Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Making Sense Of Acute Stress: Psychological Adjustment In Meaning Making, Kristen Diann Petagna

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

The current study utilized an experimental design to investigate violations of global meanings, perceived stress, positive affect and negative affect in the context of meanings made from a stressful situation. Additionally, meanings made were investigated as a moderator of the relationship between those variables. A sample of 40 participants completed the experiment and the questionnaires. Half of the participants were randomly assigned to either the control group or the experimental group. Participants responded to a variety of measures including, perceived stress, positive and negative affect, positive cognitive emotional regulation strategies (meaning making attempts), meanings made, global meaning measures such as …

Recovery Capital As A Mediator Between Stress And Drug-Taking Abstinence Self-Efficacy, Roxxanne Newman

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

The present research was designed to address the gap in research regarding recovery capital, stress, and drug-taking abstinence self-efficacy. Prior research on recovery capital and stress has demonstrated that recovery capital buffers stress in recovery and enhances quality of life. Additionally, prior research has demonstrated that stress depletes self-control, and contributes to continued relapse behaviors, while self-efficacy represents the ability to abstain from drug use. The current research sought to examine the role of recovery capital as a mediator between stress and drug-taking abstinence self-efficacy. Participants in the community completed a survey packet that measure recovery capital, perceived stress, and …

#Metoo Movement: A Sociological Analysis Of Media Representations, Lindsay Tahan

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

The Me Too or #MeToo movement has come under the spotlight in recent years since more survivors/victims are now speaking out against their abuser. These survivors/victims repressed their abuse for years, ashamed to speak out in fear that they would not be believed or face extreme scrutiny and humiliation. Survivors/victims are now coming together to seek justice and to reform the judicial system and how they handle sexual abuse and violence cases. This movement has become more prominent now than it was when it first was formed in 2006 by Tarana Burke and reintroduced by Alyssa Milano using Twitter in …

Women's Sexual Satisfaction And Overall Well-Being: Examining Relationship Satisfaction, Sexual Agency, Sociosexual Orientation And Relationship Status, Christine M. Curley

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Medical and psychological research has found a strong association between sexual satisfaction and overall well-being. However, few studies have addressed whether the relationship between women’s sexual satisfaction and overall well-being differs for women of different ages. This mixed-method study recruited 347 women aged 18 to 76 and found (1) a positive significant association between age, relationship satisfaction, and sexual satisfaction and overall well-being, and higher levels of sexual satisfaction are associated with higher levels of overall well-being. However, age was unrelated to sexual satisfaction and overall well-being, and; (2) while relationship satisfaction interacted with sexual satisfaction and overall well-being, there …

Why Can't We Sleep? Impact Of Race And Social Status On Sleep In College, Jillian Silva-Jones

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

This study assessed the impacts of discrimination, microaggressions, and socioeconomic status (SES) on sleep in college students. The study also assessed moderators of racial identity and sleep hygiene as potential buffers of the impact from discrimination. Method: The impacts of lifetime discrimination and microaggressions over the past six months on sleep over the past month was assessed using an online survey (Study 1), and daily impacts of microaggressions on sleep was assessed from a daily diary study (Study 2). Results: The results showed modest correlations for the impact of discrimination, microaggressions, and SES on sleep, with the overall patterns suggesting …

Fatally Female: A Study Of The Treatment Of Women In True Crime Narratives, Jessica R. Washak

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

This thesis studies book-length literature from four cases of violent crime—the unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short in 1947, the prosecution of O.J. Simpson by Deputy Assistant District Attorney Marcia Clark, the shooting at Columbine High School by Harris and Klebold, and the trial of American exchange student Amanda Knox for the murder of her roommate in Italy in 2007–in order to analyze the way in which authors characterize the women and events involved in each case. Regardless of their positioning to the crime, the women who are close to these cases are repeatedly criticized by those chronicling their actions for …

Visual Attention And Behavior Under Positive Stereotypes, Sathiarith Chau

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Afrocentricity bias occurs when Black individuals with dark skin, wide nose, and large lips are associated with certain negative and positive traits (e.g., criminality and athleticism) compared to those with Eurocentric features (i.e., light skin, narrow nose, thin lips). In racial bias research, inhibition of biased responses is common. The current study employed positive stereotypes associated with Blacks and Whites (physical and verbal ability, respectively) in order to link implicit behavior (visual attention) to explicit behavior. Participants selected, from an array of two faces, the best candidate for a team requiring either physical strength or verbal ability. Stereotypes did not …

Folk River, Rhonda J. Miller

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

America’s technology-infused society is cluttered with torrents of information and often scarcity of facts. Many people never bother to check where information is coming from, whether the sources have been documented and if the presentation is fair, balanced and worthy of our democratic nation. Hundreds of experienced journalists have left or been forced out of newsrooms due to financial pressures in the industry and monumental changes in technology. These experienced journalists have been dedicated to serving as the eyes and ears of citizens who do not have time to attend hours of meetings, question those in authority, analyze details from …

A Study Of Cape Verdeanness In Postcolonial Cape Verdean Poetry, David Joseph Alpert

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Cape Verdeanness is another name for Cape Verdean cultural identity. Postcolonial Cape Verdeanness refers to Cape Verdeanness as it has expressed itself since July 5, 1975, the first day of Cape Verdean independence. Postcolonial Cape Verdeanness has previously been described at length in the social sciences scholarship. Postcolonial Cape Verdeanness has previously been implicitly rather than explicitly represented in descriptions of postcolonial Cape Verdean poetry in the scholarly literature.

