotal claims about the construction history. …

What To Expect When Preparing To Transition For Working Abroad: Exploring Work-Focused Intercultural Transition Training, Hannah Johnson

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Despite living in a highly globalized world with increased travels, interactions, and migrations across both physical and mental cultural lines, many individuals are still often unprepared to interact with those who are different successfully (Kupka et al., 2008). With all these increases in travel, interaction, and migrations across cultural lines, it is essential to understand the adjustment process and the potential challenges or barriers that individuals may face when transitioning to a new culture. This project systematically examines literature on intercultural transitions to improve training for individuals traveling to another culture for work. The literature examined includes pre-departure training and …

Drip Irrigation And Water Conservation In Onions; An Economic Analysis, Jenny De Boer

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Water diversions for irrigated agriculture have contributed to increased water stress in drought prone areas across the globe. Previous research finds that farmers increase irrigation intensity per unit of product grown, increase total area under irrigation, and switch to more water intensive crops to increase yields and compensate for the cost of drip irrigation installation. Other studies have shown that drip irrigation can produce yields that parity surface irrigated yields or even surpass them using less water and increasing profits. Ultimately this plot trial showed drip irrigated onion yields were 6.31% greater than surface irrigated onion yields using an average …

Integration Of Adverse Childhood Experiences In Adulthood Through Dance Movement Therapeutic Techniques, Kimberly Hoj

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Expanding knowledge about how to self-regulate when faced with challenging circumstances has the potential to benefit individuals and communities, especially in our post-pandemic environment with increasing needs for mental health support. This thesis provides a psychoeducational basis for use of dance movement therapeutic techniques to integrate adverse childhood experiences. The literature review refines an understanding of big T and little t trauma as it relates to mental illness, polyvagal theory, nervous system regulation, the window of tolerance, body armoring, somatic psychotherapy, trauma- informed care, adverse childhood experiences and post-traumatic growth.

This thesis culminates in a personal arts-based autoethnography informed by …

A Look Down The Well: Exploring Co-Educational Femininity Through A Twentieth-Century Dormitory Feature At William & Mary, 1926-1944, Charlotte Russell

Undergraduate Honors Theses

As women began enrolling in universities across the United States in the early twentieth century, traditionally masculine spheres became the site of an emerging femininity. Administrative rules and single-gendered spaces organized the lives of women and men to fit socially acceptable gender roles. One such space was the college dormitory. The Digges House, most notably studied as the site of Williamsburg’s Bray School, served as an off-campus dormitory for women at William & Mary between 1926 and 1944 under the name Brown Hall. This project will employ artifact analysis of the small finds, glass, and ceramics found in a well …

Starting Early: Returns On Kindergarten Attendance In Indonesia, Daniel Posthumus

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Indonesia is a rapidly developing economy, having averaged 5.26% economic growth from 2000 to 2019; over the same time, it has achieved near-universal primary school attendance. However, there are concerns about the quality of Indonesian education, with no improvement in standardized test scores between 2012 and 2022. Early childhood interventions are a critical part of human capital accumulation and skills- building, and the efficacy of interventions such as kindergarten in developing countries like Indonesia is under-studied. Using data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) and Village Potential Statistics (PODES), I examine the effects of kindergarten on educational outcomes in …

Analysis Of Circular Design Principles For The Sustainable End-Of-Life Management Of Renewable Energy Assets: Investigation Of Illinois And Germany Renewable Energy Policies And Programs., Samuel N. Nimaful

2024 Student Research and Creativity Conference

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of circular design principles applied to the sustainable end-of-life management of renewable energy assets, focusing on the comparative study of renewable energy policies in Illinois, USA, and Germany. As the deployment of renewable energy technologies like solar panels and wind turbines expands globally, the question of their sustainable disposal becomes increasingly critical. This research delves into how circular economy approaches can be integrated into policy frameworks to ensure that these technologies are sustainable not only in their operation but also at the end of their lifecycle.

