Sociology Commons^™

Familismo And Family Achievement Guilt In Latine College Students: Relationships With Psychopathology And Wellbeing, Abril Rangel-Pacheco

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

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the relations between familismo, family achievement guilt, subjective wellbeing, and anxious and depressive symptoms in a sample of Latine young adults enrolled in college in the United States. Familismo has previously been linked to educational success and psychological and behavioral health. On the other hand, family achievement guilt has been linked to low self-esteem and internalizing symptoms. However, it is unclear how these factors interact to impact the psychopathology (i.e., anxious and depression symptoms) and psychological wellbeing (i.e. subjective wellbeing) of Latine young adults in college. Data were collected from 83 Latine …

Mass Of Perpetual Indulgence, Michael Joseph Willette

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

Mass of Perpetual Indulgence for chamber orchestra, electronics, soprano solo, and drag performer was written to bridge the gap between queerness and spirituality, to sanctify queer people and celebrate queer lives and communities. Amalgamating musical styles ranging from disco to opera, art song to EDM, this appropriation of the traditional Mass blurs the lines between the sacred and the profane. This work features original text by librettist Caroliena Cabada that responds to the narrative of the Mass Ordinary from a distinctly queer perspective. Ultimately, this work celebrates the queer body as a holy body, queer community as a sacred communion, …

Leveraging Historical Data For Estimating Genetic Gain And Implementing Genomic Selection In A Student Led Barley Breeding Program, Sydney Graham

Department of Statistics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In Nebraska, winter feed barley presents an emerging market for producers and an opportunity to diversify cropping systems. The University of Nebraska Barley Breeding Program aims to develop high-yielding, winter-hardy varieties. A unique aspect of this program is that doctoral students serve as barley breeders and are responsible for crossing, data collection, and advancement decisions. While this provides hands-on experience for the students, the impact of student leadership has not been examined.

This study used a historical data set to evaluate the realized genetic gain of the breeding program, and as a training population for genomic selection. The dataset consisted …

Exploring The Nexus Of Adverse Childhood Experiences And Illicit Substance Misuse Among Midwestern Adults, Anika R. Eisenbraun

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The positive association between illicit substance misuse and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) has been widely examined in prior literature. Yet, there is limited understanding of the varying factors, such as social support, depressive symptoms, or sexual victimization, that may impact the relationship between substance misuse and ACEs. As such, the purpose of the current study is to examine the relationship between ACEs (i.e., physical and emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect) with illicit substance misuse and to investigate indirect pathways of social support, depressive symptoms, and sexual victimization. Private, secondary data from the second cohort of a larger, longitudinal rural health …

Household Wealth And Mental Health In Older Adults Across Racial Groups: Moderating Role Of Social Support, Sunkanmi Folorunsho

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis examines the relationship between household wealth and mental health outcomes among older adults, with particular attention to racial and ethnic differences and the potential moderating role of social support. Although financial resources are widely recognized as important determinants of psychological well-being, less is known about how social support interacts with economic conditions to shape mental health in later life. The study also addresses how these patterns may vary among different racial and ethnic groups, given persistent inequalities in wealth and disparities in access to social resources.

Drawing on data from the 2020 wave of the Health and Retirement …

The Affordable Care Act: Analyzing Rates Of Healthcare Claim Denial, Lauren Sitter

Political Science Theses and Capstones

The United States healthcare industry is an integral aspect of every American’s life. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 reformed the healthcare system by expanding coverage to millions of Americans and eliminating claim denials due to pre-existing conditions. It requires participating states to submit transparency data. Despite these reforms, coverage denials continue and vary by plan category, metal level, and among different states. I analyze data from The Kaiser Family Foundation (2023) and The CommonWealth Fund to test the correlation between claim denial and a variety of variables, including state political culture, plan type, metal level, and out-of-pocket costs. …

“But Where Are Those Good Old-Fashioned Values?”—The Racial Politics Of Animated Satire In Family Guy, Jordanne Greenidge

