Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Evaluating Scholarly Communication Programs At Large Master’S Level Institutions: Findings From The Imls-Funded Scholarly Communication Assessment Forum, Emily K. Chan, Suzanna Yaukey, Daina Dickman, Nicole Lawson

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Preference For Harmony : A Link Between Aesthetic Responses To Combinations Of Colors And Musical Tones, Sijia Song

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

According to Palmer and Griscom (2013), individual differences in the preference-for- harmony (PfH)—the tendency to prefer stimuli that represent “good gestalts”—is relatively consistent across domains of aesthetic judgment. In the present study, we built upon their findings by showing that PfH for color combinations is strongly associated with PfH for isolated musical chords. We also newly showed that ratings of the harmoniousness of chords are not uniquely predicted by their objective harmonicity (the extent to which their constituent partials resemble a harmonic series), but rather, by a combination of their “smoothness” (the lack of spectral interference between their constituent partials), …

The Dilemma Of Banned Books: Questioning The Ethics Of Censoring Literature In Schools, Kyle King

Augustana Center for the Study of Ethics Essay Contest

Literature, specifically in the form of novels, has been a vital organ of the public education system within the United States. Not only does reading such works transform us into better close readers and strengthen our vocabulary, but the texts at hand can be very essential to analyze specific contexts or issues that might have existed either throughout history or even in the present day. In today’s country, the issue of banning certain books from school curricula has become as prevalent as ever, where mostly Southern Republican officials are calling for lists of books to be restricted from teaching due …

Ce Qui Reste: Legacies Of Decolonization In Guinea And Gabon, Andrew Tietz

Honors Projects

By most metrics, many African states underperform. Some scholars argue that neo-colonial systems established after independence are to blame, as they perpetuate dependence on former overlords. Others contend that continued failures of African leaders and political institutions prevent their countries from succeeding. I analyze two specific cases from French Africa diametrically opposed in their experiences of decolonization. In Guinea, the French left abruptly, taking everything they could carry. In Gabon, they stayed, and continued to direct the country’s politics and economy. What differences does this disparity have on state success after independence? To answer this question, I assess the impacts …

The "Politics Of Trauma": National Trauma In Poland And Hungary And The Othering Of Queer Identities, Keira Hoeferle

Honors Projects

The governments of Poland and Hungary, under the parties Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (Law and Justice) and Fidesz (Alliance of Young Democrats), respectively, have deliberately implemented policies and utilized rhetoric to marginalize the LGBT+ community, a dramatic reversal from years of social progress in the European Union. In investigating this shift, prior scholars have explored social factors and authoritarian, populist politics as causes, yet these cannot explain the extent and viciousness to which both parties attack sexual and gender minorities. In this paper, I demonstrate that both governments have utilized “national trauma” to construct a nationalist space that excludes LGBT+ people, …

An Analysis Of Commentary In Men’S And Women’S Olympic Basketball, Madison Monk

Honors Projects

The objectification theory suggests that women are subjected to more comments about their appearance than men, but in the field of athletics and sports analysts, newer perspectives suggest that there are fewer distinctions between how male and female athletes are portrayed. The present study examined whether there were differences in broadcast commentary of men’s and women’s Olympic basketball gold medal games, including comments about the players looks and appearance, their physicality and athleticism, and the pattern of name used. The coding method employed was developed based on previous research and used to quantify the frequency of each category. Two coders …

Minero Magazine, Vol. 34, Spring 2022, Utep Student Publications

The Prospector

No abstract provided.

