Digital Commons Network^™

Asymmetry Of Gains And Losses: Behavioral And Electrophysiological Measures, Diego Gonzalo Flores

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to explore the effects of small monetary or economic gains and/or losses on choice behavior through the use of a computerized game and to determine gain/loss ratio differences using both behavioral and electrophysiological measures. Participants (N=53) played the game in several 36 minute sessions. These sessions operated with concurrent variable-interval schedules for both rewards and penalties. Previously, asymmetrical effects of gains and losses have been identified through cognitive studies, primarily due to the work of nobel laureates Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky (1979). They found that the effect of a loss is twice (i.e., …

Developing Sampling Strategies And Predicting Freeway Travel Time Using Bluetooth Data, Hasan Md Moonam

Theses and Dissertations

Accurate, reliable, and timely travel time is critical to monitor transportation system performance and assist motorists with trip-making decisions. Travel time is estimated using the data from various sources like cellular technology, automatic vehicle identification (AVI) systems. Irrespective of sources, data have characteristics in terms of accuracy and reliability shaped by the sampling rate along with other factors. As a probe based AVI technology, Bluetooth data is not immune to the sampling issue that directly affects the accuracy and reliability of the information it provides. The sampling rate can be affected by the stochastic nature of traffic state varying by …

Farm Aid: A Case Study Of A Charity Rock Organization, Andrew Palen

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the impact that the non-profit organization Farm Aid has had on the farming industry, policy, and the concert realm known as charity rock. This study also examines how the organization has maintained its longevity. By conducting an evaluation on Farm Aid and its history, the organization’s messaging and means to communicate, a detailed analysis of the past media coverage on Farm Aid from 1985-2010, and a phone interview with Executive Director Carolyn Mugar, I have determined that Farm Aid’s impact is complex and not clear. Farm Aid, while very active in the political sphere, including lobbying for …

Solid State Protective Device Topological Trade-Offs For Mvdc Systems, Vikas Singh

Theses and Dissertations

Presently accepted approaches to protection are “Unit-Based” which means the power converter(s) feeding the bus coordinate with no-load electromechanical switches to isolate faulted portions of the bus. However, “Breaker-Based” approaches, which rely upon solid state circuit breakers for fault mitigation can result in higher reliability of power and potentially higher survivability. The inherent speed of operation of solid state protective devices will also play a role in fault isolation, hence reducing stress level on all system components. A comparison study is performed of protective device topologies that are suitable for shipboard distribution systems rated between 4kVdc and 20kVdc from the …

Gay Liberation Is One Thing, But Nobody Likes A Dyke: Emerging Frames In Queer Radio, Ryan Charles Sugden

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how a social movement uses the media to progress in society. I conduct a framing analysis on the queer community’s use of radio during two time periods: 1970s queer radio program Gay Perspective and a 2015-2016 program, Queery. I examine the show through three emerging frames: Cultured, Diversity, and Assimilation. The thesis studies how segments of the LGBTQIA+ community framed the discussion of gay rights in the 1970s and how those frames have (and haven’t) changed in 2016. Gay Perspective focused much of its energy on trying to demonstrate the need for rights and attempts to demonstrate …

Rail: African & African American Labor And The Ties That Bind In The Atlantic World, Benjamin David Wendorf

Theses and Dissertations

As was intended, the construction of railways transformed the landscape and societies of the Atlantic World. Great fortunes and forces emerged in the directions of the tracks, sufficient to create structures of economy and organize communities in ways that persisted long after a railway’s use had diminished. In this dissertation, the author argues that the connections and reorganization effected by railway construction created new economic paths in the American South, Panama, and Gold Coast West Africa; the transformations were marked by struggles for power along racial lines, enslavement and coercion in labor, and the interchange between communities and their existing …

Apoaequorin Differentially Modulates Fear Conditioning In Adult And Aged Rats, Vanessa Ehlers

