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University of Louisville

Theses/Dissertations

2014

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Articles 1 - 30 of 45

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Working Memory, Emotion Regulation, And Effortful Control Levels In Children With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder., James Rush Dec 2014

Working Memory, Emotion Regulation, And Effortful Control Levels In Children With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder., James Rush

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

No abstract provided.


Comparative Analysis Of Varying Theoretical Frameworks In Argentine Music Therapy., Talia Girton Dec 2014

Comparative Analysis Of Varying Theoretical Frameworks In Argentine Music Therapy., Talia Girton

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

One of the most shocking cultural phenomena that American visitors to Argentina experience is the prevalence of psychoanalytic theory, thought, and practice. It is so embedded into the Argentine way of life that its terminology is sprinkled throughout their daily speech and the cost of regular therapy sessions is factored into the monthly budget along with food, rent, and clothing. The widespread use of psychoanalysis is especially confounding to those of us in the mental health care field in the United States, as the enthusiasm for psychoanalysis and Freudian theory has receded among the intellectual community largely because it is …


Is It The Thought That Counts? : Investigating Children's Understanding Of Helpfulness, Effort, And Utility., Danielle Mccarty Dec 2014

Is It The Thought That Counts? : Investigating Children's Understanding Of Helpfulness, Effort, And Utility., Danielle Mccarty

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

How do children consider helpfulness, specifically effort and utility, when evaluating potential informants? We tested preschoolers on three conditions, asking them to choose between a character high in both effort and utility and a character who acted with either 1) low effort and high utility, 2) high effort and low utility, or 3) low effort and no utility (removed from social contexts). The opposing characters provided conflicting information when labeling novel objects, and participants were asked which label they endorsed. They were then asked to choose which character was the more helpful, which worked harder, and which was nicer. We …


Building Reconciliation In Bosnia And Herzegovina : The Effects Of Ingroup Identification, Outgroup Trust, And Intergroup Forgiveness On Intergroup Contact Quantity., Branka Damjanovic Dec 2014

Building Reconciliation In Bosnia And Herzegovina : The Effects Of Ingroup Identification, Outgroup Trust, And Intergroup Forgiveness On Intergroup Contact Quantity., Branka Damjanovic

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

After the violent breakup of Yugoslavia, it was necessary to find a way for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s three main ethnic groups to live together again. The Dayton Peace Agreement was thought to be the answer. Signed in 1995, it provided a new framework for the country, establishing the Republika Srpska for the Serbs, the Brcko District as an autonomous region, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was further divided into cantons between the Bosnian Croats and the Bosniaks. With such a political structure, it was of interest to survey the quantity of intergroup contact between the groups today, …


The Impact Of Mindfulness And Test Anxiety On Academic Performance., Mariam A. Altairi Dec 2014

The Impact Of Mindfulness And Test Anxiety On Academic Performance., Mariam A. Altairi

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

No abstract provided.


Unnatural Pedagogy : A Computational Analysis Of Children's Learning To Learn From Other People., Baxter S. Eaves 1984- Dec 2014

Unnatural Pedagogy : A Computational Analysis Of Children's Learning To Learn From Other People., Baxter S. Eaves 1984-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Infants rely on others for much of what they learn. People are a ready source of quick information, but people produce data differently than the world. Data from a person are a result of that person's knowledgeability and intentions. People may produce inaccurate or misleading data. On the other hand, if a person is knowledgeable about the world and intends to teach, that person may produce data that are more useful than simply accurate data: data that are pedagogical. This idea that people have special innate methods for efficient information transfer lies at the heart of recent proposals regarding what …


Portrayals Of Mental Illness And Physical Disability In 21st Century Children's Animation., Amy Sue Marie Miller Dec 2014

Portrayals Of Mental Illness And Physical Disability In 21st Century Children's Animation., Amy Sue Marie Miller

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

The objective of this study was to evaluate the presence of mental and physical disability in children's animation, and to understand image of mental or physical disability the animation portrayed. Three animated movies and one 61 episode animated series were coded for verbal references to mental illness and physical disability. Visual images and thematic elements portraying disability were also examined. All of the animations contained verbal as well as visual references to disability. Verbal references appeared with an average of 13.2 references per hour of animation. The connotations of these references often went against negative stereotypes of disability. These findings …


Against The Grain : The Challenges Of Black Discourse Within Intercollegiate Policy Debate., Tiffany Yvonne Dillard-Knox Dec 2014