College Students’ Opinions On Climate Change: Do Political Views Matter?, Aileen Hull

Honors Theses

Climate change is an ever-impending crisis and the politics surrounding the issue are as contentious as ever, especially in the United States where the political culture is extremely polarized. The polarization of the political parties in the United States makes any environmental policy extremely difficult to pass. Meanwhile, the new generation of young people entering the workforce, voting scene, and public eye are bringing new demands to current climate debates. Youth make up a large share of environmental activism participants and opinion polls show climate change is on the minds of many young people. However, there is a lack of …

Labor Trends In Nuclear Energy And Developmental Obstacles In Nuclear Energy, Ryan D. Greensfelder

Honors Theses

The idiosyncrasies that exist in the United States independent system operator’s structure poses many unique challenges to wholesale energy markets. The array of energy production solutions is one of these challenges to understanding energy markets. Numerous tools have been used to measure the quantitative complexity of energy markets. Few tools and indices exist to track macroeconomic fluctuations in US employment and wage for United States relative to the cost of energy delivery. In modelling the derived labor demand for energy employment, we should be better able to explain markets and allow for predictions in fluctuations in the labor market. This …

Job Diversity And Its Impact On Intergenerational Mobility At The County Level, Derek Olson

Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on whether or not the diversity in industries within a county has an impact on the income mobility of children within that county. Data come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to construct variables measuring job diversity and the degree of industry specialization of a county. Building on Chetty (2017a, 2017b), I find that for children with parents at the 25th percentile of the national income distribution, a one standard deviation increase in a county being less diverse in the presence of industries increases a child’s expected rank in the national income distribution by 2.19% while a …

Collaborating With Parents With Disabilities To Create Accountability In The Special Education System, Brooke Crosby, Julia Lutz-Lawlor, Kelsy Farley, Khadra Geelle

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Minnesota is a state that prides itself on prioritizing education. As such, all school personnel must fulfill their obligation to ensure meaningful access for parents with a disability. As part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA), the development of an Individualized Education Program (IEP) is required under both federal and state special education law. In the special education IEP process, parental involvement is mandated to ensure the child's best interest. Research shows parents’ involvement in their children’s education can lead to an improvement in grades, performance, literacy, attendance, and homework completion. Disabled parents must be engaged as …

Cultural Healing Practices: Incorporating Cultural Healers Into Minnesota's Mental Health Care System, Raymond Shoup, Allyson Endersbe, Nayeli Hernandez Moctezuma, Patty Balderas-Johnson

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Minnesota’s approach to health and mental health is based on western cultural traditions of illness, help seeking behaviors, healing and wellness. This approach does not work for many of the cultural communities in Minnesota, especially those with a deep history of generational trauma, oppression, and discrimination. We need to make mental health a priority for Minnesotans by expanding the availability of holistic approaches rooted in the cultural traditions of Minnesota’s diverse cultural communities. We must address the impact of generational trauma and work to lessen the harm by incorporating cultural healing practices into our mental health care system, including the …

Payday Lending: Reforming This Predatory Practice In Minnesota, Courtney Colton, Karmy Luker, Addy Haarstad-Mead, Sarah Turpen

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Payday lending is a service that was intended to provide emergency financial relief to those who cannot afford an unexpected expense. However, 7 out of 10 borrowers use loans to cover monthly living expenses such as rent, utilities, and maintaining food security. With steep annual percentage rates averaging 391% and subsequent repeat borrowing, communities targeted by predatory lending companies fall deeper into the cycle of debt. Minnesota must reform their policies surrounding payday lending implementing legislative changes to protect Minnesotans who rely on payday loans and invest in long-term solutions that eliminate the need for a payday loan.

An Ethnographic Study Of Generational Differences In Religious Beliefs And Values, Jeremiah Martens, Josiah Freedman

Ethnographies of Parkland Student Life

For this project, I chose to investigate the (possibly differential) influence of one prominent contemporary religious institution the Catholic Church on the values and evaluations of the Church's moral credibility held by members of distinct generations. - Josiah It was through engaging in participant observation and conducting formal interviews that I gathered the bulk of my data. In addition to these, I held informal conversations with people exhibiting varying degrees of personal alignment with Catholic values; these conversations provided me with data that was qualitatively different from that gathered using the other two methods. While using participant observation to discover …

Generational Views On Cars And Public Transportation, Kenneth Lahners, Yuanpei Su

Ethnographies of Parkland Student Life

In an America where cars reign supreme, it may be a surprise to learn that some people dislike driving. Cars have long represented the American dream and our cultural values of individualism and freedom; for some, they are a social status symbol representative of wealth or personality (Griffith and Marion 2020, 310). In this research project, we set out to explore how older and younger people in our community perceive cars and public transportation in order to try to determine if this cultural value, and the role that cars play in America's cultural heritage, are changing.