Theses and Dissertations

Normal aging is associated with a number of changes in behavioral and cellular function, and is often linked to increased susceptibility to cognitive impairment. The hippocampus has been widely implicated in learning and memory, and many forms of learning that are hippocampus-dependent (e.g. trace fear conditioning) are impaired in aged animals. A proposed contributor to aging-related cognitive impairment is aging-related calcium (Ca2+) dysregulation. This dysregulation is thought to result from changes in specific Ca2+-regulatory mechanisms, including abnormal Ca2+ ion channel activity or expression, as well as reduced Ca2+-binding protein (CaBP) expression, which is associated with cognitive and synaptic impairment. Previous …

Late Paleo-Indian Period Lithic Economies, Mobility, And Group Organization In Wisconsin, Ethan Adam Epstein

Theses and Dissertations

The following dissertation focuses upon the organization of Pleistocene / Holocene period lithic technology in Wisconsin circa 10,000 – 10,500 years before present. Lithic debitage and flaked stone tools from the Plainview/Agate Basin components of the Heyrman I site (47DR381), the Dalles site (47IA374), and the Kelly North Tract site at Carcajou Point (47JE02) comprise the data set. These Wisconsin sites are located within a post glacial Great Lakes dune environment, an inland drainage/riverine environment, and an inland wetland/lacustrine environment. An assemblage approach is used to examine the structure of each site’s lithic economy. This broad approach to lithic organization …

The Effects Of Exercise Pattern And Intensity On The Expression Of Flk-1 And Flt-1 Receptors In The Hippocampus And Cerebellum, Morgan E. Stevenson

Theses and Dissertations

Aerobic exercise benefits the body and brain. In the brain, these benefits include neuroprotection and improved cognition. These exercise-induced changes are attributed in part to angiogenesis: the growth of new capillaries from preexisting vessels. One critical factor involved in the regulation of angiogenesis is VEGF and its receptors Flk-1 and Flt-1. Although exercise is generally found to be beneficial, there are wide variations in the exercise regimens used across experiments. This study standardized some of these variations. In this study, rats were either assigned to a voluntary wheel running or a forced wheel running exercise condition. Within each condition, animals …

The Role Of Bdnf In 17Β-Estradiol-Induced Facilitation Of Extinction Of Cocaine Seeking, Hanna Yousuf

Theses and Dissertations

Females are more susceptible to drug dependence than males, and these differences in addictive behaviors are mediated, in large part, by 17β-estradiol (E2). E2 enhances memory in a variety of behavioral paradigms and may act to enhance the formation of drug-related memories. Interestingly, due to its mnemonic effects, E2 promotes drug seeking, but also may aid in extinguishing drug seeking behaviors. Treatment of addiction is modeled through extinction, and the infralimbic medial prefrontal cortex (IL-mPFC) is responsible for inhibiting drug seeking after extinction. However, the cellular mechanisms by which E2 facilitates extinction remain unknown. Previous work suggests that the memory-enhancing …

Configuring The Qualification Of Good Coffee An Ethnography On The Specialty Coffee Industry In Milwaukee, Yang Liu

Theses and Dissertations

I put qualification at the center of this research, because the intensive emphasis on coffee quality in the Third Wave Coffee Movement is the first thing that drew me to this research. When I talked with people in the specialty coffee industry in Milwaukee, they did not always admit they are part of the movement but they did highlight coffee quality as the core value of the specialty coffee market.

The concept of qualification comes from Michael Callon and his colleagues’ (2002) theoretical framework “the economy of qualities.” It refers to an economy in which tradable goods in the market …

Examining Psychologists’ Competence And Cultural Adaptations In Therapy When Working With Latina/O Clients, Marisela Lopez

Theses and Dissertations

The following multiple case study used semi-structured qualitative interviews and quantitative data to examine the multicultural competencies and cultural adaptations of four psychologists during a mock therapy session. This study consisted of three components: (1) Pre-Task, a semi-structured interview; (2) Task, each participant completing a mock therapy session with the same mock client and; (3) Post-Task, followed the client sessions and consisted of a semi-structured interview, a demographic questionnaire and two paper-pencil self-report measures. Immediately after each therapy session with the participants, the mock client completed two paper-pencil measures and a brief semi-structured interview about the participants. Three multicultural psychology …

