Sociology Commons^™

The State Of Asian American Studies In Massachusetts High Schools, Christine Montecillo Leider, Christopher C. Martell

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

This study included a statewide survey of over 150 high school humanities teachers in Massachusetts to gather data on how Asian American studies is being included in the curricula and to learn how prepared the educators feel to teach Asian American studies content. Expanding on the survey are case studies of five Massachusetts Asian American studies teachers and their approaches to teaching Asian American studies.

The study was conducted to provide evidence-based findings to inform teacher education, education policy, and research about best practices for Asian American Studies in humanities classrooms. Three recommendations revolve around increased opportunities for teacher preparation …

Listening Suppers At The Landing Place: Talking With Rockland-Area Youth About School, Work, & Life, Jillian Foley Mppm, Swathi Sivasubramanian, Timothy Atkinson, Olivia Eckert, Emma Schwartz

Justice Policy

This piece (June 2025) is a collaboration with our partners at The Landing Place to amplify youth voices and ideas for systems change that came out of a series of conversations with youth in Rockland, called Listening Suppers which aimed to inspire conversations about school, work, family, community supports, relationships, and more. This short brief highlights the themes that came out of these conversations including community strengths and assets, gaps and youth needs, and youth informed recommendations for change. While much of the conversations were specific to the local Rockland community, the challenges and solutions highlighted are similar to what …

Building Youth Hope: Assessing Community Assets And Opportunities For Supporting Youth Well-Being In The Sagadahoc County Area, Emma Schwartz, Jillian Foley, Timothy Atkinson

Justice Policy

This report aims to build upon previous research and provides updated information on community assets to support youth in the Sagadahoc County area. The report examines the strengths, challenges, and opportunities for community investment with the goal of improving outcomes related to youth hopefulness, belonging, and well-being. The project team engaged community members in a variety of asset mapping and data collection activities which are summarized in this report. The report authors also make recommendations related to expanding youth connections to informal supports and third places, ensuring access to a variety of assets that are responsive to their holistic needs, …

Prevalence And Associated Factors Of Mental And Substance Use Problems Among Adults In Kenya: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study, Patrick Nzivo Mwangala, Anita Kerubo, Millicent Makandi, Rachel Odhiambo, Amina Abubakar

Institute for Human Development, East Africa

Data on the burden and determinants of mental and substance use problems among women in urban and rural informal settlements in Kenya is sparse, thus limiting preventive and treatment efforts in these areas. To bridge the gap, we (a) determined the prevalence of depressive, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and alcohol and drug use problems among women compared to their spouses and (b) examined the correlates of these outcomes. Data collection for this cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2022 in Mombasa, Kwale and Nairobi counties in Kenya. A total of 1528 adults (1048 women) took part. The 9-Item …

A Research Guide And Annotated Bibliography For The Comparative Study Of Lgbtqia+ Social Movements Across East Asia, San Lee

FIRE Fund Bibliographies

This bibliography includes literature on how LGBTQIA+ movements across East Asia have evolved through local histories, politics, and cultural understandings of sexuality. While many societies had pre-existing, non-Western concepts of same-sex relations, post-1990s democratization and global human rights discourse reshaped activism in distinct ways. Movements in places like the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), South Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong engage with nationalism, decolonial perspectives, and social norms to construct unique approaches to queer rights. The guide highlights the need to understand LGBTQIA+ activism through each society’s specific historical and political context.

From Australian Influence To Rohingya Refugees: A Systematic Literature Review Of Asylum Seekers And Refugees In Indonesia, Bilal Dewansyah

The Indonesian Journal of Socio-Legal Studies

The fact that Indonesia hosts asylum seekers and refugees attracted not only policy debate and media attention but also academic research. However, no systematic review has been conducted to assess the scholarly literature on this topic. This article is intended to fill this gap by presenting a systematic literature review (SLR) on asylum seekers and refugees in Indonesia. As a result, I found five major themes in the reviewed literature: (1) the focus on the Indonesia – Australia relationship; (2) people smuggling; (3) refugees’ journey and living conditions in Indonesia; (4) Rohingya refugees; (5) legal protection and refugee status. However, …

Political Sociology, Talha C. Issevenler

Open Educational Resources

This open-access textbook on political sociology introduces and problematizes the classical categories and parameters of the field. It explores the main approaches to the state and governance, while conceptualizing a turn toward network power. Specific chapters address political spacetime, violence, secrecy, social movements, politicization, interdisciplinarity, media, biopolitics, and event-analysis. Multimedia pedagogical exercises accompany the conceptual exposition.