Native American Reservations, Now And Then, Ben Hubbard, Alec Valentino

Ethnographies of Parkland Student Life

Research Focus

• To determine the history of living conditions at Native American Reservations
• To learn how Native American leaders tried to improve their community
• To discover how traditions are passed down the generations to the present day

Spaces Of Community In Champaign Urbana, Caullin Heebner, Zoey Dye

Ethnographies of Parkland Student Life

Our research question was to focus on how the research farm at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC) and the iconic bar KAMS on the UIUC campus town contribute to the culture of Champaign Urbana as a whole. Being a community that represents many different cultures from many different backgrounds we wanted to focus on these locations, which we feel best represent Champaign Urbana.

Storytelling And Its Role In Cultural Heritage, Asia Djafar, Amalie Legrande

Ethnographies of Parkland Student Life

In our research, we wanted to explore how storytelling connects people to cultural heritage. First, we focused on how Greek mythology and constellations are linked to cultural heritage. We also investigated how Norse mythology and storytelling connect people to their cultural heritage.

Native American Reservations, Brooklyn Gonzalez, Casey Conway, Ginger Erl Soper

Ethnographies of Parkland Student Life

DEFINITION : A Native American reservation is an area of land that is owned and governed by a Native American tribe and managed by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs. Such reservation is not required to follow the state government laws in which the area is located.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this research is to spread awareness about society’s current state of knowledge regarding Native American Reservations and Native American culture in a variety of contexts.

APPLICATION: This research is intended to educate others on Native American culture.

Spaces Of Community In Champaign-Urbana, Jacob Alfonso, Tate Herges, Alana Brown

Ethnographies of Parkland Student Life

Our research question was to focus on how the Champaign Public Library (pictured below), the Virginia Theater (right), and Meadowbrook Park (far right) have contributed to the culture of Champaign Urbana as a whole. Being a community that represents different cultures from many diverse backgrounds, we wanted to focus on the contribution to this diversity of different spaces, which we feel best represent Champaign Urbana.

Building Healthy Habits: A Wellness Program For Juvenile Detention Officers, Janaan R. Van Zante

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

This paper focuses on the creation of a wellness program for the Snake River Juvenile Detention Center in Twin Falls Idaho and how it has started to make a positive impact on the juvenile detention officers at the facility. Wellness is something that detention officers take for granted. Most of the officers eat a lot of junk food and believe that lack of sleep and low energy levels are a normal part of being a juvenile detention officer. Juvenile detention officers work in an environment where they need to have empathy for the youth in their custody. Constant empathy for …

Life Skills And Economics: Mrs. Shelley's Special Education Jr. High Student Experience, Shelley Douglas

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

The problem starts with students having a lack of skill and understanding when stepping out on their own. Teaching students skills now will help them become successful members of society. Students who learn life skills early and this will not only build self-confidence but their long term success in life.

Students in my current Jr. high do not have an understanding of basic life skills including economic skills like personal finance. I built a program to teach the lacking skills to my Jr. high students. I use Google sites, Google Classroom and other resources to support my plan. Some of …

Lasting Memories Of Veterans, Skylar Taylor

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

Throughout this project I interviewed veterans who reside in nursing homes. The purpose of the interview was to gather their individual stories and publish them on a website. As well as help offset the negative impacts of COVID-19 within nursing homes. Publishing the stories within a website was our way of ensuring that they will not be forgotten when they pass away. Leaving a lasting memory on the world.

