Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Intersectional Identities Of Race And Religion Of African American Muslims And Their Attitudes Toward Seeking Mental Health Services, Cheruba A. Dhanaraj

Dissertations

African American Muslims have overlapping and interconnected identities of race and religion that can be conceptualized by the intersectionality framework to understand the complexities of barriers they face when seeking mental health services. African American Muslims have a higher risk of mental health issues due to systemic racism, racial discrimination, racial trauma, and Islamophobic discrimination. Yet, there is a lack of scholarly research or studies that focus explicitly on African American Muslims' specific mental health needs, barriers, and attitudes related to seeking mental health treatment.

This study sought to fill the gap in knowledge about attitudes toward seeking mental health …

Headache Disorders And Neurocognitive Performance Pre- And Post-Concussive Injury, Kaci Gorres

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between pre-existing headache disorders, such as headache or migraine, and neurocognitive testing obtained before and after college-athletes sustain a concussion. Method: A total of 1129 NCAA Division II college athletes from Florida Tech were included in the present study. Participants were included in this study if they completed baseline and/or post-trauma neuropsychological evaluations that included the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool – Fifth Edition (SCAT-5) and Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Tool (ImPACT). Athletes’ headache and/or migraine history was self-reported at baseline and indicated their position in headache history or …

Lack Of Consensus Among Healthcare Professionals At A Large Academic Medical Center On The Use Of Exome Sequencing For Prenatal Diagnosis, Kylie Johnson, Hadi Erfani, Mohamad Ali Maktabi, Ignatia Van Den Veyver, Salma Nassef

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Prenatal exome sequencing (ES) is increasingly used for prenatal diagnosis because emerging data indicate it has incremental diagnostic benefit in pregnancies with fetal anomalies without identified genetic abnormalities by karyotyping and chromosomal microarray analysis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the medical community's attitude toward the clinical utility and use of exome sequencing for prenatal diagnosis and to address differences in attitudes and responses by type of practitioner, level of training, and years passed since last full-time training. We analyzed the answers of 109 trainees and professionals in the fields of genetic counseling, laboratory science, and medicine to …

Prenatal Phenotyping Of Fetal Tubulinopathies: A Multicenter Retrospective Case Series, Bobby K Brar, Marisa Gilstrop Thompson, Neeta L Vora, Kelly Gilmore, Karin Blakemore, Kristen A Miller, Jessica Giordano, Andreas Dufke, Beatrix Wong, Samantha Stover, Billie Lianoglou, Ignatia Van Den Veyver, Esther Dempsey, Mara Rosner, Karen Chong, David Chitayat, Teresa N Sparks, Mary E Norton, Ronald Wapner, Kristin Baranano, Angie C Jelin, Fetal Sequencing Consortium

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Objective: Tubulinopathies refer to conditions caused by genetic variants in isotypes of tubulin resulting in defective neuronal migration. Historically, diagnosis was primarily via postnatal imaging. Our objective was to establish the prenatal phenotype/genotype correlations of tubulinopathies identified by fetal imaging.

Methods: A large, multicenter retrospective case series was performed across nine institutions in the Fetal Sequencing Consortium. Demographics, fetal imaging reports, genetic screening and diagnostic testing results, delivery reports, and neonatal imaging reports were extracted for pregnancies with a confirmed molecular diagnosis of a tubulinopathy.

Results: Nineteen pregnancies with a fetal tubulinopathy were identified. The most common prenatal imaging findings …

Effect Of Problem-Solving Treatment On Self-Reported Disability Among Veterans With Gulf War Illness: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Lisa M Mcandrew, Karen S Quigley, Shou-En Lu, David Litke, Joseph F Rath, Gudrun Lange, Susan L Santos, Nicole Anastasides, Beth Ann Petrakis, Lauren Greenberg, Drew A Helmer, Wilfred R Pigeon

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Importance: Few evidence-based treatments are available for Gulf War illness (GWI). Behavioral treatments that target factors known to maintain the disability from GWI, such as problem-solving impairment, may be beneficial. Problem-solving treatment (PST) targets problem-solving impairment and is an evidence-based treatment for other conditions.

