Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Teoria De La Mente Y Sociedad En La Narrativa Policiaca De Lorenzo Silva Y Francisco Garcia Pavon: Estereotipos, Roles De Genero Y Minorias, Jesus Castro Gorfti

Open Access Dissertations

Spanish:

The purpose of this study is to utilize certain aspects of cognitive psychology as a framework to analyze the police procedural novels of two Spanish authors: Francisco García Pavón and Lorenzo Silva. Specifically, we will focus on two main aspects of the mind studied by the cognitive sciences: Theory of Mind and metarepresentations. Theory of Mind (ToM) refers to the capacity that human beings have to attribute mental states to other humans, as well as oneself, based on their bodily and facial gestures. The concept of metarepresentation refers to the ability of humans to keep track of who said …

Sounding Sacred: The Adoption Of Biblical Archaisms In The Book Of Mormon And Other 19th Century Texts, Gregory A. Bowen

Open Access Dissertations

The Book of Mormon is a text published in 1830 and considered a sacred work of scripture by adherents of the Latter-day Saint movement. Although written 200 years later, it exhibits many linguistic features of the King James translation of the Bible. Such stylistic imitation has been little studied, though a notable exception is Sigelman & Jacoby (1996).

Three hypotheses are considered: that this is a feature of 19th century religious texts, and the Book of Mormon adopts the style of its genre as a religious text; that this is a feature of translations of ancient texts, and the Book …

How Training Set And Prior Knowledge Affect Preschoolers' Perception Of Quantity And Early Number Learning, Arum Han

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation examines how training on the iPad can improve children’s quantity recognition, and whether different types of training might be warranted for children with different levels of experience. Study 1 tested the effects of multiple exemplar training (3 cars / 3 apples / 3 ducks, etc.) versus single exemplar training (3 cars / 3 cars / 3 cars, etc.) in recognizing quantities. For children just learning to recognize quantities (0-2 knowers), training with multiple exemplars was most effective for quantities three and four. For 3-6 knower children, single exemplar training was most effective for learning quantities five and six. …

Finding The Ghost With The Machine: Breaking Through The Assessment Center Validity Ceiling By Exploring Decisional Processes Using New Sources Of Behavioral Data Within Virtual Assessments, Brett W. Guidry

Open Access Dissertations

Decades of assessment center (AC) research has resulted in an inevitable “validity ceiling” whereby increasing the validity of the AC method is becoming increasingly difficult. To overcome this challenge, new avenues for collecting and evaluating AC participant behaviors must be explored, with a particular focus on overcoming the inherent limitations of human observation—a hallmark of the AC method. This study examines detailed logs of AC participant behaviors captured automatically and unobtrusively during a computer-based simulation assessment. Using a decision making framework, basic characteristics of the new behavioral data are tested against existing theories of decisional efficacy. The construct-related validity of …

Quantifying Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Dynamics With Mechanistically-Based Biogeochemistry Models And In Situ And Remotely Sensed Data, Shaoqing Liu

Open Access Dissertations

Terrestrial ecosystem plays a critical role in the global carbon cycle and climate system. Therefore, it is important to accurately quantify the carbon dynamics of terrestrial ecosystem under future climatic change condition. This dissertation evaluates the regional carbon dynamics by using upscaling approach, mechanistically-based biogeochemistry models and in situ and remotely sensed data.

The upscaling studies based on FLUXNET network has provided us the spatial and temporal pattern of the carbon fluxes but it fails to consider the atmospheric CO2 effect given its important physiological role in carbon assimilation. In the second chapter, we consider the effect of atmospheric CO2 …

Race, Class And Gender In Engineering Education: A Quantitative Investigation Of First Year Enrollment, Canek Moises Luna Phillips

Open Access Dissertations

Research explanations for the disparity across both race and gender in engineering education has typically relied on a deficit model, whereby women and people of color lack the requisite knowledge or psychological characteristics that Whites and men have to become engineers in sufficient numbers. Instead of using a deficit model approach to explain gender and race disparity, in the three studies conducted for this dissertation, I approach gender and race disparity as the result of processes of segregation linked to the historic and on-going perpetuation of systemic sources of oppression in the United States. In the first study, I investigate …

Seeking Interdependence: Commitment Desirability And The Initiation And Maintenance Of Close Relationships, Yu-Yang Kenneth Tan

Open Access Dissertations

People vary in the extent to which they believe that a committed relationship is desirable for them. The current research offers and examines the concept of commitment desirability, defined as the subjective desire to be involved in a committed romantic relationship. In six studies, the present research developed and tested a measure of commitment desirability and explored how it influences relationship initiation among those not currently involved in a relationship, and maintenance and dissolution decisions among those who are involved in a relationship. Study 1 and 2a developed and validated a reliable measure of commitment desirability. Study 2b examined the …

