Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of School-Home Notes On Teacher Reports Of Academic Productivity And Disruptive Classroom Behaviors Of Middle School Students, Nichol Frances Pritchard

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a schoolhome note (SHN) for increasing academic productivity and decreasing disruptive classroom behaviors of four middle high school students identified as at-risk for failure and/or dropout. Participants included four students from a middle school in a southern state referred for behavioral problems and low academic productivity. A changing criterion design with a withdrawal was employed to assess intervention effectiveness. Students’ levels of academic productivity and appropriate behavior were assessed using SHN point data. Percentage of disruptive behavior, weekly rates of office discipline referrals (ODRs), and frequencies of in-school …

Being Active And Impulsive: The Role Of Goals For Action And Inaction In Self-Control, Justin Hepler, Dolores Albarracin, Kathleen C. Mcculloch, Kenji Noguchi

Faculty Publications

Although self-control often requires behavioral inaction (i.e., not eating a piece of cake), the process of inhibiting impulsive behavior is commonly characterized as cognitively active (i.e., actively exerting self-control). Two experiments examined whether motivation for action or inaction facilitates self-control behavior in the presence of tempting stimuli. Experiment 1 used a delay discounting task to assess the ability to delay gratification with respect to money. Experiment 2 used a Go/No-Go task to assess the ability to inhibit a dominant but incorrect motor response to the words "condom" and "sex". The results demonstrate that goals for inaction promote self-control, whereas goals …

Profession Of Faith: Congressional Websites And Religious Expression In The 112th Congress, Molly Jaye Mcguffee

Master's Theses

The idea of culture wars in politics suggests that American voters have polarized according to their positions on moral issues, and a religious gap in the electorate also contends that voters are polarized on these issues according to their religious beliefs and practices. Research shows that members of Congress send cues about their faith to their constituents, who in turn use the information to assess their representatives and determine their members' position on these moral issues. To determine how these cues are delivered and who delivers the information, I combed 100 Senators' and 435 Representatives' from the 1121 h Congress …

The Effects Of Check-In/Check-Out And Check-In/Check-Out In Combination With Social Skills Training For Students Who Exhibit Disruptive Classroom Behavior, Aimee Maldonado

Master's Theses

The purpose was to investigate the additive effects of Social Skills Training (SST) to Check-in/Check-out (CICO) on academic engagement of students. Participants were 3 elementary students who exhibited disruptive behavior who were nominated by teachers. The two dependent variables were the level of Appropriately Engaged Behavior (AEB) of the student as well as the student's behavior ratings indicated by teacher responses on the Daily Behavior Report Card (DBRC) with and without SST. A noncurrent multiple baseline across students design was used to examine both dependent variables. Goldstein and McGinnis' program, Skillstreaming the Elementary School Child, was used during SST. The …

Using Gis And Remote Sensing Applications To Determine Recovery From Disaster: Seven Years Post-Katrina In Residential Communities Of Hancock County, Carlton P. Anderson

Honors Theses

Hurricane Katrina devastated the gulf coast states of Louisiana and Mississippi on August 29th, 2005. The communities of Shoreline Park and Waveland in Hancock County, Mississippi were used in this study to analyze land use change post-Hurricane Katrina using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing. These two communities are experiencing slower recovery than their counterparts along the coast. By examining high-resolution aerial imagery from 2007 and 2012, there can be comparisons that show the timeline of recovery for these two communities post-Katrina. Shoreline Park has seen 30% of its total parcels change their structural footprints from 2007 – 2012 …

Parenting Styles, Peer Pressure, And The Formation Of Antisocial Behavior, Erinisha L. Johnson

Honors Theses

The current study examined the relationship between antisocial behavior, negative parenting, and peer pressure. It was predicted that peer pressure and negative parenting would be positively correlated with antisocial behavior, but that negative parenting would be more statistically significant. There were 177 male and female college students who completed the Subtypes of Antisocial Behavior questionnaire, the Measurement of Parenting Style, the Peer Pressure and Popularity questionnaire, and a short demographics survey. Results indicated that negative parenting and peer pressure were both related to antisocial behavior (p< .001). However, the final hypothesis was rejected because the results indicated that peer pressure (p < .001) and not negative parenting (p<.05), showed to be more statistically significant. It may be suggested that peer pressure may overpower parenting, after a certain age.