Against The Grain : The Challenges Of Black Discourse Within Intercollegiate Policy Debate., Tiffany Yvonne Dillard-Knox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research uses the speech community model of analysis to illustrate how language is used to determine inclusion into and exclusion from Debate. This has been done by examining the use of four Black discourse types in Intercollegiate Policy Debate: signifying, call and response, tonal semantics, and narrative sequencing to show the ways in which current debate practices (un)intentionally exclude Blacks. Upon examination, one can see that there is educational value to the methods used by majority of the Black student population within Debate. In addition to being a tool of empowerment for this student population, these students can also …


A Magical Country : Stories From Appalachia., James Eric Leary 1977- Dec 2014

A Magical Country : Stories From Appalachia., James Eric Leary 1977-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fairy tales and other forms of fantastic literature have fascinated children and adults for generations. The scholarship on these types of works indicate that many find their folkloric origins in oral storytelling, and those roots may be quite ancient. However, some of the earliest examples of recorded literature capture stories of magic and fantasy. The interplay between the oral and literary form remains a significant area of study and development for folk literature, and new artistic productions, termed variants in the scholarship, continue to appear frequently in contemporary American culture. The criticism and creative work presented here add to the …


Surviving The Death Of A Sibling : A Phenomenological Study Of Childhood Bereavement., Edith Crumb Gunter Dec 2014

Surviving The Death Of A Sibling : A Phenomenological Study Of Childhood Bereavement., Edith Crumb Gunter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The loss of a sibling can be devastating to children, especially for children ages 7-12, who are at a critical juncture in their development. The loss can impede their development if their bereavement is not effectively addressed. For this reason, this dissertation evaluated four theoretical frameworks to provide a foundation for bereavement support for children: Assumptive World Theory, Dual Process Model, Meaning Reconstruction Theory, and Tasks of Mourning. Developmental theories and considerations were explored to gain knowledge of children’s levels of understanding, processing, and coping. Method: This study utilized a sample of five children ages 7-12 who had survived the …


Dispositional Mindfulness And Working Memory In The Context Of Acute Stress., Lauren M. Vines Aug 2014

Dispositional Mindfulness And Working Memory In The Context Of Acute Stress., Lauren M. Vines

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The neuropsychological domain of working memory and the nearly 3000 year-old Buddhist construct of mindfulness appear to be disparate concepts. However, the measurable decline of working memory capacity (WMC) under stress, in combination with the stress-reducing and attention-focusing effects of mindfulness suggest potential augmentation of working memory through the engagement of mindful practice. A theoretical process through which dispositional mindfulness exerts a moderating effect on WMC reduction following an acute stressor is proposed. To investigate processes within this theoretical framework, a sample of undergraduate college students (N = 67) were assessed across various measures, including level of dispositional mindfulness, affective …


Taking Clinical Judgment Out Of The Equation : A Call For The Standardization Of Mci Diagnostic Criteria And Construction Of A Model To Predict Conversion To Dementia., Adam Tyler Gerstenecker Aug 2014

Taking Clinical Judgment Out Of The Equation : A Call For The Standardization Of Mci Diagnostic Criteria And Construction Of A Model To Predict Conversion To Dementia., Adam Tyler Gerstenecker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although the diagnostic criteria for mild cognitive impairment have evolved considerably since their inception, they remain varied and able to be interpreted and implemented in different ways depending on the judgment of the clinician. Because of this issue, a wide range of incidence, prevalence, and conversion rates are found in the research literature. Using data collected from 400 patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment, limitations inherent in current mild cognitive impairment diagnostic criteria were addressed. First, using Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative diagnostic criteria, an equation was constructed to predict conversion from mild cognitive impairment to dementia by analyzing the predictive …


Measuring Mindful Interoception : Development Of The Mindful Interoception Sampling Task (Mist)., Samuel J. Dreeben Aug 2014

Measuring Mindful Interoception : Development Of The Mindful Interoception Sampling Task (Mist)., Samuel J. Dreeben

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sustained, non-evaluative, present moment interoception or ? "mindful interoception" (MI) is a central feature of many widely practiced clinical interventions, including mindfulness-based therapies, cognitive-behavioral therapies, focusing-oriented psychotherapy, and Gestalt therapy. However, to date, no valid measures of MI have been developed. The lack of such a measure has precluded attempts to discern A) to what extent MI ability changes as a function of MI-based therapies, B) if change in MI mediates symptom reduction, and C) if individual differences in MI ability are associated with anxiety, mindfulness, and other hypothetically related constructs. The purpose of the current study was to develop …


The Walkable Dividend : The Impacts Of Walkability On Housing And Socio-Economic Composition In Louisville, Ky., Wesley Laurance Meares Aug 2014

