Development Studies Commons^™

Understanding Trauma To Create Effective Trauma Informed Schools, Lauren Murphy

Curriculum and Instruction Undergraduate Honors Theses

Exposure to early trauma can negatively affect a child's learning, behavior, and social emotional well being. Trauma in children can change executive functions in the brain and other neurobiological developmental changes can alter their success rate academically and socially. With the changes in the brain, it can have prolonged effects such as diminishing of brain nerve cells, hormone levels, immune systems, and epigenetic changes. Without proper interventions, these changes can lead to a higher risk of developing health conditions and mental illnesses. Through research presented in the article, is it vital for early interventions to prevent the furthering effects of …

Self-Continuity In Adolescence: A Buffer Against Decreases In Self-Esteem Due To Vicitmization, Gabriela Alvarez

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The purpose of this research was to explore how components of self-esteem, such as social, cognitive and physical competence, can explain the buffering effect of self-continuity. Self-continuity explains the associations between individuals themselves in both past and present and perceived sameness, despite growth and development of the self. As self-continuity becomes more complex throughout adolescence, children may find themselves lacking a sense of identity. Previous research shows that negative views of the self may later represent themselves in adulthood. There is evidence that suggests self-continuity protects against the negative effects of peer victimization by providing positive connections between one another. …

Trends In Cooperative Extension Calls From 2010 - 2019, Emily Elizabeth Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purposes of this study are to assess the most frequently addressed topics that the public has for Family Consumer Sciences (FCS) related Extension professionals and to indicate whether the topics are changing over time, with a specific interest in changes to food safety and preservation inquiries. The CES office in one county in a western state has been collecting FCS data from the years 2010 to 2019. This data is about the FCS-specific phone calls received to the office. The data was then coded and put into an Excel spreadsheet. There were a total of 5,863 phone calls with …

Book Choices Of Girls During The Transition To Middle School: Empowerment Through Reading, Ilona Poole

Human Development and Family Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this project was to fill a research gap on the reading interest of early adolescent girls and to reveal whether the books these students are reading feature strong female leads. The literature review suggests that the transition to middle school is often a challenging and critical time for children, particularly for females. It also reveals the importance of book reading and relatable and strong girl characters to guide female students. These students can learn from the actions of the protagonist through character education. Based on this information, an online pilot survey was distributed to 4^th and …

Creating A Culturally Competent Children's Library, Rachel Burger

Human Development and Family Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

There is an ever-growing need for cultural competence and well-rounded education, especially for children. In order to promote cultural competence, this current creative project focused on enhancing a library space at a child development center in the mid-south and supply with resources that address diversity. The goal was to transform the library into an enticing, relaxing, and judgement free area where children feel comfortable to explore their culture and the cultures of others. New books added to the library were thoroughly reviewed and chosen for the purpose of promoting cultural competence and inclusion, and new language introduction. A wide variety …

Early Communication Abilities Of 24-Month-Old Children With Williams Syndrome As Measured By The Communication Complexity Scale., Sean B. Woods

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Williams syndrome (WS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with intellectual disability accompanied by a distinct cognitive profile. Despite their socially outgoing nature, children with WS exhibit delayed communication development and specific deficits across various functions of communication. The purpose of this study was to describe the range of communication complexity observed in 24-month-olds with WS and determine relations between communication complexity and other areas of cognitive development. The communication complexity of 17 24-month-old children with WS was measured using the Communication Complexity Scale (CCS), which quantifies optimal and typical communication complexity, as well as optimal communication for Joint Attention (JA) …

The Relations Between Maternal Language Input And Language Development For Children With Williams Syndrome., Katarina L. Mayer

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

For typically developing (TD) children, maternal language input (MLI) is an important contributor to early language development. Until now, possible relations between MLI and language development for children with Williams syndrome (WS), a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder associated with language delay and intellectual disability, have not been addressed. The aim of the present study was two-fold: to examine concurrent relations between MLI and child language abilities at 24 months and to determine if individual differences in MLI and children’s lexical and cognitive abilities at 24 months make significant unique contributions to the variance in child language abilities at 48 months for …

Adverse Childhood Experiences And Their Connection To Autoimmune Disease In Adulthood, Emma J. Molden

Honors Theses

Everyday in the United States, a child experiences a traumatic event. Autoimmune disease is one of the top two leading causes of death in the United States. Can these two horrifying events be connected? Autoimmune diseases currently affect millions of Americans and are considered an epidemic because of their prevalence within the adult population. Even with a high number of cases, this possible connection has been largely ignored and under researched for the history of modern medicine. However, two studies have begun to make the connection between adverse childhood experiences and how that affects the onset of autoimmune diseases in …

Keeping The Child In Mind: A Mixed Methods Study Of Reflections On Parenting Among Families In Shelter, Ann Matthews

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Homelessness among families is a growing problem across the United States (Beard, 2020). Homelessness is associated with stressful and impoverished caregiving environments that contribute to problematic parent-child relationships and increase children’s risks for poor health and academic outcomes (e.g., Perlman et al., 2012).

