Other Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Addressing Barriers To Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In Massachusetts Community Mediation, Madhawa Palihapitiya, Jarling Ho, Shino Yokotsuka, Karina Zeferino

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

This report presents over three years of systematically engaging, documenting and analyzing the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) needs/gaps and assets of state funded community mediation centers in Massachusetts. The report was compiled by researchers and an in-house DEI expert at the statutory state office of dispute resolution, the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration (MOPC) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The office has been serving as a neutral forum and state-level resource for over 30 years.

The report is based on qualitative research that falls into the category of community based participatory research conducted through a series of community …

Technical Report: A Framework For Confusion Mitigation In Task-Oriented Interactions, Na Li, Robert J. Ross

Articles

Confusion is a mental state that can be triggered in task-oriented interactions and which can if left unattended lead to boredom, frustration, or disengagement from the task at hand. Since previous work has demonstrated that confusion can be detected in embodied situated interactions from visual and auditory cues, in this technique report, we propose appropriate interaction structures which should be used to mitigate confusion. We motivate and describe this dialogue mechanism through an information state-style policy with examples, and also outline the approach we are taking to integrate such a meta-conversational goal alongside core task-oriented considerations in modern data driven …

Investigating Visuospatial Working Memory For Facial Emotion And Identity, Brianna Lowe

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The central executive plays a key role in the encoding of visual stimuli in working memory, including the memory for faces in a social context. Faces often contain important details about the identity of social targets as well as the emotion that these targets are expressing. Encoding accuracy requires that we have resources to consider and organize facial features into a holistic representation of a target. Of course, emotion recognition accuracy may be critical to encoding success. The cognitive demand on the participant when evaluating facial stimuli impacts emotion recognition accuracy and therefore the encoding of facial features and emotion …

Sneakerhead Culture: Consumers And Their Ecological Consciousness, Maria Cervantes

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis aims to investigate the unique subculture of “sneakerheads” and their buying behavior/attitudes, catering carefully to the Northwest Arkansas community and their small community. Sneakerhead culture has gained significant popularity in recent years, with decades of history to back up the phenomenon. Sneaker connoisseurs collect these glamourous, expensive, and rare footwear and are keepsakes of self-expression and identity formation. The study employs an ecological approach to their purchases and seeks to find whether retail and non-retail sneakerheads are conscious of their ecological footprint. The research methodology involves a questionnaire that is catered towards retail or non-retail employees based on …

Youthful Offenders Sentencing Trends In Pennsylvania, Monika Nwajei

All Theses

The overwhelming majority of existing literature on the effects of age on judicial sentence decision-making focuses on juveniles (ages 18 and below) and older adults. This paper focuses on offenders between the ages of 18-29, who fall legally outside the definition of juvenile, yet do not have the full brain development or clinical maturity of an adult to provide knowledge of sentencing outcomes for different populations and a well-rounded review and critique of judicial sentence decision-making (Johnson, Blum, & Giedd, 2009). Using a series of logistic regression analyses on the Pennsylvania Commission Sentencing (PCS) data from 2001 to 2018, I …

Research Informed Guidelines For Couple And Relationship Education Programs With Arab American Immigrant Couples, Sarah Almalki, Lawrence Ganong

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

In this paper, we review the characteristics of Arab immigrants and propose guidelines for couple and relationship education (CRE) programs with Arab immigrant couples. Arab immigrants are a heterogeneous group, yet they share common cultural characteristics and family values that are essential to understand when working with them. Generally, CRE programs with immigrated Arabs should be mindful of (1) strongly valued religious beliefs, (2) extended family as a primary source of support and marital problem-solving, (3) the tendency to follow gender-based roles and responsibilities, and (4) Arabic language and communication norms. Family educators and practitioners who work with recently immigrated …

Proactive, Perceptive, And Positive Parenting Of Adolescents: A Proposed Workshop, Marbella Oseguera

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

During adolescence, teenagers develop new needs for autonomy, respect, and privacy, but parents can be unaware of adolescents’ developmental changes or struggle with adapting their parenting practices. Unawareness of teens’ needs or unwillingness to restructure the parent-adolescent relationship can lead to misunderstandings, pushback from teens, and increased parent-teen conflict. If parents are unable to resolve conflict appropriately through positive guidance, they are likely to engage in psychological control. Psychological control is a harmful practice that is used to manage adolescents’ behaviors and maintain authority within the parent-teen relationship. Extensive research has demonstrated the negative effects of psychological control on adolescents’ …