Master's Theses

Few animated shows have shaped American pop culture quite like Family Guy. Known for its rapid-fire cutaway gags and irreverent humor, the series has remained a television mainstay since its debut in 1999, despite frequent criticism and even two cancellations. Created by Seth MacFarlane and based on his 1995 student film The Life of Larry, Family Guy has built its reputation on pushing the boundaries of taste, especially when it comes to race, gender, and politics. Though often defended as satire, the show’s use of racial humor raises questions about its true impact: Do its portrayals of Black characters challenge …

The Adirondack Frontier: Reclaiming A Vital Role In Shaping The Nation, Peter Nelson

Master's Theses

The traditional version of Adirondack history from the revolutionary period to the middle of the nineteenth century, which portrays the region as unexplored primeval wilderness, is nineteenth-century romantic mythology. It ignores thousands of years of Indigenous habitation and misrepresents early Euro-American activity in the region as well. In fact, from the earliest days of colonial exploration of North America until the middle of the 19th-Century, New York's Adirondack region was a dynamic American frontier, as important in shaping the destiny of the nation as the Northwest Territory or, later, the West. Activities in the Adirondack frontier contributed to the decimation …

Effects Of Food Insufficiency And Family Structure On Parental Aggravation And Child Outcomes, Angel Juarez

University Honors Program Senior Projects

Food insufficiency is a detrimental crisis that impacts families facing financial hardships across the United States (Nam et al., 2015). Research finds that economic difficulties and child maladaptive development are positively associated because parental stress is exacerbated by financial hardships affecting parental sensitivity to their children (Hill et al., 2013; Simons et al., 2016). The current study uses the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI) data from the 2021-2022 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH). It builds on these findings, investigating the relationship between food insufficiency and parental aggravation on child behavioral outcomes across different family structures in the …

Dekonstruktion Der Afd: Eine Analyse Der Rechtspopulistischen Deutschen Partei Der„Alternative Für Deutschland”, Elizabeth A. Breckenridge, Elizabeth Breckenridge

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Die Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) ist eine rechtsextreme populistische Partei, die innerhalb eines Jahrzehnts rasch an Macht gewonnen hat, insbesondere in den ostdeutschen Bundesländern, aufgrund ihrer Betonung der Nationalisierung, ihrer populistischen Rhetorik und ihrer Anziehungskraft auf Wähler, die Ängste vor Einwanderung und kulturellem Wandel hegen. Die AfD hat es innerhalb von fünf Jahren geschafft, eine starke Wählerschaft zu mobilisieren, 2017 Sitze im Bundestag zu erringen und gilt nun als wichtigste Oppositionspartei zu den etablierten Parteien. Die AfD ist die erste rechte Partei seit 1945, die aufgrund des Aufstiegs rechtspolitischer Ideologien bedeutende Wahlerfolge erzielen konnte. Aufgrund des reaktionären Pendelschwungs nach dem …

University Campus Members' Perceptions And Willingness To Accept Plea Deals, Magalli Morado Landaverde

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Previous research on plea bargaining has primarily focused on public opinion about this practice and the disparities among individuals who have accepted a plea deal. This body of research usually addressed only legal or extralegal factors associated with the prevalence of plea bargaining. Few studies have explored the impact of both factors on an individual’s attitude toward plea bargaining and willingness to accept a plea deal. The current study sought to address this gap in the literature by exploring situational and dispositional factors and other relevant measures, such as court procedural justice, to examine their influence on a person’s attitude …

Community Voices, Climate Action Choices: Working Towards A Resilient Monterey County, Lesley A. Solano Alonso

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Vulnerable communities in Monterey County face disproportionate environmental and health impacts due to climate change, yet many residents remain unaware of the tools and resources available to support local action. This capstone project was implemented in partnership with Ecology Action (EA) and the Resilient Central Coast (RCC) campaign to increase awareness and engagement with the RCC platform. Serving diverse communities across Monterey County, the project included bilingual outreach efforts, community tabling, educational presentations, and a climate action survey. Over 650 residents were engaged directly, resulting in 99 new household sign-ups on the RCC website, a major milestone for the agency. …