Responsive caregiving may protect children from adverse outcomes and foster resilience during periods of homelessness (Labella et al., 2019; Miliotis et al., 1999; Perlman et al., 2012). A parent’s capacity to understand their own and their child’s behavior as a function of internal mental states supports such responsive caregiving (e.g., Fonagy & Target, 1997; Slade, 2005) and …

Implementing Lgbtq+ Curriculum In Early Education Classrooms, Mahri Walker

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Many elementary schools have LGBTQ+ content missing from the curriculum, with gender identity and expression and diverse family structures notably absent. The issue that arises is children from LGBTQ+ families, or who may be LGBTQ+ themselves, do not feel represented in the curriculum. If children are provided with the knowledge of what it means to be LGBTQ+, then they are more likely to have a healthy relationship with themselves and their peers who may be included in that community. In order to address this issue, I created a three-day lesson for Kindergarten through first graders at San Lorenzo Valley Elementary …

Adaptive Gaming As An Occupation: Motor Phenomena And Lived Experiences, Christina Floyd, Melanie Blaisdell, Madeleine Pope, Audrey Metzger, Donna Chen Tubig, Lauren Andaya, Christine Vincent

Occupational Therapy | MSOT Capstone Projects

Purpose: This qualitative study examined the lived experience and motor phenomena that occur in people with disabilities during the occupation of video gaming. Historically, the occupation of video gaming, also referred to as gaming, has not been inclusive of individuals with disabilities due to the design of traditional video gaming controllers. Typical gaming controllers require fine motor control, finger dexterity, and in-hand manipulation to grasp and use the controls on the device. Although, many people with disabilities do not have the fine motor skills required to access these devices, creating a barrier for this population to engage in …

The Utilization Of Mental Health Education In Schools For Prevention Not Just Intervention, Ashley Williams

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The prevalence of mental illness in adolescents is more extensive than in previous years. In schools, social workers have been utilized to address mental health episodes in students, however, they generally do not get involved until the adolescent’s mental health episode is critical and unmanageable without social support. This needs to change. The purpose of this research study is to assess for adolescent’s knowledge of mental illness and mental wellness. The targeted population is school-aged children in grades K through 12, however the respondents of the study were student educators due to the protected status of school-aged children. This study …

Uncertainty Monitoring And Resiliency In Middle Childhood, Stephanie Greenquist-Marlett

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This study explores correlations between uncertainty monitoring and resiliency in middle childhood, an age not previously studied. Eighty-three 9- to 11-year-olds (M = 9.98; SD = .693) completed a researcher-created perceptual discrimination task, followed by a confidence judgment decision to determine uncertainty monitoring. Resiliency was determined via The Resiliency Scale for Children and Adolescents (RSCA) including a sense of mastery and its subsets (self-efficacy and optimism) as parts of resiliency. Significant positive correlations were found between uncertainty monitoring and sense of mastery (r = .23, p = .037) and its subsets (self-efficacy: r = .22, p = .04 and optimism: …

Adult Transracial Adoptees' Childhood Experiences And Decision-Making In Forming Families Of Creation, Sarah J. Gray

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This study examined adult transracial adoptees’ (TRAs) childhood experiences and determined how specific factors influenced their likelihood to choose biological procreation, adoption, fostering, a combination of these options, or the choice to be child-free when forming their own families. These adoptees were Black, Indigenous and people of color adopted by white parents in the United States through domestic or international adoption. Childhood experiences included the TRAs’ sense of belonging, cultural socialization, and preparation for bias. The only dependent variable option predicted by a childhood experience was the preference to be child-free. TRAs who experienced higher levels of belonging were less …

It’S Not All Aces: The Role Of Negative Parental Influences And Criminal Thinking In Juvenile Offending Behaviors, Branna Humphrey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The role of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and criminal thinking in causing criminal behavior has been explored extensively in criminal justice research. Based on the concepts of ACEs and the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Scale, the negative parental influences and criminal thinking styles of 1,354 juvenile offenders were examined to establish that negative parental influences and criminal thinking are separately associated with juvenile problem and offending behavior, and that criminal thinking mediates the relationship between negative parental influences and juvenile problem and offending behavior. Analyses showed support for criminal thinking as a pathway from negative parental influences to juvenile …

Associations Between Adolescent And Parent Media Connection And Perceptions Of Emotional Climate In The Home, Laura A. Woodland

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An overwhelming increase in technology and media use this past decade has been found to affect family relationships in various ways. Devices such as cell phones, tablets, and computers, have been found to both be the means of bringing family members closer together by communicating from a distance, while also disrupting and straining family connection, in particular the adolescent to parent relationship. Data from the Flourishing Families Project was used to analyze the varying perceptions of adolescent and parents regarding technology communication with one another and their personal perception of the emotional climate in the home. Results from this study …