Using Academic And Learning Analytics To Explore Student Success In An Online Graduate Program In Communication, Megan N. Bergman

Open Access Theses

Fueled by the increase in data associated with the use of learning management systems, scholars and practitioners alike have been trying to explain and predict student success; yet the use of data analytic methods (academic and learning analytics) in higher education has created challenges and shortcomings for those who wish to adopt learning and academic analytics practices for their institution or program. Very little is known about either online education, particularly in the field of communication, as well as in online graduate and professional degree programs in any field from a learning and academic analytics perspective. This work reviews the …

Pattern Exploration And Event Detection From Geo-Tagged Tweets, Yugian Huang

Open Access Theses

Twitter is one of the most famous social networking services in the world. With 313 million monthly active users, Twitter can produce around 6,000 tweets per second, which corresponds to around 500 million tweets per day and around 200 billion tweets per year. Besides being a successful company, Twitter provides a great opportunity to scientists from various disciplines. Twitter allows users to tweet with a location tag, which enables the connection of virtual networks to the events happening in real life. Because of the massive amount of valuable geographic information, location-based services, targeted advertising, and social network studies could benefit …

Remote Sensing Of Snow Using Bistatic Radar Reflectometry, Abi Komanduru

Open Access Theses

Snow and ice processes are a critical part of the Earth’s hydrological and climate cycles. These processes can serve as an important source of fresh water as well as a cause of flooding. Various missions have been proposed by NASA and ESA for the purpose of remote sensing of snow. This research looks at applying bistatic radar reflectometry to the remote sensing of snow water equivalent. The resulting phase offset from changes in optical path length due to reflection through snow are the primary measurements made. The research uses data from a field campaign in Fraser, CO, involving an instrument …

Hua Qian Zhao Zui Shou Looking For Trouble At Own Expense - A Study Of Tourist (Mis)Behaviors, Yue Li

Open Access Theses

The study sets two objectives. The first is to investigate how an array of tourist misbehaviors was perceived by the young generations of the United States and China. The second is to examine factors that could explain any perceptual differences between young Americans and Chinese. Five research questions were developed and addressed for the first objective through online surveys by comparing the perceptions of American respondents and Chinese respondents on a list of tourist misbehaviors. They are: 1) What are the annoyance levels of tourist misbehaviors perceived by American college students? 2) What are the annoyance levels of tourist misbehaviors …

Can Wearable Devices Reduce Burnout By Making People Aware Of Stress?, Rohit Mundayaliyath Mundayadan

Open Access Theses

Wearable fitness technology is advancing in its capabilities. Every new sensor collects new health data, and it becomes important to study how effectively this data can be utilized to help people lead healthier lives. The American Psychological Association found that Americans live with stress levels higher than what is considered healthy. Poorly managed stress can lead to burnout, which leads to unproductive workers. Burnout is known to cost businesses considerable money. The goal of this research study was to determine if burnout could be reduced through the use of a consumer wearable device along with smartphone apps that alerted wearers …

Dopamine D1 Receptor Activity In The Basolateral Amygdala Is Important For Mediating Fear, Reward And Safety Discrimination Learning, Ka Ho Ng

Open Access Theses

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients frequently show impairment in safety learning (Jovanovic, Kazama, Bachevalier, & Davis, 2012). Since the amygdala is known to be critical for emotional processing(Wassum & Izquierdo, 2015) and dopamine signaling in the amygdala is important for mediating both fear and reward learning, current experiments examined the role of dopamine signaling in the BLA in mediating both safety learning and reward seeking. We manipulated dopamine D1 receptor activity with a D1 receptor agonist (SKF 38393) or D1 receptor antagonist (SCH23390) either systemically or infused directly into the BLA 20 minutes prior to training rats in a …

Task Manipulation Effects On The Relationship Between Working Memory Capacity And Go/No-Go Performance, Elizabeth A. Wiemers

Open Access Theses

Seemingly minor task manipulations can have large and sometimes unpredicted effects on task performance. Despite this, single tasks are typical in both research and assessment applications. This series of experiments aims to systematically investigate the differences between various perceptual and semantic versions of go/no-go tasks and their relationships with working memory capacity (WMC) with the goal of determining the cause of inconsistencies in the literature. Because these versions of the go/no-go have not previously been systematically studied, the first experiment does so. After determining which performance differences exist based on versions of both task and decision, and noting that these …

The Swiss German Language And Identity: Stereotyping Between The Aargau And The Zurich Dialects, Jessica Rohr

Open Access Theses

Swiss German dialects contribute to the social identity of a speaker, especially on a local level (Christen, 1995). Many dialects of Switzerland are associated with a common stereotype which relates to the identity of the speakers (Rash, 2002). This research looks at these notions and investigates concepts of identity ascription and stereotyping that arise between and from the dialects of canton Aargau and canton Zürich, in Switzerland. The generation of a definition of identity for the project, drawing off existing identity theories in sociolinguistics, and stereotyping theories, allow for an investigation of how the Aargau and Zürich dialects fit into …

Computational Environment For Modeling And Analysing Network Traffic Behaviour Using The Divide And Recombine Framework, Ashrith Barthur

Open Access Dissertations

There are two essential goals of this research. The first goal is to design and construct a computational environment that is used for studying large and complex datasets in the cybersecurity domain. The second goal is to analyse the Spamhaus blacklist query dataset which includes uncovering the properties of blacklisted hosts and understanding the nature of blacklisted hosts over time.

