Sociology Commons^™

The Integration Of Environmental Concerns And Philosophy Into Business Strategies, Johann Thorne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My thesis focuses on how a business can better integrate environmental philosophies and principles into their business model without detracting from the business's primary objectives, specifically that of generating profit. However, this thesis also seeks to extend the business's objectives to include the environment using these environmental philosophies, arguing that the business should have some obligation to the environment in terms of morality, as well as social obligations. This is an evolution of some common ethical theories used within the business world, but I argue they do not suffice to protect the environment. Instead, I develop an ethical pluralist framework …

Laundry Program Evaluation, Jacen Greene, Sandra Comstock, Marisa Zapata

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

Nearly 4,000 people were reported as experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Multnomah County in 2023 (Theriault, Roots & Okeke, 2023). Studies by the Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative (HRAC) at Portland State University and other researchers have identified an urgent need for free laundry services among people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the Portland region. A lack of access to clean laundry is associated with negative impacts on mental and physical health, as well as environmental impacts from wet or dirty textiles that are discarded rather than being reused.

In an attempt to address these and other issues, the City of Portland …

Understanding The Experience Of Being Food Insecure At An Independent College Or University, Natalie Wagner

Dissertations

Many people struggle to consistently access enough food for an active and healthy life (United States Department of Agriculture, 2020). Research has shown that college students experience food insecurity at rates higher than the general population while also facing negative academic, mental, physical, and social consequences (Baker-Smith et al., 2020; Bruening et al., 2018; Dubick et al., 2016; Henry, 2017; Martinez et al., 2018). Although studies on food insecurity among higher education have increased in the past few years, much of the research has been quantitative in nature and has been conducted at community colleges and state-funded institutions (Baker-Smith et …

The War Within: Mexican Drug Cartels And The Impact Of The Drug Trade On Society And Governance, Haris Mohammad

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the origins, activities, and societal impacts of Mexican drug cartels, while assessing the effectiveness of governmental and international responses to their development and influence. This thesis examines the evolution of the cartels, starting with their collaboration with traffickers in Colombia and concluding with their supremacy in the global drug trade. The investigation elucidates the social and political factors that have facilitated their growth. These factors include pervasive corruption, economic disparities, and inadequate governance, all of which have fostered an environment conducive to the emergence of cartels.

This thesis examines the detrimental effects of cartel involvement on Mexican …

Livable Marshfield: Age And Dementia Friendly Action Plan: Improving Livability For All Ages And Abilities, Caitlin E. Coyle, Beth Rouleau, Ceara Somerville

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

The Town of Marshfield’s Age and Dementia Friendly action plan signifies a milestone and reflects many years of dedication to creating environments within Marshfield that are supportive of residents of all ages and abilities. Guided by the Council on Aging (COA), the Town of Marshfield is dedicated to understanding and responding to the needs and interests of older adults in the community. Over the years, the share of residents over age 60 has steadily grown. According to 2019-2023 estimates from the American Community Survey, an estimated 28% of Marshfield residents are age 60 or older (approximately 7,200 residents). Projections suggest …

The Personality Profile Of Libya’S Muammar Gaddafi, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This research report, prepared for the France 5 television documentary “Le Monde en face: Kadhafi, la folie d’un dictateur,” presents the results of an indirect personality assessment of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi from the conceptual perspective of personologist Theodore Millon.

Agriculture In The Urbanizing Chesapeake Bay Watershed: Views On Water Quality, Agricultural-Related Conflicts, And The Adoption Of Nutrient Management Plans, Edem Avemegah

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This dissertation analyzes Chesapeake Bay Watershed (CBW) agriculture by exploring residents' views on water quality issues, agriculture-related conflict, and farmers' adoption of nutrient management plans. The following questions were asked: What is the level of concern among non-agricultural and agricultural residents about water quality issues in local streams and waterways and the CBW, and to whom do the two groups attribute water quality problems? What are nonfarming residents' and farmers' levels of support for various interventions outlined in previous research on water quality issues in local streams and waterways and the CBW? What is the level of nonfarming residents' and …

Patterns Of Activity Participation And The Well-Being Of Older Adults In Singapore, Zidane Tiew, Rachel Ngu, Yi Wen Tan

