Sociology Commons^™

One Immune System Plays Many Parts: The Dynamic Role Of The Immune System In Chronic Pain And Opioid Pharmacology, Sanam Mustafa, Juliana E Bajic, Benjamin Barry, Samuel Evans, Kariel R Siemens, Mark R Hutchinson, Peter M Grace

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The transition from acute to chronic pain is an ongoing major problem for individuals, society and healthcare systems around the world. It is clear chronic pain is a complex multidimensional biological challenge plagued with difficulties in pain management, specifically opioid use. In recent years the role of the immune system in chronic pain and opioid pharmacology has come to the forefront. As a highly dynamic and versatile network of cells, tissues and organs, the immune system is perfectly positioned at the microscale level to alter nociception and drive structural adaptations that underpin chronic pain and opioid use. In this review, …

Economic Impact Assessment Of Nature-Based Coastal Resilience Solutions In Charleston. Estimating Local Economic Effects With Algorithm-Based Supporting Tool., Oksana Veselkova

All Theses

Coastal cities are at the forefront of the risks induced by climate change. Local communities are adversely affected, but the essential cultural assets and economies are also at risk of damage or destruction. In the efforts to limit hazard risk exposure, local governments are increasingly planning for long-term flood protection. One prospective flood risk mitigation measure is living shorelines or nature-based adaptation. The coastal ecosystems, such as beaches, wetlands, barrier islands, oyster reefs, and salt marshes, deliver multiple benefits to communities, including recreation, natural resources, freshwater, and carbon sequestration. Moreover, when combined with structural solutions, they can effectively reduce water …

Immediate Response Of Bats To Prescribed Fire And Impact Of Experiences On Women's Self-Image In Natural Resources Professions, Zebria Hicks

All Theses

To inform use of prescribed fire management practice in the southeastern US, we studied its impact on bats, which are important and at-risk species. We evaluated if prescribed fire had a positive, neutral, or negative effect on bat activity in the two weeks following the burns. We recorded bat activity after prescribed burns in February and March 2022 in northwestern South Carolina in select hardwood and pine stands and control sites ≥ 500 m from burn boundaries. We measured insect abundance, canopy cover, basal area, and understory density at each site. We recorded 687 passes during our 45-day study period. …

Unidentified Deceased Persons: Who Are At-Risk?, Sarah Duncan

All Theses

This study explores the silent mass disaster of unidentified deceased persons that is occurring across the United States and identifies the individual and community level characteristics that make a person “at-risk” of becoming an unidentified deceased person within the United States. This study identifies trends-based hotspots by using data reported on the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) and comparing those trends to the gender United States population. It finds that males, and age of death between 20-64 are overrepresented and White persons are underrepresented in the unidentified deceased person sample when compared the general population. Social and human …

Storm Surge Risk Assessment In Coastal Communities In The Rio Grande Valley: An Application Of Gis-Based Spatial Multicriteria Decision Analysis With Analytical Hierarchy Process, Dean Kyne

Sociology Faculty Publications

Cameron County, which is located in the Rio Grande Valley, maintains records of storm surges associated with noticeable property damage, fatalities, and injuries. This study investigates storm surge inundation risk in Cameron County using storm surge hazard datasets from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, along with American Community Survey 2019 block group datasets. Using a GIS-based spatial multicriteria decision analysis with an analytical hierarchy process method, the study estimates that storm surge water levels could be above 6.1 m (20 ft) in category 4 and 5 hurricane events, whereas about 37% of the county’s population (159,659 people) could be …

Acculturation And Health Services Utilization Among Older Asian Americans: The Roles Of Social Support And Psychological Distress, Mei Chen

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

There are relatively few studies about health services utilization among older Asian Americans. Historically, Asian Americans have been treated as one homogenous race group, and the underlying heterogeneity among specific ethnic groups was underappreciated and neglected. This dissertation investigates the relationship between acculturation and health services utilization among older Asian Americans and several specific Asian ethnic subgroups, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, and Vietnamese Americans. In addition, South Asian Americans and members of other Asian groups were also examined.

