Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThis research addressed the problem of women in welfare accessing higher education at Salt Lake Community College and the University of Utah. Gendered and entrenched patriarchal systems dominate institutional practice throughout the Department of Workforce Services (DWS), the agency that distributes welfare in Utah. The model and paradigm utilized in policy is that single mothers must operate as a masculine breadwinner. This assumption underlies policy, which is written in a gender-neutral fashion. The purpose of this study was to understand women‘s experiences, struggles, and supports during their attempt to move from poverty by obtaining a college degree. Using qualitative methods and a phenomenological design, I employed a multicultural feminist lens to these women‘s experiences, as they navigated school and welfare and juggled family responsibilities and classroom obligations. Women in welfare face various jeopardies of race, class, and have been stereotyped and maligned. As such the challenges they face are often uniquely different than the typical student. Implications for policy, practice, and research regarding the experiences of these women at academic institutions are examined. I analyzed ways in which welfare and institutional policies and practice make the journey arduous and isolated. These women were invisible on campus and as such, were underserved. I explored ways that policy and institutional practice may ameliorate this problem. Finally, I reflected on questions and topics for future research

A Comparative Analysis of the Effects of Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Elementary School Grouping Practices on Selected Personality Variables

The relative advantages or disadvantages associated with the practice of grouping school children according to ability level has long been the subject of considerable discussion among educators. The general tendency has been for educators to divide into two camps: Those who expound the various merits of homogeneous grouping, and those who favor and support heterogeneous grouping practices, Less common, but acknowledged, are those educators who favor a combination of the two methods. Research dealing with the relative value of either method has usually been concerned with only one aspect of the problem--that of academic achievement. However, the.efforts of several investigators (Luchins and Luchins, 1948; Mathias, 1959; Tonsor, 1953) have suggested that different grouping practices may have differential effects upon the social adjustment and personality development of the pupil as well. As the total development of the child is of primary importance in the educational process, an investigation of the differential effects inherent in either of these methods of grouping would seem to be of value

Recent titles on the Global Climate Crisis and Ecology: a basic collection for mid-size and branch libraries

A bibliography for the general public and for print collection development by public and undergraduate academic libraries on the topics of Environment, Ecology, and Climate Change. Presented as a poster at the Florida Library Association 2010 convention

