Community-Based Research Commons^™

The Captivity Of Opportunity: The Conversation Surrounding Church-Going Hispanic Immigrants, Nicolet Hopper Bell

Master's Theses

Immigration is a long-standing topic of discussion in the United States. Hispanic immigrants, or families of Hispanic immigrants, living in America face unique challenges. Through focus group interviews, participants from a predominantly Hispanic Protestant church narrated their experience of living in the United States. Guided grounded theory data analysis revealed three categories and 14 subcategories, or themes of conversation, surrounding this hot topic. Participants shed light on the distinctive challenges they faced, how these challenges affected them, and how they attempted to overcome these difficulties. By exploring these results through the lens of social stigma theory (Goffman, 2009) and intergroup …

Songs From The Willow Tree: Staging Collective Inspiration For Creative Songwriting, Aubrey W. Carpenter

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The songwriting process, inspiration to song, can take many forms. This project explores a highly structured approach, using themes derived from reported individual experience to direct the creation of musical ends addressing common experience.

Eveleth, Minnesota: A Portrait Of My Home Town, Judith I. Luna

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This 30-minute documentary film provides snapshots of the small northeastern iron mining town of Eveleth, Minnesota, on the Mesabi Iron Range. It uses a two-pronged approach: 1) a first-person return to the town by the filmmaker almost 50 years after graduating from high school to see how the town may have changed, 2) a look at some historical and cultural factors which made the town what it was when the filmmaker was growing up and what continues to animate the town in the face of iron mining’s decline and rebirth. The latter include the immigrant experience and influence as the …

The Relationship Between Religiosity And Health-Promoting Behaviors In Pregnant Women, Natalie A. Cyphers, Andrea D. Clements, Glenda Lindseth

ETSU Faculty Works

Pender’s health promotion model guided this descriptive/correlational study exploring the relationship between religiosity and health-promoting behaviors of pregnant women at Pregnancy Resource Centers (PRCs). A consecutive sample included women who knew they were pregnant at least 2 months, could read/write English, and visited PRCs in eastern Pennsylvania. Participants completed self-report surveys that examined religiosity, demographics, pregnancy-related variables, services received at PRCs, and health-promoting behaviors. Women reported they “sometimes” or “often” engaged in health-promoting behaviors, Hispanic women reported fewer health-promoting behaviors than non-Hispanic women, and women who attended classes at the centers reported more frequent health-promoting behaviors than those who did …

Offline Social Relationships And Online Cancer Communication: Effects Of Social And Family Support On Online Social Network Building, Namkoong Kang, Dhavan V. Shah, David H. Gustafson

Community & Leadership Development Faculty Publications

This study investigates how social support and family relationship perceptions influence breast cancer patients’ online communication networks in a computer-mediated social support (CMSS) group. To examine social interactions in the CMSS group, we identified two types of online social networks: open and targeted communication networks. The open communication network reflects group communication behaviors (i.e., one-to-many or “broadcast” communication) in which the intended audience is not specified; in contrast, the targeted communication network reflects interpersonal discourses (i.e., one-to-one or directed communication) in which the audience for the message is specified. The communication networks were constructed by tracking CMSS group usage data …

Community Research Fellows Training Hattiesburg, Ms Evaluation Report, Candace Forbes Bright

Faculty Publications

The Community Research Fellows Training (CRFT) Hattiesburg program took place between January 12^th, 2016 and May 17, 2016. This is the third Mississippi cohort of CRFT and the first Mississippi cohort outside of Jackson, Mississippi. This report reflects the implementation and evaluation of a community based participatory training (CBPR) program for community members in Hattiesburg. The report provides data on the assessment of the program’s effectiveness in promoting the role of underserved populations in research by enhancing the capacity for CBPR. In assessing the social network development of the cohort, we seek to understand effectiveness in bridging many …

Sexual Victimization Of Male Refugees And Migrants: Camps, Homelessness, And Survival Sex, Rachel E. Mcginnis

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This report focuses on sexual violence against and exploitation of males as a human rights violation committed during armed conflict or as an indirect outcome of armed conflict. It identifies the difficulty refugees and migrants experience inside refugee camps and what happens to young men and boys who are on the streets. By looking at the current crisis in Athens, Greece I expose the implications of failed policies for refugees. In addition, I challenge the world to redefine our understanding of sexual violence as a gender issue.

