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All Master's Theses

Theses/Dissertations

2019

Articles 1 - 26 of 26

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Comparing The Effectiveness Of Verbal Feedback Versus Acoustical Feedback Within A Behavior Skills Training Package When Teaching Beginning Yoga Postures To Novice Yoga Practitioners, Molly Rauschl Jan 2019

Comparing The Effectiveness Of Verbal Feedback Versus Acoustical Feedback Within A Behavior Skills Training Package When Teaching Beginning Yoga Postures To Novice Yoga Practitioners, Molly Rauschl

All Master's Theses

Behavior skills training (BST), composed of modeling, instructions, rehearsal, and feedback, is an efficient and commonly used training package that has been proven effective in fostering behavior change in a variety of learners and with a multitude of behaviors, including those related to health and fitness. Feedback has been deemed a critical component of BST and there are various ways in which feedback can be administered. This study compared the effectiveness and efficiency of providing verbal feedback versus acoustical feedback within a BST package when teaching beginning yoga postures to participants who have never before practiced yoga. No feedback method …

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Effect Of Group Size On The Activity Budget Of Two Captive Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), Kaeley Sullins Jan 2019

Effect Of Group Size On The Activity Budget Of Two Captive Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), Kaeley Sullins

All Master's Theses

Captive facilities housing chimpanzees are required to provide adequate care and provisions such as dietary, social, and environmental enrichment to promote the psychological well-being of the apes in their care. Chimpanzees are social creatures and changes in groups as well as relocation to a facility with new social partners, can impact each individual chimpanzee’s welfare. By tracking each chimpanzee’s activity budgets, managers can assess welfare and make improvements or adjustments if necessary. I looked at the activity budgets of two captive chimpanzees after the death of a group member and the two chimpanzees’ subsequent relocation to a novel, more socially …

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Faunal Analysis Of The Mesa 12 Archaeological Site (45gr144): Grant County, Washington, Justin Fitzpatrick Jan 2019

Faunal Analysis Of The Mesa 12 Archaeological Site (45gr144): Grant County, Washington, Justin Fitzpatrick

All Master's Theses

From 1973-1975, William C. Smith of Central Washington State College led the “Mesa Project” excavating four sites on the Columbia Plateau in Grant County, Washington. These mesas are small isolated basalt buttes, 100 or more feet above the surrounding scabland channels, with cultural materials on the top and base. They are hypothesized by some researchers to be strongholds, refuges, or defensive sites. Faunal material recovered from these sites has been in storage unanalyzed for over 40 years. The largest excavation was at Mesa 12 where 33 units were excavated. Six radiocarbon dates indicate a Cayuse Phase (2070±90 B.P. until 565±80 …

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Evaluation Of Wildland Firefighter Leadership, Rebecca Rose Jan 2019

Evaluation Of Wildland Firefighter Leadership, Rebecca Rose

All Master's Theses

There has been growing research evaluating hazardous occupations to gain a better understanding of how crisis leaders and followers, such as wildland firefighters make decisions in high-stress environments. In this study, wildland firefighters were examined to assess their decision-making skills using a wildland fire simulation computer game called the Networked Fire Chief (NFC). These results were compared against both the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and the Big Five personality traits using Saucier’s abbreviated Mini-Markers. Only a small sample of wildland firefighters was available to participate due to the intense 2017 fire season. Additional participants were recruited through CWU Sona system. Results …

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The Effects Of Therapy Balls On In-Seat And On-Task Behavior In Young Children, Ariel Ching Jan 2019

The Effects Of Therapy Balls On In-Seat And On-Task Behavior In Young Children, Ariel Ching

All Master's Theses

This study utilized an alternating treatment design to study the effects of therapy balls, chairs, and the element of choice on the in-seat and on-task behaviors of three, preschool-aged children. Participants were between 4 and 5 years old, typically developing, and were selected based on their ability to make a choice between two different stimuli. This study was conducted at a table, with the participant engaging in a fine-motor activity that they had shown preference to, based on a paired-stimulus preference assessment (Play-Doh, coloring, magnetic blocks, etc.). It was hypothesized that the participants would show higher rates of in-seat and …

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A Book And Its Cover: The Effects Of Dynamic And Static Facial Expressions On The Perction Of Personality Traits, Jonathan Ojeda Jan 2019

