Digital Commons Network^™

Under The Blue Berets: Race And Ethnicity As Factors For Peacekeeping Success, Sam Ketchem

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Do race and ethnicity impact peacekeeping success? Scholars provide many arguments for why peacekeeping missions succeed or fail, but there has been little systematic study of how identity similarities or differences between peacekeepers and populations affect mission outcomes. I propose that racial and ethnic similarities or differences between the two groups are causal mechanisms that help determine whether a mission is on the road to operational success or failure. I use a mixed-method design to test these claims. First, I use a linear regression analysis to measure the impact of racial similarity between peacekeepers and populations on violence against civilians …

Fdi And Environmental Externalities In Southeast Asia, Kevin Bloodworth

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this paper I explore the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and deforestation in Cambodia. Through an event study framework, I show that economic land concessions have a negative relationship with tree cover, over time, having stronger and stronger negative effects. This relationship is more pronounced in foreign economic land concessions when compared to domestic economic land concessions. Through the use of a difference in differences research design I examine the relationship between foreign and domestic concessions through the implementation of a ELC concession ban. The ban only led to worsening levels of deforestation within the borders of foreign …

France's Compliance Of The International Convention On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Racial Discrimination: French Universalism Versus Group Rights, Alex Earls

Undergraduate Honors Theses

There exists a constant battle between universalism and anti-racism in France, where universalism is positioned as the predominant force of western values and anti-racism as a dog-whistle for ‘wokeness’. This thesis will position that France is predisposed to incomplete compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) in part due to its rooted concept of French universalism and the nationalistic undertones therein that do not tolerate intermediate identifications between the individual and the Republic. The purpose of this argument is to generate an interpretive tool to observe and analyze France’s relatively weak civil …

Policies To Improve Quality In Virginia’S Nursing Homes: The Role Of Local Labor Markets, Lillian Pope

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Nursing home quality of care has long been a policy concern. With invested interest from Medicaid as the primary payer for long-term care services, policy is continually being introduced at the state and local level to improve this quality of care. In Virginia, a Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) policy has been implemented to incentivize nursing facilities to perform well on six quality of care metrics. Previous research suggests VBP implementation and performance varies from facility to facility. How do local labor market conditions affect nursing home quality of care? In an attempt to fill the gap in the literature examining the …

Identifying Social Media Users That Are Susceptible To Phishing Attacks, Zoe Metzger

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Phishing scams are a billion-dollar problem. According to Threatpost, in 2020, business email compromise phishing attacks cost the US economy $ 1.8 billion. Social media phishing scams are also on the rise with 74% of companies experiencing social media attacks in 2021 according to Proofpoint. Educating users about phishing scams is an effective strategy for reducing phishing attacks. Despite efforts to combat phishing, the number of attacks continues to rise, likely indicative of a reticence of users to change online behaviors. Existing research into predicting vulnerable social media users that are susceptible to phishing mostly focuses on content analysis of …

Cognitive Decline And Contact Sports: The Relationship Between P3 Amplitude And Sub-Concussive Head Impact, Elizabeth Kerman

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The present study sought to explore the effect of repetitive sub-concussive head impacts on the P3 event-related potential (ERP) amplitude and measures of movement kinematics. University students participating in collision, contact, and non-contact sports at the club and varsity level completed a cued visuomotor adaptation task. Results indicated that participants who estimated experiencing four or more sub-concussive head impacts per week display a significantly reduced P3 amplitude across both normal and adaptive trials. Additionally, participants who estimated experiencing less than four sub-concussive head impacts per week displayed no significant changes in P300 amplitude between “switch” and “stay” trials. This research …

Rethinking ‘Feminicide’: The Role Of Organized Crime Groups In Increased Rates Of Feminicide In Mexico, Giselle Figueroa

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Why has feminicide significantly increased in Mexico over the past two decades? Previous feminicide research in Mexico has centered around the idea that the introduction of neoliberal politics changed family structures and increased the vulnerability of women as they entered the workforce. However, this explanation does not fully explain patterns of political violence against women in Mexico. I argue that Mexico’s War on Drugs and the intrinsic patriarchal ideologies and structures of organized crime groups (OCGs) reinforce gender hierarchies and increase the vulnerability of women. To evaluate my argument, I analyze state-level public government data on organized crime and feminicide …