ROSA Research Briefs

Older adults participate in different types of activities and do so in varying frequencies. In this study, we utilised latent class analysis to identify underlying patterns of activity participation among the SLP respondents. We found three patterns: (i) generally active (i.e., socially, physically, and digitally active), (ii) physically and digitally active, and (iii) digitally active. Furthermore, we found that respondents who were more broadly active were more likely to experience higher levels of life satisfaction than those who were only digitally active. These respondents tended to be from higher socioeconomic backgrounds, report having better health, or had more close social …

Cognitive Interviewing Within A Mixed Methods Practice: Utilization And Methodological Exploration Of Cognitive Interviewing, Jack Riley Hebner

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

Cognitive interviewing (CI) is a memory-enhancing technique used to extract more valid data from participants by addressing cognitive needs. Present research applied CI to program evaluation, theorizing that more quality data would be retrieved, especially when utilizing a mixed methods approach. The program chosen to further explore this technique and provide potentially invaluable evaluation data was the Educational Psychology Department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (EDPS). The sample consisted of 32 individuals, consisting of graduate students and faculty across all programs.

The overall evaluation focused on inter-program and inner program understanding which is operationalized as the ability to relay how …

Morality, Outgroups, And Politics, John Jostes

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Moral differences between Democrats and Republicans contribute to affective polarization, or how negatively each side feels toward one another. Partisans are also generally aware of and sensitive to which social groups comprise the other political party. The present study examines if changes to the United States population, and thus levels of support for the two parties, will influence affective polarization. To do so, participants were randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions in which they read about demographic changes reported in the 2020 U.S. Census, or a control condition. I find that the treatment conditions did not have a …

Chronic Absenteeism: The Journey Toward Improved Attendance And Achievement In A Rural Elementary School, Charla S. Brant

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This study examined a school’s improvement efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism in a rural, high-poverty elementary school. Through improvement science, it analyzed the effects of attendance interventions on attendance improvement. It is well known that students who do not regularly attend school will also struggle with adequate progress and growth in multiple subject areas. This study aimed to use Multi- Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) to conduct specific attendance-based interventions and then evaluate their effectiveness in one rural high-poverty elementary school. It also analyzed the effect of attendance on literacy achievement measured by Acadience data. How can an elementary school …

Local Rural Knowledge And Early Childhood Informal Science Education In Rural Nebraska, Sarah Michelle Paulos

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This study aims to discover the existing experiences that lead to local rural knowledge (LRK) of specific rural Northeast Nebraska communities. This information will assist in understanding the impact that LRK has on young children’s science knowledge in rural communities. By engaging in hands-on experiences and interactions, science learning goals for children may be achieved and developed through science outreach programs. During Phase 1 of this study, adults in the selected rural communities participated in an online survey indicating their knowledge of various common rural phrases with the option to share personal stories of experiences and family history. This information …

A Search For Self Through Allyship And Advocacy ‘About, With, And As’ Multilingual Learners: An Autoethnographic Study, Molly Heeren

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This autoethnographic study uses personal memoirs to explore the author’s allyship and advocacy efforts throughout the past 24 years in the language teaching profession. Through the process of self-reflexivity and introspection, “turning points” are investigated to understand more about what influences the actions and behaviors of allyship or advocacy ‘about, with, and as’ multilingual learners. As a district level instructional coach and teacher of multilingual learners in both elementary and adult settings, the author’s revelations in teaching identity, influences of Empire, misalignment of the ‘sense of language,’ and legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice become salient issues. The dynamics …

Investigating The Impact Of An Elaborative Conversation Strategies (Ecs) Intervention On Parent-Child Interactions And Preschool Children's Science Learning Using A Single-Case Experimental Design, Yao Yao

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of the elaborative conversation strategies (ECS) intervention in improving the quality of parents' science talk during everyday home learning interactions using a single-case experimental design. Specifically, the study explored whether training parents in ECS could increase their use of these high-quality conversation strategies and enhance the quality of their science talk when engaging their children in science activities. The study also investigated how the ECS intervention impacted children's science knowledge, skills, and interest, as well as parents' attitudes toward supporting their children's science learning.

Participants included five typically developing …

Community Engagement Newsletter, December 2024, University Of Northern Iowa. Office Of Community Engagement.