The study methodically reviews existing policies and programs …

Match Stability With A Costly And Flexible Number Of Positions, James Gilmore

Behavioral and Computational Economics (MS) Theses

One of the objectives of two-sided matching mechanisms is to pair two groups of agents such that there is no incentive for pair deviation. The outcome of a match can significantly impact participants. While much of the existing research in this field addresses the matching with fixed quotas, this is not always applicable. We introduce the concept of slot stability, recognizing the potential motivation for organizations to modify their quotas after the match. We propose an algorithm designed to create stable and slot stable matches by employing flexible, endogenous quotas to address this issue.

Exploring Interoception - An Essential Skill Of Exceptional Self-Leadership, Suzanne Dameron

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Research into interoception, the awareness of the body’s inner state, suggests that the body is the true star in the mind-body relationship. Interceptive findings suggest that when we pay attention to our physical sensations – twinges, tingles, a quickening heartbeat – we have a depth of information now available to us that enhances our self-awareness and self-leadership. This paper is the result of exploring the theory and practice of developing interoceptive awareness and its implications for self-leadership.

Beyond The Bedroom Door: Investigating Representations Of Sex In Young Adult Literature, Amelia Gutche

English Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines representations of sex in young adult (YA) fiction, focusing on negative patterns, empowerment, and healthy relationships. Through analysis of seven YA novels and existing scholarship, three research questions are addressed: the evolution of sexual representations in the twenty-first century, patterns characterizing teenage sexual situations, and distinctions between healthy and unhealthy relationships. Findings reveal a shift toward more inclusive and empowering depictions, yet lingering conservative values and silences persist. YA literature often portrays sex as a source of fear and obsession, limiting adolescent power and perpetuating unrealistic ideals. Healthy relationships are characterized by support systems, mutual respect, and …

Exploring The Lived Experience Of Self-Care In Young Adults With Type 2 Diabetes, Holly Berry-Price

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction

The prevalence of prediabetes in adults aged 18 or older was as high as 38% between 2017-2020. Youth-onset T2DM is a more aggressive phenotype than T2DM that occurs later in life. Young adults with T2DM have poorer health outcomes, lose an average of 15 years of life, all resulting in significant economic burden impacting the person. Current self-management interventions do not improve health outcomes in young adults with T2DM.

Purpose

The purpose of this research was to explore the self-care experiences of young adults living with T2DM.

Methods

Existential hermeneutic phenomenology informed the research. Inclusion criteria as follows: adults …

The Effect Of Crime On Mental Health In South Africa, Magda Tsaneva, Lauren-Kate Laplante

Economics

This paper examines the impact of district-level crime rates in South Africa on individual depression symptoms. We use panel data from the National Income Dynamics Survey collected between 2008 and 2014 and estimate an individual fixed effects regression model, thus controlling for characteristics of the individual's environment that could affect crime and mental health. We find that an increase of one standard deviation in property (violent) crime is associated with a 7.2 (8.7) percentage point increase in the probability of depression symptoms. Analysis of potential mechanisms suggests that indirect exposure to crime likely affects mental health by increasing stress rather …

News Deserts And Voter Turnout: How Local News Shortages Decrease Voter Participation, Lauren Penington

Honors Theses

How does local news impact a county’s registered voter population, associated voting patterns, and political participation? Electoral turnout is one of the most studied topics in political science, and substantial research exists into demographic factors — including race, age, and socioeconomic status — that influence an individual’s likelihood to vote. Recent studies have begun to examine the impact of societal factors — such as the internet, social media, and news — on an individual’s ability to and likelihood of fulfilling their civic obligation. This paper explores the relationship between expanding news deserts and decreasing voter turnout, proposing that as a …

Reaping What We Sow: The Implications And Outcomes Of Mississippi House Bill 1125, The “Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures (Reap)” Act, Kerigan Brewer

Honors Theses

Mississippi House Bill 1125 (MS HB1125), also known as the “Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures (REAP) Act,” was signed into law by Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves in early 2023 (REAP Act, 2023). It is one of multiple policies passed into law that limit the rights of transgender people. This thesis aims to clarify the history of the trans community, dispel myths around gender-affirming health care and the trans identity, and discuss the current state of anti-trans laws and transgender rights. Using a policy analysis framework by DiNitto (2011), MS HB1125 is analyzed on points like its social and economic costs, the …