Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Mexican Americans’ Attitudes Toward Mexican Immigrants In The United States, Sandra Daisy Espinoza Montes

Dissertations

The United States (U.S.) has often been described as a nation of immigrants. Among the 40 million immigrants in the U.S., Mexican-descent individuals comprise 25% of the overall immigrant population, positioning them as the largest immigrant group in the country. Additionally, Mexican Americans constitute 63% of the Latinx population, making them the largest minoritized ethnic group in the U.S. Considering that Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans have a significant presence in the country, scholars have called for additional research on attitudes towards Mexican immigrants (Byrne & Dixon, 2016; Flores et al., 2022). However, much of the existing literature on attitudes …

Understanding Residential Development In A High-Quality Transit Area (Hqta): An Application Of Deep Learning, Dohyung Kim

Mineta Transportation Institute

Considerable research addresses the dynamics between land use and public transportation, including the impacts of transit systems on urban development and vice versa. However, this research has underestimated the heterogeneity of contributing factors to urban developments near transit by property type: vacant lot and occupied property. That is, what drives development in vacant lots differs from what drives development in already-occupied property. A lack of comprehensive data that differentiates development records based on the type of property is one explanation for this research gap. This project fills this research gap by employing a deep learning algorithm and separately examining the …

Developing An Integrated Risk Assessment Framework To Quantify The Resilience Of Critical Railway Infrastructure: Characterization Of Risks And Hazards To The U.S. Rail Network Through Empirical Data And Past Events, Haizhong Wang, Brian M. Staes, Benyamin Ghoreishi

Mineta Transportation Institute

To improve understanding of the impact of natural hazards on the U.S. railway system, this project developed a comprehensive, geospatially precise dataset that maps historical hazard events to specific rail segments. The project provides insight into when, where, and how much damage natural hazards have inflicted on rail infrastructure across the country. While a rail-specific hazard database did not previously exist, this research combines data from the Geological Survey (USGS) Flood Events Database, Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUC), the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Weather Service (NWS) forecast zones. …

Hybrid Geographies And Nature In The City: A Tale Of Two Greenspaces In Louisville, Ky., Rebecca Dixon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many conservation initiatives position nature and the urban as opposing constructions, which means the possibilities where cities can work with nature are often overlooked. This study uses the lens of relational geographies to examine nature in the city by comparing two greenspaces in the Beargrass Creek watershed in Louisville, Kentucky: Waterfront Botanical Gardens and the Louisville Nature Center. The two organizations are compared by using a combination of content analysis, discourse analysis, and GIS flood analysis methods to determine how their geographical location and history affect the ways in which the dynamic between nature and culture is reproduced. Results show …

Rhetorical Analysis Of Kristen Bell's Articulation Of Imperfect Motherhood On Armchair Expert., Sarah J. Neff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores how Kristen Bell’s articulation of imperfect motherhood, as heard on the popular podcast Armchair Expert, contributes to broader social discourses surrounding motherhood, empowering some mothers while inadvertently constraining others. Using rhetorical analysis grounded in Goffman’s dramaturgical approach, facework theory, and McGee’s theory of fragments, this study explores Bell’s discourse and performance of motherhood within the podcast medium. The podcasting medium provides a rich source for rhetorical analysis due to the long form interview content, and emotionally nuanced content, leading to a stronger connection with the audience. This is evident with the new headlines that follow Bell’s appearance …

Dementia Caregiving Styles: Characterizing Dementia Caregivers Via A Novel Framework., Darby M. Simon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As dementia rates increase, effective family caregivers are crucial to meeting the increasing demand for dementia care. However, dementia caregiving is a demanding experience, and caregivers have varying strategies for providing care, leading to positive and negative outcomes and appraisals of their caregiving experience. Limited research explores this relationship, and extant work is qualitative with no clinical measure. This study adapted a pre-existing framework/measure from a different caregiver population (parents) to explore a) if the same framework applied to both caregiving populations and b) the associations between the styles and psychological well-being and other caregiving variables. Exploratory Factor Analysis tested …