The Impacts Of Social Media Sites Such As Instagram And Facebook On Emerging Adult’S Perceptions Of Self-Esteem And Body Satisfaction, Wynne Cushing, Samantha Shandorf, Courtney Piccirillo, Abby Frazier

Thinking Matters Symposium

This study investigated the impacts of social media use, specifically Facebook and Instagram, on emerging adults’ perceptions of self-esteem and body satisfaction. Limited research exists regarding the influence of demographic variables, such as gender, race, and geographic location, on the relationship between social media use and negative outcome variables. The researchers utilized a cross-sectional survey design with a target population of University of Southern Maine students. Researchers hypothesize that emerging adults who spend more time on Facebook and Instagram are more likely to have lower self-esteem and body satisfaction than emerging adults who spend little to no time on Facebook …

Reflecting On Our Terrain: How People And Places Create A Spirit Of Home, Meagan E. Harkins

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the nature of home. It situates the idea of home, both as a physical place and a spiritual state, where the subjects of these stories find belonging. Fourteen interviews were conducted, from December 2020 through February 2021, resulting in a series of longform stories. Eight interviews were recorded with immediate family and childhood friends in my hometown, the suburbs of Orlando, Fla. The balance of the stories derived from Zoom interviews, culminating in a 1,200-mile road journey to South Carolina, for the remaining ones.

What emerged from these oral history interviews and ensuing longform pieces are three …

Going Green: A Comparative Analysis Of Green Urbanism In Paris And Shanghai, Jeanne Torp

Honors Theses

As climate change becomes more pressing with each day and as we scramble to slow down the challenges it poses, adapting the means of operation within our cities will become an invaluable tool for reducing humanity’s carbon footprint. This paper seeks to study the ways in which green infrastructure in global cities can be used to do just that—adapting to and mitigating the effects of challenges resulting from climate change. In order to provide a broad overview of the effectiveness of such green infrastructure systems across the globe, this research will focus on two cities that vary greatly in their …

Medical Populism And Covid-19 Testing, Kristin Hedges, Gideon Lasco

Development Studies Faculty Publications

This paper uses the lens of medical populism to analyze the impact of biocommunicability on COVID-19 testing through a case study approach. The political efficacy of testing is traced through two mini-case studies: the Philippines and the United States. The case studies follow the approach of populism scholars in drawing from various sources that ‘render the populist style visible’ from the tweets and press releases of government officials to media reportage. Using the framework of medical populism, the case studies pay attention to the ways in which coronavirus testing figured in (1) simplification of the pandemic; (2) spectacularization of the …

Systematic Literature Review On Islamic Endowment Funds (Waqf) Between Years 2016 To 2020, Ramdani Ramdani

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study presents a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) related to the Islamic Endowment Fund (Waqf) contained in reputable journals indexed by the Australian Business Dean Council (ABDC). The choice of articles began with a search for articles related to waqf and found 538 articles related to waqf. After a series of the selection process was carried out, there were only 20 articles. The research stages divide into three parts, namely planning, conducting, and reporting. SLR research in this waqf is interesting because we will know where the research position is currently developing.

Everyday Memory In People With Down Syndrome, Yingying Jennifer Yang, Zachary M. Himmelberger, Trent Robinson, Megan Davis, Frances Conners, Edward Merrill

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Although memory functions in people with Down Syndrome (DS) have been studied extensively, how well people with DS remember things about everyday life is not well understood. In the current study, 31 adolescents/young adults with DS and 26 with intellectual disabilities (ID) of mixed etiology (not DS) participated. They completed an everyday memory questionnaire about personal facts and recent events (e.g., school name, breakfast). They also completed a standard laboratory task of verbal long-term memory (LTM) where they recalled a list of unrelated words over trials. Results did not indicate impaired everyday memory, but impaired verbal LTM, in people with …

No Publication Favelas! Latin America's Vision For Open Access, Monica Berger

Publications and Research

Open access was intended to be the great equalizer but its promise has not come to fruition in many lower-income countries of the Global South. Under-resourcing is only one of the many reasons why these scholars and publishers are marginalized. In order to examine inequality in our global scholarly communications system, we can compare a negative and a positive outgrowth of this imbalance. Predatory publishing represents a a weak imitation of traditional, commercial journal publishing. In contrast, Latin America’s community-based, quality scholarly infrastructure is anti-colonial. It can be argued that Latin America’s publishing infrastructure represents one solution to predatory publishing. …

Remembering Postpartum Depression In Later Life: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Walker Ladd Phd