Community Engagement Newsletter

Contents:

--- Holiday Volunteers Needed
--- Board of Directors Match Program
--- Spring Service-Learning Institute: Save the Date, May 27-28
--- Service-Learning Course Designation
--- Service-Learning Institute - Winter Session Online
--- New Spring Programming: Nonprofit Explore-a-Ganza
--- New Spring Programming: Learn & Serve Bus Tour
--- Seed Coalition Annual Awards Nominations
--- National Survey - Call for Participation

Rape Beyond Fantasy: Exploring The Influence Of Booktok's Erotica And Dark Romance Literature On Young Adult Perceptions Of Consent And Boundaries, Teagan Bailey Fortune

Master's Theses

Advances in technology and media, particularly TikTok, have had a significant impact on the younger generation. BookTok, a community that emerged from TikTok, is a platform where users can promote, share, and discuss book recommendations, using “spice level” or chili emojis to indicate the rating of explicit content. While recommendations often focus on erotica and dark romance fiction, concerns arise when such content glamorizes and normalizes rape culture, especially for young adults (YA). The normalization of toxic relationships can potentially influence YA perceptions of consent and boundaries. This study explores how YA perceive rape culture and consent in erotica and …

Costly Signaling Theory, Hui Ying Ivy Koh, Norman P. Li

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Costly signaling theory is the idea that the high costs incurred by an individual to convey information about underlying qualities keeps this signal reliable, as only individuals who truly possess the quality signaled can afford to send the signal.

Ephemeral Legacy, Allison Hall

Master's Theses

Recently, my thoughts have centered on the problem of legacy. How do we forge bonds with other humans? What happens on an interpersonal level when these humans pass away, or when we pass, and they continue in life? How do queer spaces consistently offer deeper phenomena of interpersonal legacies; how does death operate as generational catalyst? I am particularly interested in putting these questions in the context of queer spaces. In queer culture, kinship is formed in ways that break from typical western notions of kinship. Despite being incoherent to western notions of family, queer bonds are extremely strong (Bradway …

Strategic (Non)Disclosure: Activation And Avoidance Of Social Ties Among Women Seeking Abortion, Kathleen Broussard

Faculty Publications

The increased politicization of sexual and reproductive health has created barriers to medically necessary care. In absence of formal health care, social ties become critical sources of information and resources, yet the disclosure of stigmatized health needs carries significant risk. How do people navigate the risks and benefits of disclosure when seeking care for stigmatized needs? Drawing on original survey data (N = 153) and in-depth interviews (N = 55) with women who attempted a self-managed abortion, I first describe the distinct roles of weak and strong ties in women’s health-seeking experiences. I then demonstrate how both partial disclosure and …

Obesity: Influencing Behavioral Consumption Through Meal Kit Distribution, Alejandro Hernandez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Founded in 2002, Everyone’s Harvest is a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to providing access to healthy, affordable fruits and vegetables through certified farmers markets and community food programs. Its key initiatives—Fresh Rx, Market Match, Edible Education and Farms Together —focus on alleviating nutrition insecurity and combating diet-related health conditions by providing vulnerable populations the resources to purchase, or receive, fresh produce and gain nutritional knowledge. This study explores a new intervention: the distribution of farmers' market meal kits as a complementary strategy to the current Edible Education program. These meal kits, which feature seasonally available produce and pre-measured ingredients, aim to …

Creating A Space For Relaxation And Wellbeing At The University Of South Alabama, Mary Wolf

Honors Theses

A program to provide supplementary support for the mental health and wellness of students at a midsize Southern University by providing a centrally located “relaxation space” for students on campus during the last two weeks of the semester is proposed and tested. A central location was found on campus to host the space. The researcher also developed an online survey for students to review the space. The trial was run for two weeks, and participants were able to access the online survey throughout those weeks. The results of the survey were analyzed to better understand the students’ responses to the …

Barriers In Reporting Sexual Violence On College Campuses, Amber Hartman

Honors Theses

This thesis is designed to examine the underreporting of sexual violence on college campuses by exploring the systemic, cultural, and logistical barriers that hinder victims from disclosing their assault. Using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, the research identifies three overarching influences for non-reporting. Fear, shame, and lack of resources are presented as the basis of the decision that victims make to not report. Meta-analysis of the research concludes that there is a profound impact of internalized victim-blaming narratives, fear of repercussions and institutional deficiencies in providing accessible support. Recommendations for solutions emphasize creating trauma-informed policies, improving communication and accessibility of …