Utahns’ Understanding & Support Of Environmental Equity & Justice, Dallin Johnson, Jordan Rowley, Stacia Ryder, Jennifer E. Givens, Avery C. Edenfield, Harley Thomas

Utah People and Environment Poll (UPEP)

Utah faces its fair share of environmental problems. Top concerns among residents are issues of drought, air quality, and the drying of the Great Salt Lake (1). However, research suggests that the impacts of environmental issues like disasters, pollution, resource overuse and climate change are not shared equally across society (2). This is a challenge for environmental justice, which maintains the need for fair treatment and outcomes for all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, and class, with respect to the enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies (3). Put more simply, everyone is entitled to a clean and healthy environment …

Wild Water: Hydrosocial Dislocation, Dispossession, And The Symbolic Geographies Of The American West, Leonard Alexander Henderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This dissertation investigates how the confluence of community change and water politics in the American West shapes a discussion about a Wild and Scenic designation for the Crystal River on Colorado’s Western Slope. Ideas about the “Wild West,” influence how many people think about wilderness and small mountain towns, driving growing populations, housing prices, and, as a result, social inequality in many of these areas. At the same time, many people on Colorado’s Western Slope feel that region’s water is taken away by both the state’s more populous Front Range or more politically and economically powerful states like California. Climate …

The Social Dimensions Of Aquaculture: Food Sovereignty And Indigenous Rights In Ketchikan, Alaska, Morgan J. Davis

Capstone Collection

This research project asks how the growing commercial aquaculture industry in Ketchikan, Alaska, functions to alleviate or exacerbate local food insecurity; reinforce or undermine food sovereignty among Indigenous communities, and enhance or restrict community participation in the control of marine resources. Global initiatives have responded to food insecurity through agricultural inputs and technology to create higher yields; however, conventional agricultural production has contributed to and is increasingly vulnerable to climate change. To address higher demands for food, government agencies and development experts have looked towards Blue Growth and aquaculture as a solution for food insecurity and environmental concerns. While aquaculture …

An Examination Of Teacher Perceptions Of Middle School Behavior Management And Intervention, Raechel Brianne Roberts

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research indicates that behavior management and intervention is a complex experience in school settings. Middle school students, in particular, must contend with physical, social, and educational changes and responsibilities, which may impact their behavioral responses and relationships with their teachers. The literature suggests that teachers often report that there are limitations to support for behavioral management in regards to pre-service training, access to research-based practices, and barriers to successful intervention implementation. The purpose of this qualitative study was to privilege the lived experiences of middle school teachers and their needs for working with students with challenging behaviors. The study included …

Reopening The Past, Nadia R. Castillo

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

According to the Murder Accountability Project and Federal Bureau of Investigations, “nearly 340,000 homicides and non-negligent manslaughter cases went unsolved in the U.S. from the year of 1965 to 2021 alone” (FBI; 2021). Hidden in the corners of the Justice System are endless cases that go unsolved, untouched or just too long forgotten these crimes carry no answers, no justice, and no closure. For decades, many of these cold cases have been on a shelf collecting dust stalled by the limits of old outdated technology, limited resources, and insufficient evidence. A new era of forensic science is evolving every day, …

Dissecting The Heterogeneous Effects Of Opioid Prescribing Limit Laws On Pediatric Mortality: A Multidimensional And Negative Binomial Modeling Approach, Francine R. Vega

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Opioid prescribing for children and adolescents continues to be a significant health crisis in the United States. Early naïve exposure to opioid prescriptions has been linked to later misuse, opioid use disorder, and death. In response to the crisis, many states have implemented opioid prescribing limit laws (OPLLs) aimed at reducing exposure to opioids. These laws vary widely in their approach, including differences in dosage restrictions, prescription duration limits, informed consent requirements, educational provisions, and whether they offer explicit protections specifically for minors. Despite their widespread adoption, there is limited understanding of how heterogeneity in legal regulations affects outcomes for …