This study employed two samples of older Asian Americans based on the specific healthcare resources evaluated. The first sample employed five …

Negotiating Acculturation: A Qualitative Study Of Muslim American Women, Noor N. Tahirkheli

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The estimated population of Muslims in the United States ranges from 3 to 7 million (Bukhari, 2003; Pew Research Center, 2017; Strumm, 2003), with an estimated 69-75% of Muslim Americans being 1st or 2nd generation immigrants (defined as those born abroad and those with immigrant parents, respectively), hailing from over 80 countries (Bukhari, 2003; Pew Research Center, 2017). Thus, most Muslims are navigating the complex processes of acculturation, which is the adaptation of behavioral, cognitive, and affective aspects of one’s cultural functioning, which result from consistent contact with different cultural contexts and groups (Driscoll & Wierzbicki, 2012). Research has noted …

Historic Downtown Streetscape Plan Price City, Utah, Patricia Beckert

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The idea of a small-town Main Street has profound meaning within the American culture that has prevailed for the past two centuries. Historically, Main Street serves as the beating heart of a community, a place where economic, social, cultural, and civic activities are centered (Francaviglia, 1996; Main Street America, n.d.). Since the beginning of the 19th century, many factors have led to the decline of Main Streets, and despite a variety of efforts from different stakeholders, that decline has only intensified in recent decades (Isenberg, 2008; Orvell, 2014 Howard, 2015). In 1980, after a three-year project conducted by the National …

Black Girl Magic: History, Identity, And Spirituality In Contemporary Fantasy And Science-Fiction, Taylore Fox

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In 2013, activist and social media influencer CaShawn Thompson composed a Tweet claiming, “Black Girls Are Magic,” which shortened to the hashtag “#BlackGirlMagic.” As the hashtag began to circulate social media, the phrase birthed a digital movement that celebrated the beauty, accomplishments, and mere presence of Black women and girls. This project argues that Black Girl Magic, operating as a social and literary framework, combats the injustice, inequality, and lack of respect and representation that Black women and girls faced in the past and continue to face today. In Black Girl Magic literature, Black women characters perform literal and figurative …

Individual Differences In Police Officers’ Decision Styles In Order Maintenance Policing, Damarrah Elisheba Jameson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Day-to-day police work tends to be in order maintenance policing. These encounters necessitate officer discretion in decision responses to manage them. These decision responses reflect an officer’s decision style which precedes the encounter and drives subsequent decision making to manage them. However, little is known about officer-level decision style. For example, whether an officer has a rational, intuitive, dependent, avoidant, or spontaneous decision style (Scott& Bruce, 1995). Police training in any format often lacks attention to decision styles. As such, an officer’s decision style is most likely associated with demographics (e.g., age, gender) and occupational self-efficacy – a reflection of …

A Cultural History Of Anti-Feminism In Marvel's Scarlet Witch, Madison M. Kooba

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Marvel Comics character Wanda Maximoff, otherwise known as the Scarlet Witch, has received significant attention in popular culture due to her recent appearances as the primary protagonist and antagonist in television show WandaVision (2021) and film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). These depictions foregrounding Wanda’s struggles with mental health have made her an admirable character to many who see her drawing power from her emotions as a celebration of aspects of womanhood that have long been shamed by society. Sourcing these contemporary adaptations, however, lies decades of blatantly anti-feminist and sexist comics that villainize and ridicule Wanda’s …

Multiple Approaches To Examining Gender Norms In Romantic Relationships, Carrie Underwood

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Romantic relationships are essential to the human experience, and gender stereotypes are so ingrained they can be automatic. In this dissertation, I address three empirical questions through both quantitative and qualitative research methods, all of which contribute to the growing body of literature on gender norms and romantic relationships. In Chapter 2, I present a mixed-methods study that examines how heterosexual men reason about benevolent sexism. Results revealed themes of equality in the workplace and men’s roles as providers. In Chapter 4 I implemented a two-study research design to understand how heterosexual women and men reason about troubled romantic relationships. …