This study is a first of its kind consideration of postcolonial Cape Verdeanness. It is also the first time Cape Verdeanness of any kind has been explicitly represented by means of …

Terrors Of Girlhood, Julie Casali

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Since the birth of the genre, American horror filmmakers have posed female characters as prey and objects of sexual desire. Adolescent women in particular act as both the victim and as eye candy for viewers. From the damsel in distress to the rape victim seeking revenge, women in horror films exist to be antagonized, and so often, their exhibition of femininity and sexuality determines the severity of their suffering. Moreover, though the popular horror film narrative tends to explore the fringes of human nature, few horror films openly deal with the fears and concerns of women outside of threats to …

Blogging About Summer Reading, Janice Becker Place

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

The purpose of this study was to investigate what happened when grade 11 high school honors students blogged about their summer reading under the monitoring of a teacher during vacation. I proposed that an educational blog might serve as an effective tool during summer vacation to help students retain skills or learning while at a physical distance from their school and teacher. In addition to the blog’s transcripts, a pre-project survey, post-project survey,and post-project interviews provided complementary data to inform my analysis. Qualitative analysis was applied to the blog discussion entries for evidence of peer learning, scaffolding, critical thinking, and …

Gangs And Social Policy, Karen N. Doucette

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Youth involvement in gangs in urban areas is significantly increasing. These youth are at high risk for physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. Exposure to community violence is linked to aggressive behavior, lower academic performance, lower levels of social competence, and negative mental health outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to set the agenda on how to deal with gangs and gang members from a social policy perspective. This paper will outline the nature of the gang problem in Providence, Rhode Island from three different perspectives: Violence, Forgiveness, and Practice. Literature will be presented and discussed and recommendations for …

Becoming An Administrator, F. Patrick Lattuca Iii

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

This study is part of a limited but growing body of research that examines and describes the social side of pulic school administration. Most training programs that prepare public school administrators are highly effective with regard to providing students the theoretical foundation that surrounds administrative roles, but as the literature illustrates, there is a gap between theory and practice. This autoethnographical dissertation addresse this gap by providing an analytical description of what individuals do when acting as a public school administrator. Specifically, this study follows the transition into an assistant principalship and how the author was socialized into that role

An Opposing Self, Christine M. Gamache

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

People have always been both frightened and fascinated by the unknown, and themes touching on the existence of things beyond human understanding have longevity in the literary arena as well as in popular culture. One such theme is that of the doppelgänger, or double, which has been around for centuries but was first made popular by Jean-Paul’s (Johann Paul Friedrich Richter) work Hesperus in 1795. Due to a resurgence in the nineteenth century in the popularity of Gothic literature, doppelgängers, or variations of this double motif, found their way into some of the most famous works of literature …

Beyond The Black Horizon, Aaron Bruce

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Although U.S. colleges and universities continue to discuss creative ways to increase the number of African American collegians participating in study abroad, this research is limited when revealing the unique perspectives of African American collegians who have studied abroad. Traditionally an emphasis on program success has been placed on the quantity of study abroad participants rather than the quality of African American student support and engagement; the personal reflections through the lens of African American race and identity are often overlooked. A series of culturally responsive, guided interviews were conducted with African American collegians from a variety of institutions across …

Weeds, Tamar Mekvedijian

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

This is a short story collection about a family. The stories are linked but aren't necessarily connected, with family members appearing in more than one story. It is about the bonds of family, and the struggle we have against the health of our bodies.

Digital Brushstrokes, Michelle A. Tavano

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Digital painting enables the traditional painter to paint using new technology without experience in traditional painting. But few digital painters are able to transcend the technology to create aesthetically pleasing compositions that address traditional design elements and content. This thesis examines digital painting's place i an evolving digital culture by focusing on six digital painters, the digital audience and how new media theory applies.

Analysis Of 45 Nahua/Mexica/Aztec Children's Books, Yaocihuatzin

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Given the legacy of 500 years of colonization and miseducation of Indigenous peoples, how can Nahua/Mexica/Aztec children's books be decolonized and made appropriate to the twenty first century?

The Female Singing Voice, Shirley Guerreiro

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

A study of perceived changes that may occur to the voice within the menstrual cycle The study examines factors that may affect women's voices and examines if there is a change occurring in the female singing voice during the premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle. Journals and questionnaires of premenstrual vocal and physiological symptoms of seven female voice students were used during two menstrual cycles. Vocal Teacher journals were also used to see if relationships could be found. The median score for various variables were calculated to produce graphs for visual comparison looking for relationships between days of the menstrual …

A Person Of Interest, Jesse Lepre

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Presents a drama-based screenplay which explores the stereotyping of the modern Italian-American male in contemporary American society.