Interpersonal Desirability Of The Self-Defeating Humorist, Ashley N. Barnes

Honors Theses

Humor is a multifaceted construct and can be defined in terms of the different ways people tend to use humor, which are referred to as humor styles. The present study examined the potential effects that the four different humor styles (Affiliative, Self-enhancing, Aggressive, and Self-defeating) have on other people’s perceptions of the individual producing the humor, and whether that impact was moderated by the attachment style of the individual perceiving the humorist. The goal was to investigate the interaction between the humor styles and physical attractiveness of a target in predicting how attractive a person is perceived and the degree …

"If It Ain't Broke, Break It": How Corporate Journalism Killed The "Arkansas Gazette", Donna Lampkin Stephens

Dissertations

Ownership is an increasingly critical issue for newspapers as they face the latest threats to the industry’s survival. Local, engaged, enlightened ownership is preferable to that of a distant corporation, but economic realities have decreed that corporate ownership has become the norm. The Arkansas Gazette was one of the most honored newspapers of twentieth-century American journalism under independent local family ownership, having provided brave leadership during the Little Rock Central Crisis, but its wounds from one of the country’s final fierce newspaper wars — against another local owner, Walter Hussman and his Arkansas Democrat — in the 1980s, combined with …

Increasing Positive Interactions Between Staff And Individuals With Disabilities: The Impact Of Training On Acquisition And Maintenance, Kimberly Anne Martell

Dissertations

The primary purpose of the present study was to evaluate the use of direct training to increase the rate of positive interactions between direct care staff (DCS) and individuals with developmental disabilities who reside in intermediate care facilities. Specifically, this study evaluated whether real-time prompts delivered via a one-way radio would result in immediate and sustained increases in rates of DCS positive interactions. Additionally, this study evaluated the link between increased rates of DCS positive interactions and concomitant decreases in residents’ challenging behaviors. A multiple baseline design across participants was implemented to assess DCS rates of positive and negative interactions. …

Can Psychopathic Traits Contribute To Success In Adolescence? Relations Between Boldness, Meanness, Disinhibition, And Adaptive Functioning, Matthew David Guelker

Dissertations

Psychopathy, though frequently couched as a distinctive set of traits with violent and aggressive behavioral consequences (i.e., Hart, Kropp, & Hare, 1988; McCord & McCord, 1964; Millon & Davis, 1998), was presented in one of the original conceptualizations as a set of specific traits (i.e., emotional unresponsiveness and behavioral deviance) that could manifest as charm, confidence, and social dominance without resulting in criminality and aggression (Cleckley, 1941, 1988). More recently, Patrick, Fowles, and Krueger (2009) developed the Triarchic Conceptualization of psychopathy that differentiates underlying components of psychopathy into boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. The factor structure of the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure …

Religious Leaders In Crisis: An Analysis Of Image Restoration Strategies And Content Variables, Melody Teracita Fisher

Dissertations

The following study employs content analysis to examine the crisis communication responses and audience reception of religious leaders involved in scandal. Benoit’s Image Repair Strategies and the Contingency Theory are used to determine the strategies, stances and contingent variables of mega-church leaders: Jim Bakker, Ted Haggard, Eddie Long, Henry Lyons and Jimmy Swaggart; and the Boston Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church. News framing theory determined media and audience reception of the religious leaders’ crisis communication responses.

The study concludes that there is little difference in mega-church leaders and the Boston Diocese’s crisis communication responses. Religious leaders’ dominant strategies were …

Unnecessary Evil: An Examination Of Abu Ghraib Torture Photographs As Postcolonial Resistance Rhetoric, Patrick Gerhardt Richey

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the rhetorical nature of visual artifacts in a postcolonial context. In order to examine the nature of visual artifacts as a form of resistance against static ideologies and prevailing power structures, the author uses both media and cultural artifacts created in response to photographs taken of abused prisoners at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib Correctional Facility. The dissertation adds to scholarly knowledge of communication by addressing the intersections of iconographic visual communication and postcolonial resistance rhetoric. The dissertation provides a scholarly review of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, as well as of literature explicating …

Library Focus (Fall 2012), University Libraries, Linda K. Ginn

Library Focus

The Aquila Digital Community
From the Dean
Spotlight on Harvey Brenneise
de Grummond Book Group
Friends of University Libraries
Science Cafes

Entire Issue Volume 1, Number 2, Teresa Welsh, Stacy Creel

SLIS Connecting

Entire SLIS Connecting Volume 1, Issue 2

Navigating The Copyright Maze, Jeannie Ferriss

SLIS Connecting

Fines, infringement, imprisonment; these words are resounding with librarians, faculty and students all over the country as they try to navigate the maze of copyright laws. There is help available to all who seek to understand how, when, and how much of another’s work they can use in creating original works, furthering research, and enhancing classroom presentations or assignments. This paper seeks to identify the major copyright issues and pitfalls, and then looks at solutions and aides for librarians, faculty members or students who wish to stay within the copyright laws.