Bad Asians: How Heritage Language Ability And Perception Affects Korean And Chinese College Students’ Identity, Grace Liscomb

Undergraduate Honors Theses

I explore east Asian-Americans’ negotiation of identity through the attitudes they take towards their respective abilities to speak their heritage languages (HL). In this project, heritage language refers to a minority language that children learn at home, typically from parents and family members. Ideologically, I call upon He’s (2006) notion that identity is negotiated through speech. I utilize Corbin and Strauss’ (1990) grounded theory as a method of open analysis. The data I analyze is from 8 sociolinguistic interviews with 3 Korean-Americans and 5 Chinese-Americans. The first round of open coding has revealed a larger theme: in support of the …

Terror Management Theory In International Relations: Vladimir Putin And Slobodan Milosevic, Poojitha Tanjore

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis outlines Terror Management Theory as a psychological motive measure that can be used to study leaders in international relations. This descriptive piece analyzes Putin and Milosevic as leaders who are possible case studies for further research regarding Terror Management Theory. The case studies focus on early childhood, political career, and present decisions through the frame of worldview preservation and self-esteem-bolstering actions. The conclusions of this piece suggest that individual backgrounds matter and can potentially illuminate the decisions made by leaders in the long run.

Sleep And Early Childhood Stressors In College Students: Examining Alcohol Use As A Moderator, Sylvain N. Chassagneux

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Early childhood stressors (ECS) consist of certain emotional, physical, or sexual experiences that may have long term consequences including sleep problems. Previous research has also found that alcohol use can negatively affect sleep; however, few studies have investigated alcohol use as a moderator of the relationship between sleep and other variables. In the current study, we examined whether the relationship between a general measure of ECS and sleep in college students may be moderated by alcohol use, a common psychoactive substance among this age group. Additionally, we examined this model with emotional abuse and neglect as a measure of ECS. …

Examining Measures Of Eeg As Biomarkers For Autism Spectrum Disorder, Shuhan Liang

Undergraduate Honors Theses

A central aim of this study was to determine whether there are consistent differences in a variety of ERPs and/or resting state measures of EEG between children diagnosed with ASD and psychiatric controls. Additionally, we aimed to determine whether any of those differences would generalize to the neural correlates of continuous measures of autistic tendencies in the general population. We classified EEG data into three categories: basic sensory responses, cognitive/perceptual ERPs, and resting state measures. Our study indicated that basic sensory responses and cognitive/perceptual event-related potentials (ERPs) did not differentiate autistic individuals from controls. For resting-state measures, the high gamma …

Associations Among Self-Regulation, Life Stress, And Suicidal Ideation In Adolescents: A Developmental Psychopathology Approach, Yifan Yuan

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background: Suicide is a major public health concern among adolescents. Although research has made progress in identifying risk factors for youth suicidality, there has been less focus on early developmental antecedents of youth suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Taking a developmental psychopathology perspective, we examined longitudinal associations among multiple aspects of self-regulation (i.e., emotion regulation, emotion reactivity, parasympathetic regulation, inhibitory control), life stress, and suicidal ideation. We hypothesized that deficits in self-regulation during middle childhood and early adolescence and greater life stress during early and middle childhood would predict higher lifetime suicidal ideation reported in adolescence.

Method: Participants were adolescents ( …

Aggression In And Out Of The Surrounding Space, Marissa Incer

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Social isolation is a type of punishment used to address misbehavior in individuals, such as children with time-outs and prisoners in solitary confinement. It was thought to be an effective method for teaching good behavior or alleviating tense situations. However, this type of punishment may worsen the punished individual’s aggression depending on the environment of isolation. The current study was divided into two experiments. In the first experiment, participants were isolated in a small (2x2 feet) or large (6x6 feet) space to observe if the space alone affected their aggression. In the second experiment, a frustration-inducing task was given to …

The Superpower Of Sleep: Poor Sleep Quality Predicts Worse Executive Control Under Conditions Of Stress, Lilly M. Mcclendon