Rethinking Health Systems Responsiveness In Low–And Middle-Income Countries, Meesha Iqbal

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Health systems responsiveness (HSR) refers to a health system’s ability to meet legitimate non-health expectations of the population. Traditionally, HSR has been conceptualized across eight domains: respect for dignity, autonomy, confidentiality, prompt attention to health needs, availability of basic amenities, choice of provider, access to social support networks, and clarity of communication. However, as the expectations of populations in high-income countries (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (L&MICs) differ significantly due to diverse social and cultural contexts, the conceptualization of HSR also varies. We conducted a systematic review of literature to adapt and contextualize the HSR framework for L&MICs based …

Left Or Right, Loyal Or Disloyal: Ideology, Partisanship, And Empire In The Construction Of Interwar Japanese American Politics, Vivian Yan-Gonzalez

Asian American Studies Faculty Articles and Research

This article examines the first cohort of Japanese American voters in California in the interwar years, in order to explore the construction of racialized parameters on Japanese American political agency. Inter-imperial competition between the United States and Japan over the future of the Pacific, along with the popular and legal linkage of race and citizenship, produced a persistent distrust of Japanese American voters. Although Japanese Americans shaped their political strategies to appease these suspicions, militarized state demands for loyalty after the attack on Pearl Harbor sharply contracted their options from a range of diverse ideologies and partisanship to a narrow …

Data For Services For Children Of All Abilities In Libraries (Scale) Project, Maria Cahill, Denice Adkins, Bobbie Sartin Long, Derek Thomas Myles Daskalakes, Caroline Gooden, Melissa Stormont, Alicia K. Long, Carol Russell

Information Science Faculty Data

The University of Kentucky, in collaboration with the University of Missouri and Emporia State University, and in partnership with the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives, the State Library of Kansas, the State Library of Missouri, the Kansas State Department of Education, the Kentucky Department of Education, and the Kentucky Governor’s Office of Early Childhood, engaged in a four-year exploratory stage, multi-state, Research in Service to Practice project investigating the effectiveness of library services, practices, and behaviors effective for serving children with disabilities and/or developmental delays who span ages birth to 5-years. Aligned with the IMLS agency-level Promote Lifelong Learning …

Uni Scholarworks Readership Snapshot, July 2025, Bepress

Library Documents & Reports (entire collection)

No abstract provided.

August 2025 Library & Learning Newsletter, Minnesota State University, Mankato. Library & Learning Dean’S Office Communications Team

Library & Learning Newsletters

PDF version of the August 2025 (Volume 4, Issue 1) Library & Learning Newsletter.

Tracking Impact: Leveraging Pre-Existing Monitoring Tools For Assessing Indonesia’S Free Nutritious Meal (Makan Bergizi Gratis) Programme, Putu Geniki Lavinia Natih

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

Indonesia’s Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG) programme is among the largest school feeding initiatives globally, yet its rapid scale-up has outpaced the development of a robust monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) framework capable of assessing welfare-relevant outcomes. This paper examines whether pre-existing national survey instruments can be leveraged to strengthen outcome monitoring in the absence of MBG-specific microdata. Focusing on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) collected through Indonesia’s National Socio-Economic Survey (Susenas), the study first situates experiential food insecurity within Indonesia’s broader food security landscape. It then applies a propensity score matching framework using participation in the Bantuan Pangan Non-Tunai …

The Impact Of Black Faculty On First-Year Black Student Retention, Sense Of Belonging, And Racial Identity At Historically And Predominantly White Institutions, D'Andrea L. Williams