An Analysis Of Little Red Riding Hood Storybooks In The De Grummond Children’S Literature Collection, Cheryl Pittman

SLIS Connecting

The focus of this study was an analysis of one fairy tale currently located in the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection in order to determine the extent of the collection as well as characteristics of the collection of Little Red Riding Hood illustrated storybooks. It includes analysis of year of publication to indicate the oldest version in the collection, publication trend over time from 1966 to 2010, culture or country of origin, and authorship. Adult-themed books in Cook Library that are related primarily to the topic of LRRH were also examined.

Condition Survey Of The Circulating Collection: Joseph Anderson Cook Memorial Library, University Of Southern Mississippi, Scott David Reinke

SLIS Connecting

Building on the foundation of condition surveys that span the last 30 years, the current research provides library administrators at The University of Southern Mississippi’s Joseph Anderson Cook Memorial Library with information that can be used to plan mitigation strategies, create preservation policies, and further develop the existing preservation services to ensure that the collection remains accessible for future students and scholars. This survey serves as a pilot project to determine whether additional research in this area is warranted. It also provides a statistically valid set of data that indicate the current condition of the collection and an estimate of …

From The Gas, Congratulations, Publications, And Presentations, Teresa Welsh

SLIS Connecting

Read a highlight From the GAs, and all about what our alum, students, and faculty have been doing in SLIS News: Congratulations, Publications, and Presentations.

Student Associations And Upcoming Events, Teresa Welsh, Stacy Creel

SLIS Connecting

Presents updates and news from the Library and Information Science Student Association (LISSA) and the Southern Miss Student Archivists Association (Southern Miss SAA) along with upcoming events of interest including but not limited to The Children's Book Festival, Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries International Conference (QQML 13), British Studies and Mississippi Library Association Annual Conference 2012.

Spotlights: Faculty, Alum, And Course, Stacy Creel

SLIS Connecting

Highlights new SLIS faculty member Dr. Brenton Steward, recent alum Rosie Tominello, and new or recently updated SLIS courses.

Slis Update, J Norton

SLIS Connecting

Beginning a new academic year is always exhilarating! We start anew, greet new students, faculty, staff and of course new ideas. We are opening the 2012-2013 academic year with good news on multiple fronts; a new faculty member, with permission to seek two more tenure track faculty, a renewed American Library Association accreditation for 7 years, and we are involved in a new software pilot in Blackboard. Presenting the story of what we do and how we do it, and how it can serve the community, is key to having a common bond and exchange.

Emotional Psychological And Related Problems Among Truant Youths: An Exploratory Latent Class Analysis, Richard Dembo, Rhissa Briones-Robinson, Rocío Aracelis Ungaro, Laura M. Gulledge, Lora M. Karas, Ken C. Winters, Steven Belenko, Paul Greenbaum

Faculty Publications

Latent class analysis was conducted on the psychosocial problems experienced by truant youths. Data were obtained from baseline interviews completed on 131 youths and their parents/guardians involved in a NIDA-funded, Brief Intervention Project. Results identified two classes of youths: Class 1(n=9) - youths with low levels of delinquency, mental health and substance abuse issues; and Class 2(n=37) - youths with high levels of these problems. Comparison of these two classes on their urine analysis test results and parent/guardian reports of traumatic events found significant (p<.05) differences between them that were consistent with their problem group classification. Our results have important implications for research and practice.