A Book And Its Cover: The Effects Of Dynamic And Static Facial Expressions On The Perction Of Personality Traits, Jonathan Ojeda

All Master's Theses

This study used three dynamic and three static images of older adult men depicting either smiling, scowling, or neutral facial expressions to examine the influence of motion on emotion identification and stereotype activation, specifically the Halo Effect, in older adults (55-85 years). To that end, two hypotheses emerged: 1) older adults will be more accurate in identifying facial expressions when viewing dynamic facial expressions than static facial expressions, and 2) participants exposed to the dynamic stimuli would experience greater levels of the Halo Effect with the greatest levels in the smiling facial expression condition. A 2 (stimulus type: dynamic and …

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The Effect Of A Lag Schedule Of Reinforcement On Variability In Toy Play In Children With Autism, Cloie Cornell Jan 2019

The Effect Of A Lag Schedule Of Reinforcement On Variability In Toy Play In Children With Autism, Cloie Cornell

All Master's Theses

Variability is a dimension of behavior that is altered and learned through reinforcement contingencies (Neuringer, 2002). The lag schedule of reinforcement is one way to establish contingencies in order to increase variability in block formations built by children diagnosed with autism. Napolitano, Smith, Zarcone, Goodkin and McAdam (2010), and Miller (1012) found that a lag schedule of reinforcement increased the variety of block formations built by children diagnosed with autism, both studies used the discriminative stimulus (SD) “build differently,” during intervention phases. The current study used a lag schedule of reinforcement along with the SD “build something,” throughout each phase. …

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Impacts Of Self-Efficacy On School Psychologists' Provisions Of Mental Health Services, Ashley Jantzer Jan 2019

Impacts Of Self-Efficacy On School Psychologists' Provisions Of Mental Health Services, Ashley Jantzer

All Master's Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to identify variables that predict a school psychologist’s self-efficacy in counseling abilities, as well as identify variables that predict perceived barriers to implementing mental health services to students in a school setting. Participants were 84 school psychologists working in the state of Washington. Participants were asked to complete a survey that included (a) demographic questions, (b) a questionnaire about perceived self-efficacy in counseling abilities, and (c) a questionnaire about perceived barriers to providing mental health services. The results of two multiple linear regression equations suggest that in this study, certain variables predicted both self-efficacy …

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Water And Life. A Cross-Sectional Study On Determinants Of Beverage Consumption And Water Access In One Tribal Community, Christina White Jan 2019

Water And Life. A Cross-Sectional Study On Determinants Of Beverage Consumption And Water Access In One Tribal Community, Christina White

All Master's Theses

Increasingly, poor diet has been shown to be one of the most crucial factors associated with cause of death, even more critical than smoking. Research in the past two decades has consistently linked increased consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) to the obesity epidemic contributing to a public health crisis all over the United States. Native Americans, among other minority groups, suffer obesity disproportionately from the rest of the US population, yet they continually fail to be included in research on the subject. Traditional research methods, sparse care coverage on reservations, consolidation of unique tribes into one classification, and failure to …

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Holocene Periods Of Aggradation And Incision, Hanson Creek, Washington, Levi Earl Windingstad Jan 2019

Holocene Periods Of Aggradation And Incision, Hanson Creek, Washington, Levi Earl Windingstad

All Master's Theses

The causes and timing of cycles of aggradation and incision in the Hanson Creek drainage in central Washington provide insight into changes in channel morphology and paleoenvironment within the region over the last 8000 years. Stratigraphically and spatially coincident archaeological evidence reveals information related to human occupation during the latter half of the epoch. Using LiDAR imagery and field surveys, recent processes such as degree of modern channel incision, accumulation of valley floor sediment, channel morphology and gradient were evaluated. The spatial distribution of these channel characteristics was assessed in relation to proximal landforms such as colluvial deposits, basalt outcrops, …

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Extending The Morpheme Order Studies: Acquisition Of Modal And Non-Modal Verbal Morphemes By Esl Learners, Amal Alshehry Jan 2019

Extending The Morpheme Order Studies: Acquisition Of Modal And Non-Modal Verbal Morphemes By Esl Learners, Amal Alshehry

