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Families Of Young Children With Developmental Disabilities: A Model Of The Parenting Process, Rhett Maurice Billen
Families Of Young Children With Developmental Disabilities: A Model Of The Parenting Process, Rhett Maurice Billen
Masters Theses
Parents of children with developmental disabilities (DD) experience a wide variety of conditions and influences that may affect the parenting process. Researchers have long recognized that child characteristics in particular influence parental behaviors and have demonstrated the reciprocal nature of the parent-child relationship. The main purpose of this study was to identify some of the primary mechanisms by which young children with DD influence their parents’ behaviors. 10 couples (10 mothers, 10 fathers) raising young (birth to five years old) children with DD (e.g., hearing loss, autism, hypothyroidism) participated in the study. Following grounded theory methods, parents were interviewed using …
An Archaeological And Historical Investigation Of A 19th Century Leprosarium At Hassel Island, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Amanda Marie Barton
An Archaeological And Historical Investigation Of A 19th Century Leprosarium At Hassel Island, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Amanda Marie Barton
Masters Theses
Located on Hassel Island, a small island off the coast of Charlotte Amalie, in St. Thomas, USVI, a small leprosarium, or quarantine hospital for those affected with leprosy, was in operation from 1833 to 1861 as a way to isolate those with leprosy from the general population. Surface and sub-surface excavations took place over the spring and summer of 2008 in preparation for proposed National Park Service hiking trail that would be laid parallel to the site remains.
Firstly, this thesis provides a historical background on leprosy, as well as a background on how leprosy and disease has been studied …
Testing The Marshall-Lerner-Robinson Condition In Ghana Prior To 1983: Was A Devaluation Of The Cedi Justified In Improving The Trade Balance?, Judith Olivia Canipe
Testing The Marshall-Lerner-Robinson Condition In Ghana Prior To 1983: Was A Devaluation Of The Cedi Justified In Improving The Trade Balance?, Judith Olivia Canipe
Masters Theses
The aim of this paper is to empirically predict the quantitative impact of a devaluation of the Ghanaian Cedi on the trade account for 1960 to 1983. The imperfect substitutes model is employed to test the Marshall-Lerner-Robinson condition. In doing so, conclusions are drawn about the World Bank's implementation of loan conditionalities requiring a devaluation in order to address the trade deficit. Similarities between the economic structure of Ghana and other less developed countries allow for an extension of this study to other countries considering depreciation policies. The effect of a currency devaluation on the cocoa industry is also discussed. …
(Re)Conceptualizing Death: Examining Attitudes Toward Death At The Anthropological Research Facility, Kiley Nicole Compton
(Re)Conceptualizing Death: Examining Attitudes Toward Death At The Anthropological Research Facility, Kiley Nicole Compton
Masters Theses
The Anthropological Research Facility (ARF), commonly known as the “Body Farm,” provides a unique research setting in which researchers work intimately with human remains in various stages of decomposition. While the ARF, and forensic anthropology, is well documented in popular culture, little academic research has been conducted to investigate the sociocultural phenomena associated with working with human remains.
This thesis investigates the reactions and attitudes toward death of those involved in operational and administrative duties at the ARF focusing on how these attitudes influence and are influenced by involvement at the facility. This research also provides a point of departure …
The Politics Of Protection And Promotion: The Case Of The Coal Industry In Environmental Politics, Elizabeth Ashley East
The Politics Of Protection And Promotion: The Case Of The Coal Industry In Environmental Politics, Elizabeth Ashley East
Masters Theses
Business actors have historically been an important point of discussion for environmental sociologists. However, theoretical assumptions of business as an environmental actor provide divergent understandings of business’s role in environmental problems, politics, and improvements. Also, empirical studies of business actors primarily examine how individual firms or industry-funded organizations participate in specific environmental controversies or in the attempted implementation of specific environmental policies. Although these approaches have been instrumental in understanding the roles power, privilege, and resources play in environmental politics, they present an understanding of business engagement in environmental issues as reactionary rather than sustained. Such a characterization neglects the …
Contextualizing The Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site (40wg59): Understanding Landscape Change At An Upland South Farmstead., Daniel Whitaker Howard Brock
Contextualizing The Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site (40wg59): Understanding Landscape Change At An Upland South Farmstead., Daniel Whitaker Howard Brock