The analytical environment enables deep analysis of very large and complex datasets by exploiting the divide and recombine framework. The capability to analyse data in depth enables one to go beyond just summary statistics in research. This deep analysis is …

Essays On Malawian Agriculture: Micro-Level Welfare Impacts Of Agricultural Productivity; Profitability Of Fertilizer Use; And Targeting Of Fertilizer Subsidy Programs, Francis Addeah Darko

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation comprises of three essays that address different aspects of agriculture in Malawi using a two-wave panel data collected by the National Statistical Office of Malawi with support from the World Bank Living Standards Measurement Study – Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) program. Each essay stands alone as an independent study because of differences in research questions and the methodologies used in addressing the questions.

The first essay analyzes the micro-level welfare impacts of agricultural productivity. Welfare is measured by various dimensions of poverty and food insecurity; and agricultural productivity is measured by maize yield and value of crop …

College Students' Suicidal Ideation: Testing The Predictions Of The Existential - Constructivist Theory Of Suicide, Jennifer Danielle Lockman

Open Access Dissertations

Suicide is the second leading cause of death in the college student population (Schwartz, 2006), and empirically supported theories for understanding suicide among college students are lacking (Lester, 1989; Prinstein, 2008; Rogers & Benson, 2013). Although not yet examined empirically, Rogers (2001) proposed an Existential - Constructivist Theory of Suicide (ECTS), in which existential distress and the inability to reconstruct meaning from adverse life events contribute to suicidal ideation. ECTS includes both interpersonal and intrapersonal drivers of suicidal ideation, and for this reason, may better explain suicidal ideation in college students than existing theoretical models. Existing research focuses on Joiner’s …

State Judicial Selection Methods As Public Policy: The Missouri Plan, James A. Gleason

Open Access Dissertations

State judiciaries are foundational institutions of governance in the United States. They are coequal, policy-making branches of government whose members, along with the legislative and executive branches, are constitutionally authorized and empowered in all fifty American states. Extant research on judicial selection in the American states provides neither a comprehensive theory of why states choose their particular judicial selection method nor a comprehensive empirical assessment of this important question. This research seeks to fill this lacuna by increasing understanding of American state courts through the formulation of a theory of state judicial selection, a short but comprehensive history of state …

Understanding The Formation Of American Mental Health Policy Preferences, 1952-1981, Andrew D. Tuholski

Open Access Dissertations

In the United States, the emergence of an outpatient-centered, drug-based model of mental health care was physically feasible from the 1950s onward, with the introduction of thorazine and other first-generation antipsychotics. However, it was not until 1981, with President Reagan’s veto of the Mental Health Systems Act, that American mental health policy tipped over definitively into the outpatient-centered, drug-based model. In this quantitative study of the formation of policy preference, the delay between the feasibility of the outpatient-centered, drug-based model and its adoption was explored through five research questions answered through corpus analysis and time series statistics: How do shifts …

Identifying And Prioritizing Critical Success Factors For Fixed Base Operators In The United States: A Mixed Method Approach, Yu Wang

Open Access Dissertations

Fixed Base Operators (FBOs) are major service providers for the general aviation (GA) sector, which closely connect the public with the aviation industry. However, over the past decade, the U.S. GA industry has experienced a decline in the numbers of registered aircraft, pilots, and airports. Due to the fact that FBOs significantly contribute to the aviation industry, further research studies regarding the FBO-sector at a national level are needed. The purpose of this dissertation was to identify and prioritize the critical success factors (CSFs) that promote the success of FBO operations in the United States.

The methodology consisted of a …

Facebook And User Experience: Evaluating Brand Equity Of Purdue University Residences, Jackelyn Perkins

Open Access Theses

This study investigated how brand equity was perceived on the Purdue University Residences’ Facebook page by applying a user experience method. From a review of previous literature, Website Experience Analysis was identified and performed to evaluate brand equity. This study addressed and explored various themes throughout the data. The results showed how page content and user interactions within a Facebook page influence participants’ perceptions of brand equity.

