Community-Based Research Commons^™

Spatial And Temporal Changes In Halal Food Sales And Consumption A Case Study Of The City Of Dearborn, Michigan, Sam Roodbar

Masters Theses

With a population of 3.2 million and growing in the US, Arab Americans are an integral part of the economy and culture of the United States and the world. The southeast portion of the state of Michigan is home to more than 300,000 Arab Americans. One of the main agents of cultural maintenance and support for the Arab American community are their ethnic food traditions, specifically Halal food. Since the introduction of Halal food in the United States, the sales and consumption of Halal products has increased immensely. This research seeks to answer four related questions focused on the entrance …

The Weight Of Categories: Geographically Inscribed Otherness In Botkyrka Municipality, Sweden, Beiyi Hu

Publications and Research

This paper asked a paradoxical question: why have immigrants to Sweden (particularly refugees) become geographically, economically, and symbolically segregated despite the putatively generous provisions of Sweden’s welfare state? I sought to understand how people and institutions perceived and deployed categories that created geographically inscribed “Otherness” through a year-long fieldwork in Botkyrka Municipality of the Greater Stockholm area. My analysis weaved together three models for explaining social segregation: the relational, the symbolic, and the spatial. I then augmented these models by taking into account the legal and bureaucratic frameworks that influence social exclusion, as well as historical factors of geographical exclusion. …

Reducing Recidivism In At-Risk Urban Youth Through Lyrical Expression Therapy: A Qualitative Program Evaluation, Margaret Goldman

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This presentation examines a hip-hop-based lyrical expression intervention program as a mechanism of recidivism reduction, particularly for minority youth offenders. Analyses of qualitative data indicate that the program empowers at-risk minority youth to make positive life changes while using the familiarity of hip-hop subculture to establish a comfortable learning environment. Attendees interested in juvenile justice will benefit from this presentation.

Hub City Farmers’ Market Revitalization Of The Spartanburg Northside Community, Caitlynn Myer

Wofford Bonner Scholar Senior Capstone Projects

The Northside Community in the early 20th century was a thriving prominent community in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Not only was Spartan Mill – the largest mill in the county, located in the Northside, but also the community became the central destination of the railroad line – thus, coining the epithet “hub city.” How did such a thriving community succumb to destruction? What is the history behind the Northside Community historically remaining a food desert for over 40 years? What changes of investment into the Northside Community have aimed to not only revitalize the community, but also to bring access to …

Analysis Of American Health Systems And Serving The Uninsured, Mina Rismani

Wofford Bonner Scholar Senior Capstone Projects

American healthcare is a unique combination of privatization and welfare. This system negatively impacts individuals too poor to afford private healthcare, yet too wealthy to receive Medicaid. This capstone highlights the role Access Health Spartanburg plays in aiding such individuals. The capstone additionally analyzes the cost-efficiency of the American health system in comparison to that of the United Kingdom’s health system, known as the NHS.

Bonner: My Stepping Stone, Juliana Mejia Rima

Wofford Bonner Scholar Senior Capstone Projects

Bonner has allowed me to grow as a member of the Spartanburg community, and as a person. By strengthening my skills as a community leader, a compassionate person, and a seeker of bettering the lives of others through the Bonner Scholars program, I was able to feel confident enough to pursue another program that works with the lower income older adult community of Spartanburg. The Intergenerational Connections program joins college students and older adults together to learn about and communicate with each other creatively. Because of Bonner, I knew that being a part of another program with similar initiatives to …

A Longitudinal Analysis Of The Impact Of Child Custody Loss On Drug Use And Crime Among A Sample Of African American Mothers, Kathi L. H. Harp, Carrie B. Oser

Health Management and Policy Faculty Publications

This study examines the influence of child custody loss on drug use and crime among a sample of African American mothers. Two types of custody loss are examined: informal custody loss (child living apart from mother but courts not involved), and official loss (child removed from mother’s care by authorities).

Methods—Using data from 339 African American women, longitudinal random coefficient models analyzed the effects of each type of custody loss on subsequent drug use and crime.

Results—Results indicated that both informal and official custody loss predicted increased drug use, and informal loss predicted increased criminal involvement. Findings demonstrate …

"They Chase Us Like Dogs": Exploring The Vulnerabilities Of "Ladyboys" In The Cambodian Sex Trade, Jarrett D. Davis, Glenn Miles

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

While the vulnerability of women and girls continues to be the subject of research and concern among social service providers, few attempts have been made to understand the vulnerabilities and lived experiences of transgender persons in the sex industry. Among the studies that have been done, most have focused on sexual health and their likelihood to contract or spread HIV/AIDS, often ignoring other potential vulnerabilities. This study aims to provide a broad baseline of data on the perspectives and experiences of transgendered persons in the sex trade in Phnom Penh, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of their needs, and …

The Harmful Sexual And Non-Sexual Behaviors Of Trafficked Women And Children In Mexico: A Study Of Victims Of Sexual Exploitation, Arun Kumar Acharya, Lilia Susana Padilla Y Sotelo, Jose Juan Cervantes Niño

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

During the last 17 years, since the adoption of the Palermo Protocol, authorities at international and national levels have investigated and prosecuted trafficking cases, and aided victims. Nevertheless, every day thousands of people around the world are sold, lured with false promises and exploited. In Mexico, 10,000 young girls and women are said to be trafficked into cities for sexual exploitation every year. Trafficked victims suffer a wide range of sexual exploitation, physical and psychological violence, human rights violations including their right to dignity, and cruel and inhumane treatment, creating vulnerability and isolation. To cope, many victims adopt harmful sexual …

Sadomasochism: Descent Into Darkness, Annotated Accounts Of Cases, 1996-2014, Robert Peters

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

A collection of accounts of sadomasochistic sexual abuse from news reports and scholarly and professional sources about the dark underbelly of sadomasochism and the pornography that contributes to it. It focuses on crimes and other harmful sexual behavior related to the pursuit of sadistic sexual pleasure in North America and the U.K. It is intended to be a resource to educate people about how sadomasochism can lead to harmful and even deadly sadistic sexual behavior.