Masters Theses
This thesis focuses on a contextual archaeological approach to investigate the historic landscape of the Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site. Tipton-Haynes is a late eighteenth- through twentieth-century upland south farmstead located in Johnson City, TN. Home to two prominent Tennessee families and occupied until acquired by the state in the 1960s, the site has experienced many alterations to the landscape over time. The analysis presented views the landscape as material culture investigated through a multidisciplinary approach including historic research, architectural survey, geophysical survey, dendrochronology, and archaeology. To make sense of the complex nature of the Tipton-Haynes site, multiple methods were used …
Therapist Burnout And Interpersonal Problems, Shabad-Ratan Kaur Khalsa
Therapist Burnout And Interpersonal Problems, Shabad-Ratan Kaur Khalsa
Masters Theses
Therapist burnout has been linked to poorer therapy outcome, and may be related to leaving the profession. However, a number of questions remain about the nature of burnout among psychotherapists, and why it occurs. Interpersonal difficulties in the workplace have been examined as correlates of burnout, but thus far there is little attention to the role of non-professional interpersonal problems in general as they relate to burnout. The practice of psychology requires the therapist to engage with patients under duress. The therapist’s ability to remain poised under-fire is critical. This puts a premium on stamina, emotional balance, and a reasonably …
Understanding Biotechnology: Conceptualizing And Measuring Us Public Concern, Jenna Ann Lamphere
Understanding Biotechnology: Conceptualizing And Measuring Us Public Concern, Jenna Ann Lamphere
Masters Theses
Biotechnology has had a short but rather conflict-ridden history. The technology was commercialized in 1995 and since has become a volatile topic for international debate. Arguably, the United States is the biggest supporter of this technology. The United States conducted the first study using recombinant DNA, grows more biotech crops than any other country, and houses the vast majority of the largest biotech corporations. Proponents frequently claim that biotech crops are a way to improve crop production, lower food prices, decrease the need for petrochemical inputs, and alleviate international food security problems. Others see them as accelerating the loss of …
Online Social Network Friends And Spatio-Temporal Proximity Of Their Geotagged Photos – A Case Study Of Flickr Data, Sumang Liu
Masters Theses
This empirical study aims to analyze relationships between online social network (OSN) friends and spatio-temporal proximity of their geotagged photos, using Flickr data as a case study. First, this study analyzes whether Flickr friends tend to post geotagged photos that are closer to each other compared to Flickr non-friends in space and time. Second, this study investigates whether the number of geotagged photos posted by users is related to the distance and time difference between their geotagged photos. Third, this study examines the spatial distributions of geotagged photos of Flickr friends within specific distance intervals to further understand the geographic …
Consider The Source: Receiver-Assigned Attributions Of Credibility To Influential Bloggers, Aaron Michael Sachs
Consider The Source: Receiver-Assigned Attributions Of Credibility To Influential Bloggers, Aaron Michael Sachs
Masters Theses
The purpose of this study is to examine credibility as it pertains to blogging. While studies have traditionally considered credibility in the context of the material being created, this study examines source credibility in the context of the personality creating the material. Therefore, this study functions primarily as an exploratory study and seeks to present an understanding of source credibility from the perspective of the individuals participating in blogging communities cultivated by influential bloggers. An interview questionnaire was specially developed for this study. Ten participants were selected for this study. Eight of them are females, two of the participants are …
Implicitly And Explicitly Assessed Relationship Satisfaction, Matthew Jason Shaffer
Implicitly And Explicitly Assessed Relationship Satisfaction, Matthew Jason Shaffer
Masters Theses
This study investigates the relationship between implicitly assessed (i.e., unexpressed, sometimes unconscious, “gut-level”) attitudes and explicitly assessed attitudes in romantic couples. 135 newlywed couples were examined in a laboratory session. A series of Hierarchical Linear Models were run to assess whether implicitly assessed attitudes predict the use of demand-withdraw behaviors in conflict discussion tasks. Results indicate that, for demand behaviors, there is a 3-way interaction between implicitly assessed attitudes, participant sex, and partner behavior during the discussion task. Implicitly assessed attitudes did not predict withdraw behaviors. Theoretical implications for both implicitly assessed attitudes research and romantic relationships research are discussed.