Criminal Organizations And Nuclear Threats In Southeast Asia, Gary Ackerman, Thomas Guarrieri, Justin V. Hastings, Steven Hoodjer

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Increasing global interest in nuclear energy and peaceful uses of nuclear technology has led to facilities in emerging countries with nuclear materials and radioactive sources that could be stolen, sabotaged, or otherwise accessed by criminals. In this paper, we created a framework to assess the motivations and capabilities of criminal networks and measure the threats they may pose to different stages of the nuclear fuel cycle in emerging nuclear states. We applied the framework to a unique dataset, capturing characteristics of criminal organizations active in Southeast Asia, which allowed us to assess which criminal organizations are most likely to pose …

Nursing Education Research In Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review And Bibliometric Analysis, Beth Waweru, Peter Gatiti, Serah Wachira

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Nursing education is pivotal for ensuring competent healthcare professionals, and its improvement is essential for enhancing the quality of health care systems globally. This study focuses on nursing education research in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over the last decade, employing both bibliometric analysis and systematic review methodologies. The bibliometric analysis reveals an evolving landscape of nursing education research in SSA, offering insights into trends, key countries, journals, and predominant research themes. Notably, the study identifies a scarcity of literature using bibliometric approaches in nursing research, addressing this gap by providing a comprehensive overview of the field.The systematic review, guided by the …

Aging In Harwich: A Community Needs Assessment, Claire E. Wickersham, Caitlin E. Coyle

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

At a time of such significant population aging, the Harwich Council on Aging commissioned a community-wide needs assessment with support from the Friends of the Harwich Council on Aging. The specific goal of this report is to support the strategic planning of the Harwich Council on Aging. An additional goal is to present information useful to other Harwich departments and organizations interacting with older residents planning for the future of Harwich. This report presents the results of a comprehensive examination of issues relating to aging in Harwich. Results presented here focus on the characteristics and needs of Harwich residents aged …

An Intervention To Increase Belonging And Support Retention For Faculty Of Color And Women Faculty, Robyn K. Mallett, Zahra Naqi-Hasnain, Dana Garbarski, Christine Li-Grining, David Ensminger, Walter Tangarife, Badia Ahad

Sociology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Faculty of Color and women faculty face significant obstacles (e.g., isolation, marginalization, tokenism) on the road to tenure and promotion. We translate social psychological research on the contact hypothesis and belonging and adapt previous interventions at other universities to deliver an institutional-level intervention designed to support faculty belonging and retention. This study utilizes a faculty climate survey and institutional-level demographic data to assess tenure-track faculty belonging and retention following the intervention. We observe greater perceptions of institutional support for diversity and lesser disparities in belonging and tenure rates among historically marginalized faculty over three years following the intervention. We discuss …

A Comprehensive Science Mapping Of Tourism And Hospitality Research: Tribes, Territories And Networks, Songshan (Sam) Huang

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This study aims to provide a comprehensive bibliographic analysis of the field of tourism and hospitality research by mapping the contributions of researchers, research institutions and evolution of research topics and collaboration networks. Metadata from 27 SSCI and 30 ESCI tourism and hospitality journals were collected from Web of Science. Data analysis was conducted utilizing R package of Bibliometrix and Biblioshiny, adhering to the guidelines of bibliometric analysis. The study identified topics of sustainability and IT technology applications in tourism and hospitality as the recent research fronts. An increasing number of Chinese origin researchers emerged in the author collaboration network, …

Trends In The Demographic And Well-Being Indicators Of The Singapore Life Panel Over The Past 9 Years, From 2016-2024, Rachel Wen Yi Ngu, Yi Wen Tan, Yue Qing Chew, Hanif Mohamed Yacob, Yan Er Tan

ROSA Research Briefs

The Singapore Life Panel® (SLP) has been tracking demographic and well-being indicators among older adults in Singapore for nearly a decade. This research brief presents the longitudinal trends observed in the SLP over a nine-year period (2016-2024), with the aim of identifying key shifts in these indicators and drawing attention to salient issues facing Singapore’s ageing population. The findings reveal notable demographic and well-being developments with significant implications for policy domains such as ageing-in-place, employment, and health. We highlight the following prominent trends: (i) a growing proportion of older adults living alone, accompanied by a steady decline in average household …