Pravni cinizem med družbeno-aktivno mladino

Purpose: This article examines young people’s attitudes towards and interactions with the police, as well as the court system and law, more generally – particularly those living in socially and economically disadvantaged communities where cynicism and scepticism about the efficacy and fairness of law enforcement officers tend to run high. Design/Methods/Approach: Using survey data from 133 teenagers voluntarily participating in programs at a courthouse in Brooklyn, NY (USA), this study seeks to better understand non-delinquent youths’ feelings of fairness of the law, confidence in the court system, and attitudes towards the police. Findings: T-tests and multiple regression analyses reveal that legal cynicism among these youth is high, stemming from feelings of discrimination and inequitable enforcement. Having had a recent negative interaction with a police officer is a significant predictor of having more negative attitudes toward the police, though having had a positive interaction was not a statistically significant predictor of more positive attitudes. Research Limitations / Implications: This study looks only at a physically disconnected urban area in the United States where crime is high, and the population is predominantly Black and Hispanic. In addition, a more qualitative narrative might help reveal the reasons why young people, especially those in poor, high-crime areas who are affected by saturated policing and those who have negative attitudes towards them, are still interested in working with formal mechanisms of social control. Practical Implications: The survey’s focus on process and fairness implies that what may be most important in improving public trust and confidence in the system is treating all who come through it with respect. Though negatively disposed towards criminal justice agencies, young people do not exist in a state of normlessness. Much potential exists to meaningfully partner with them for the purpose of achieving greater fairness criminal justice processes. Public policy would benefit by actively involving young people in community-based youth crime-reduction programs. Originality/Value: Ours is the first study to look exclusively at nondelinquent youth who have come voluntarily to an institution of formal social control – a court.Namen prispevka: Članek preučuje odnos mladih do policije in interakcije z njo ter odnos do sodnega sistema in prava na splošno. Preučuje predvsem tiste mlade, ki živijo v socialno in ekonomsko prikrajšanih skupnostih, kjer cinizem in skepticizem o učinkovitosti in pravičnosti policistov običajno dosegata visoko raven. Metode: Z uporabo podatkov iz raziskave, kjer je sodelovalo 133 najstnikov, ki prostovoljno sodelujejo pri programih sodišča v Brooklynu (NY, ZDA), poskuša študija bolje razumeti čustva nedelinkventnih mladostnikov o pravičnosti zakona, zaupanju v sodni sistem in odnosu do policije. Ugotovitve: T-testi in multiple regresijske analize kažejo, da je pravni cinizem med anketiranimi mladimi visok in izhaja iz občutkov diskriminacije in neenakega izvrševanja pooblastil. Nedavna negativna izkušnja s policistom je pomemben napovednik za bolj negativen odnos do policije, čeprav pa pozitivna izkušnja ne predstavlja statistično pomembnega napovednika za bolj pozitiven odnos. Omejitve/uporabnost raziskave Študija je bila opravljena zgolj v fizično izločenem urbanem območju v Združenih državah Amerike, kjer je stopnja kriminalitete visoka in kjer pretežno prebivajo Afro- in Latinoameričani. Poleg tega bi lahko bolj kvalitativno naravnana pripoved pomagala razkriti razloge, zakaj so mladi, zlasti tisti iz revnih območij z veliko kriminalitete, zasičenih s policijsko dejavnostjo, ter tisti, ki imajo negativen odnos do policije, še vedno zainteresirani za delo s formalnimi mehanizmi družbenega nadzorstva. Praktična uporabnost: Osredotočenost raziskave na proces in pravičnosti pomeni, da je prav spoštljiva obravnava vseh, ki se znajdejo v sistemu, najbolj pomemben dejavnik izboljšanja zaupanja javnosti v sistem. Čeprav so negativno razpoloženi do organov kazenskega pravosodja, mladi ne morejo obstati v stanju brez norm in pravil. Velik potencial predstavlja smiselno partnerstvo z njimi z namenom doseganja večje pravičnosti v postopkih kazenskega pravosodja. Javna politika bi imela koristi z aktivnim vključevanjem mladih v v-skupnost-usmerjene programe za zmanjševanje kriminalitete mladih. Izvirnost/pomembnost prispevka: Naša študija je prva, ki se je usmerila izključno na neprestopniške mlade, ki so prostovoljno prišli do institucije formalnega družbenega nadzorstva – sodišča

Racialized Rescue Narratives in Public Discourses on Youth Prostitution and Sex Trafficking in the United States

This article presents an analysis of how activists, politicians, and the media framed youth involvement in the sex trade during the 1970s, the 1990s, and the 2000s in the United States. Across these periods of public concern about the issue, similar framing has recurred that has drawn upon gendered and racialized notions of victimization and perpetration. This frame has successfully brought attention to this issue by exploiting public anxieties at historical moments when social change was threatening white male dominance. Using intersectional feminist theory, I argue that mainstream rhetoric opposing the youth sex trade worked largely within neoliberal logics, ignoring histories of dispossession and structural violence and reinforcing individualistic notions of personhood and normative ideas about subjectivity and agency. As part of the ongoing project of racial and gender formation in US society, this discourse has shored up neoliberal governance, particularly the build-up of the prison industrial complex, and it has obscured the state\u27s failure to address the myriad social problems that make youth vulnerable to the sex trade

Cholesterol and Lipoprotein Dynamics in a Hibernating Mammal

Hibernating mammals cease feeding during the winter and rely primarily on stored lipids to fuel alternating periods of torpor and arousal. How hibernators manage large fluxes of lipids and sterols over the annual hibernation cycle is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate lipid and cholesterol transport and storage in ground squirrels studied in spring, summer, and several hibernation states. Cholesterol levels in total plasma, HDL and LDL particles were elevated in hibernators compared with spring or summer squirrels. Hibernation increased plasma apolipoprotein A-I expression and HDL particle size. Expression of cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase was 13-fold lower in hibernators than in active season squirrels. Plasma triglycerides were reduced by fasting in spring but not summer squirrels. In hibernators plasma β-hydroxybutyrate was elevated during torpor whereas triglycerides were low relative to normothermic states. We conclude that the switch to a lipid-based metabolism during winter, coupled with reduced capacity to excrete cholesterol creates a closed system in which efficient use of lipoproteins is essential for survival

'Got the Hammer on Me': The Socio-cultural Roots of Gun Use in the U.S.

This study will interview over 700 young people from Baltimore, Detroit, New Orleans, New York City, and Wilmington to gain a better understanding of why youth in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods get involved with guns