All Master's Theses

The morpheme order studies have long prevailed in the field of second language acquisition. However, these studies are often undermined by their extent and focus on a limited number of morphemes. Thus, the present study extends the scope of morphemes to include modal verbs within other verbal morphemes and studies the order of their acquisition. Discourse Completion Tests (DCTs) were used to examine a total of twenty-seven ESL learners from a wide range of L1 backgrounds: Japanese, Arabic, Chinese, Thai, Spanish, Turkish, Urdu, and Vietnamese. The study reveals a universal pattern in ESL learners’ acquisition of English verb morphology. …

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Effects Of A Voluntourism Experience On Perceptions And Attitudes Toward Environmental Sustainability And Science, Mireille Gonzalez Jan 2019

Effects Of A Voluntourism Experience On Perceptions And Attitudes Toward Environmental Sustainability And Science, Mireille Gonzalez

All Master's Theses

The current study explored the impact of a volunteer tourism experience at a community-based conservation (CBC) organization on volunteer perceptions, attitudes, and values toward conservation, the environment, and science. The Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute (MRCI) is a CBC organization that utilizes volunteers as a data collection resource and workforce for conservation and community outreach initiatives. The current study analyzed data from volunteer experience evaluations (VEE), which included pre- and post-experience self-report surveys comprised of qualitative and quantitative response sections, completed by 45 voluntourists over a three-month span. The quantitative findings indicate that the voluntourist experience improved participants’ self-reported attitudes …

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Exploring Locus Of Control In Offender Cognition And Recidivism Paradigms, Anistasha Lightning, Danielle Polage Jan 2019

Exploring Locus Of Control In Offender Cognition And Recidivism Paradigms, Anistasha Lightning, Danielle Polage

All Master's Theses

Working with four Washington State county jails to administer surveys to currently incarcerated inmates, we investigated locus of control and beliefs in the likelihood of continued legal involvement as possible antecedents to criminal recidivism. The surveys examined whether there was any connection between legal involvement frequency and the externalization of locus of control. We investigated external locus of control with specific respect to involvement with the law, the prospect of future incarceration, and feelings concerning the overall cause of original and/or sustained legal involvement utilizing the Revised Causal Dimension Scale (McAuley, Duncan, & Russell, 1992). We identified statistically significant interactions …

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Evaluations Of Health In Sympatric Free-Ranging Saguinus Imperator And Leontocebus Weddelli Using Neopterin, Urinalysis, And Blood Chemistry Analyses, Alexandra J. Sacco Jan 2019

Evaluations Of Health In Sympatric Free-Ranging Saguinus Imperator And Leontocebus Weddelli Using Neopterin, Urinalysis, And Blood Chemistry Analyses, Alexandra J. Sacco

All Master's Theses

This thesis is composed of one journal-ready article and one chapter that includes a preliminary interpretation of data for later publication. In summary, this thesis proposes the use of three different methods of evaluating the health status of New World Monkeys: urinary neopterin measurement, blood chemistry analyses, and urinalysis. Chapter II addresses the question of whether or not the neopterin molecule, a biomarker for cell-mediated immune system activation, is conserved across primate taxa. To do so, we collected urine samples across three New World Monkey (NWM) families including captive Leontopithecus rosalia and Pithecia pithecia, and wild populations of Leontocebus …

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A Cognitive Task As Enrichment For Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes) In Sanctuary, Federico Rubio Jan 2019

A Cognitive Task As Enrichment For Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes) In Sanctuary, Federico Rubio

All Master's Theses

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) hold an especially powerful attraction for researchers interested in cognition and how it developed to the degree observed in humans specifically and primates more generally. Chimpanzees are behaviorally complex primates with compelling data supporting their possession of intricate internal lives. The objective of this study was to simultaneously learn more of the cognitive process of inductive reasoning while also assessing the efficacy of a computerized box as a novel form of enrichment to aid in improving the environment of captive chimpanzees. Three social groups at the retired medical research chimpanzee sanctuary Project Chimps were given …

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Rock Imagery: A Cultural Landscape Analysis In The Yakima Uplands, Jessica Eliana Delgado-Morris Jan 2019

Rock Imagery: A Cultural Landscape Analysis In The Yakima Uplands, Jessica Eliana Delgado-Morris

All Master's Theses

This thesis evaluates the history of rock imagery documentation and the ways it can be improved moving forward. This study also explores the potentials of using viewshed analysis to examine the cultural landscape. The documentation and locational analysis support recommendations for future study and protection of rock image sites. There are currently twelve known rock imagery sites at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord - Yakima Training Center (YTC). Most of these sites have not been assessed for changes in integrity or damages in over twenty years. Prior documentation efforts have produced site forms with varying degrees of accuracy and completeness. During …