Objective: To examine the efficacy of PST to reduce disability, problem-solving impairment, and physical symptoms in GWI.

Design, setting, and participants: This multicenter randomized clinical trial conducted in the US Department of Veterans Affairs compared PST with health education in a volunteer sample of 511 Gulf War veterans with GWI and disability (January 1, 2015, to …

Social Media Impact On Small Brick And Mortar Businesses, David N. Bowles

University Honors Theses

This thesis examines the implementation of various strategies and goals for small to medium brick-and-mortar enterprises regarding their use of social media. Drawing from primary data collection with small brick-and-mortar businesses within the greater metro area of Portland, Oregon, the value of social media is the ability of an organization to create a sense of value for their consumers while promoting positive relations and enhancing the consumer's ability to interact with an organization on a more personal level. Focusing on the implementation of various strategies and promotional efforts to increase the success of these small businesses and align their organizational …

Intersectionality Pertaining To The Disproportionate Rates Of Black Women In Prisons And Jails, Mackenzie Heller

University Honors Theses

The incarceration rates of Black women in America surpass even all other demographics. Yet, Black women are often not on the news when discussing prison rates in the United States. Rather we see Black men, Hispanic men, and so forth. While these people do make up large portions of the prison system they are seeing a decline in their incarceration rates. Black women are often pushed to the sidelines when discussing matters that can be seen as central to their livelihoods.

This thesis addresses the intersectionality that only Black women experience and how that affects their imprisonment rates and experiences …

Working Outside The Binary: Experiences Of Nonbinary Employees In The Workforce, Mordeky C. Dullum

University Honors Theses

Transgender issues in the workplace have only recently become a focus in research, and it is still new and understudied. Even less studied is the demographic of gender expansive individuals including nonbinary and gender non-conforming individuals. This qualitative study aims to explore and highlight workplace experiences for nonbinary people, with a particular focus on younger nonbinary people who experience less employment stability in more public facing jobs. Thirteen participants engaged in interviews where they were asked to describe their experiences dealing with discrimination, harassment and transphobia in the workplace, in addition to sharing their ideas for practical solutions or changes …

Beyond The Numbers: A Deeper Dive Into The Dearth Of Girls And Women In Stem, Jennifer John Buck

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Despite decades of research attempting to better understand the dearth of girls and women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), gender imbalances persist in many STEM fields. This is particularly the case in math-intensive STEM fields. The current program of research used mixed-methods research to better understand these inequities. The first paper identified gender and ethnic variation in how undergraduates reason about STEM inequities. The second paper found that how emerging adults narrate “turning points” in their relationship with math was associated with their current math outcomes and future plans to pursue math. The final paper demonstrated that how …

Payment Profiles: Using Payment Transaction Data To Identify And Characterize Gamblers, Kasra Ghaharian

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Payment providers in the gambling industry facilitate transactions, allowing customers to transfer money to and from wagering accounts. Payments transaction data is information that is captured from these transactions, including, for example, the type, amount, time, and location. How this data may be used for gambling harm minimization and prevention has garnered significant interest, particularly due to accelerated payments modernization in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. With this study, I explored the utility of payments transaction data to categorize subgroups of gamblers in order to identify individuals who may be at-risk of harm. I benchmarked six cluster analysis methods …

Hunter-Gatherers In Context: Hadzabe People And Early Nutrition Transition, Trevor Pollom

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The current study utilizes a mixed-methods approach to investigate the processes that influence landcover change and nutrition transitions in the Lake Eyasi Basin area of Northern Tanzania. In doing so, it provides unique insights into the behavior and biology of Hadzabe foragers living in the Yaeda Valley during the early stages of nutrition transition and provides much needed context for scientific literature that has been derived from this region. The current study answers the following questions: 1) How can historical and ethnographic maps, combined with present-day landcover classifications, inform our understanding of the people(s), spaces, and places of Lake Eyasi? …