Examining The Perceptions Of Restorative Practices In A Non-Profit Organization: A Comparative Analysis Of Staff And Youth Attitudes, Autumn N. Alicea, Anne Hobbs Dr

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This study examines the attitudes toward restorative justice (RJ) among staff and youth at a non-profit residential organization. Using the Restorative Justice Attitude Scale, data was collected from 14 staff members and 14 youth participants (N=28). Results indicated that staff members reported significantly higher mean scores (M = 84.50, SD = 8.38) on the Total Restorative Justice Attitude Scale than youth participants (M = 67.93, SD = 15.81). ANOVA results revealed statistically significant differences between the two groups on attitudes toward restorative justice, F (1, 26) = 12.007, p = .002. Effect size analysis (η² = .316) indicates that approximately …

Human Trafficking Prevention Methods In Nebraska, Allison E. Munderloh

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Human Trafficking has been a concern in Nebraska for a long period of time, but there is a lack of publicly available information regarding the prevention methods being employed and their effectiveness. This study aimed to identify the human trafficking prevention methods in use in Nebraska and their effectiveness based on the opinions of human trafficking professionals in the state. The human trafficking professionals were interviewed, and the information gathered was organized into seven different themes. The themes that arose from the information gathered included educational efforts, victim intervention and resources, addressing demand, labor trafficking, measuring success, resources and funding, …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Intersection Between Sex Trafficking And Domestic Violence: A Cross-Cultural Study Of The United States And India, Rachel A. Napier

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Domestic violence survivors are affected by long-term trauma from abuse, which can lead to them being more vulnerable and susceptible to sex trafficking tactics. Sex trafficking survivors are also at risk of becoming involved in an abusive relationship because they may have been previously exposed or due to a normalization of abuse. Both domestic violence and sex trafficking are prevalent issues within the world that continue to be ongoing due to their hidden nature. This study highlights the connections between domestic violence and sex trafficking and how each can be portrayed differently based on the environment and cultural norms within …

An Examination Of The Impact Of A Six-Week Summer Enrichment Program On Anxiety Among Underrepresented Health Profession Students, Rolando Martinez-Rico

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Healthcare pipeline programs aim to enhance diversity in the health professions by supporting undergraduate students interested in pursuing a healthcare career, particularly those from underrepresented and historically excluded backgrounds. Despite these initiatives, significant disparities persist in the healthcare workforce, amplified by structural racism and systemic barriers to entry. These challenges contribute to heightened anxiety, which can hinder the success of students pursuing healthcare careers.

The Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP) seeks to mitigate these barriers by fostering an inclusive environment where students gain academic skills and mentorship. Among the many challenges underrepresented students face, anxiety is a significant and …

Perceptions Of Identity And Blame Attribution In Sexual Harassment Scenarios, Avarie Lambert

Honors Theses

Sexual harassment is a widespread issue influenced by societal attitudes that stem from victim blaiming and rape myth acceptance. These perceptions are often shaped by the identities of the parties involved, however there is limited research on how gender and race influence blame attribution. The purpose of this study is to examine how different identities shape public perceptions of victims in sexual harassment scenarios. Through using a nationwide sample and survey experiment, participants were randomly assigned to receive one of eight different hypothetical scenarios that differed by the race and gender of the victim, and the gender of the perpetrator. …

Understanding And Modeling Pooled Rideshare Acceptance: Influential Factors, Preferred User Experiences, And Implications, Rakesh Gangadharaiah