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The Activity Budgets Of Captive Javan Gibbons (Hylobates Moloch) And Their Response To Visitor Presence Or Absence, Kalli Kohnen Jan 2019

The Activity Budgets Of Captive Javan Gibbons (Hylobates Moloch) And Their Response To Visitor Presence Or Absence, Kalli Kohnen

All Master's Theses

Anthropogenic stress can negatively impact the health of captive animals. Visitors may be a source of stress to captive animals in zoos and sanctuaries. Javan gibbons (Hylobates moloch) are endangered, and healthy captive populations are important to the species’ conservation. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of visitor presence on the activity budgets of captive Javan gibbons. Using continuous sampling, I recorded the activity budgets of 10 Javan gibbons housed at the Gibbon Conservation Center (GCC) in Santa Clarita, California. I collected data in the mornings, middays, and afternoons on visitor days and non-visitor …

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The Effect Of Sound On Captive Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), Grace Coffman Jan 2019

The Effect Of Sound On Captive Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), Grace Coffman

All Master's Theses

Sound exposure can have detrimental physiological and psychological effects on humans, but effects on nonhuman primates are not as well understood. Captive chimpanzees are exposed to markedly different acoustic environments than their wild counterparts. This study assessed the organic soundscape of a chimpanzee sanctuary, the Fauna Foundation, in Carignan, Québec, Canada. Noninvasive, observational data collection assessed for frequency of behavior and correlations between chimpanzee behavioral categories, arousal level, and decibel level. Agonistic behavior occurred more frequently in the highest decibel level category. There was a positive correlation between decibel level and arousal level. These findings suggest the need for increased …

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Holocene Fire History Reconstruction Of A Mid-Evaluation Mixed-Conifer Forest In The Eastern Cascades, Washington, Zoe Rushton Jan 2019

Holocene Fire History Reconstruction Of A Mid-Evaluation Mixed-Conifer Forest In The Eastern Cascades, Washington, Zoe Rushton

All Master's Theses

Fire histories of mid-elevation mixed-conifer forests (MEMC) are uncommon, particularly in the eastern Cascades of Washington. As a result, fire regimes and the effects of 20th century fire suppression in these forests are not well understood. In the summer of 2014 a 7.80 meter-long sediment core was extracted from Long Lake, located approximately 45 km west of Yakima, WA, which exists in a grand fir-dominated mixed-conifer forest. Fire activity for the Long Lake watershed was reconstructed using macroscopic charcoal analysis and pollen analysis was used to reconstruct vegetation change through time. Charcoal results show low fire activity in the early …

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How Researchers Address Ethical Concerns Regarding Habituating Nonhuman Primates: Results Of A Survey And Suggestions For Future Practice, Victoria M. Green Jan 2019

How Researchers Address Ethical Concerns Regarding Habituating Nonhuman Primates: Results Of A Survey And Suggestions For Future Practice, Victoria M. Green

All Master's Theses

In this study, I analyzed primatologists’ perceptions regarding the habituation of wild nonhuman primates. I distributed an online survey to primatologists and received 406 responses, 286 of which were used in data analysis. I used two sets of six-scale Likert scoring questions to determine respondents’ perceived ethical concerns and ethical duties. Exploratory factor analysis of 11 items revealed three factors regarding ethical concern, including concerns for the indirect harms of habituation (M = 5.03; SD = 0.89), unhabituated behavior after habituation is established (M = 4.98; SD = 1.08), and harms during habituation (M = 3.94; SD …

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Ethnoprimatology Of Urban Cebus Yuracus: An Evaluation Of Human-Non-Human Interactions And Local Perceptions In Misahualli, Ecuador, Sofia Castro-Loza Jan 2019

Ethnoprimatology Of Urban Cebus Yuracus: An Evaluation Of Human-Non-Human Interactions And Local Perceptions In Misahualli, Ecuador, Sofia Castro-Loza

