The gender gap in leadership has been shrinking over time, with women occupying 32% of managerial positions in 1983, and 40.5% of managerial positions in 2022 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2004, 2023). Within the United States, the cultural and social expectations for what it means to be a good leader include having agentic personality traits (Badura et al., 2018), being an active participant in group discussion (Bass, 1990), and expressing primarily achievement and antagonistic emotions (Fischbach et al., 2015). But, does a working man or woman’s desire to have children impact the way others perceive their ability to assume a position of leadership? Approximately one hundred and fifty college students and civil engineers were equally split into five groups. Four of the five groups were instructed to rate a different imaginary coworker, distinguished based on their gender and desire to have kids in the future. The fifth group was instructed to rate their ideal manager. All five groups used a descriptive index with 67 terms in order to complete their respective ratings. The results supported the hypothesis that men who want to have children have character traits that are most similar to those traits used to describe an ideal manager. However, the results did not support the hypothesis that women who want to have children would be least similar to the ideal manager group, as men who do not want to have children were rated least similar.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the most common form that exists and has many variables that play into its development and diagnosis. This study looks at some of the factors that may have played an impact on people who are pre-diabetic or at risk of being pre-diabetic. Pre-diabetes can often serve as a warning sign for people and presents them with an opportunity for intervention before their condition worsens. However, it often goes unnoticed due to the lack of education regarding healthy living and making better quality-of-life decisions in Hispanic communities. The purpose of this study was to help identify patterns in how people from these communities manage their conditions and find techniques that can be replicated by others in order to improve health outcomes. This study followed a mixed methods approach in order to gain a full understanding of the quantitative (QUAN) and qualitative (QUAL) aspects that may have an impact on diabetes. Data was collected using a questionnaire to analyze different aspects and lifestyles of the participants and an interview with probing questions regarding life decisions, beliefs, and expectations. The overarching research question was “How did varying levels of health motivation and healthful eating habits affect glycosylated hemoglobin levels (HbA1c) in Hispanic/Latinx populations who are at risk of or are pre-diabetic?”. With this, we can obtain a better understanding of certain key aspects that play a role in the development of diabetes. A correlations matrix analysis was run to test how certain variables related and caused changes with one another. To analyze how these variables related specifically to HbA1c, our dependent variable, a multiple regression model analysis was used. It was found that the main contributors to elevated HbA1c levels were health motivation and age. A joint display analysis combined different levels of health motivation, QUAN data, and the responses to a focus question regarding efforts taken to improve one's condition, QUAL. This displayed a pattern of participants with higher health motivation showing efforts to reduce their diabetes risk and by contrast, low health motivation participants showing minimal to no efforts in changing behavior. This study found that elevated HbA1c levels also come with higher health motivation which normally wouldn’t make sense. However, the participants from this study knew about their HbA1c levels before this survey was conducted which means that these people already knew about the dangers of their condition and may have been taking steps to mitigate further risk. This demonstrates the importance of developing education systems to help inform people about risk factors and symptoms to alert them of their condition. It is common in Hispanic areas for people to cook high-fat foods, lard, or oil which often lead to an increased risk of diabetes. There is also a great difference in the amount of resources that Hispanic communities have for practicing healthy lifestyle habits and less effective self-monitoring that makes it difficult to recognize early signs of diabetes. Promoting interventions that help educate about the risks of diabetes could encourage great change in eating habits, activity levels, and overall health outcomes for people from Hispanic communities.

After analyzing and identifying gaps in the existing research related to asexuality, media representations, and relationship health education, this Facilitation Guide utilizes the One Love Foundation’s relationship health framework to dissect "The Hunger Games" through an asexual relationship health lens, proving that asexuality is everywhere and all relationships can benefit from an asexual lens. In conjunction with the Guide, three short videos help summarize and preview various aspects of this work.

This thesis examines human trafficking with a focus on vulnerable populations such as those with disabilities through extensive literature review. In order to understand the historical basis of human trafficking, concepts such as ableism and statistics on the extent of human trafficking within this population were investigated. Further review reveals unique perspectives such as the legal front of this issue as well as how vulnerability and the challenges of individuals with disabilities can be gleaned from using theories such as the Demand theory and Victimology theory. This thesis also discusses the process of trafficking in order to better identify warning signs of a victim and implement effective preventative measures as a society. In addition, factors that incentivize human trafficking in the black market were evaluated to implement better preventative policies and procedures, both within the United States and globally. Current preventative approaches are also discussed, with a few examples being investigative journalism, implementing and enforcing protective policies in business, and reintegration programs. Furthermore, effects on the victims were investigated to understand their trauma from a psychosocial perspective in addition to implementing solutions like art therapy as part of their reintegration. Lessons learned from this literature review include supporting advocacy measures with a focus on prevention, prosecution of traffickers and support for the victims to reach the vision of an inclusive society that is free of exploitation.

The COVID-19 Pandemic has had a significant impact on various aspects of society, including early child development (0 years old to 5 years old). Compared to historical events, the COVID-19 Pandemic’s effects are close to those of the Great Depression regarding business closures, levels of stress and anxiety, and the number of job losses that occurred, which will be written about in future textbooks. This literature review will discuss the theoretical history of social play and the appropriate play levels based on a child's age. Then, the thesis will explain the importance of social play during early childhood. Finally, the article will debrief the differences in play behavior noticed between pre-pandemic and post-pandemic teachers and caregivers and the potential long-term effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Thesis will end with a discussion of advisory websites directed to parents regarding the issue. While the full extent of the long-term effects is still being studied, evidence suggests that the pandemic has negatively affected child development in several ways, including social isolation and emotional health and well-being.