Imagining Sri Lanka, Derick Kirishan Ariyam

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Analyzes the works of three Sri Lankan expatriates, the writers, Shyam Selvadurai and Michael Ondaatje, and the artist, M.I.A., giving particular attention to Selvadurai's Funny Boy and Ondaatje's Running in the Family, Anil's Ghost, and The Cinnamon Peeler. Though all three have been charged as "inauthentic" due to their dislocated positions, uncovers the various productive and complicated ways Sri Lanka has been configured by those outside its shores.

Dismantling The Cult Of Manliness, Peter Capalbo

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Explores the argument that several of Virginia Woolf's male characters, including Septimus Smith, Mr. Ramsay, and Bernard (in The Waves), challenge traditional male gender expectations in Britain after World War I. Examines Woolf's use of the concept of manliness in structuring her novels and her presentation of a series of men who do not conform to the British ideal of masculinity and who, thereby, allow her to expose the multiple fallacies of that ideal and a culture supported by such a concept. Posits that Woolf's work suggests that a new, more inclusive, understanding of gender is an important first step …

Making Waves With Critical Literacy, Carolyn Fortuna

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

A qualitative study undertaken in 2007 that explores the application of critical literacy pedagogy within English language arts classes of an upper middle class public high school. Results demonstrate that when students recontextualize their own modalities, literacies, and cultures as part of their learning experience, they begin to understand the concept of social justice for all.

An Empathetic Approach To Physical Education Teacher Education, Tony Monahan

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Based on the theory that a more student-centered approach in physical education classes might encourage more students to engage in lifelong physical activity and, thereby, lead a healthier life, this study was undertaken to determine the effect of a semester-long empathy-focused educational intervention on empathy levels in 59 college-level students studying in Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) Programs at three East-coast universities. ANCOVA results revealed statistically significant findings in "Higher Order" empathy levels in the experimental groups, and analysis of essays written for the study also suggested a change in experimental group subjects' personal view of PE toward an empathetic …

The Rebellious Angel, Pamela Gannon Mazzuchelli

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Examines Virginia Woolf's writing and her anger in historical contexts, revealing that circumstances dictated that she deflect this volatile emotion. Focuses on the ways in which this deflection of anger illuminates the fictional dynamics of Woolf's autobiographical novel, To the Lighthouse and analyzes the concept of the Angel in the House, posited to be at the root of Woolf's anger. Argues that anger exists on three levels in the novel and that the main character, Mrs. Ramsay, is a victim of the Angel in the House ideology.

Exploring Some Inattended Affective Factors In Performing Nonroutine Mathematical Tasks, John Douglas Butler

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Describes students' attempts to solve nonroutine math problems and explores possible correlates of their performance, focusing on inattended (i.e., intentionally avoided) dimensions underrepresented in the literature, including attitudes, interests, values, aesthetics, metacognition, and representation. Analyzes objective and subjective data gathered from a sample of 9th-grade students at a high school in Rhode Island. Finds strong evidence of students' math-aesthetics in problem solving.

Silent Subversions, Derek Dubois

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Explores the concept of spectatorship in relation to gender in the earliest period of film history in the United States known as the silent era. Argues that a new mode of spectatorship emerges for women during the 1920s, which employs to advantage the extra-diegetic components of spectacle in theater design, new customized genres for female filmgoers, fandom, and exotic male film stars, such as Rudolph Valentino. Focuses primarily on feminist film theory and on cultural studies as methodological models.

Nietzsche's Ubermensch In The Hyperreal Flux, Anthony Pate

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Analyzes how Nietzsche's philosophy of the Ubermensch and Baudrillard's ideas about simulation and hyperreality apply to the journeys undertaken by the protagonists of the films, Blade Runner, Fight Club, and Miami Vice. Explores how the protagonists adapt and master their unique worlds through self-awareness, self-reliance, and strength resulting from radical self-exposure to hardship.

Race, Class, And Herman Melville, Joan A. De Santis

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Analyzes two of the short stories in Herman Melville's The Piazza Tales, "Bartleby the Scrivener: a Story of Wall Street" and "Benito Cereno" and argues that these stories are highly critical of the bourgeois class structure of American society that inform Wall Street, as well as the slave trade, in mid-Nineteenth-Century America. Posits that in these works Melville addresses the questions of hierarchical power in the workplace and the effects of racism and slavery in the colonization of America.

Transgressive Masculinities In Selected Sword And Sandal Films, Merle Kenneth Peirce

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Examines significant films in the ancient epic canon from a queer theoretical viewpoint to survey the extent of atypical gender formations within the genre. Uses the studies of Judith Butler and Michel Foucault, in the main, to establish the basis of these trangressive gender formations and to provide an explanation of their causes and appearances.