The In/Visible Stockade: Sex Offender Management, Governmentality, And The Search For Normal Life, Christopher Wakefield

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Over the past thirty-five years, the United States has seen a dramatic expansion of regulatory policy around individuals convicted of sexual offenses. Sex offender management policies include national and state registries, notification laws, treatment mandates, residency restrictions, and numerous exclusions from institutions. A growing body of research from sociologists and criminologists has tracked the effects of this sex offender regime by measuring recidivism and collateral consequences among released offenders. Less attention has been paid to how sex offenders adapt to their regulator context—especially the selective public visibility that the registry generates. Furthermore, sociological scholarship has not yet developed strong theoretical …

No Destination: Queering Mobility Through The Virtuality Of Movement, Orlando Woods

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This paper advances the epistemological potential that exists at the nexus of queer theory and mobilities research. It aims to queer mobility by rejecting the idea of the destination and embracing the virtuality of movement instead. In doing so, it draws on the queer symbolism of the closet and the cruise to highlight the heteronormative framing that has come to define and constrain the new mobilities paradigm. Arguing that anybody has the capacity to be “queer”, it calls for a redefinition of the subject and an exploration of the world-making possibilities that emerge when the virtuality of movement is foregrounded.

Exploring Lgbtq Latino/A/X Stories Of Chosen Families, Carlos A. Flores

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Latino/a/x Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) people may face rejection from their families upon coming out (Hailey et al. 2020; McConnell et al. 2018). In response to this rejection, some Latino/a/x LGBTQ people become part of chosen families that provide them with the support that would otherwise be provided by their family of origin (Carpineto et al., 2008; Horne et al., 2015; Hwahng et al., 2018; Kubicek, Beyer, et al., 2013; Kubicek, McNeeley, et al., 2013; Levitt et al., 2015; Muraco, 2006). Research exploring the experiences of LGBTQ Latino/a/x individuals experiencing rejection from their family of origin and …

Parental Influences On Korean Youth Academic-And Career-Related Motivation During The Transition To Tertiary Educational Settings : A Situated Expectancy-Value Theory Approach, Jeanie Park

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Adolescence is a universal developmental stage where many changes occur (i.e., biological, social, and psychological) during the second decade of life. Emerging adulthood a subsequent development period between adolescence and young adulthood; during emerging adulthood individuals go through various transitions such as academic and career planning, navigating one’s identity, and fostering relationships. It is important to understand individual and familial factors with parents and adolescents that are related to academic outcomes during these developmental stages, since the final years in secondary school are critical for future academic and career development. Also, studies using a culturally situated approach investigating parent- youth …

Ask About Culture: Training School Psychologists To Deliver A Cultural Formulation Interview During Functional Behavior Assessments, Margarida B. Veiga

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Decades of empirical research has demonstrated that exclusionary discipline is a racialized mechanism through which schools systematically remove Black and brown children from the learning environment. Although development of Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) and linked behavior support plans has been identified as a solution to exclusionary practices, school psychologists do not ask questions about the cultural and contextual factors that may influence student’s behavior during FBA interviews with caregivers. As a result, FBAs conducted in schools privilege the perspective and voices of (often White) school staff, while dismissing the perspectives of (often Black or brown) students and families. FBA procedures …

A Podcast - Inspirando El Futuro: Stories About Latina Leaders In Northwest Arkansas, Wendy Echeverria

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project aims to showcase the Latina leaders in Northwest Arkansas and empower other Latinas to dream and achieve more. With the Latin American and Hispanic communities growing rapidly, it’s essential to highlight research and changes being done in local communities. The project is a five-episode podcast. Each episode features a Latina leader and experts, and it takes a deep dive into who Latinas are, their challenges, successes, and so much more.