“You Can Rise Back Up Again”: Using Photovoice To Understand Healing From Intimate Partner Violence Among Lgbtq+ Racial-Ethnic Minority College Students, Stephanie Lim

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

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a longstanding public health crisis that has been linked to deleterious mental and physical health issues and negative academic outcomes among college students. Further, IPV disproportionately affects LGBTQ+ individuals and certain racial-ethnic minority students. Campus services are not adequately meeting the needs of these survivors and these efforts would be better informed by centering students disproportionately affected by IPV. Guided by intersectionality and minority stress theories, the current photovoice study examined the strengths that fostered healing and the challenges that LGBTQ+ racial-ethnic minority survivors faced in their recovery journeys. Participants were eight LGBTQ+ racial-ethnic minority …

Health And Wellbeing: A Report Of The 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey, A. Rastogi, L. Menard, G. H. Miller, W. Cole, Daniel Laurison, J. Caballero, S. Murano-Kinney, R. Heng-Lehtinen

Sociology & Anthropology Faculty Works

The 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS) is the largest survey that examines the experiences of transgender people in the United States. The National Center for Transgender Equality (now Advocates for Trans Equality) conducted the survey in the fall of 2022 and 92,329 binary and nonbinary transgender respondents from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. military bases took the survey. The USTS was an anonymous, online survey for transgender people ages 16 and older in the United States and was available in both English and Spanish. The 2022 survey followed the 2015 USTS …

Understanding Gender Differences In Digital Readiness During Digital Transformation In Accounting Functions: Accounting Professionals’ Perspective, Benjamin Lee, Clarence Goh, Gary Pan, Poh-Sun Seow

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Research aims: To examine gender differences in digital readiness during digital transformation in accounting functions, addressing a knowledge gap in current accounting literature. Design/Methodology/Approach: Survey of 297 accounting professionals (180 men, 117 women) with 27 questions on digital readiness perceptions, analysed using exploratory factor analysis and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests. Research findings: Women exhibited higher overall digital readiness than men, particularly feeling more empowered by senior management and better equipped to continue job tasks during digital transformation. No gender differences were found in perceptions of knowledge and skills, barriers, or organisational strategy. Theoretical contribution/Originality: Challenges traditional stereotypes about …

The Rose That Grew From Concrete: Exploring The Romantic Experiences Of Black Men With Histories Of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Tatyana Nichelle Smith

Dissertations

Contemporary research typically characterizes Black heterosexual relationships by dismal marriage and divorce rates, largely ignoring the reality of how Black men develop attachments with their romantic partners and therefore continuing to perpetuate deficit perspectives of Black men (e.g., the cause of conflictual romantic relationships and “broken” Black families). What may be less understood about these relationships is the influence of childhood trauma, such as childhood sexual abuse, and Black men’s experiences of gender role conflict. Research shows that Black men’s experiences of childhood sexual abuse and socialization about masculinity have important implications for how they come to view themselves and …

The Heart Of The Defense: Exploring The Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence, Cultural Competence, And Client-Centered Lawyering In Public Defense, Cherise Burdeen

Dissertations

This dissertation explores the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI), cultural competence, and client-centered lawyering (CCL) within the public defense system. Using a mixed-methods design, this study analyzed quantitative data from 96 White public defenders and qualitative data from a focus group of 7 experienced public defense trainers. Because of the disparate racialized impact of the criminal legal system and anti-Blackness as a foundational component of the United States, cultural competence was operationalized as antiracism. Pearson correlations revealed significant, positive relationships between EI and CCL, r = .483, p < .001; antiracism and CCL, r = .356, p < .001; and EI and antiracism, r = .225, p = .027). Regression analyses indicated that EI significantly predicted both antiracism (β = .225, p =.027) and CCL (β = .483, p < .001), and that antiracism independently predicted CCL (β = .260, p =.004). A combined model including both EI and antiracism accounted for 29.7% of the variance in CCL scores, R² = .297, p < .001. Qualitative findings revealed that CCL and cultural competence are often viewed by attorneys as intuitive or already mastered, yet training on these skills typically provokes emotional dysregulation and resistance. The qualitative and quantitative analysis resulted in the Emotion-First Praxis Theory (EFPT), which posits that EI is a prerequisite for antiracist and client-centered practice, and that if contextualized in antiracist work, emotionally developed White facilitators should work with White people, to prepare them for the kinds of collaborations needed to ensure tangible results. Recommendations are offered to improve antiracism work in and beyond public defense systems. Future research should validate the CCL measure with clients, expand sampling, and empirically test EFPT in diverse settings.