The Walkable Dividend : The Impacts Of Walkability On Housing And Socio-Economic Composition In Louisville, Ky., Wesley Laurance Meares

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Until 2008, there has not been a reliable measure of the social, health, and economic impact of walkable neighborhoods. This changed dramatically when scholars were able to quantify walkability, which measures how accessible daily living activities are by foot. However, most of these studies focus on mega cities, sections of cities or on random parcel data. Absent from the literature is the impacts of walkability on mid-size cities. This dissertation seeks to fill this void by examining the impacts of walkability on neighborhood housing valuation, foreclosures, vacancy rates and socio-economic composition in Louisville, KY. This dissertation employs ordinary least squares …


An Analysis Of The Potential Effects Of Urbanization On The Water Quality Of The Middle Fork Of Beargrass Creek, Louisville, Kentucky., Olivia Brooks Aug 2014

An Analysis Of The Potential Effects Of Urbanization On The Water Quality Of The Middle Fork Of Beargrass Creek, Louisville, Kentucky., Olivia Brooks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examined whether water quality diminished as a result of increasing pollution downstream along the Middle Fork of Beargrass Creek, Louisville, Kentucky in response to urbanization. Samples of key water quality indicators/pollutants were collected for 12 weeks (November - January) along the Middle Fork of Beargrass Creek at three different stream gauges. A spatial and statistical analysis was performed to verify any significant correlations between the water quality indicators and pollutants, and whether basin wide landcover/sewer outlet numbers led to an increase in these indicators downstream. Following ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis statistical testing it was established that turbidity significantly increased …


A Meta-Analytic Review Of The Relationships Between The Therapeutic Alliance, Empathy, And Genuineness In Individual Adult Psychotherapy., Jacob B. Nienhuis Aug 2014

A Meta-Analytic Review Of The Relationships Between The Therapeutic Alliance, Empathy, And Genuineness In Individual Adult Psychotherapy., Jacob B. Nienhuis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explored the relationship between the therapeutic alliance and perceptions of therapist empathy and genuineness through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Alliance, empathy, and genuineness are each integral parts of the therapeutic relationship. Prior meta-analyses demonstrated that alliance, empathy, and genuineness each had a moderate relationship to therapy outcome. No previous analysis has explored how therapist empathy and genuineness contribute to the therapeutic alliance. Studies for this analysis were obtained through a multi-part search strategy. Out of 2,141 obtained abstracts, 46 studies contained enough data for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Thirty-six studies reported alliance/empathy relationships, six studies reported alliance/genuineness …


Putting The Person First : An Examination Of Thought Disorder And Personality Heterogeneity In Schizophrenia., Catherine Rose Robertson Aug 2014

Putting The Person First : An Examination Of Thought Disorder And Personality Heterogeneity In Schizophrenia., Catherine Rose Robertson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Recovery Model of mental illness, emerging as the new zeitgeist in regards to treatment, emphasizes the optimization of functioning for each individual, using personal strengths and preferences to drive the recovery process. Thought disorder has long been considered a core symptom of schizophrenia and has been implicated in multiple domains of functional outcome. In spite of its relationship to functioning and substantial heterogeneity of the phenomenon, little to no research has examined potential factors which may be related to these differences in thought disorder and its related domains of functioning. The current study proposes that “normal” personality traits, such …


Analysis Of Social Costs Of Gentrification In Over-The-Rhine : A Qualitative Approach., Shireen Deobhakta Aug 2014

Analysis Of Social Costs Of Gentrification In Over-The-Rhine : A Qualitative Approach., Shireen Deobhakta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the social costs and benefits of the gentrification process using qualitative methods. The neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine (OTR) in Cincinnati, Ohio, represents certain universalities of gentrification in an older city, and was thus chosen as the site for a case study. OTR’s prime location between the Central Business District and uptown medical and university community has spurred rapid gentrification, particularly since the early 2000s. Using in-depth interviews, participant observation, a focus group, and print media, this dissertation sought to understand the social costs and benefits of gentrification in OTR. Adopting the language of “revitalization” and “renaissance,” the city …


A Mindfulness-Based Intervention To Reduce Stress In Undergraduates., Dirk Anthony Dorsel May 2014

A Mindfulness-Based Intervention To Reduce Stress In Undergraduates., Dirk Anthony Dorsel

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This study piloted a mindfulness-based intervention to reduce stress in university undergraduates, and explore effects on psychological and biological indicators of stress. Mindfulness is “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment-by-moment” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994). The one week mindfulness intervention used audiobased mindfulness tracks recorded by Clinical Psychologist Paul Salmon. These tracks taught the basics of mindfulness. Participants were asked to listen to the tracks for 30 minutes a day for five days of the intervention. Perceived stress, self-reported anxiety, self-reported depression, heart rate and skin conductance were …