All Master's Theses

Little is known about the group of white-fronted capuchins (Cebus yuracus) coexisting alongside humans in the town of Misahuallí, Tena, Ecuador. This ethnoprimatological study focuses on the human-nonhuman interactions and the perceptions of the local people about the capuchin group. Behavioral interactions were examined using all-occurrence sampling, and the local perceptions of the Misahuallí people were assessed using semi-structured interviews. In total, 2,103 human-capuchin behavioral interactions were recorded. The majority of interactions were positive (55.6%), and 69.6% revolved around food. Overall, the capuchins initiated more negative interactions and in contrast, humans initiated more positive interactions. When interviewed about …

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The Effects Of Self-Esteem And Mood On The Perception Of Others, Sydney Wirkkala Jan 2019

The Effects Of Self-Esteem And Mood On The Perception Of Others, Sydney Wirkkala

All Master's Theses

The purpose of the current experiment was to examine the role that self-esteem and mood have on judgment formation regarding strangers. Mood has been shown to play an important role in judgments such that being in a positive mood has been shown to result in more positive judgments (Forgas & Bower, 1987; Forgas, Bower, & Krantz, 1983). It has also been shown that having a higher self-esteem can lead to more positive judgments about the self as well as others (Brown & Mankowski, 1993; Sanna, Turley-Ames, & Meier, 1999). Few studies have examined the interaction of self-esteem and mood on …

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Music, Video And Perception: An Investigation Into Shaping Attitudes Toward Fish And Their Natural Habitat, Kayla-Ann Hemmings Jan 2019

Music, Video And Perception: An Investigation Into Shaping Attitudes Toward Fish And Their Natural Habitat, Kayla-Ann Hemmings

All Master's Theses

The current study investigated the influence of music and video on perceptions of fish, willingness to help aquatic conservation efforts, and attitudes about the marine environment. Participants were randomly distributed to one of six groups which varied by presenting information about marine life in a video format or through printed text (i.e., video or pamphlet) and on the background music that played during the presentation of that information (i.e., ominous, uplifting, or no sound). Participants, then, completed several counterbalanced measures, including rating how much six different words (i.e., three positive and three negative) applied to fish, Willingness to Conserve questions …

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Terminal Illness: The Political Ecology And Political Economy Of The Millennium Bulk Coal Export Terminal, Longview, Wa, Paige Mcnorvell Jan 2019

Terminal Illness: The Political Ecology And Political Economy Of The Millennium Bulk Coal Export Terminal, Longview, Wa, Paige Mcnorvell

All Master's Theses

The declining demand for coal in the United States (U.S. Energy Information Administration [EIA] 2016) has led to a push by the coal industry for the construction of export terminals in the Pacific Northwest that would supply coal from the Powder River Basin of Montana and Wyoming to Asia. Though none of the proposed terminals have been approved for construction, the Millennium Bulk Coal Export Terminal in Longview, Washington remains a potentially viable option pending decisions in state and federal courts. In this thesis, I critically analyze the Millennium Bulk Terminal permitting process through a mixed-methods qualitative approach that uses …

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The Effects Of Reversing Safmeds Presentation On Learning And Generalization, Emily Nordlund Jan 2019

The Effects Of Reversing Safmeds Presentation On Learning And Generalization, Emily Nordlund

All Master's Theses

Say All Fast Minute Each Day (SAFMEDS) is a flashcard procedure that is effective in producing fluency, but not necessarily generalization, of a content area. One possibility for the lack of generalization is the direction of the SAFMEDS training. Most learners are presented with a definition (the longer side) and have to say the term (the shorter side). Elements of single-case and between-groups designs were used to examine the effects of reversing the direction of training on acquisition and fluency of SAFMEDS content, as well as generalization. Within this study, the control group was presented with a book or paper …

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Measuring Trace Element Concentrations In Artiodactyl Cannonbones Using Portable X-Ray Fluorescence, Joshua L. Henderson Jan 2019

Measuring Trace Element Concentrations In Artiodactyl Cannonbones Using Portable X-Ray Fluorescence, Joshua L. Henderson

All Master's Theses

Artiodactyl bones are the most common faunal remains found in Washington prehistoric archaeology sites, but they are often too fragmented to accurately identify a family, genus, or species. Traditional faunal analysis can only organize unidentifiable bone fragments into size class, and chemical methods often require the destruction of bone samples. In this thesis research, I tested a new, nondestructive faunal analysis technique using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) to measure trace element concentrations in comparative collection and archaeological bone samples. Using cannonbones from five different artiodactyl species, I collected trace element data from 50 comparative collection specimens and 18 archaeological specimens …

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