Meaning In Motion, Kara Hendrickson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis essay and accompanying exhibition examine the capacity of interactive art to stage situations for participants to explore embodiment. In presenting the four-part interactive suite "Body Language" by Nathaniel Stern, the exhibition invites viewers to engage with digital projections that track and respond to movement by producing animated text and spoken utterances. Through the juxtaposition of motion performed by the viewer’s physical body with computer-generated words and speech, "Body Language" explores the complex ways in which the body and language depend upon each other to create and communicate meaning. This essay also proposes that the gallery uses its power …

The Influence Of Online English Language Instruction On Esl Learners' Fluency Development, Rebecca Aaron

Theses and Dissertations

The number of students participating in online-based instruction has grown steadily over the past decade as improvements in Internet availability, speed, and bandwidth have enabled students from around the world to enroll in online courses rather than participate in onsite traditional college courses. Online courses have also provided educational opportunities for language learners that are more convenient and cost effective. With the growth occurring in online instruction, it is critical to ask about the effectiveness of online English language learning. Even though this type of instructional medium has been available for more than a decade, there has been little empirical …

A Framework For Evaluating Recommender Systems, Michael Gabriel Bean

Theses and Dissertations

Prior research on text collections of religious documents has demonstrated that viable recommender systems in the area are lacking, if not non-existent, for some datasets. For example, both www.LDS.org and scriptures.byu.edu are websites designed for religious use. Although they provide users with the ability to search for documents based on keywords, they do not provide the ability to discover documents based on similarity. Consequently, these systems would greatly benefit from a recommender system. This work provides a framework for evaluating recommender systems and is flexible enough for use with either website. Such a framework would identify the best recommender system …

The Use Of The Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services To Assess And Improve The Job Performance Of Individuals With Disabilities, Madison Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Employers often do not have the means to identify the specific variables that influence poor work performance, particularly for employees with disabilities. The Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services (PDC-HS) is a tool designed to identify these variables and potential solutions to employee performance problems. Although the PDC-HS has been used with a variety of employees, it has not been examined for use with individuals with disabilities. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the PDC-HS with adults with disabilities in an integrated workforce, to increase the productivity of two employees when required to perform a pricing task. Results showed that the PDC-HS …

Leader Emotion Management Behavior And Perceived Leader Effectiveness: The Moderating Roles Of Gender And Culture, Julianna Fischer

Theses and Dissertations

A key aspect of successful management includes a leader’s responsibility to manage employees’ emotions (Leavitt & Bahrami, 1988). This form of management can be reflected in a number of behaviors, such as demonstrating consideration and support for employees, providing frequent emotional “uplifts,” and managing interactions and relationships among coworkers (Kaplan, Cortina, Ruark, LaPort, & Nicolaides, 2014). Emotion-related skills and abilities have been supported as critical assets in management (e.g., George, 2000; Pescosolido, 2002). However, this evidence has not been sufficiently verified in a cross-cultural setting. The cultural value of gender egalitarianism, or the degree of gender role differentiation in a …

Indonesian Women’S Health Determinants, Victoria A. Mcgrady

Theses and Dissertations

This study utilized the Indonesian Family Life Survey 5 to investigate the relationships between broad health outcomes and selected biopsychosocial measures. The study population was comprised of 17,480 Indonesian women who ranged in age from 15 years to 103 years with a mean age of 38.27 years. The results of this study showed the biopsychosocial model of health is valid for Indonesian women. Results supported the assumption that the measures of physical health (acute morbidity and medically diagnosed chronic conditions) are significantly correlated with the measures of psychological health (depression, and subjective wellbeing). Results also supported the assumption that biopsychosocial …