A Pandemic’S Potential To Haunt: A Longitudinal Look At The Professional Wellbeing Of Tn’S Infant And Early Childhood Mental Health (Iecmh) Workforce, Robyn A. Dolson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) providers engage in uniquely relational work with high-risk families that expose them to the full advantages (i.e., compassion satisfaction [CS]) and disadvantages (e.g., burn-out [BO]) of a helper role. Though the pandemic seemed poised to escalate disadvantage, most early pandemic studies found high CS alongside elevated BO. Unfortunately, as COVID-19 has continued, CS has declined while BO has increased. Given the delayed COVID-19 impact on children, these changes may be particularly acute for IECMH providers. Using a longitudinal cohort of 27 IECMH providers, this study aimed to describe and quantify changes in professional …

Advanced Quantitative Approaches To Unveil Social Inequities In Educational Contexts, Manuel J. Jiménez, Vanessa Svihla, Karl Benedict, Victor Law, Meeko Oishi

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

Chapter 2 introduces an innovative method integrating Geographic Information Systems and Machine Learning to evaluate educational policy outcomes. This approach overcomes the limitations of traditional statistical methods and effectively analyzes complex relationships between educational data and demographic factors.

The study in Chapter 3 developed a prediction model for school report cards in New Mexico using census data and applying the methods described in Chapter 2. The accurate predictions suggested that the school accountability system disproportionately assigned failing grades to schools serving minoritized students. The study also confirmed that status measures depend more on demographics than growth measures.

The study in …

The Emotional Intelligence And Conflict Management Relationship In Black Women Leaders, Tina Raylyn Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between emotional intelligence and conflict management styles in Black women leaders in the United States. The lack of literature surrounding Black women leaders' emotional intelligence or conflict management styles presented an opportunity to offer quantitative data connected to these constructs. A cross-sectional survey design was used to administer three surveys the Situational Test of Emotional Management- B, the Kraybill Conflict Style Inventory, and a modified version the Multidimensional Inventory of Black of Identity, that focused on Black female identity. Data from 124 participants were analyzed to learn if identity mediated the relationship between emotional intelligence …

#Bodypositivity Or #Bodypolitics?: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Body Positivity Myth Formed By Narratives Of Political Myth, Sydney Berenyi Lasike

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Body Positivity movement is well-known for advocating for the acceptance of all body types—including size, shape, color, and ability. Images online in support of the movement often showcase stretch marks, cellulite, and other “unattractive” bodily features to protest against the thin-ideal and strict standards of beauty placed upon women. Despite the goal to inspire self-love and celebration of all bodies, the hashtag #BodyPositivity has been taken-over by white, female influencers who have the idolized, female body. They contradict the original message of the movement through their posts on Instagram that centralize white feminine features and thin, Eurocentric bodies. This …

The Role Of The Family In Confronting The Excessive Use Of Modern Technology Among Children "Therapeutic Alternatives", Khaled Mikhlif Al-Jenfawi

Journal of Police and Legal Sciences

This study aimed to identify the role of the family in confronting the excessive use of technology and social media programs from the view point of social workers and psychologists working for the Juvenile Welfare Department of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor in Kuwait, in the light of some variables (sex , and practical experience)

The studywas a descriptive analytical study. It used the social survey method. A questionnaire consisting of (39) items was built and designed, and its validity and reliability were tested. Among the most important results of the study: The level of the family's role …

Editorial Note: A Long-Term Endeavor Of Citations In The Global South Open Access Journals, Laras Sekarasih, Edo S. Jaya, Muhammad Abdan Shadiqi

Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia

Citations have become a “currency” of research quality. If the number of papers published is a parameter of scholars’ productivity, the number of citations received by each paper serves as an indicator of the quality of the research. The number of citations is often used to assess the quality of an article. In this bibliometric measure, papers that attract citations are considered to have a meaningful contribution. A high number of citations, especially when they come immediately after the papers are published, indicates that the paper is well accepted by scholars in the field and contributes to the advancement of …

The Dynamic Of Gender Relations During And Post Pandemic In Families Of Impromptu Online Woman Entrepreneurs In Indonesia, Johanna D. Imelda, Ditha A. Setiyono

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

The article aims to describe the changes in gender relations in the family of women who became impromptu online entrepreneurs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The theories of gender role triplicity and social capital were used to analyze research findings. Data for this qualitative longitudinal research was collected through observations and interviews with fourteen married women in Depok, West Java, from 2020 to 2022. Research findings illustrated that when women became entrepreneurs during the pandemic, there was a change in their role, from the domestic to the public sphere. However, when family economic condition improved after the pandemic, women returned …

The Cultural Meaning In Ritual Traditions For The Character Of Osing People Banyuwangi, Indonesia, Imam Suyitno, Yuni Pratiwi, Kusubakti Andajani, Heni Dwi Arista Mrs.