All Dissertations

This dissertation explores factors influencing pooled rideshare (PR) adoption to provide actionable insights for transportation network companies (TNCs) and policymakers. PR allows travelers to share rides with unknown passengers, offering benefits such as cost reduction and congestion relief. However, adoption remains limited due to safety concerns, privacy issues, and trust in rideshare platforms. A national U.S. survey with 5,385 respondents examined transportation preferences and barriers to PR adoption. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses identified five key factors influencing PR consideration—safety, service experience, privacy, traffic/environment, and time/cost. Second factor analyses examined ways to optimize PR experiences, revealing four factors—comfort/ease of use, …

The Interplay Of Housing Instability And Mathematics During Adolescence: A Retrospective Study Of Black Stem Folx, Sharetta M. W. Bufford

All Dissertations

Few studies have delved into the delicate nuances that impact Black students’ mathematics performance, nor have they paid much attention to the resources students leverage to overcome systems that perpetuate negative stereotypes about Black youth. For decades, studies about Black youth have been explored from a deficit perspective, shedding negative light on circumstances typically beyond the control of those being studied. Even more, some studies have placed blame on parents and parental figures in the lives of Black children for unacceptable school behavior and poor academic progress (Cobb II & Russell, 2015). Black youth have been portrayed as problematic, disruptive, …

Digital Activism In Kenya: Moving From The Digital Center To The Digital Periphery Of Long Covid Experience, Emily Mendenhall, Lucy Kamau, Nora Kenworthy, Edna Bosire

Brain and Mind Institute

Digital activism around Long covid has reverberated around the globe, as patients, researchers, and clinicians worked together to understand the chronic condition. However, Long Covid networks, much like other social networks, have hierarchies and barriers that can impede equitable access. In this article, we examine how the global digital center and periphery shape how people with Long covid connect to networks to learn about their illness symptoms, diagnoses, treatments, and experiences. We introduce case narratives of two Kenyan women—one elite Nairobian who was connected to the digital center and another middle class woman who connected with her through a peripheral …

Reforming Pensions In Africa: Addressing Coverage, Payout Disparities, And Dementia Outcomes For Sustainable Aging, Cyprian Mostert, Catherine Ajalo, David Andai

Brain and Mind Institute

No abstract provided.

Healing On Their Own Terms: Self-Guided Attuning And Mental Health Among Chinese “Youth”, Ziran (Ted) Zhou

Honors Theses

This thesis explores how Chinese “youth” experiencing emotional distress pursue healing outside formal psychiatric frameworks. Drawing on thirteen qualitative interviews and guided by theories from medical anthropology, this study examines how young people engage Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practices and everyday bodily adjustments to manage suffering. Rather than rejecting care altogether, participants turned toward culturally resonant practices that emphasized gradual self-attuning (自我调节, zìwǒ tiáojié) to internal rhythms. Healing was framed not as rupture or diagnosis, but as a relational and moral process: one that preserved emotional dignity, protected family honor, and maintained social harmony. The findings challenge assumptions that psychiatric …

Perception, Pain, And Prejudice: Misunderstanding And Contemporary Maternal Health Inequality, Anyssa Holloway

Honors Theses

Pain is a universal experience that we human beings experience daily, whether mentally, physically, or emotionally. Encountering pain is a fundamental aspect of the human experience, serving as a universal reminder of our shared humanity. It operates as an internal alarm system, alerting us to disruptions in both external and internal equilibrium, thereby highlighting the importance of maintaining homeostasis. With this universal sensation felt by all of humankind for millions of years, in a more modern context, there exists a need to understand how a universal connection is measured. As pain is felt on a universal scale such as the …

Technology And Transportation’S Role In Social Isolation In Rural Older Adults, Sara F. Miller

Honors Theses

This study examines the perceptions and experiences of rural older adults. More specifically, their community experiences, connections, technology, and transportation. Past literature, when examining these topics, took a quantitative approach utilizing scales. This study takes a qualitative approach, utilizing semi-structured interviews to examine the feelings behind the experiences of the participants. Interviews were conducted with four older rural adults. The four participants were female and were of varying marital statuses. Three of the participants were Caucasian, and one was African American. Four themes were found in this process. It was found that the participants were content with the connections that …