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background: Over 60% of college students do not obtain the minimum recommended amount of sleep daily and over 54% experience above average levels of stress. Exposure to stress and poor sleep are each related to executive control, which is a set of cognitive abilities that are essential for daily functioning. Despite the prevalence of poor sleep and high stress, studies have rarely examined the joint impact of sleep and stress on executive control in students.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine whether the impairing effect of stress on executive control is stronger in individuals who obtain poor …

Investigating The Relationship Between N2pc And Rapid Saccadic Eye Movements, Kezhen Qi

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this study, we investigated the impact of temporal variability on the N2pc component during overt and covert visual search tasks, with a focus on potential differences in the efficiency of search strategies. Employing an eye tracker and a modified algorithm for saccade detection, our analysis considered the potential influence of eye tracker performance and data cleaning methods on the interpretation of results. Additionally, we adopted ERPimage analysis to enhance the rigor of our statistical examination. Our findings confirmed the temporal relationship between the N2pc and first saccade onset, with the N2pc occurring after the saccade. Furthermore, we identified a …

Characterizing Changes In Participation And Diversification In Virginia's Small-Scale Commercial Fishing Industry, Shelby Brooke White

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Small-scale fisheries represent a diverse and dynamic portion of the global commercial fishing population and serve as a source of food security, income, and livelihood for many individuals and contribute to the development of local community and regional identities. Virginia’s small-scale commercial fisheries offer similar benefits, accounting for a significant portion of the state’s total annual landings and employing thousands of individuals. Despite the value of these fisheries, the number of commercial licenses has declined over the past few decades. Declines are attributed to various factors but indicate potential shifts in participation and resource dependence that may be consequential. Similar …

The Role Of Stereotype And Moral Values In Predicting Victim Blaming, Jihye Choi

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Exposing participants to a victim with different racial identities (Asian American vs. African American vs. White American) under two different types of misfortunes (poverty vs. disease), the present study aimed to find whether the victim-blaming patterns differ depending on the victim’s race and whether the difference in victim-blaming tendency could be explained by the interaction between pre-existing stereotypes and situational relevance.

The Association Between Sociodemographic Risk, Parental Substance Use, And Child Emotion Regulation Capabilities, Lydia Fay Bierce

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Emotion regulation, defined as the ability to modulate one’s emotional experiences in order to navigate social interactions successfully and attain goals, has been associated with social competence, adjustment, and resilience during early childhood and beyond. Family-level risk factors have been linked to differences in emerging emotion regulation skills, measured at both the behavioral and physiological level. The current study investigated two familial risk factors, sociodemographic risk and parental substance use, as predictors of toddlers’ emotion regulation. Participants were 117 parent-toddler dyads recruited across a range of sociodemographic risk. Dyads completed a structured series of parent-child interaction tasks, including a resting …

The Experiences Of Colorism For South Asian Women: A Qualitative Study, Aishwarya Nambiar

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Research has limitedly explored how colorism shapes the mental health and well-being of South Asian women across the diaspora. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenology study was to understand how South Asian women experience colorism and how these experiences shape their mental health and well-being. A total of 14 participants were interviewed. Semi-structured interviews and an artifact symbolizing experiences of colorism served as the methods of data collection. Critical Race Theory and Womanism were employed as the theoretical framework and the lens in which data was analyzed. A total of six main themes emerged in the study. The themes and …

Examining Racial Differences In Psychophysiological Responses To Exposure To Police Brutality, Autumn Scarborough

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

​​​​​Despite the prevalence of police brutality videos online, research examining the effects of exposure to such videos is extremely limited. The current work examined racial differences (among both participant and victim) in psychophysiological responses to videos of police brutality. Over the course of three sessions, participants (total N = 56) responded to questionnaires measuring attitudes toward police legitimacy, trait empathy, and justification of police use of force. EEG activity was recorded while participants watched four short videos depicting real-life incidents of excessive police use of force (two with Black victims and two with White victims). We examined mu suppression, commonly …

Self-Stigma And Problematic Alcohol Use: Risk Factor, Protective Factor, Or Both?, Victoria Olegovna Chentsova