The Qualitative Report

This study examined the cultural meaning of the ritual tradition for the character of the Osing people, Banyuwangi. The study focused on describing (a) the personal character in ritual tradition, (b) the social character in ritual traditions, and (c) the character values in ritual traditions. This study was qualitative research with the hermeneutic approach to interpret and explain the meaning of ritual tradition by involving three culturalists and community leaders as data resources. The study found that ritual tradition has cultural meaning for Osing people to build (a) personal character, which includes responsible, consistent, caring, sincere in their work, willing …

State Of Urbanization In Nepal: The Official Definition And Reality, Keshav Bhattarai, Ambika P. Adhikari, Shiva Gautam

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Nepali government’s official delineation of several human settlements as new urban areas has been questionable because many important criteria such as urban infrastructure and services, open space, population density and economic viability are not thoroughly analyzed while defining what is urban. Many settlements in Nepal officially defined as urban, often driven by political considerations, are operating in the rural framework forming ruralopolises. This paper analyzes various criteria needed for defining urbanization that are internationally accepted to assess Nepal’s official definition of urban settlements. Urban areas have been expanding in Nepal at the cost of agricultural, forest, and shrubland land uses. …

Applying The Ecological Model Of Human Performance And The Slutwalk Movement To Support Those Affected By Rape Culture In The Context Of Occupational Therapy, Angela Klukken, Sally Wasmuth

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Improving the occupational lives of others is at the heart of occupational therapy practice. Advocacy for clientele is central to this improvement, both at individual and structural levels. We argue that interventions in the Ecological Model of Human Performance (EHP) and the social movement theSlutWalk can offer increased opportunity for occupational therapists to address the harmful implications for clients affected by sexual assault and rape culture. In addition, through the principles of the EHP and the SlutWalk, we propose that occupational therapists can have a hand in eradicating the culture that facilitates and tolerates sexual violence. This paper …

Valenced Media Effects On Robot-Related Attitudes And Mental Models: A Parasocial Contact Approach, Jan-Philipp Stein, Jaime Banks

Human-Machine Communication

Despite rapid advancements in robotics, most people still only come into contact with robots via mass media. Consequently, robot-related attitudes are often discussed as the result of habituation and cultivation processes, as they unfold during repeated media exposure. In this paper, we introduce parasocial contact theory to this line of research— arguing that it better acknowledges interpersonal and intergroup dynamics found in modern human–robot interactions. Moreover, conceptualizing mediated robot encounters as parasocial contact integrates both qualitative and quantitative aspects into one comprehensive approach. A multi-method experiment offers empirical support for our arguments: Although many elements of participants’ beliefs and attitudes …

My Alfond Grant Cda: Experience From 10 Years Of Automatic Deposits For All Maine Newborns, Colleen J. Quint, Margaret M. Clancy

Center for Social Development Research

For over a decade, the Alfond Scholarship Foundation has automatically enrolled every Maine-resident newborn into the United States’ first statewide, universal Child Development Account (CDA) by investing $500 on each child’s behalf in the NextGen 529 plan. This Policy Brief provides an overview of My Alfond Grant and tracks the growth of the CDA in the 10 years since it made the major policy-design change to implement automatic enrollment. The Brief also includes insights regarding partnerships and communications that have helped to improve My Alfond Grant’s ability to connect with Maine families.

Historical Trauma: Literary And Testimonial Responses To Hiroshima, Mariam Ghonim

Theses and Dissertations

The concept of trauma is controversial in literature. While one may be able to come up with ways to describe trauma in fiction, representing historical trauma is a hard task for writers. Some argue that trauma can not be described through those who did not experience it, while others claim that, provided some elements are added, one can represent trauma to the reader. This thesis focuses on twentieth-century historical traumas related to a nuclear catastrophe and explores the different literary and testimonial responses to the catastrophic man-made event of Hiroshima (1945). In this thesis, Kathleen Burkinshaw’s historical fiction The Last …