Rejection Sensitivity In Adolescent Offspring Of Mothers With Borderline Personality Disorder, Jennifer Marie Strimpfel
Rejection Sensitivity In Adolescent Offspring Of Mothers With Borderline Personality Disorder, Jennifer Marie Strimpfel
Masters Theses
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a chronic and severe psychological disorder with symptoms including fear of abandonment, negative relationships, and inappropriate expressions of anger. Individuals with BPD score higher on rejection sensitivity than do normative comparisons. The present study assessed rejection sensitivity in a sample at high risk for developing BPD—adolescent offspring of women with BPD. We hypothesized that adolescents whose mothers have BPD would have higher levels of rejection sensitivity than would normative comparisons, adolescents’ rejection sensitivity would be positively correlated with their mother’s borderline features, and adolescents’ rejection sensitivity would be positively correlated with their own borderline features. …
Motivated Endorsement Of Interethnic Ideologies: An Optimal Distinctiveness Approach, Kevin Lee Zabel
Motivated Endorsement Of Interethnic Ideologies: An Optimal Distinctiveness Approach, Kevin Lee Zabel
Masters Theses
The current study examined the effects of need for inclusion and differentiation (Brewer, 1991) activations on endorsement of colorblind and multicultural ideologies, and the roles ideological endorsements played in visual social perception. A total of 238 university students were given false feedback on a personality inventory to activate needs for differentiation and inclusion, as well as completed interethnic ideology measures and a morphed faces judgment task in which they perceived whether paired others were exactly the same or different. Bootstrapping analyses (Preacher & Hayes, 2008) confirmed that, consistent with hypotheses, need for inclusion activation participants endorsed colorblind ideology to a …
Public Land In A Changing Climate: Planning For An Uncertain Future, Kathleen Marie Hauser
Public Land In A Changing Climate: Planning For An Uncertain Future, Kathleen Marie Hauser
Masters Theses
This thesis investigates the ways in which institutions and actors consider climate change, and how the inclusion of diverse perspectives and challenges in the planning process shapes climate change governance. In particular, I asked how the participants, place-specific contexts, and decision-making processes affect environmental decision-making in Alaska’s National Parks. I discuss the literature on geographical perspectives on climate change, environmental and climate change governance, how uncertainty and risk affect decision-making in the context of climate change, and the history of land use management in the United States. This project incorporates qualitative methods to research the Climate Change Scenario Planning project …
Late Pleistocene Climate, Vegetation, And Fire History From A Southern Appalachian Bog, Whiteoak Bottoms, Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina, U.S.A., Mathew Stephen Boehm
Late Pleistocene Climate, Vegetation, And Fire History From A Southern Appalachian Bog, Whiteoak Bottoms, Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina, U.S.A., Mathew Stephen Boehm
Masters Theses
I examined loss-on-ignition, pollen, and charcoal evidence of climate, vegetation, and fire history at Whiteoak Bottoms (35º04’44”N, 83º31’50”W; 1032 m elevation), a peat-forming wetland located along the Nantahala River in western North Carolina. Previous research by J. McDonald and D. Leigh revealed that this wetland formed in a paleochannel of the Nantahala River between 15,000 and 14,000 cal yr BP. I obtained additional AMS radiocarbon dates, carried out high-resolution loss-on-ignition analysis, and examined pollen and microscopic charcoal assemblages in a 157-cm sediment core from the previous study. Radiocarbon dates and stratigraphic analyses indicate that much of the Holocene is missing …
Evaluating The Contribution Of Infrastructure To U.S. Agri−Food Sector Output, Tingting Tong
Evaluating The Contribution Of Infrastructure To U.S. Agri−Food Sector Output, Tingting Tong
Masters Theses
The effect of infrastructure investment or capital on private sector output and productivity has been widely discussed over the past two decades. However, only limited studies have focused on the contribution of infrastructure to the output of U.S. agricultural and food sector. Considering the importance of agriculture in U.S. economy and its strong dependence on infrastructure, two empirical analyses were made in this thesis to evaluate the output impact associated with infrastructure in agricultural and food sector in the United States. The first study examines the spillover effect of two major transportation modes, roads and rails, on agricultural output across …
Essays On Spatial Analysis Of Policy Impacts, Daegoon Lee
Essays On Spatial Analysis Of Policy Impacts, Daegoon Lee
Masters Theses
This thesis is composed of two essays under the theme of spatial analysis of policy impacts. The objective of the first essay was to analyse how population dynamics affect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The effects of population redistribution resulting from the South Korean government’s decentralization efforts on GHG emissions were assessed. Simulation results suggest that the direction of change in total GHG emissions depends on the share of the population redistributed from higher to lower population density regions. If the entire redistributed population of 877,000 persons expected from the government’s decentralization project were from the Seoul Area, annual CO2 …
The Role Of Attention In The Other-Species Effect In Infancy, Dantong Zhang
The Role Of Attention In The Other-Species Effect In Infancy, Dantong Zhang
Masters Theses
Infants experience a gradual decline in the ability to discriminate other-species faces during the first year of life (Pascalis, de Haan, & Nelson, 2006). It is possible that this decline is due to infants distributing more attention to human faces than to other-species faces. The current study explored the effect of modifying the distribution of 9-month-old infants’ selective attention during the processing of monkey faces. After familiarization with monkey faces with successively highlighted internal features, infants showed significant preference to novel faces in paired-comparison tasks. In contrast, infants in a control group with no highlighting during familiarization did not show …
Short-Term Missions: Reinforcing Beliefs And Legitimating Poverty, William Vaughan Taylor
Short-Term Missions: Reinforcing Beliefs And Legitimating Poverty, William Vaughan Taylor