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The presence and engagement of Black faculty members in higher education can significantly impact Black students' college experience in their first year, especially at historically and predominantly White institutions. Emphasizing the importance of representation mentorship and relationship building, this study stresses the importance of Black faculty in fostering a sense of belonging, strengthening racial identity development, and contributing to the retention rates of Black college students during their freshmen year. On campus, Black students face the challenges of a campus climate plagued by racism, unfair expectations, mistreatment, microaggressions, and discrimination. Representation matters, and the sharing and affirming of those experiences …

The “Sweetest Sounding” Words Of Civil Rights: A Labor Origin Story Of The “Right To Work”, Thomas A. Castillo

History

This essay revisits the idea of “right to work” by offering historical context of Florida’s passage of its 1944 right to work constitutional amendment. A brief overview of the history of the term right to work and its contested nature indicates how the phrase likely led to confusion especially in the arena of political economy. A close evaluation of the amendment and its incongruent nature reveals the intent of its proponents was to deceive voters with the “sweetest sounding” words of civil rights while weakening their ability to organize labor unions. The history of safeguarding the free market entailed disciplining …

Bankruptcy, Ownership Turnover And The Fate Of U.S. Coal Mines, Sara Guffey, Shuichiro Nishioka

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

This paper examines the survival dynamics of U.S. coal mines following ownership turnover, with particular attention to the role of financial distress and bankruptcy procedures. Using mine-level data on production, employment, and ownership from the Mine Safety and Health Administration, we show that mines transferred through private workouts are substantially more likely to close within a few years. In contrast, court-supervised transfers reduce the likelihood of rapid shutdown relative to private transactions, but their survival rates remain indistinguishable from mines without ownership turnover. These results speak to the efficiency of bankruptcy institutions: private transactions, in line with White’s (1994) model, …

The Moderating Effects Of Motivation And Adhd On The Relationship Between Academic Burnout And Prescription Stimulant Misuse Among College Students With Adhd, Joshua Matthew Villanos

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study examined whether ADHD symptom severity and motivational orientations moderate relationships between academic burnout and stimulant outcomes in college students with ADHD symptoms. Using a cross-sectional survey design, 180 undergraduate students who screened positive for ADHD symptoms completed measures assessing academic burnout, motivation orientations, ADHD symptomatology, and prescription stimulant misuse behaviors and expectancies. Testing these moderation hypotheses addresses important gaps in understanding risk and protective factors that may influence stimulant misuse risk. Negative binomial regression was employed for stimulant misuse analyses using the full sample (N = 180), while linear regression examined expectancies across all participants. Results revealed one …

Exploring The Landscape Of Collective Leadership Practice In Rural Nebraska: A Qualitative Sequential Multimethod Study, Haden Myles Botkin

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Rural communities across Nebraska face a myriad of complex challenges that cannot be solved by individual, heroic leaders. As such, collective leadership has begun to emerge in these communities as actors coalesce around local issues. However, little is known about collective leadership practice and development in rural contexts, resulting in a theory-to-practice gap. To that end, this qualitative sequential multimethod study sought to explore how rural community leaders and community development educators perceive, describe, and make meaning of collective leadership practices in rural Nebraska. Three phases comprise this study.

Phase I, the QUAL phase, was guided by the question, How …

The Associations Of Childhood Adversities And Mental Disorders With Suicidal Thoughts And Behaviors - Results From The World Mental Health International College Student Initiative, Philippe Mortier, Xue Yang, Yasmin Altwaijri, Jacob Holdcraft, Nancy Sampson, Yesica Albor, Ahmad Alhadi, Jordi Alonso, Nouf Al-Saud, Lukoye Atwoli

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Objective: To investigate the associations of demographic variables, childhood adversities (CAs), and mental disorders (MDx) with onset, transition, and persistence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) among first-year university students.

Method: Poisson regression models within a discrete-time survival framework were constructed using web-based self-report survey data from 72,288 incoming university students across 18 countries (response rate=20.9%; median age=19 years, 57.9% female, 1.4% transgender, 21.0% non-heterosexual). These models examined the associations of four demographic variables, five CAs, and eight MDx with STB outcomes.