Our Future Selves

SIGNED: The Magazine of The Hong Kong Design Institute

In 2009, Dr. Yanki Lee initiated a series of projects to challenge the concept of ageing as a problem to be solved, choosing instead to cast the ageing process as unique experience for each individual and a culture from which design lessons can be drawn. Her research is leading to a series of innovative design projects that will benefit all segments of the community.

Singled In Later Life: Interaction Effects On Family Relations And Health, Hyunsook Kang Ph.D.

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

This study examines the interaction effects on health and family relations of singled and non-singled older adults. In this study, family relations comprised family criticism and family demands. Data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) survey were used (57-85 years of age (n=3005). This current study reflects a secondary analysis of the NSHAP data and hypothesized that life-long singled older adults’ health differentially influenced family relation such as family criticism and demands. This study, built on the Convoy Model to account for how singled older adults’ health, is differentially associated with their family criticism …

Chemical Reactions: Marijuana, Opioids, And Our Families, Denise A. Hines Ph.D, Staci Gruber Ph.D, John F. Kelly Ph.D, Kathleen M. Palm Reed, Hilary Smith Connery M.D., Ph.D.

Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise

Chemical Reactions: Marijuana, Opioids, and Our Families is the seventh Massachusetts Family Impact Seminar. This seminar was designed to emphasize a family perspective in policymaking on issues related to the legalization of marijuana and managing the opioid abuse crisis in the Commonwealth. In general, Family Impact Seminars analyze the consequences an issue, policy, or program may have for families.

E-Cigarette Use Among Students And E-Cigarette Specialty Retailer Presence Near Schools, Georgiana Bostean, Catherine M. Crespi, Patsornkarn Vorapharuek, William J. Mccarthy

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Objective. This study examined the association between presence of e-cigarette specialty retailers near schools and e-cigarette use among middle and high school students in Orange County (OC), CA.

Methods. The OC subsample of the 2013-2014 California Healthy Kids Survey (N=67,701) was combined with geocoded e-cigarette retailers to determine whether a retailer was present within one-quarter mile of each public school in OC. Multilevel logistic regression models evaluated individual-level and school-level e-cigarette use correlates among middle and high school students.

Results. Among middle school students, the presence of an e-cigarette retailer within one-quarter mile of their school predicted …

Community Data, Visualized, Sarah Goodman

Learning Showcase 2016: A Celebration of Discovery, Transformation and Success

CRP produces data visualizations, called DataBytes, on a monthly basis. DataBytes provide a snapshot of a topic of importance to our community, region, or state today. The topics cover a wide range of social and economic issues such as student debt, carbon footprint, food security, child care, etc. DataBytes can be lighthearted, as in our April Fool's DataBytes, or introduce our audience to a serious but relevant issue, such as our Distracted Driving DataByte. These sharable graphics are great conversation starters, but also serve as resources to interesting or important local information.

Low German Mennonite Experiences In Alternative Education Programs In Southwestern Ontario, Cameron Brubacher

Social Justice and Community Engagement

Low German Speaking (LGS) Mennonites have had a tumultuous relationship with Canadian educational institutions in the past, resulting in many from the community migrating to Mexico in the 1920s. Since the 1950s, LGS Mennonites from Mexico and South America have been migrating back to Canada, with over 40,000 making their homes in Ontario. Many in Ontario, however, still have misgivings about public education. With such a large presence in Ontario, Ontario schools need to make sure that they are inclusive places for this minority group. This MRP utilizes open-ended interviews to hear the experiences and views of Low German Speaking …

Breast Is Best: Determinants Of Breastfeeding In Bali, Leah Hardenbergh

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Breastfeeding greatly benefits the health of newborns, providing them with needed antibodies and protection from numerous diseases, including some of the leading causes of infant mortality. This paper explores breastfeeding practices in Bali, and the wide array of factors that have led to these practices. After discussing how breastfeeding fits into the larger context of maternal and newborn health, I explain factors in Bali that affect a woman’s decision to breastfeed and experience while breastfeeding. Determinants include those related to health, financial position, and social status. I explore the history of formula companies and formula as an alternative to breastmilk, …