Examining Geographic Variations In Disaster Preparedness Across The United States And Puerto Rico, Forest Kane Cook

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Disaster events, such as floods, wildfires, and earthquakes increasingly cause damage to livelihoods, the economy, and the environment. Preparing for these events to occur is an important part of increasing resilience, however studies have found that households are generally not prepared for these events to happen. When it comes to identifying where these households are, there is typically no related tool or series of maps that can indicate location. In order to fill this gap, we use public survey data from FEMA to create estimates of household preparedness across a number of actions, such as developing an evacuation plan or …

Shame-Proneness And Sexual Satisfaction Among Conservatively Religious Sexual Minorities, Sydney A. Sorrell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined how various aspects of religiousness and sexuality were related to sexual satisfaction among conservatively religious sexual minorities and explored whether dispositional proneness to feeling shame changed these relationships. Analysis of survey data from 315 current and former members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints revealed numerous factors that were related to sexual satisfaction. Sexual minorities who attended more religious services and who were more religiously committed were less sexually satisfied. This may be a result of the conflict a religious sexual minority individual experiences when engaging in same-sex sexual behavior due to stigmatizing religious …

Preference Reversals In Delay Of Gratification, Jeremy M. Haynes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Intertemporal choices are decisions between outcomes occurring at different times. For example, people may choose to quit smoking cigarettes for the delayed health-related benefits associated with abstention, or they may continue to smoke for the immediate gratification associated with smoking now. Importantly, patterns of intertemporal choices among people are associated with a number of maladaptive behaviors (e.g., cigarette smoking). In the present set of studies, I examine a facet of intertemporal choice: preference reversals. Although there are multiple forms of preference reversal, I focus on those characterized by shifts in preference from a larger-later reward to a smaller-immediate reward after …

Bipartisn Bills From Caucus Collaboration: Solutions To Polarized Or Non-Polarized Issues?, Kaitlin Holden

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper investigates whether caucus members pursue bipartisan collaboration on bills related to polarized or non-polarized policy issues. The aim is to determine whether caucuses may be used to pursue bipartisan solutions to major policy issues in an increasingly polarized political environment. I model the effect that the presence of a women’s caucus has on bipartisan collaboration in increasingly polarized legislatures, depending on whether a bill’s title contains words related to polarized issues and its overall sentiment. Findings indicate that bipartisan women may be more likely to collaborate on polarized bills then non-polarized bills in legislatures with a women’s caucus …

The Strategy Of Metallgesellschaft: A Sophisticated Catallactic Analysis, Janette Goodridge

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the fall of 1993, German company Metallgesellschaft, Ag experienced a loss of over one billion dollars. This loss resulted from its hedging strategy, and was one of the largest losses of its kind at the time. Naturally this raised interest regarding what caused these huge losses, and called into question the events and circumstances surrounding and leading up to this disaster. There are two basic schools of thought regarding Metallgesellschaft's strategy. The first is that it was a good strategy and had the potential to be successful and profitable. The other is that its strategy was risky and speculative. …

Human Appropriation Of Net Primary Production Through Crops, Grazing, And Forestry In The U.S. From 1997 To 2012, Suman Paudel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation conducts a county-level analysis of human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) harvested from crops, timber and grazing in the conterminous United States in the years 1997, 2002, 2007 and 2012. This study consists of three manuscripts (Chapters 2, 3, and 4). The first study quantifies net primary production in US counties in 1997, 2002, 2007 and 2012. The detailed HANPP study conducted concludes that HANPP is a valuable footprint tool for analyzing land use intensity and agricultural ecosystems. The second manuscript shows how HANPP is an improved or modernized ecological footprint and is a sustainable indicator as …

The Efficacy And Feasibility Of Web-Based Acceptance-Enhanced Behavioral Treatment For Trichotillomania In Adults: A Randomized Waitlist-Controlled Trial, Leila K. Capel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Trichotillomania, or chronic hair pulling, impacts several aspects of a person’s everyday life and functioning including making it difficult to fully engage in school, work, romantic relationships, and other social relationships. There are several treatment options for trichotillomania and one that is particularly promising is acceptance and commitment therapy-enhanced behavioral therapy (AEBT). Several studies have been done in person and through telehealth and this treatment has helped participants.