Depletion Today Keeps The Apple Away: Effects Of Workplace Resource Processes On Daily Health Behavior And Recovery, Chelsea Alyce Lenoble

Theses and Dissertations

The workplace has become an increasingly demanding environment in which individuals must expend personal resources in order to meet job demands (Hobfoll, 1989). Without ample opportunity to recover these depleted resources, employees risk physical and psychological strains (Meijman & Mulder, 1998). It was proposed that depletion and recovery that occurs throughout the workday would impact recovery activities outside of work. Further, two new constructs were examined as moderators of the proposed relationships: personal energy recovery climate (PERC) and non-work recovery interferences (NWRI). A two-week daily diary study was conducted, with 145 working adults completing four surveys throughout each workday. Resource …

An Examination Of The 16pf Validity Scales As Predictors Of The Scale Of Accurate Personality Prediction (Sapp), Katherine E. Schmieder

Theses and Dissertations

The Scale of Accurate Personality Prediction (SAPP) was derived from the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16-PF) as a measure of self-knowledge by comparing the degree of similarity of a participant’s predicted and obtained 16 PF results. The purpose of this study was to examine the utilization of the16PF validity scales as potential predictors of an individual’s score on the Scale of Accurate Personality Prediction (SAPP). A series of multiple regression analyses were performed on the current database of 641 respondents. Additionally, to provide additional validity, the database was split into two halves, and the multiple regression analyses were run on …

"It's My Job To Keep Punk Rock Elite": Information And Secrecy In The Chicago Diy Punk Music Scene, Kaitlin Beer

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will examine how the DIY punk scene in Chicago has utilized secretive information dissemination practices to manage boundaries between itself and mainstream society. Research for this thesis started in 2013, following the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s meeting in Chicago. This event caused a crisis within the Chicago DIY punk scene that primarily relied on residential spaces, from third story apartments to dirt-floored basements, as venues. The scene became vulnerable to closures by law enforcement, who were directed by Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel to crackdown on activities taking place at potential locations for radical activity prior to the NATO …

If Or When? Uncertainty's Role In Anxious Anticipation, Kenneth P. Bennett

Theses and Dissertations

Uncertainty is often associated with subjective distress and a potentiated anxiety response. Occurrence uncertainty (OU), or the inability to predict if a threat will occur, has never been compared experimentally with temporal uncertainty (TU), or the inability to predict when a threat will occur. The current study aimed to 1) directly compare the eye-blink startle responsivity of OU and TU, 2) develop a more effective task for isolating uncertain anticipation, and 3) better understand the relationship between individual differences in the intolerance of uncertainty and uncertain anticipation startle responsivity. The novel study showed that OU anticipation is more anxiety provoking …

Decolonizing African-American Museums: A Case Study On Two African-American Museums In The South, Anastacia Jonique Scott

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to understand how African-American museums’ exhibits help individuals gain their sense of racial identity through public memory. In an era where the United States is supposedly “post-racial” African-American museums are flourishing. As institutions serving an important role in preserving the collective memory of African-American people in the US, African-American museums evoke questions of representation within the larger US narrative that confirm the persistent saliency of race in society, and therefore continue to have a public function in maintaining and developing a racial African-American identity (Jackson 2012; Eichstedt and Small 2002; Wilson 2012; Golding 2009).

My research is …

Use Of The Mmpi-2 Masculine-Feminine Pathology Scale In Determining Gender-Related Symptom Expressions Among Outpatients, Priyanka M. Parikh

Theses and Dissertations

Gender exerts a strong influence over psychopathology experience and expression. The Masculine-Feminine Pathology (Mfp) scale is a recently developed research scale for the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Second Edition (MMPI-2), intended to reflect gender-influenced psychopathological symptoms. The current study was designed to examine whether Mfp scores serve as a useful moderator in the interpretation of MMPI-2 scores in terms of identifying gender-related symptom expression in an outpatient adult psychiatric sample. The sample consisted of 186 participants who had undergone outpatient psychotherapy. MMPI-2 scales include selected clinical scales, Restructured Clinical (RC) scales, content scales, supplementary scales, and Personality Psychopathology-Five (PSY-5) scales …