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

While research has examined the effect of stigma from others towards individuals with alcohol use disorders (AUD), few studies have examined the relationship between perceived self-stigma related to AUD and corresponding engagement with alcohol among non-clinical samples. Present Study. The present studies examined the relationships between perceptions of self-stigma of AUD, proximity to others with AUD, and alcohol use behaviors and outcomes. Methods. In Study 1, participants (n = 3,169; 73.9% female) were college students within the U.S. recruited to participate in an online survey on substance use including questions on AUD self-stigma, alcohol use behaviors and negatives alcohol use …

Development Of 3d And 360 Gis-Based Models To Visualize Projected Sea Level Rise In Coastal Virginia, Candice M. Vinson

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Science communication is a skill that can be strengthened with practice. Like any skill, it helps to know what you need to practice in order to get better at it. When presenting information to an audience, the skill of science communication comes into play as early as the first draft of a presentation. As you think about how you will tell your story to the audience, you likely consider including text on slides, images, graphs, maps, or even videos. However, it is crucial to remember that accessibility barriers are something we must often consciously work to rid our presentations of, …

A Study Of Transparent Assessment Design And Low-Income Student Success In Washington State, Taylor Victoria Locks

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Transparent design has been promoted as a teaching pedagogy to promote student success, especially among marginalized student populations. This study seeks to understand the impact of participation in a transparently designed course on low-income students self-reported levels of academic self-efficacy and employer-valued skills in Washington state. This research furthers the understanding of low-income student success on campus while also providing a rigorous independent review of the Transparency in Learning and Teaching initiative’s (TILT) findings. The study uses data previously collected by the Washington State TILT Higher Ed research team in the Spring 2019 semester (n = 395) through a pre- …

Professional Learning Communities As A Framework For School Counselor Collaboration And Data Use: An Action Research Study, Adam Rixey Southall

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) calls on school counselors to take part in collaborative work experiences using data to address problems of practice. School counselors experience professional isolation leading to underperformance (Elliot et al., 2004; Stone-Johnson, 2015). School structures that lack collaborative experiences for school counselors leads to isolation (Bardhoshi et al., 2014). The purpose of this action research study was to assess the influence of a professional learning community (PLC) on the perceptions of school counselors to perform the elements of a PLC, their use of data to solve problems of practice, and their perceptions of benefits and …

Achieving Equitable Offshore Wind Development: Lessons From European Stakeholders, Kacey Hirshfeld

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The Biden Administration has set aggressive offshore wind energy goals, aiming to have 30 gigawatts of offshore energy in place by 2030. This amount of energy has the potential to power 10 million homes (White House, 2022), helping the administration to reach larger clean energy goals. In Virginia, Dominion Energy aims to have 2.6 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2026, enough to power up to 660,000 homes (Dominion Energy).

While the upcoming offshore wind energy development will create clean energy and green jobs, the ocean is no longer an open field for development and already supports a complex matrix …

The Faces Of Substance Use: A Reverse Correlation Analysis Of Perceptions Of Alcohol And Cannabis Use, Madison Hallie Colby

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Alcohol and cannabis are some of the most ubiquitous substances on college campuses. While the reason for use varies between each individual, from social lubricant to sleeping aid, nearly half of higher-education students endorse alcohol and/or cannabis use in the last month. Despite this popularity, there is still a deeply ingrained level of stigma around substance use and substance use disorders and people who use substances or struggle with substance use disorders are subject to a litany of damaging perceptions, such as being deemed violent, unpredictable, weak, and untrustworthy.. Most research on the stereotypic thinking surrounding substance use focuses on …

A Qualitative Investigation Into The Ethnic And Racial Identity Development Of Counseling Students, Philippa Chin

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

This transcendental phenomenological study sought to understand the experiences of graduate counselor students during the development of their ethnic and racial identity (ERI). The research questions for the study were: How do counseling students experience ethnic and racial identity development during their graduate program and what is the meaning made by graduate students in their experiences with ERI development in their graduate program? Participants were recruited from a CACREP accredited graduate counseling program and the purposive sampling technique was used to identify those who have experience with the phenomena. In-depth, open ended questions were utilized to gather comprehensive descriptions of …