Many people in the U.S. struggle with trichotillomania but many people are not able to access treatment for their hair pulling because clinicians are not available in their area, clinicians are not …

Effects Of Obesity On Knee Extensor Structure, Function, And Gait: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Michael N. Vakula

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Obesity is a common, costly, and critical disease that increases the risk of disability and premature death. Most commonly, obesity is caused by an increased consumption of energy dense foods and decreased time spent being physically active. The greater weight with obesity interrupts normal musculoskeletal function which can lead to physical adaptations such as decreased lower-extremity muscle strength and abnormal walking patterns, both of which are among top risk factors for falls in older individuals. However, the effects of obesity on walking and lower-extremity muscle strength have not previously been examined by incorporating the results of all existing studies in …

Storytelling To Promote Mental Health: A Conceptual Analysis And Application With Acceptance And Commitment Therapy For Depression, Carter H. Davis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Mental health treatments can be delivered in many ways. One approach is to use storytelling to communicate healthy practices. While societies across the world have engaged in storytelling for thousands of years, these practices have been used less in the mental health field. The aim of this project was to study the overlap between the areas of mental health and storytelling. We also tested how a storytelling-based mental health treatment could help solve a particular clinical problem. In this case, the problem of people who receive inadequate help for managing depression through medication alone.

We examined one particular mental health …

The Role Of Dysfunctional Beliefs And Attitudes About Sleep (Dbas), Rumination, Psychological Inflexibility, And Insomnia Among College Students, Guadalupe G. San Miguel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of the study was to understand additional variables that play a role between insomnia and the inability to stay present with internal feelings/emotions (i.e., psychological inflexibility) among college students. These variables that were predicted to help explain this relationship include dysfunctional sleep-related cognitions and insomnia rumination. To do this, college students were surveyed online at the start of the study and one month later. In addition, to be included in the study they must have been enrolled in a 2- or 4-year university, have access to the internet, and not diagnosed with another sleep disorder. Participants (n …

Validation And Exploration Of The Multidimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory With A Sample Of Adolescents, John Barr

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The current study attempted to further psychological flexibility literature by validating the Multidimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory (MPFI) with a sample of adolescents (ages 16 and 17). This analysis also examined how the MPFI associates with other indicators of psychological flexibility, distress (depression, anxiety, somatic symptom severity and related distress, difficulties in emotion regulation) and well-being (subjective happiness, life satisfaction, self-compassion, emotional approach coping).

Results from this study suggested that psychological inflexibility as measured by the MPFI positively associated with a number of measures of distress, but generally did not inversely correlate with measures of well-being in a theoretically-consistent manner, which …

Development Of The Payment Systems: An Economic Need Or A Technological Deed, Heba Mekawy

Future Journal of Social Science

This paper is mainly concerned with showing most of the economic aspects related to both banking transactions, payments, and eventually the payment systems and their development. The economic aspects are discussed on both the macroeconomic and the microeconomic one as well. The discussion in the paper also covers the economic implications of the payment systems and the economic rationale behind their development. The paper has concluded that the economic need of the financial market is the main driver behind the development of payment systems. They also serve as outcomes concerning the well-functioning of the financial market. Thus, the technological development …

Assessing The Factors That Determine Renewable Electricity Consumption In The United States: Using Ardl Approach, Hind Alnafisah