Single Liquid-Liquid Extraction Of Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol And 11-Nor-Carboxy-Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol At An Acidic Ph, Meghan Ann Tanner

Master's Theses

Because of the high occurrence of marijuana usage in the workplace and in driving under the influence cases, it is important to test for both delta-9-THC and delta-9-THCA in order to determine current and recent usage. The laboratory preparation and analysis of delta-9-THC and delta-9-THCA in urine should be as cost and time efficient as possible. Current extraction of delta-9-THC and delta-9-THCA from urine requires two separate techniques for each. Because delta-9-THC is nonacidic, while delta-9-THCA is acidic, the extractions involve two separate pH levels, while GC/MS analysis requires two separate methods. This separation requires a great deal of time …

German Pows, Biopolitics, & The Piney Woods: Using Foucault To Analyze Resistance At Camp Shelby's Pow Camp During World War Ii, Patricia Lynn Miller-Beech

Master's Theses

Few people realize that during World War II, Camp Shelby in south Mississippi was a detention site for German prisoners of war (POWs) where the United States government engaged in reeducation efforts to de-Nazify soldiers in order to create a democratic Germany after the war. The U.S. War Department hoped the success of this program would create allies and prevent another war in the future. Despite the reeducation program being in all POW camps in the U. S., Camp Shelby was distinctive due to the racial politics of Mississippi during the height of the Jim Crow era. It is also …

The Effects Of The Good Behavior Game With General Education High School Students, Rachel R. Mitchell

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the interdependent group contingency procedure known as the Good Behavior Game (GBG) on decreasing disruptive behaviors in general education high school students. The effectiveness of the GBG has been investigated in many studies as means of managing a variety of behaviors across many developmental levels; however, not all populations have been investigated. Although many studies exist that have utilized the GBG to alter behaviors across ages ranging from pre-school to adulthood, few studies exist in which the GBG has been used with a general education high school population. The …

The Use Of Humor For Emotion Management On The Job: An Exploration Of 911 Communication Centers, Jennifer Dell Mclaughlin

Dissertations

This study sought to understand how humor affects a person’s ability to cope and manage their emotions in a high stress organizational environment. 911 communication centers are work environments where stress is commonplace, and the work environment can instantly become erratic and chaotic.

This study explored the role humor has in assisting organizational members with emotion management in a high stress job and the types of humor used by members to handle their job and cope with the stress.

The results suggest that humor is pervasive in 911 communication centers, and dispatchers use humor for personal coping, co-worker bonding, and …

Positive Peer Reporting And Positive Peer Reporting Combined With Tootling: A Comparison Of Interventions, Julie Christine Sherman

Dissertations

Positive Peer Reporting (PPR) and Tootling are interventions designed to improve children’s positive behavior and decrease peer rejection. Research is limited for both interventions, including dependent variables for appropriate behavior. The current study assessed PPR and a combination of PPR and Tootling for decreasing inappropriate behavior and increasing appropriate behavior. Behavior was also observed a second time to assess for generalization. Results showed that PPR and PPR with Tootling both reduced inappropriate behavior for four children referred for peer rejection and who exhibited inappropriate behavior in the classroom. There were no differences between the two interventions for inappropriate and appropriate …

The Organization Of Self-Knowledge And Race: Does Self-Concept Structure Impact The Responses Of Black Individuals To Stereotype Threat?, Aisha Denise Baker

Dissertations

Stereotype threat is defined as “the concern or worry that a person can feel when he or she is at risk of confirming or being seen to confirm a negative stereotype about his or her group” (Steele & Davies, 2003, p. 311). Stereotype threat has been examined in a variety of stereotyped groups, but the primary focus of this research has been Black individuals because they often encounter negative stereotypes about their race in the course of their daily lives. Some researchers have suggested that stereotype threat may partially explain the achievement gap between Black and White individuals (Steele & …

Using The Good Behavior Game To Decrease Disruptive Behavior While Increasing Academic Engagement With A Headstart Population, Brandy Marie Hunt

Dissertations

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) has been widely supported as an effective intervention to alter a variety of target behaviors, in various settings, with varying age groups; however, there are areas warranting further investigation. Prior to the present study, no study has examined the GBG’s effectiveness in decreasing disruptive behaviors while increasing appropriate academic behaviors within a preschool population. The present study adds to the literature base by investigating the GBG’s effectiveness in simultaneously decreasing classroom disruptive behaviors while increasing appropriate behaviors. A multiple baseline design across three Headstart classrooms was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the GBG on …

Efficacy Of A Basic Public Speaking Course Delivered Via A Virtual Community College, Stephen Bradley Bailey

Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to: (a) determine if taking the basic public speaking course in face-to-face, hybrid, and online format statistically significantly reduces public speaking anxiety; (b) determine which course format, if any, reduces public speaking anxiety to the greatest extent; (c) determine if students’ satisfaction with learning is statistically significantly different in the three course formats; (d) determine faculty’s perceptions of students learning in the basic public speaking in the three course formats.

Pre- and post-data were collected from 263 participants taking the basic public speaking course in a virtual community college in January 2012 and in …