The Surrender To God Scale: Psychometric Validation And Psychological Correlates, Kelley Pugh, Andrea D. Clements, Jameson K. Hirsch

ETSU Faculty Works

(1) Surrender to God (STG), is a construct which quantifies the extent to which an individual willingly relinquishes control to God. (2) An STG scale has been developed, yet remains unvalidated, as it relates to psychological constructs. (3) Utilizing undergraduate participants (N=249), we conducted a psychometric validation of the STG scale, and examined its potential relation with depression, anxiety, stress, and suicide risk

Developing And Implementing A Participatory Action Research Assistantship Program At The Community College, Mia Ocean, Kelli Tigertail, James Keller, Kathleen Woods

The Qualitative Report

Despite serving almost half of the U.S. undergraduate students, community colleges and their constituents are consistently marginalized in the research favoring external university experts to conduct research about them and on them. To counteract these top down, disempowering research practices, we piloted a Participatory Action Research Assistantship Program (PARAP). A PARAP is a modified version of a research assistantship program that is grounded in an anti-oppressive, participatory action research practice, creating change on many levels. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of practical and methodological steps to implement a PARAP at a community college including forming …

Using An Adapted Cover-Copy-Compare Math Intervention In China: A Pilot Study, Daniel F. Mccleary Ph.D., Lssp, Ncsp, Juan Chen

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

The math fluency skills of a student with an IQ three standard deviations below the mean were improved using an adapted version of cover-copy-compare (CCC) in China. The student’s digits correct per minute and the number of problems correct increased substantially. Evidence of generalization to novel items is also demonstrated. This pilot study suggests that an adapted version of CCC can be effectively used in China, with someone whose FSIQ is three standard deviations below the mean, and that the acquired skill can be generalized.

Adult-Child Sexual Contact: Examining Mental Health Trainees’ Perception Of The Impact On Adult Psychological-Emotional Status, Robbie J. Steward Ph.D., Shavonne J. Moore Ph.D., Lisa P. Petersen M.A., L.P.C., Sharea Ayers M.A., Kristin A. Hinze M.A., L.P.C.

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Thirty-eight graduate students enrolled in mental health-related programs completed the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) indicating anticipated impact of adult-child sexual contact on the psychological status of a young adult woman from positive family environment and one from a negative family environment. BSI subscale scores were significantly higher than the BSI general population’s mean scores in both cases. Multiple regression analyses found that: in the healthy family scenario, practitioners’ background variables (parent education, family of origin climate, prior childhood sexual contact with an adult, and education) did not contribute significantly to the variance in their prediction of expectation of client’s overall …

Donne, Emigrazione E Prostituzione In Europa: Non Si Tratta Di “Sex Work”, Anna Zobnina, Chiara Carpita

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Previous Traumatic Experiences On Haitian Child Refugees' Conceptualization Of Fear, Jessy Guler, Courtney Guler, Dr. Judit Szente

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

This study investigates how children's experiences as Haitian refugees influence the development of atypical childhood fears. Eighteen child refugees were interviewed about their personal primary fear objects and their interpretation of fear in a series of drawing and picture observation exercises. Five of these eighteen children were Haitian refugees. Each of the refugee children had one adult representative who was interviewed about the child, the family's demographic information, and the child's previous traumatic experiences in his/her native country. The refugee children and their adult representatives' responses to the interview questions were coded and analyzed according to themes. Results suggest that …

Are Florida's Children Safe? Evaluating Safety In District 7 Privatized Child Welfare Services, Antoinette Bazunu

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

In 1998, the Florida state legislature mandated the privatization of child welfare services. The decision to contract child welfare services to non-profit organizations was instituted in an effort to lower costs and to increase the effectiveness and quality in service delivery. The 1998 initiative came to be known as "Community-Based Care" and was based on the idea of giving local communities incentives to be more accountable for children.

The federal government requires that the safety of all children be the paramount goal for the child welfare system. The purpose of this study was to assess whether Community-Based Care was indeed …

Social Class Justifications: The Capitalist Conspiracy?, Wendi Kane

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

The purpose of this research is to better understand the attitudes of University of Central Florida students concerning the stereotypes, myths, and ideologies related to social class inequality. This research measures gender, race, social class, and level of exposure to the lower class as key factors in students' beliefs. The data were collected through the use of self-administered surveys distributed to 1496 UCF students from a variety of different colleges on the Orlando campus. The most significant findings were in relation to the "work hard, get ahead" ideology, as well as the equal opportunity myth. This is a non-probability sample; …

The Effects Of College Student Employment On Academic Achievement, Lauren E. Watanabe

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

With college tuition and the cost of living rising, many students find themselves in the position of having to be employed while trying to attend classes. This study examines the effects that employment has on college students' academic achievement and other possible factors that might have contributed.

Volunteering In The Community: Combining Service And Learning, Elena Gandia Garcia

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Most of the patients who use the services offered by the Lied Pediatric Clinic are minorities (70%), and half of those patients are Hispanic. The clinic lacks of professional interpreters to help monolingual doctors and residents to communicate with their patients.