The Qualitative Report

Postpartum depression (PPD) occurs in as many as 1 in 7 women (Gavin et al., 2005). PPD remains underdiagnosed and largely untreated, contributing to high societal costs and increased maternal mortality. Despite the wealth of research reporting the adverse effects of PPD on childbearing women and their offspring, little is known about how women who have experienced PPD describe or interpret the meaning of the experience in later life. I conducted semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 10 women self-identifying as having had PPD a minimum of 13 years in the past. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) I identified …

An Intervention To Increase Detection Of Developmental Delays In Wic Programs, Mohadeseh Solgi, Julie A. Reeder, Sherri Alderman, Katharine E. Zuckerman

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Background: Low-income children are at risk for under-detection of developmental disabilities DD. WIC clinics see low-income children regularly in early childhood and could be an important source of referrals to developmental services.

Objectives: To increase the number of referrals to EI/ECSE from non-primary care settings such as WIC.

Methods: This was a site-randomized trial of an intervention to train WIC staff in early identification of DD’s, using CDC’s LTSAE developmental monitoring materials. 7 county WIC agencies in Oregon enrolled; 4 intervention agencies and 3 control agencies. The intervention consisted of an on-site, half-day training regarding signs of developmental delays, use …

Human Development And Inequality - Panel Discussion Ii With Undp Pakistan, Undp Pakistan

CBER Conference

In collaboration with the UNDP Pakistan, a panel discussion on “Sustainable Development: Inequality and Inclusive Growth” took place amongst Mr. Knut Ostby, Resident Representative, UNDP Pakistan, Dr. S Akbar Zaidi, Executive Director, IBA, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, and Dr. Waqar Masood, SAPM on Revenue. The session was moderated by Asim Sajjad Akhtar. Mr. Knut Ostby said, “As one of the first countries to pledge its commitment to the 2030 Agenda on the SDGs, Pakistan understands the simple truth that equality is the cornerstone of sustainable development”. Mr. Ostby …

Understanding The Perspectives Of First-Generation 4-H Members, Kristy Lee Ouellette Phd

Muskie School Dissertations

Informal education programs like 4-H have the potential to expose young people to opportunities and experiences which may lead to increased social and educational capital. Previous research has consistently found that young people thrive within the 4-H Youth Development program.

The study identified commonalities throughout the multiple modes of participation and identified the ways in which participants are indeed on a thriving trajectory. It involved 12 first-generation 4-H members in Maine between the ages of 14-19. Through the use of in-depth interviews and the creation of ecomaps, this qualitative case study uncovered participants’ perspectives of the Maine 4-H program. This …

State Fragility And Sustainable Development Goals In Egypt, Mahmoud Elmakkawe

Theses and Dissertations

This study discusses the problem of state fragility in Egypt and its relationship with sustainable development goals from 2006 to 2016 through utilizing data from relevant literature and reports. Qualitatively analyzing the indicators of the two main variables: fragility and sustainable development goals, the study concludes that Egypt remains politically fragile despite various relative advancements on sustainable development goals recorded. While some progress has been made on multiple socioeconomic indicators throughout the period specified, Egypt still shows an alarming level of fragility, particularly, when it comes to political aspects of democratic governance that include security, justice, rule of law, and …

Adolescent Adjustment: How Social Withdrawal And Number Of Friends Affect Peer Victimization, Afrah F. Rasheed

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

This presentation will discuss a study examining the relationship between social withdrawal and total number of friends on peer victimization, which is when a child or adolescent is outcast, harassed, or bullied by peers. This study took place in Barranquilla, Colombia and Montréal, Canada. 1375 children ranging from 6-15 years of age participated in this study. Social withdrawal, number of friends, and peer victimization was measured through peer nominations. A multiple regression analysis was performed and found that social withdrawal was a positive predictor of peer victimization, β=.41,t(1193)=15.69,p<.05, while a greater number of friends was a negative predictor for peer victimization, β=-.15,t(1193)=-5.78,p<.05. The findings indicate that positive social interaction and a network of friends lessened the likelihood of being victimized by peers. Future directions could look at parent/guardian relationships on peer victimization and effective intervention strategies to reduce victimization.

The Prosperity Ethic: Neoliberal Christianity And The Rise Of The New Prosperity Gospel In The Philippines, Erron Medina, Jayeel S. Cornelio

Development Studies Faculty Publications

A new prosperity gospel is emerging in the Philippines. We call it the prosperity ethic. Its dimensions set it apart from the previous incarnation of the prosperity gospel, which emphasized tithing and confessing. Specifically, the prosperity ethic values upward mobility and uses biblical principles for the acquisition of practical skills to become rich. We make our case by drawing on the writings of Bo Sanchez and Chinkee Tan, two of the most influential prosperity-oriented preachers in the country. The prosperity ethic has three dimensions: the morality of wealth (believing right), the prescribed mindset (thinking right), and the practical skills to …