Results: Lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts was 47.0%, 26.0%, and 9.6%, respectively; 12-month estimates were …

Smu Arts Fest 2025 Marks Smu25 And Sg60 With A Six-Week Celebration Of Bold, Original Works, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

From 22 August to 28 September 2025, the Singapore Management University (SMU) will open up its campus and surrounding precinct for SMU Arts Fest 2025 — a six-week celebration of creative expression in honour of SMU’s 25th anniversary and Singapore’s 60th birthday. Anchored in this year’s theme of “2560”, the festival bridges two milestones to reflect on how both institution and nation have grown together. The festival will explore heritage and imagination through youth-led storytelling, professional collaborations, and a showcase of original, homegrown works.

Smu Launches International Tax Research Initiative With Grant From The Tax Academy Of Singapore, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

Singapore Management University (SMU) Yong Pung How School of Law (YPHSL) and Tax Academy of Singapore announced the establishment of the Singapore Tax Academy Research Initiative (STARI) which will be undertaken by YPHSL’s Centre for Commercial Law in Asia. Supported by a grant from the Tax Academy of Singapore, this initiative aims to both contribute to the international tax academic community and serve the body of tax professionals in Singapore through three main streams of work: 1) conduct world-class international tax research; 2) develop local academic capacity in taxation; and 3) build links with international thought-leaders in taxation.

Investigating The Impact Of Adaptive Sports And Recreation Involvement For Veterans, Ashley Bowen

All Dissertations

Adaptive sports and recreation programs offer a promising complementary recreation-based treatment option for veterans with service-connected disabilities and health conditions, and these programs can positively impact veterans’ lives. The many biopsychosocial benefits of veteran adaptive sport and recreation participation have been researched, but studies focused on measuring the broader impact of these programs are new. The Experience Type Framework (ETF) and its associated measures, the Experience Impact Scale (EIS) and Experience Type Scale (ETS), offer options for measuring that broader impact. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of adaptive sports and recreation experiences for veterans, explore …

Supporting Autistic Students' Mental Wellness: A Community Readiness Model Approach, Cady Walker

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Autism spectrum disorder or difference (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disability, usually identified during childhood. However, many adults miss the opportunity for diagnosis during childhood due to previous misunderstandings about autism presentation, camouflaging behaviors, and misdiagnoses. While current diagnostic tools for assessing autism in children are more robust, similar measures are lacking for adults who were not diagnosed in childhood. This gap poses risks for poor mental health outcomes among adults who missed a timely ASD diagnosis, which can be especially challenging for autistic college students. Although some higher education institutions offer support programs for autistic students, most do not, …

Montana Resident Report: Participation In Outfitted And Guided Outdoor Recreation And Sports Tourism Within Montana, Carter Bermingham, Megan Schultz

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

While nonresidents play a significant role in outdoor recreation and travel across the state, the contribution of residents is not to be underestimated. This report sheds light on two important topics from the Montana resident perspective: 1) their participation in outfitted or guided outdoor recreation activities in Montana, and 2) their participation in travel for sport across Montana.

Impacts And Insights: Assessing The Aftermath Of Yellowstone’S 500-Year Flood In Montana, Melissa Weddell, Kara Grau, Patrick Holland-Stergar, Christina S. Barsky, Lauren K. Mckeague

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

Tourism is shaped by many elements, including natural disasters and unexpected events, which can profoundly affect visitor patterns and destination choices. While disasters typically reduce tourist numbers, occasionally they can have a positive influence. The purpose of this report is to document the flood event, analyze its impact, recovery process, and the economic losses to the region, particularly in terms of tourism visitation and revenue to the area and its gateway communities. The project was a coordinated effort among researchers from the University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research (ITRR), the Department of Public Administration and Policy, and …