They Can't Know I Wanna Kiss Robots: Stigma And Audience Segregation In Fanfiction, Micah Arrow Callin

Master's Theses

Fanfiction writers have long faced public stigma, which emerged with the rise of fandom and, according to recent claims, may be lessening as fandom identities gain wider acceptance. However, the practice of fanfiction writers intentionally segregating their audiences remains a deeply embedded aspect of fandom culture, with limited understanding of its underlying motivations. The purpose of this study was to analyze the audience segregation employed by online fanfiction authors in order to understand why they choose to segregate their audiences, and specifically to determine the influence of social stigma on these choices, answering these main questions: Is there segregation between …

Mothering, Leadership, And Career: A Narrative Analysis, Joanne Susan Roehm

Dissertations

In March 2020, much of the world was “sent home” from work and periods of lockdown began. In West Michigan, Friday, March 13 was the day that most workplaces closed their doors and employees began working from home for what was assumed to be a period of weeks. In the spring of 2020 between March and April, some million mothers living with school-age children left active work—either shifting into paid or unpaid leave, losing their job, or exiting the labor market all together.

The stories of mothers who experienced the “balancing act” of mothering and working at home during the …

America At A Glance: Rural Transit Funding Through The Covid-19 Pandemic, Andrew Myers, Luke Santore

Independent Living and Community Participation

While all people need transportation to meet their basic needs, rural people with disabilities face barriers due to lack of public transportation and not driving. Federal transit funds to improve public transportation doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic, but most went to metropolitan and micropolitan counties, with many rural counties receiving no transit funds from 2018-2022. This factsheet explores and illustrates these differences in transit funds received in urban and rural counties.

Machine Realism: The Collapse Of Bring Chicago Home And Chicago's Radical Black Politics, Joseph Aidan Tennant

Undergraduate Student Research Fellowship

No abstract provided.

School-Based Health Centers And Mental Health Stigma Before And During The Pandemic, Dara Shifrer, Suzy Fly, Rachel Springer, Xuan Dinh

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The mental health of children, and especially adolescents, has been a global public health priority for decades. School-based health centers (SBHCs) are health clinics established in close proximity to elementary and secondary schools for the purpose of increasing access to medical, and particularly mental health services, for children and adolescents. Yet, like other health clinics, SBHCs struggle to overcome structural and interpersonal stigma related to mental health conditions and support. Then, the pandemic threatened the sustainability and efficacy of SBHCs just as youth's mental health needs skyrocketed. We use Stangl et al.’s (2019)framework for health-related stigma to analyze data from …

Planning For The Future Of The Easthampton Council On Aging, Caitlin E. Coyle, Sue Berger

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

This report describes an assessment undertaken by the Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging (CSDRA) within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, on behalf of the ad hoc Senior Center Building Committee. The goals of this project were to document the features of other communities building processes, engage residents in preliminary conversation about their needs and preferences as they consider aging in Easthampton. Results of that work are described in this report and recommendations to the ad hoc building committee are provided. These recommendations are meant to provide an objective description of this preliminary community …

Examining The Use Of Problem Transformation Methods In Multi-Target Regression, Bradley Ryan Smith

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Although the impact of machine learning methods in the educational sciences has been limited, recent opportunities have emerged that can benefit from these flexible methods capable of predicting both linear and non-linear relationships. One emerging area of interest, multi-target regression (MTR), is concerned with the simultaneous prediction of multiple, continuous target variables and is an extension of traditional supervised learning. Problem transformation methods are a subset of MTR methods that seek to exploit the dependencies amongst targets using stacking, chaining, ensembles, or combinations of the three by expanding the Single-Target approach. This is accomplished by using one or more base-learners, …

"Maybe Something More Insidious": A Critical Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Of Authentic Leadership In Student Affairs Leaders With Intersecting Minoritized Identities, Kara Brant

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This critical interpretative phenomenological analysis explored the experiences of four female-identified mid-level student affairs leaders with intersecting minoritized identities, highlighting the aspirational nature of authentic leadership theory. The study examined their experiences with relational transparency, or attempting to lead while presenting their authentic self without distortion and minimizing the display of inappropriate emotions. The findings indicated participants face complex dynamics when navigating daily interactions in student affairs work, often resulting in the performance of emotional labor. The exploration of their experiences outlines a case for why scholars must look to advancing a new, more inclusive definition of authentic leadership theory. …