Correlates Of The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (Mmpi-2-Rf) Scores For Asian Indian College Students, Saloni Taneja

Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to investigate empirical correlates of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) for Asian Indian college students using the NEO Five Factor Inventory-3, College Maladjustment Scales and Measures of Psychosocial Development. The study utilized an Asian Indian college student sample (N=48) from a private university in Florida. Pearson Product Moment correlations were computed to establish correlates of the MMPI-2-RF scale scores. Overall, a large number of significant correlates with large effect sizes were found across the three measures. Some correlates found in the study provided an expansion for the interpretation of the MMPI-2-RF scales for Asian …

A Further Analysis Of Commission Errors During Discrete Trial Training, Tavy Alisa Matthews

Theses and Dissertations

Treatment integrity has been manipulated in various ways to evaluate its impact on intervention effectiveness. Studies have compared different types of integrity failures and levels of treatment integrity in various contexts and behavioral interventions. Evaluations include differential reinforcement of alternative behavior, child compliance, and discrete trial training. However, further research is needed to establish the point at which integrity becomes detrimental to intervention effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to conduct a parametric analysis (i.e., 100%, 75%, 50%, & 25%) of treatment integrity to examine the effects of commission errors during discrete trial training. Three participants, ages 35 - …

Evaluating Computerized Math Performance Using Progressive Ratio Schedules In Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Lauren Stroker

Theses and Dissertations

One method of assessing reinforcer strength is to use a progressive ratio (PR) schedule of reinforcement, whereby response requirements to access reinforcers gradually increase. PR schedules have been used to assess reinforcer potency in numerous applications with nonhumans in basic research, children and adults with disabilities, and individuals with histories of substance abuse problems. However, the utility of PR schedules to determine robust reinforcers has not been assessed with children with attention deficit – hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) regarding academic tasks, such as mathematics. The inability to remain on task presents a challenge for teachers in schools, and poses detrimental effects …

Examining Justifiable And Unjustifiable Cultural Biases In Psychological Science, Jordan D. Hyde

Theses and Dissertations

Research in cultural psychology suggests that mind and behavior are necessarily cultural. The implications of this perspective call into question assumptions of scientific psychology's cultural neutrality and indicate that it may be a form of cultural community in its own right. As such, it seems that it will necessarily be defined by certain cultural biases that are exclusive of other cultural biases. Nevertheless, providing that scientists can strive to identify their explicit and implicit cultural biases, and so long as they can define their sciences in terms of cultural biases that are rational and mandatory within the internal logic of …

Ethnicity And Poetry: A Systems Theory Approach To Contemporary African American And Mexican American Poetry, Antonio Paniagua Guzman

Theses and Dissertations

Given the ongoing ethnic transformation of the current society of the United States, contemporary sociologists have extensively studied ethnic relations from diverse theoretical and methodological approaches. Despite the vast sociological research recently developed, the literary-based methodological approach remains partially uncultivated. This study explores motivations and patterns of minority groups’ ethnic performance in contemporary poetry by analyzing inter and intra-group similarities and differences of diverse linguistic and cultural traits. From secondary data analysis, this study examines four hundred poems authored by forty contemporary African American and Mexican American writers experientially connected to the state of Texas. Grounded in systems theory, this …

Optimizing Border Security With Stochastic And Deterministic Strategies, Gabriel A. Rueda

Theses and Dissertations

International trade and border security have always been linked together, and so has the need to find ways to improve security decisions. The United States and bordering countries benefit from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), but amongst the positive effects of NAFTA there is a looming drug threat that effects the bi-national supply chains. In 2015 Customs and Border Protections (CBP) processed over 72,000 trucks, rail, and sea containers a day. CBP also seized 3.4 million pounds of narcotics, the majority of them at the ports of entry. With unknown threats using commercial vehicles to transport their illicit …