Masters Theses
Every year more than a million short-term missionaries travel abroad. Many encounter intense poverty. Popular discourse suggests short-term missionaries return home radically changed. Social movement theory shows collective experiences can transform participants. In this thesis I explore the narratives of short-term missionaries to understand how they understand the poverty they encounter abroad. I have found short-term mission participants think about encounters with the poor in ways that produce contradictory beliefs and legitimate poverty. Interviewees consistently employed deficiency and fatalistic theories of poverty that provide little moral or practical justification for helping the poor. However, these beliefs conflicted with religious convictions. …
The Interaction Of Neuroticism And Stress In Predicting Infidelity In A Newlywed Sample, Maria Moana Rowley
The Interaction Of Neuroticism And Stress In Predicting Infidelity In A Newlywed Sample, Maria Moana Rowley
Masters Theses
Crisis theories (e.g., Hill, 1942; Karney & Bradbury 1995) suggest that the reciprocal interaction between long-term vulnerabilities and stressors predict relationship outcomes. This model might partially explain an individual’s choice to engage in an extramarital affair. In particular, neuroticism may be an individual vulnerability that can lead to chronic stress, and when this chronic stress is combined with acute stressors, the individual’s resources may be overwhelmed. Thus, the addition of acute stressful events may lead to infidelity as an emotion regulation strategy. The data for this study were drawn from two larger studies assessing newlywed couples’ marital interactions. Participants in …
The Global Debt Minotaur: An Analysis Of The Greek Financial Crisis, Steven Alfonso Panageotou
The Global Debt Minotaur: An Analysis Of The Greek Financial Crisis, Steven Alfonso Panageotou
Masters Theses
Since November 2009, Greece has been mired in financial crisis with little indication that it will be solved in the near future. Research and media accounts have faulted Greece for sowing the seeds of its own financial crisis through fiscal mismanagement extending back to the 1980’s. Successive Greek governments have been criticized for racking up an unsustainable amount of foreign debt. Due to the prevalence of such accounts, European officials and Greek politicians have adopted a nationally oriented strategy to resolve the current crisis. This strategy means that the brunt of the reform effort falls on Greece to neoliberalize its …
Factors Influencing Precision Farming Technology Adoption Over Time In Southern U.S. Cotton Production, Pattarawan Watcharaanantapong
Factors Influencing Precision Farming Technology Adoption Over Time In Southern U.S. Cotton Production, Pattarawan Watcharaanantapong
Masters Theses
This study analyzed factors of farm and farmer characteristics that influenced the timing of PF technology adoption using Trivariate Tobit models for three PF technologies. Data from the Cotton Incorporated Southern Precision Farming (PF) Survey conducted in February and March of 2009 for the 2008 crop year were analyzed for PF adoption by Southern U.S. Cotton Producers. The number of years a cotton farmer had used yield monitoring (YMR), remote sensing (RMS) and grid soil sampling (GSS) were the dependent variables and farm and farmer characteristics were the independent variables.
Results of Trivariate Tobit model for YMR suggested that younger …
The Effects Of Merit Awards On District-Level High School Graduation: Evidence From Michigan, Brandon Lee Harrison
The Effects Of Merit Awards On District-Level High School Graduation: Evidence From Michigan, Brandon Lee Harrison
Masters Theses
This paper considers the effects of the Michigan Merit Award, a college scholarship program, on high school graduation rates. Students qualify via a standardized high school proficiency exam. Identification is achieved through difference-in-differences estimation using both a broad set of controls and a stricter set of controls. The effects on graduation rates differ depending on the model specification, as some significant results show a positive correlation between the introduction of the program and graduation rates, while others a negative effect. Where it appears the award increased graduation rates, pinpointing the exact impact of the award on graduation levels is difficult …
Response Of Inland Lakes To Climate Change Across The Tibetan Plateau Investigated Using Landsat And Icesat Data, Zewen Liu
Masters Theses
The Tibetan Plateau experienced tremendous climate change during the past four decades. Due to the large size, widely distribution of cryosphere, and diverse landforms, different parts of the plateau may experience different climate and cryosphere changing patterns. The changes of inland lakes within the plateau are important indicators of climate change as these lakes are fed by precipitation, permafrost degradation, and glacier melting that are all sensitive to climate change. To examine the spatial and temporal differences of lake variations across the Tibetan Plateau, Landsat images and ICESat/GLAS altimetry data were used to extract the changes in surface areas of …
Law Enforcement, Communication Training & Verbal Judo, Lorna F. Keathley
Law Enforcement, Communication Training & Verbal Judo, Lorna F. Keathley
Masters Theses
This study incorporated a mixed method approach using qualitative and quantitative methods to capture a deeper portrayal of Verbal Judo. Verbal Judo emphasizes the use of both verbal and non-verbal communication tactics by the officer (influencer) with specific discourse structures to influence the individual to comply with the officer’s requests in compliance-gaining. This study determined that specific Verbal Judo compliance-gaining tactics must be used to try to prevent conflict such as physical force. Successive repetition by officers (with matching non-verbal tone) of strategic Verbal Judo language when dealing with a difficult person appears to be a major key in diminishing …
Effectiveness Of Antismoking Campaign Strategies On Smoking Cessation Of Chinese Smokers: An Application Of Taylor’S Six-Segment Message Strategy Wheel, Xizi Cai
Masters Theses
China has the largest smoker population in the world. Since 2006, with China as a member country of WHO FCTC (World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control), the country has seen more and more antismoking campaigns on various kinds of media both national and local. However, the effectiveness of these antismoking campaigns is still not clear, especially within Chinese traditional smoking culture background.