Dynamic Risk Trajectories, Community Context, And Juvenile Recidivism, Kevin T. Wolff, Michael T. Baglivio, Jonathan Intravia

Publications and Research

Purpose

While the implementation of risk assessment has expanded, the extent to which there are different trajectories of risk/protective factors among adjudicated youth during supervision in the community remains unanswered. The goal of the current study is to identify the distinct trajectories in dynamic risk and protective factors among youth on probation and assess whether different patterns in risk over time are associated with continued offending.

Method

Group-based trajectory modeling is used to identify distinct trajectories across multiple domains of risk/need. The individual- and neighborhood-level factors associated with these trajectories are then explored, prior to examining their relationship to continued …

Pandemic Rendering The Transgender People More Vulnerable, As If It Was Not Already Enough: A Qualitative Exploration From Odisha, India, Prachi Parimita Rout, Ajitesh Mathur, Pranaya Kumar Swain

The Qualitative Report

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted people's livelihoods worldwide to an unprecedented magnitude, the most affected being the socially and economically disadvantaged and marginalized communities, including the transgender people that constitute one of the most vulnerable sections that are often subjected to discriminated in various sectors such as education, health, housing, and livelihood opportunities. The present study attempts to offer insights into the impact of the pandemic on the livelihood of transgender people in India, given that the pandemic adversely affected their primary sources of livelihood, such as begging, sex-work, singing, and dancing, due mainly to the restrictive measures: lockdown, shutdown, social/physical …

Tpsol Teachers' Beliefs About Providing Corrective Feedback On Learners' Writing Performance: A Transcendental Phenomenology, Hussein Meihami

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this study was to investigate Teaching Persian to Speakers of Other Languages (TPSOL) teachers' beliefs about providing corrective feedback (CF) on TPSOL students' writing. To that end, the transcendental phenomenological design was used in which the experiences and practices of six TPSOL teachers (four male and two female teachers) were examined to obtain TPSOL teachers' beliefs about providing CF on students' writing. A series of phenomenological interviews were conducted with TPSOL teachers. Moreover, students' writing samples corrected by TPSOL teachers were collected and analyzed. Finally, the data were analyzed and synthesized using Giorgi's (2009) five steps framework. …

Assessing The Learning Of Qualitative Research Through A Critical Reflective Essay, Elida Cena, Stephanie Burns

The Qualitative Report

Despite a longstanding commitment to the notion of reflection as an integral part of qualitative research, there are few explicit learning tools or published assignment guides to aid understanding of this important aspect of student learning. Reflection both as a researcher and within the context of an educational perspective can be challenging; however, creating reflective assignments can help students consolidate and assess the learning of qualitative research skills in practice. This article describes a critical reflective assignment highlighting the challenges, rewards, and reflections on designing and conducting an interview process as part of a qualitative research methods module with postgraduate …

A Comparative Analysis Of The European And American Child Advocacy Model To Address Violence Against Children, Abigail Champion

Undergraduate Research Symposium

This presentation attempts to explain how each of the child advocacy models in the United States and Europe are different and similar. In addition, the presentation demonstrates how each model addresses violence against children. The slideshow provides examples of tools and resources therapists, social workers, and other social scientists use in the field. Lastly, the slideshow offers solutions and references on how the audience can become advocates and learn more information about child advocacy, child advocacy centers, and the different careers people can work in the child advocacy area.

A Spatial Analysis Of Food Access Within Saint Louis City By Walking, Public Transit, And Personal Vehicles., Nicole Eanes

Undergraduate Research Symposium

According to The United States Department of Agriculture, 44 million Americans, including 13 million children, are food insecure as of 2022. Many factors contribute to inadequate food access and food insecurity, including poverty, unemployment, low wages, historical redlining, and structural racism.

As a city with minimal thoroughfares that are safe to walk along and an often unreliable or time-consuming public transit system, I wanted to visualize how the mode of transportation impacts a resident’s access to food in Saint Louis City.