4h Small Animal Brochure Capstone Project, Chiara Green

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

The 4H Small Animal Orientation Brochure strives to answer the questions a prospective 4H member might have about completing a small animal project from where to begin to the final presentation of showing your project at the County Fair. This way they can make an informed decision about joining 4H to complete a small animal project. This brochure was reviewed by 4H leaders in Gooding County.

In Place/Out Of Place Assignment, Peter Kabachnik

Open Educational Resources

This Geography assignment, ideal for Political Geography, Cultural Geography, Urban Geography, and so forth (and of course other related disciplines like Anthropology and Sociology), undergraduate courses, explores the concepts of in place and out of place. Based on a reading of the introduction of Tim Cresswell's 1996 book In Place/out of Place Geography, Ideology, and Transgression, this assignment is a great way to get students to think about these issues and connect them to their own experiences.

Expanding Renewable Energy Tax Credits To Tribal Governments: How Current Legislative Proposals Will Benefit Tribes And Their Members In Their Continued Efforts To Address Climate Change, Ben Reiter

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Part I of this Article will review the history of renewable energy tax credits in this country and how they have played such a prominent role in the United States’ efforts to address climate change. Part II of this Article will describe BBBA’s [Build Back Better Act] proposal to broaden the scope of entities— including Tribes—that can take advantage of renewable energy tax credits. Finally, Part III of this Article will argue that Tribes are uniquely positioned to take advantage of BBBA’s renewable energy tax credit direct pay proposal based on their demonstrated leadership in combating climate change, the significant …

Racism And Toxic Burden In Rural Dixie, Mary Finley-Brook, Environmental Justice Researchers

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Rural pollution hotspots receive inadequate attention during impact assessments: low population density is strategically used to suggest rural areas lack critical importance. Local resistance led to a legal victory for Union Hill, Virginia, where a door-to-door household study of demographics and family heritage exposed data inequities and biases in state practices, establishing a precedent for attention to environmental injustice and disproportionate cumulative impacts on rural majority Black communities. Critical legal geographies of cases from Buckingham, Pittsylvania, and Charles City Counties in the Commonwealth of Virginia document patterns in the ways fossil fuel ‘sacrifice zones’ intersect with historic colonialism in rural …

Bigger Dreams, Majolyn N. Nunez

Publications and Research

While at the day program, my new care manager came to me with an application for the Melissa Riggio Higher Education program, and it changed everything for me. Today, I’m 30 years old and a junior at Hostos Community College. I have classes two days a week in education and history and I still live with my sister. I think being an older student has helped me because I’m more mature and independent. I changed. I’m more understanding, and I’m learning to depend on myself.

Asian Americans And The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Multi-Lingual Survey In Greater Boston, Carolyn Wong, Ziting Kuang

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

This report on Asian Americans and the Covid-19 Pandemic describes lessons from a multilingual survey administered in Greater Boston during the Fall, Winter, and early Spring of 2020-21. The Institute for Asian American Studies (IAAS) at UMass Boston designed and administered the IAAS Covid-19 Survey on the health, economic, and social impacts of the pandemic for Asian Americans. The IAAS Covid-19 Survey was designed to fill significant gaps in data available from a previous Spring 2020 survey, Living in Boston During Covid-19, which was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and administered by UMass Boston’s Center for Survey Research …

Juvenile Solitary Confinement And The Eighth Amendment, Taylor R. Graves

Honors Thesis

This literature review examines the practice of juvenile solitary confinement, applies the United States Supreme Court’s Eighth Amendment jurisprudence, argues that the practice should be declared unconstitutional as a violation of the Eighth Amendment, and calls for a categorical ban. The Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause of the Eighth Amendment states, “nor [shall] cruel and unusual punishments [be] inflicted.” U.S. Const. amend. VIII. Juvenile solitary confinement is cruel and unusual, in violation of the Eighth Amendment, because juveniles are different. The United States Supreme Court has long recognized that juveniles should not be held to the same standards of …