Strategic Public Relations Management In China, Cen Yue

Open Access Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the current status of the strategic public relations management in China. This study is the first to apply the generic principles of excellent public relations in China. Surveys and in-depth interviews were used to address five research questions: (1) practitioners’ strategic public relations practice, (2) their relationship with the dominant coalition, (3) communication models in use, (4) proficiency in practicing the managerial and technical roles, and (5) the challenges facing public relations industry were explored as research questions. The study results suggested that public relations was hardly managed in a strategic manner …

Three Essays In Economics, James R. Bland

Open Access Dissertations

How Many Games Are We Playing: An Experimental Analysis of Choice Bracketing in Games

A subject brackets two decisions if she "choose[s] an option in each case without full regard to the other" Rabin (2009). Although in most situations such behavior is unlikely to be optimal, it is well documented in experiments where subjects make decisions in the absence of strategic considerations. This paper uses an economic experiment to investigate whether subjects also bracket their decisions in games. Subjects played two Volunteer's Dilemmas at the same time, with the payoffs from both games added to their earnings. In a lottery …

Post-Transition Human Rights Performance In Peru, Uruguay, And South Korea, Nusta Pitushca Carranza Ko

Open Access Dissertations

The literature on transitional justice and international human rights norms has been useful for explaining norm internalization for transitioning states. And yet, the literature could not account for the variations to state behavior after norms were implemented via domestic transitional justice policies of truth-seeking, prosecutions, and reparations. Why have states where great efforts were put into confronting an ugly past relapsed in their behavior? This research fills this lacuna be examining the period after states institute transitional justice policies to determine how states have varied in respecting norms. Taking the case of Peru, Uruguay, and South Korea that have advanced …

The Effects Of Including Almonds In An Energy-Restricted Diet On Weight, Body Composition, Visceral Adipose Tissue, Blood Pressure And Cognitive Function, Jaapna Dhillon

Open Access Dissertations

Inclusion of almonds in an energy restricted diet has been reported to enhance or have no effect on weight loss. Their effects specifically on visceral fat stores during energy restriction have not been widely examined. Additionally, almond consumption has been associated with reduced blood pressure, but whether this is linked to or is independent of changes of body composition has not been examined. Moreover, almond consumption during energy restriction may be an effective strategy for reversing the negative effects of dieting on cognitive performance. The unique nutrient profile of almonds also has the potential to influence cognitive function post-prandially. The …

The Politics Of Town Hall Meetings: Analyzing Constituent Relations-In-Interaction, Robert J. Green

Open Access Dissertations

The politics of town meetings proposes that town hall meetings are institutions of representative democracy that present an opportunity for constituents to hold their elected representatives accountable in a public setting. Constituent relations-in-interaction glosses a complex set of interactional practices and procedures through which ensembles of participants bring town hall meetings, as structures of social interaction, into being. This study uses conversation analysis, the study of talk-in-interaction, to show that the politics of town hall meetings orients to three types of accountability: Interactional accountability, political accountability, and public accountability. The articulation of these accountability types provides a sense of overall-structural …

Organizing Historical Agricultural Data And Identifying Data Integrity Zones To Assess Agricultural Data Quality, Elizabeth Marie Hawkins

Open Access Dissertations

As precision agriculture transitions into decision agriculture, data driven decision- making has become the focus of the industry and data quality will be increasingly important. Traditionally, yield data cleaning techniques have removed individual data points based on criteria primarily focused on the yield values. However, when these methods are used, the underlying causes of the errors are often overlooked and as a result, these techniques may fail to remove all of the inaccurate data or remove “good” data. As part of this research, an alternative to data cleaning was developed. Data integrity zones (DIZ) within each field were identified by …

Us Strategic Retrenchment And Security-Seeking Behaviors Of The Us Allies In Northeast Asia, Seok Ryul Kang

Open Access Dissertations

This research is planned to explore how a regional state could improve its security during the time of its patron’s strategic retrenchment. It introduces a theory of a regional state’s security-promoting behaviors during the time of its patron’s retrenchment. According to this theory, it is hypothesized that there is covariation between the level of a regional state’s security concern and the scope of its domestic drives to increase societal contribution to autonomous defense posture. It also hypothesizes the existence of covariation between the level of a regional state’s security concern and the level of its commitment to the pursuit of …

Silent Dissent: The Effect Of Structural Secrecy On Professional Communication At Nasa, Charlotte N. Hyde

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation examines the creation and legitimization of knowledge through an examination of Dr. Warner von Braun’s weekly communications with his department heads during the Apollo project. My researched is focused on an archive of memos from the Marshall Space Flight Center during the 60’s. The memos were referred to as either Monday Notes or Weekly notes. I use the terms interchangeably, but some scholars differentiate between the two and refer to the Monday Notes as the communication system that worked during the Apollo project and the weekly notes as the communication system that broke after the Apollo project. In …