Land Access As Liberation: A Qualitative Study On Faith, Food, And Farming Of Urban And Rural Black Land Stewards In The United States, Dominique Edwards

Dissertations

Since 1920, Black farmers in the United States have held less than 2% of the nation's farmland, a direct result of race-based discriminatory policies embedded within federal, state, local, and county-level institutions (Daniel, 2013). Structural barriers—ranging from exclusionary lending practices by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to the systematic dispossession of land through legal loopholes, heirs’ property laws, and violent racial terror—have contributed to this staggering decline in Black land ownership (Gilbert et al., 2002). The erosion of Black agrarian landholdings intensified in the latter half of the 20th century, as government programs, civil rights legislation, and technological advancements, …

Down Syndrome In Africa: Challenges, Opportunities, And Future Directions, Eimear Mcglinchey, Salina Tewolde, Amanda He, Juan Fortea, Lingani Mbakile-Mahlanza, Ayda Tefera, Emmanuel Epenge, Jason Hassenstab, Rachel Maina, Zul Merali

Brain and Mind Institute

INTRODUCTION: As life expectancy improves for people with Down syndrome (DS) in Africa, the risk of developing DS-associated Alzheimer’s disease (DSAD) will rise. There is a pressing need to plan for this emerging challenge, particularly in the context of existing health and social disparities.

METHODS: This work emerged from a pan-African collaboration, including discussions at the Brain Ageing and Dementia in Low- and Middle-Income Countries conference held in Nairobi in 2024, where stakeholders identified regional priorities for DS and dementia care.

RESULTS: Limited epidemiological, cognitive, biomarker data, delayed diagnoses, and gaps in specialized services may impact access …

Ecological Grief Among Farmers And Pastoralists In Ethiopia And Kenya, Syed Shabab Wahid, Christine Musyimi, Benjamin Oestericher, Linda Khakali, Lauren Carruth, Emily Mendenhall, Edna Bosire

Brain and Mind Institute

Climate change is a major cause of mental distress worldwide. In many ways, climate change has become a chronic disaster, while in other ways each acute event can accumulate and present challenges within and between communities. A growing body of evidence indicates that a changing climate can precipitate a cluster of negative affective states scholars call “ecological grief.” Ecological grief reflects psychological responses to climate changes and destruction of nature, species, culturally significant or sacred spaces. Until now, ecological grief has been conceptualized as a psychological response connected primarily to the destruction of the natural environment, and has not fully …

Tobacco, Alcohol, And Poverty In Lao Pdr Based On National Survey Analysis, Robert M. Semakula

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Tobacco and alcohol use are among the most prevalent and harmful addictive behaviors globally, including in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). In Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific, substance use patterns are shaped by cultural, social, economic, policyrelated, and environmental factors. This study aimed to: (1) explore associations between different patterns of alcohol and tobacco use among men and women in Lao PDR, and (2) investigate the effect of poverty on the relationship between alcohol and tobacco use. We conducted a secondary analysis of the 2013 Lao National Adult Tobacco Survey (N = 9,706), a nationally representative sample …

Indigenous Science And The Legacy Of Fire: Resilience, Fuels, Mosaics, And Eco-Cultural Landscapes In Oregon’S Coastal And Cascade Range, Julia Alcalá

University Honors Theses

Most of Oregon's western Cascade and Coastal range is a landscape that has historically been considered devoid of mid to low-intensity fires by Western science. However, for time immemorial, Indigenous peoples have been stewarding the forests through the use of "good fire," creating diverse and heterogenous landscapes with mixed fire regimes, ranging from less than a decade to several centuries since the last fire, resulting in a mosaic of patchy forest, oak savannas, prairies, and wetlands. Yet centuries of Indigenous displacement, cultural assimilation, and suppression of cultural burning contributed to this prevailing belief. Despite that, in recent decades, Western scientists …

Identity, Bodies, And Time: Analysis Of Transgender Education Curricula In K Through 12 Grades, Dean Weiler-Zilberman

University Honors Theses

The author analyzes lesson plans that focus on education around gender and transgender subjects--sourced from Sexual Orientation and Gender Institute (SOGI) 123 and Advocates for Youth (AFY)--and puts them in conversation with key literature on transgender education. What surfaces from their interaction are clear strong areas that support transgender education and gaps that fail transgender students.

