Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / Previous studies on motivation of higher education students have predominantly focused on the role of motivation in academic achievement. The aim of this study was to identify what motivates students to attend university and to establish the connection of this motivational orientation to demographic correlates. A correlational research design was employed and data was analysed by means of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Correlational analysis (Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r)) was used to determine the strength of the association between demographic factors and student motivations for attending university.

Thesis advisor: Juliet Schor / This study aims to understand the prevalence and consequences of food insecurity among four-year undergraduate students at Boston College. It used an anonymous survey to collect data on students’ experiences making financial decisions about food and eating in the Fall of 2019. The final analytic sample consisted of 325 undergraduate students. The study found that roughly 13% of participants were characterized as experiencing food insecurity. Students who received high levels of financial aid and individuals who identified as first-generation college students were more likely to experience characteristics of food insecurity. Students experiencing food insecurity also reported a variety of social, emotional, behavioral, and academic consequences. This study finds that food insecurity is an issue at Boston College and suggests that faculty and administrators should urgently address students’ difficulties ensuring consistent access to food. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Sociology.

Low-income parents value excellent schools, yet often enroll their children in low-performing schools. The literature is inconclusive when examining how low-income families go through school choice decisions. It is important to understand the school decision-making process among different racial groups because choosing a good school improves later academic outcomes. Choosing a good elementary school is especially important because this is a critical period in a child's development and can affect performance in subsequent educational institutions. I am interested in understanding how race/ethnicity shapes how low-income parents make decisions about schools. Using interview data from an extensive qualitative study, I examine differences and similarities among white, Latino, and Polynesian parents' values of school quality and how they use those values to make school decisions for their children. By keeping social class constant, I delve into racial differences not previously discussed in the literature. I find racial distinctions among values and priorities in school decision-making. Ignoring these differences will create obstacles for policymakers and school administrators attempting to make a quality education available to children who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Attitudes towards immigration in Ireland are the focus of this study and, more specifically, what aspects of life the native-born population perceive to be impacted by immigration into Ireland in 2018. This thesis uses two primary socioeconomic attributes of the native-born respondents as explanatory variables, focusing on education and income levels of the native-born population. The aim of this study is to examine the association between attitudes towards immigration, across different attitudinal dimensions, and socioeconomic status of native-born individuals in the Republic of Ireland in 2018. This thesis uses data taken from round 9 of the European Social Survey and purports that individuals (i) without tertiary education and (ii) on low-incomes will be more likely to oppose immigration across all dimensions of attitudes to immigration, all else equal. In addition, it propagates the idea that individuals will be more likely to oppose immigration due to the perceived effect of immigration on the economy, all else being equal.  This research draws on Group threat theory and Contact theory as the foundation for the hypotheses and research questions and enables investigation into the primary socioeconomic determinants influencing attitudes towards immigration in Ireland. Furthermore, whether an association exists between socioeconomic status and attitudes across all attitudinal dimensions is explored.  The results indicate that, all else equal, those who studied to at least a tertiary level are more likely to display positive attitudes towards immigration than those without a tertiary education, regardless of attitudinal dimension. Similarly, those on the highest incomes are more likely to exhibit positive attitudes to immigration across all dimensions compared to their low-income counterparts, all else being equal. Interestingly however, this thesis did not find statistically significant evidence that individuals will be more likely to oppose immigration due to the perceived impact of immigration on the economy, as was originally hypothesised.

Heatwave studies typically estimate heat-related mortality and morbidity risks at the city level; few have addressed the heterogeneous risks by socioeconomic status (SES) and location within a city. This study aimed to examine the impacts of heatwaves on mortality outcomes in Memphis, Tennessee, a Mid-South metropolitan area top-ranked in morbidity and poverty rates, and to investigate the effects of SES and urbanicity. Mortality data were retrieved from the death records in 2008–2017, and temperature data from the Applied Climate Information System. Heatwave days were defined based on four temperature metrics. Heatwave effects on daily total-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality were evaluated using Poisson regression, accounting for temporal trends, sociodemographic factors, urbanicity, and air pollution. We found higher cardiovascular mortality risk (cumulative RR (relative risk) = 1.25, 95% CI (confidence interval): 1.01–1.55) in heatwave days defined as those with maximum daily temperature >95th percentile for more than two consecutive days. The effects of heatwaves on mortality did not differ by SES, race, or urbanicity. The findings of this study provided evidence to support future heatwave planning and studies of heatwave and health impacts at a coarser geographic resolution.

The study's overall objective is to demonstrate the correlation between refugee status and poor oral health outcomes by thoroughly explaining the refugee experience and showing the prevalence of associated oral diseases. All data and information regarding the oral health status of refugees and asylum-seekers are from numerous studies and different institutions. Refugees often experience traumatizing events such as assault, torture, starvation, and extreme dehydration, resulting in the rapid deterioration of health. However, despite the high prevalence of oral diseases such as caries, gum infections, and, oral health continues to be neglected once they arrive at their new destination. In countries like Germany, refugees from Syria and Iraq have a higher incidence of dental caries(Solyman and Schmidt-Westhausen, 2018). In comparison to their German citizen counterparts, who have shown significantly lower caries rates, a possible result from the advancement of a successful caries prevention program for children and adolescents (Splieth et al., 2019). By comparing the oral health status of refugees versus the native population of the country they have entered, the neglect of refugees' oral health becomes evident. This study aims to assess the barriers often experienced by refugee and asylum seekers that lead to poor oral health and examine the role of language, refugee perspective and health literacy education in the promoting dental care in this population. It is clear that a strong association exists between the social and physical barriers refugee experience and oral health. This is especially clear from evaluating the phases of a refugee's migration journey. There is an association between social barriers such as language and health literacy on oral health. It is well documented that when individuals are forced to relocate to new countries where a different language is spoken, healthcare systems can be challenging to navigate. Additionally, language plays a crucial role in shaping refugee perspectives of the oral health community, sometimes negatively; thus, arrival in their new home does not necessarily lead to improved care. Data comparing oral disease in natives versus refugees indicates significantly worse oral health status among recent refugees.