Así Que, ¿Qué Podía Hacer? / So What Could I Do?, Summer Brandimarte

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En primer lugar, comencé a ver campañas de violencia contra las mujeres en las calles, donde las mujeres tenían moretones en sus caras y había un número de teléfono para ayudar. Entonces, una noche le contaba llorando a mi madre anfitriona en Chile, reviviendo mi pasado y al mismo tiempo ella revivía el suyo. Ella me enseñó que "llorar es la limpieza del alma" así como la importancia de compartir mi historia. Más tarde, en una visita a una escuela veo a una muchacha jugando feliz con los demás niños mientras conversaba con la psicóloga de la escuela quien me …

Las Percepciones De Las Dinámicas De Género A Través De Los Niveles Socioeconómicos De Dos Liceos De Santiago De Chile / 119/5000 Perceptions Of Dynamics Gender Equality Across Socio-Economic Levels Of Two High Schools In Santiago De Chile, Sarah Kochanek

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

La siguiente investigación se enfoca en el tema de género en el sistema educativo chileno. El objetivo amplio de la investigación es comparar las percepciones de género y reproducciones de roles de género en las opiniones de estudiantes de dos liceos de diferentes niveles socioeconómicos en Santiago y analizar las diferencias. Los métodos de esta investigación incluyeron observación participante, entrevistas con estudiantes y profesores de dos diferentes liceos de Santiago (una municipal y una particular pagada). Los principales hallazgos rechazaron la hipótesis planteada; se encontró que la conciencia del tema es más presente en la escuela municipal, de bajos recursos …

Protección De Los Niños Y Niñas Indígenas: El Caso Del Sename Y El Pueblo Mapuche En Chile / 90/5000 Protection Of Indigenous Children: The Case Of The Sename And The Mapuche People In Chile, Maxine Freedman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The rights of all children are guaranteed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the United Nations in 1989. This Convention guaranteed children the right not only to sufficient food, a place to live, and security, but also to a high quality education and political inclusion. Chile ratified the Convention in 1990, and it became the legal base for the work done by Chile’s child protection system, el Servicio Nacional del Menor (SENAME). The system administers sanctions for youth who have broken the law and intervenes when children have been victims of a violation of their …

Trends In Nectar Concentration And Hummingbird Visitation: Investigating Different Variables In Three Flowers Of The Ecuadorian Cloud Forest: Guzmania Jaramilloi, Gasteranthus Quitensis, And Besleria Solanoides, Sophie Wolbert

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Many variables affect hummingbird visitation to flowers, including nectar concentration, time of day, corolla length and other aspects of flower morphology, and elevation. Nectar concentration was measured from flowers of three Ecuadorian subtropical montane species: Guzmania jaramilloi, Gasteranthus quitensis, and Besleria solanoides. Concentration values were compared across varying times of day, corolla lengths, and elevations to determine the effects of these variables on flower nectar concentration. Camera traps were also used to observe hummingbird visitation to the above three flower species. After running regression and ANOVA analyses, nectar concentration was found to be positively correlated with time …

An Interpersonal Exploration Of Zen Buddhism: A Case Study Of Thiền Viện Trúc Lâm, Yuwen Michelson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Through ethnographic research, I plan to examine the institution of Zen Buddhist education. I study how the applied socio-cultural meanings of what it means to be a “Buddhist” affect individual and shared meanings of Zen Buddhism. I focus on how pedagogy and practice of Zen Buddhism influences personal interpretations of Buddhist thought and tradition.

Over the years, many Buddhist scholars have brought to light several methodological issues with the study of Buddhism via examination of the canon. These concerns range from issues of objectivity and intention to interpretation and creativity; while also including other complications regarding politics and power. Scholars …

Geospasial Indonesia: The Utilization Of Spatial Data Through Geographic Information Systems Across Indonesia In Various Environmental Contexts, Kaitlyn Bretz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Spatial planning and mapping in Indonesia have had a precarious history for the past several decades. Laws controlling the creation of maps for land use planning have fluctuated greatly between executive administrations and the country is still struggling to create a single, unified national map. With the One Map Policy the future of mapping is optimistic, but in the meantime spatial data analyses are lacking. Geographic information systems (GIS) is a computerized system for the capture, storage, querying, analysis, and display of spatial data, and is used predominately by the government, private companies, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) across Indonesia. Community …