"I Just Kind Of Wish People Knew We Existed:" Rethinking Queer Visibility, Identity, And Belonging In Rural America, Alyson C. Hagen

University Honors Theses

This thesis explores how LGBTQ+ individuals in rural America navigate identity, visibility, and belonging amid the pressures of metronormativity--the dominant cultural narrative that equates queerness with urban life. Through qualitative interviews with five queer adults who lived in rural settings, the study shows that rural queer life is shaped by not only structural erasure and limited resources but also adaptive strategies, emotional labor, and creative community-building. Participants described environments where queerness was often unspoken or denied, yet they developed contingent forms of visibility, online belonging, and grassroots kinship to survive and thrive. Although all participants had migrated to urban areas, …

More Than Hormones: Psychological Consequences Of The Medicalized Menopausal Experience, Haley Derrickson

University Honors Theses

Menopause, a transitional period that roughly half the population may experience, has a high degree of variability in onset and intensity of symptoms, one of which is depression. It is also a period in which the lives of those transitioning are highly medicalized. This literature review investigates how medicalization has increased since the term was created, and how it impacts perimenopause, menopause, and mental health.

The Impact Of Nicu Death On Bereaved Mothers, Jennie Terranova

University Honors Theses

Infant loss in the United States occurs 5.6 per 1,000 live births. This paper examines risk factors that contribute to neonatal death. Prematurity is a risk factor for NICU admission. A portion of premature babies receiving care in the NICU will die. The stressful nature of the NICU has been studied widely in journals. The impact of NICU death on hospital staff and bereaved parents has been studied less. Mortality studies suggest that bereaved mothers are at a high risk of dying within the first 5 years after their child has died. Despite the frequency of maternal death post-child loss, …

Mindfulness As A Buffer Against Death Anxiety: Implications For End-Of-Life Care, Chad Alexander

University Honors Theses

Death anxiety, defined as the distress associated with the awareness of mortality, has profound psychological and cultural impacts. Western societies often respond to death salience through avoidance and medicalization, reinforcing defensive strategies described by Terror Management Theory. This project aimed to investigate whether mindfulness can serve as a buffer against death anxiety. A structured literature review was conducted using PsycINFO, PubMed, the Portland State University Library, and Google Scholar between January 2025 and April 2025. One study found that mindfulness moderated the effects of death anxiety on health-related quality of life in people living with HIV. Two experiments linked mindfulness …

Cultural Shadows: Vampires And The Shifting Fears Of The West, A Creative Exploration Of Vampire Media And Its Reflection Of Evolving Social Anxieties, Tasha Sayre

University Honors Theses

Cultural Shadows: Vampires and the Shifting Fears of the West is a creative-critical thesis that explores vampire media as a reflection of evolving social anxieties in Western culture. Focusing primarily on film and television, with reference to key literary texts, this study examines how the vampire figure is used to articulate and dramatize recurring societal fears—particularly those surrounding women's sexuality and autonomy, queer identity, and class-based inequality. Through close readings of influential vampire narratives, the thesis demonstrates how these stories mirror cultural tensions and moral panics, transforming the vampire into a symbol of both fear and fascination. Drawing on gender …

Cultural Ecologies And Local Policies: A Comparative Analysis, Alexis M. Gonzalez

University Honors Theses

In recent years, the role of arts and culture in economic development, community outreach, and local government has become focused on as a field of study. However, this is a new field of academic study, and there have not been many systematic comparative analyses of the role of arts and culture at the local level. Indeed, there is limited information at the state and federal level as well. Historically undervalued and underrepresented, yet with a streak of elitism involved, arts and culture is now being looked at as a major economic driver and social connector by policymakers at all levels …