The Decline Of Hip-Hop As A Political Medium: An Examination Of Digital Sampling And Its Impact On The Genre's Evolution, Justin A. Laporta

Honors Theses

The decline of hip-hop as a political medium has been a dramatic turn for the genre since its creation. The specific use of digital sampling was a mechanism in the genre's ability to express African American socio-political struggles. During hip-hop's "Golden Age," artists used sampling not only as a creative tool but as a means to politically empower communities, foster civic engagement, and revive historical messages of resistance. However, the rise of mass commercialization and the imposition of legal copyright restrictions—particularly through landmark cases like Grand Upright Music Ltd. v. Warner Brothers (1991) and Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Dimension Films …

Administrator Reflections On Youth Sport Programming: Moving Forward After The Covid-19 Pandemic, Alysha Matthews, Meredith Wekesser, Karl Erickson, Scott Pierce, Adam L. Kelly

Journal of Youth Development

AbstractYouth sport has been a context where positive youth development (PYD) can be promoted (Fraser-Thomas et al., 2005). However, for youth sport to effectively foster PYD, all adult leaders need to understand and invest in the approach. The youth sport context is a large system that encompasses multiple stakeholders across the developmental lifespan of athletes (Dorsch et al., 2022). Much of PYD research reflects the contributions of parents and coaches (e.g., Harwood et al., 2019; Vella et al., 2011), yet often overlooked is the administrator role in PYD. Administrators are tasked with communicating and reinforcing organizational missions across stakeholders for …

The Voices Behind The Screen: Navigating The Politics Of Work-Time, Identity, Visibility, And Tokenism In The Workplace., John Douglas Broadus Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic has and continues to impact labor and work in numerous ways. As organizations began to adjust to the changes the COVID-19 pandemic brought on to how they operated, there arose a considerable amount of conflict regarding what work is and what work should be. Conflicts arose around issues of work/life balance, work-hour mismatch, health and wellbeing, self-autonomy, and individual vs. collective work, influencing how employee sees themselves, their work, and their role within the organization. This research study will focus on the culture of “work time” that is present within a public-sector organization and the various ways …

The Switch: Determinants Of Family School Modality Choices During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Steicy Dorfi Lopez

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

The K-12 system in the United States experienced substantial challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to give an overview of public, private, and homeschooling enrollment decisions during the pandemic, the changes families made between types of schooling and identify familial characteristics associated with the probability of switching in and out of public education. Knowing more about the groups exiting and returning to the public school system can help public school districts better tailor policies to attract and retain their students. Socioeconomic factors influencing a change could be signs of increasing segregation. Using a discrete choice duration model, a …

Exploring User Sentiment On Social Issues Via Neural Network Transfer Learning In Digital Communities, Ananya R. Vangoor

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Understanding public sentiment on social issues is crucial for gauging the stance of the general population. Traditionally, surveys have been a common approach for this. However, to capture more candid opinions, social media provides a rich source of unadulterated opinions. By analyzing social media statements, we can gain insights into the perspectives of specific groups. More specifically, we will investigate the attitudes of the public into the relationship between hard work and success in the workplace.

Using a neural network trained on tweets from X, formerly known as Twitter, we can categorize each tweet as either pro-luck or pro-meritocracy. But …

Understanding The Need For Gender Inclusiveness: A Case Study In Kolkata, India, Nilasree Dutta

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research focuses on examining the status of women in the selected Wards of Kolkata, India: Ward 59, 64, 65, 66, and 69. Three indicators are used to evaluate the status of women: education, nutrition, and religion. Data for this study was collected with the help of a Kolkata-based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) named Ek Tara. A complete questionnaire with open-ended and closed-ended questions was followed to conduct the survey. 353 households were interviewed to obtain the data. Several statistical analyses have been conducted using STATA software to address research hypotheses. To assess the nutritional status of women, hand grip strength …