Adopting an in-depth interview approach, this study explores how different antismoking campaign strategies in terms of Taylor’s Six-segment Massage Strategy Wheel could influence smoking cessation of Chinese adult smokers who have quitting experience. Research questions focus …
Justice, Truth, And Community Organizing In Boston, Ma, Melanie Ann Barron
Justice, Truth, And Community Organizing In Boston, Ma, Melanie Ann Barron
Masters Theses
In 2010, community organizers in Boston, MA began to lay the groundwork for a truth and reconciliation process about the long-term impacts of the violence and racism surrounding the desegregation/busing crisis in the 1970s. Organizers believe that the busing crisis still presents impediments to the ability of communities of color in Boston to live well and participate in public life. I contextualize their efforts first as a response to the failures of the liberal democratic reforms that marked the civil rights movement. Rather than truly reforming the structures that permit the existence of racialized inequalities, I argue that the liberal …
The Mother-Infant Dyad Study: A Grounded Theory Inquiry Into The Day-To-Day Experiences, Between First-Time Mothers And Their Infants, That Influence Feeding Practices, Jennifer Jean Helvey
The Mother-Infant Dyad Study: A Grounded Theory Inquiry Into The Day-To-Day Experiences, Between First-Time Mothers And Their Infants, That Influence Feeding Practices, Jennifer Jean Helvey
Masters Theses
Background: Inappropriate infant-feeding practices linked to excessive, rapid, early weight gain, are potentially powerful intervention points for reducing risk of later obesity. Understanding how and why these behaviors begin is currently the topic of much research. Because breastfeeding has been found to be somewhat protective against early rapid gain, and because low-income, Southeastern U.S. populations are significantly less likely to initiate and maintain breastfeeding, it is critical to focus efforts in these populations. Grounded theory methodology provides the optimal theoretical underpinnings for exploring development of these practices.
Research Objective: The objective was to explore, using grounded theory methodology, the set …
Perform + Function: A Proposal For A Healthy Public Housing Community, Brandon M. Harvey
Perform + Function: A Proposal For A Healthy Public Housing Community, Brandon M. Harvey
Masters Theses
PERFORM+FUNCTION: Proposal for A Healthy Public Housing Community
Architecture exists in Place, the integrated context of both the built and natural environments, including socio-economic, cultural, and political climates that influence our growth, development, and survival. As architecture necessitates around human purposes, it is important that architecture is built for and sited in an environment compatible for human well-being. My thesis focuses on human habitation and its immediate relationship with human health, assessing the performance and functionality of Place that have an impact on human health. Using public housing as the vehicle of my investigation, I will seek the appropriate application …
The Role Of Consequentiality In The External Validation Of Stated Preference Methods, Sharon Bowen Watson
The Role Of Consequentiality In The External Validation Of Stated Preference Methods, Sharon Bowen Watson
Masters Theses
This study examines consequentiality and information effects of stated preference methods by taking advantage of a unique opportunity to compare survey responses with a parallel, financially binding public referendum held in the Town of Middleborough, Massachusetts, concerning the adoption of a conservation and preservation policy to be funded by a property tax surcharge. Our survey setting departs from previous work in this area in that (1) many survey respondents were unaware of the upcoming referendum and (2) the survey “referendum” mirrors that of the public referendum. The survey and analysis are designed to elicit and control for respondent beliefs regarding …