Based on my findings, the Saint Louis Metro Bus System provides the most access to residents in Saint Louis …

In-Class Multitasking Among College Students, Huey-Wen Chou, Shuo-Heng Liang

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

The use of mobile devices in class has become a common scene on the college campus. The negative effects of in-class multitasking behaviors have been identified in many educational settings, including colleges. This study investigates the factors that drive college students to multitask and seeks to understand the relationship between learning engagement and multitasking behaviors in the classroom. This study also explores whether polychronic traits relate to multitasking behavior.

A total of 282 survey samples were collected from college students in Taiwan. The results confirmed our hypotheses: (1) Students’ multitasking motivation, including social and emotional needs, positively relates to their …

University School Training Model Consultation Practica: Dismantling Anti-Black Racism With Predominately White Educators To Improve School, Family, Community Collaborations With Black Families And Community Stakeholders, Katherine L. Nelson, Joseph R. Morris

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

This article outlines a consultation case study facilitated in an urban elementary school through the University School Training Model (USTM) (Colles et al., 2019; Morris et al., 2016). The USTM is a collaboration between an APA accredited Counseling Psychology doctoral program and an urban school district to provide racially responsive counseling and consulting services and graduate level training. The case study details a consultation practica to improve school, family, and community collaborations in an urban elementary school with predominantly Black stakeholders and a predominantly White female school staff. The introduction, background, and self-evaluation of the consultation process are reviewed. Project …

Built Lives: Khwajasaras, Jouno-Karmis, And The Politics Of Non-Normative Kinship And Citizenship In South Asia, Salman Hussain, Simanti Dasgupta

Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications

This paper examines how relationships are ‘built’ among khwajasaras [non-normative non-binary persons] and female jouno karmis [sex workers] in two sites in Pakistan and India respectively. We focus on the non-normative nature of these relationships, first, to disassemble gender normativity itself; second, to argue that the colonial legacy of bureaucratic norming of kinship in South Asia, anchored in legal consanguinity and affinity on one hand, and territory and patriarchy on the other, erases these found relationships. Finally, in formulating what we term, ‘relative kinship’ –authenticating one's identity and belonging as a citizen typically through a male kin –we trace the …

Only 2000 Psi Of Bottom-Time Air: A Case Study Of Diveheart Participant Social Capital, Kirk J. Williams

Nonprofit and NGO Studies Student Projects

Social capital development for many, but not all, is a relatively organic process, and as social creatures, people work together to reach collective goals. The defined interactions related to the practices of societal norms, taboos, and broad cultural acceptance are constructs of communal decisions lending deep credence to the value of any number of the social capital definitions. However, opportunities are not always readily available to individuals living with disabilities, so they can and do get left out to varied degrees. With unsurprising results, previous research relied on comparing survey data from individuals with and without disabilities to identify possible …

Are You Ready For Retirement? Retirement And Quality Of Life As Resources, Hyunsook Kang, Gina Causin, Mary Olle

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Abstract

Retirement in later life has been considered as an important aspect of life course, because it contributes in many ways to one’s life change, social relations updates, and health declines. Although aging brings with changes and declining all aspects of life, many older adults still remain in active after their retirement. This study will address about relationships between older adults’ retirement and its’ quality-of-life resource. Retirement, itself, may be associated with a loss of professional colleagues and work-related friends (Gloria et al, 2015). By contrast, growing numbers of older adults may maintain their active participation in social networks through …

The Negative Effect Of Criminal Labeling On Community Reentry In The Harrisonburg Area, Caroline Warren

Honors Projects

When a person is convicted of a crime, they are assigned the label of being a criminal. After their conviction, felons are punished for their actions, often through prison sentences, and once these sentences are completed, they are expected to reenter society. However, as described in Labeling Theory, the criminal label carries a social stigma that poses many challenges to successful community reentry. Society’s negative attitudes toward released felons are perpetuated by misguided policies based on the principles of incapacitation and retribution. As a result, criminal offenders are permanently marginalized and face restrictions on housing, employment, and other aspects of …