Future Journal of Social Science

Panel cointegration estimates are utilized for four groups of consumers of renewable electricity—residential, commercial, transportation, and industrial—from 1985 to 2020. The paper study uses panel cointegration for long and short-run effects using panel autoregressive distribution lag (ARDL) with several causality tests. This research finds that in the long run, tax credit, gross domestic product, and CO2 emission elasticities affect residential renewable energy consumption positively. Furthermore, natural gas affects the consumption of renewable energy negatively. The findings have social impacts which are that the consumption of renewable energy significantly emphasizes the global warming and energy security phenomena. The federal government of …

Proposed Alternatives To Decrease Private Tutoring In Egyptian Pre-University Education, Fatemah Abdel-Razek

Future Journal of Social Science

Private tutoring continues to exist in Egypt, even though it has been officially banned by the 2016 ministerial decree No. 53 and the 2018 ministerial decree No. 714. The current research reviews the relevant literature, provides a background on private tutoring, analyzes the current policy for dealing with private tutoring in Egypt, and it proposes three policy alternatives for decreasing private tutoring in Egyptian pre-university education. These alternatives are turning most educational curricula into educational games, lengthening the school day, and returning extra-curricular activities to Egyptian schools. These policy options are evaluated based on the criteria of equity and fairness, …

The Impact Of Ethnic Groups On National Security, Seham Fawzi

Future Journal of Social Science

Ethnic diversity in and of itself does not negatively affect national security. The threat it imposes to national security is a result of many factors combined with political opportunity that fundamental changes occurring in the political system exploited by ethnic and sectarian groups trying to change the political system to their advantage. Many factors such as political, historical, economic, social, cultural, environmental, and psychological factors may lead ethnic groups to rebel and impose threats to the national states of any country especially developing countries.

Are Basic Care Homeless Shelters Beneficial To The Homeless, Lucy Karanja

Symposium of Student Scholars

This research aims to analyze homeless shelters that only provide basic care, i.e., food and shelter, to individuals experiencing episodic or chronic homelessness. Evaluating the effectiveness of these shelters and their ability to help individuals overcome homelessness. Research in this area suggests that there are commonly seen factors that result in homelessness, and although there are noted gender differences, these factors include aspects such as mental illness, substance abuse, poverty, illness, disability, violence, and a lack of access to resources, i.e., education, income, affordable housing, social support. All of these are complex on their own to address and only grow …

Analysis Of Brainwaves Using Flanker Paradigm, Kyle Vlahos, Richard Mcconnel

Symposium of Student Scholars

This study done was used to look at how a stimulus that may be distracting or unimportant can impact brainwaves. The study used a test called the flanker paradigm which gives the participants multiple stimuli of X’s or O’s in a line of three. Only the middle stimuli were important, requiring the participant to select the left button for O and right for X. On either side of the central target, the flanker stimuli could be neutral if the stimuli were not a letter, mismatch if they were different from the target letter, and match if the stimuli were the …

Learning From Public Spaces In Historic Cities, Cody Josh Kucharski

Symposium of Student Scholars

Successful public spaces in cities are key for enhancing social cohesion and improving health and safety. Learning from historic cities involves the development of representational and analytical tools aimed at capturing their essence as places of human interaction. The research reports findings of the spatial analysis of twenty Adriatic and Ionian coastal cities, which addresses the question of how the network of public spaces calibrates different degrees of spatial enclosure necessary for creating successful social interactions. Cities in the littoral region include well-preserved historic centers that are renowned for the successful integration of urban squares into the urban fabric. For …

The Effect Of The Syrian Crisis On The Profitability Of The Country's Private Banking Sector, Osama Alyousef

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

This research analyses the effect of the Syrian crisis on the profitability of local private banks during the period from 2011 to 2018 using fixed effects estimator on panel data. The research studies all of the 14 Syrian private banks and includes bank-specific variables calculated from the published quarterly and annual reports of all the banks, as well as a variable for the Syrian crisis measured by the following macro-economic factors: the number of crisis-related casualties, the number of Syrians who fled the country as refugees or asylum seekers, and the Syrian Pound exchange rate against U.S. Dollar during the …