Though the benefits of physical activity are numerous and well-known, very few adolescents are meeting physical activity recommendations. Moreover, past research shows that physical activity declines with increasing age with this decline beginning in adolescence. One approach to promote physical activity is through mobile technology such as a mobile phone. Since mobile phone ownership is relatively high (77%) and there is no digital divide by race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status, mobile phones may be suitable for physical activity promotion. Few studies have promoted PA using a mobile phone and those studies showed increased physical activity outcomes. However, more research is needed to explore the effectiveness of mobile phone physical activity promotion especially in more health disparate populations.  The purpose of this research was to develop and test smartphone game application for physical activity promotion in adolescents. The first study included various user-centered approaches (e.g. qualitative data, idea sessions) to get feedback on what was desired from the adolescents in terms of game development and design. The second study examined the degree to which mobile health studies reported on internal and external validity indicators. The last study evaluated the smartphone game applications through a mixed-methods approach. The results of this research showed that physical activity while playing smartphone game applications can yield moderate physical activity intensity. Moreover, adolescents had moderate perceptions of the games and recommended specific changes to the games. Likewise, the data suggest that smartphone physical activity game applications can be enjoyable if they are aesthetically appealing, easy to use, and foster social peer interactions. Overall, this research demonstrated that smartphone games that were developed and designed based on adolescents\' preferences and persuasive technology design principles could increase physical activity in adolescents and provides a tool for further exploration. / Ph. D.

Magister Commercii - MCom / In the past two decades of liberal transformation the post-apartheid Republic of South Africa has been well described as an upper middle-income economy. Despite the country’s strong political and economic affiliations with other developed countries, the nation remains till present faced with socioeconomic impediments deeply rooted within the presence of ceaseless impoverishment, unemployment and inequality. Likewise, there are various factors that explain the nature of deprivation. The application of both the money-metric and non-moneymetric approaches in the conceptualization and measurement of poverty provides an in-depth understanding of efforts (or lack thereof) to establish an equal standard of living for all.

The influence of students' socioeconomic statuses (SES) on their employment expectations is a largely understudied topic in the context of South Africa. There has additionally been little focus on the extent to which students' SESs affect their willingness to settle for lower earnings and their anticipation of socioeconomic discrimination in the workplace. With South Africa's unique SES makeup, as spurred on by the remnants of apartheid, it is important to investigate the effect that students' SESs may have upon their 1) earnings expectations 2) employment expectations 3) anticipated socioeconomic status discrimination and 4) willingness to settle for lower earnings. Bandura's (1977) Social Cognitive Learning Theory (SCLT) was used to investigate how students' employment expectations differ based on their environments and core self-evaluations. This theory was therefore used to ground and inform this research. In a quantitative, cross-sectional study with a South Africa student sample (N = 346), this study obtained the following results: 1) SES does not significantly predict students' earning expectations and employment expectations over and above the control variables 2) SES significantly predicts students' anticipated socioeconomic status discrimination and willingness to settle for lower earnings 3) core self-evaluation significantly moderates the relationships between socioeconomic status and students' earning expectations as well as between socioeconomic status and willingness to settle for lower earnings 4) core self-evaluation does not significantly moderate the relationships between socioeconomic status and students' employment expectations as well as between socioeconomic status and anticipated socioeconomic status discrimination. This study has important implications for organizational policy concerning the advocation and implementation of work free from discrimination in South Africa. Through this research, organizations may be provided with insight into how individuals' work expectations may differ based on their SESs, potentially leading to the creation of more inclusive policies and practices. Limitations and future recommendations are outlined.

The purpose of this project is to investigate the correlation between wealth and religion, particularly focusing on how financial prosperity influences African American religiosity.  Wealth (specifically in the form of income) is the independent variable (addressing the larger concept of socioeconomic status, which is often abbreviated as SES) and religiosity (as measured by religious service attendance) is the dependent variable.  The aim of this work is to determine whether economic progress is in any way related to the spirituality or religiosity of African Americans. This project attempts to reexamine E. Franklin Frazier\'s thesis in Black Bourgeoisie.  More explicitly, it is focused on how class (and to some degree, status) as an independent variable influences religiosity among African Americans.  It takes a similar view of class distinctions, particularly analyzing the psyches and behaviors of the Black middle class as addressed in Black Bourgeoisie.  Frazier argued that Blacks who reached middle class status soon lose touch with the history of their race, ultimately turn their backs on longstanding cultural values, and opt for inclusion in White, middle class American culture.  These longstanding, neglected values include Black religious traditions and loyalty to the institution of the Black Church.  Thus, reaching middle class status for African Americans may mean that they have bought into the American ideal of capitalism, while simultaneously rejecting African American (or any) religious traditions. I conducted an analysis using data collected from the General Social Survey (GSS).  The sample is drawn from adult respondents who have participated in these surveys since 1972.  The data set includes the years 1972, 1980, 1988, 1996, 2004, and 2010.  The primary focus of this project is to determine whether there is statistically significance between income and religious service attendance among African Americans. / Ph. D.