Sovereign Democracy : Russia's Response To The Color Revolutions., Sarah Fisher May 2014

Sovereign Democracy : Russia's Response To The Color Revolutions., Sarah Fisher

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

The Russian Federation developed very different ideologies on the concept of democracy. In 2006, Vladislav Surkov, the First Deputy of the Chief of the Russian Presidential Administration, coined the term “sovereign democracy”. This gave a name to the Russian form of “managed” democracy and introduced a Russian alternative to Western liberal democracy: Sovereign Democracy. It asserts that Russia is a democracy and this fact must never be questioned by any state or such action will be viewed by the Kremlin as unwanted intervention in its domestic affairs. The Kremlin reacted to the recent Color Revolutions in the former Soviet Bloc …


Kentucky Politics : Where Are All The Women?, Carrie Mattingly May 2014

Kentucky Politics : Where Are All The Women?, Carrie Mattingly

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This paper seeks to uncover the reasons for the underrepresentation of women in politics, with a geographical emphasis on the state of Kentucky. The research question explored is, “Why do so few women run for political office?” Surveys of women currently enrolled in college and phone interviews with women serving in the Kentucky state legislature are used to investigate this question by testing two hypotheses. First, the tendency of women to avoid running for office in the first place may be attributed to either weak recruitment of women or lack of political ambition among women. Second, a female tendency to …


Examining The Effects Of Saccade Execution And Handedness On Proactive Interference., Montgomery A. Kroger May 2014

Examining The Effects Of Saccade Execution And Handedness On Proactive Interference., Montgomery A. Kroger

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Proactive interference is the phenomenon by which previously-learned information impairs recall of more recently-learned information. The present experiment was conducted to investigate two factors that may affect the occurrence of proactive interference. The first of these factors is saccade execution. Saccade execution has been shown in numerous studies to improve performance on a wide range of memory tasks. The second factor was people’s consistency of handedness, a term referring to the strength of people’s tendency to use one hand (right or left) over the other. Although the results of the primary analyses were inconclusive, further exploration of the data led …


The Best Intentions : Does Positive Parental Religious Coping Moderate The Relationship Between Parental Perceived Control And Child Anxiety In African American Family Dyads?, James V. Simms May 2014

The Best Intentions : Does Positive Parental Religious Coping Moderate The Relationship Between Parental Perceived Control And Child Anxiety In African American Family Dyads?, James V. Simms

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

No abstract provided.


A Retrospective Study On The Effect Of Immunotherapy Treatment On Nasal Polyposis., Johanna Haejean Yun May 2014

A Retrospective Study On The Effect Of Immunotherapy Treatment On Nasal Polyposis., Johanna Haejean Yun

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Inside the paranasal sinuses, multiple saclike masses protrude from the lining, blocking one’s sense of taste and smell, clogging one’s nose with nasal congestion, and causing a continuous runny nose with postnasal drip. This is a common case of nasal polyposis. Nasal polyposis affects up to four percent of the general population, making it one of the most common chronic diseases of the upper respiratory tract (Settipane 1996). Moreover, in cadaveric studies, the prevalence has been as high as 40% (Larson et al 1994). Nasal polyps commonly occur in adults over the age of 40, predominantly in males—with a 2:1 …


"A More Perfect Union" : Exploring The Nature And Terms Of The American Union., Meghan A. Waters May 2014

"A More Perfect Union" : Exploring The Nature And Terms Of The American Union., Meghan A. Waters

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

No abstract provided.


Women's Activism And Social Networks In Post-Genocide Rwanda., Michelle Cecelia Marie Fox May 2014

Women's Activism And Social Networks In Post-Genocide Rwanda., Michelle Cecelia Marie Fox

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Following the 1994 genocide the social networks of many Rwandan women changed. The loss of kin, particularly men, left many women needing new sources of social and material support. Beginning in the early 1990s the international development and aid community recognized the need to integrate gender analysis in their work and began to focus on women’s activism and efforts to improve the position of women in the supposed developing world. Using social network data and structured interview data gathered in Rwanda in June and July 2013 from 30 women, this study attempts to answer the question: Do women who were …


Assessing Urban Freeway Deconstruction : A Survey Of 21 Cities With Case Studies Of San Francisco And Milwaukee., Doddy Aditya Iskandar May 2014

Assessing Urban Freeway Deconstruction : A Survey Of 21 Cities With Case Studies Of San Francisco And Milwaukee., Doddy Aditya Iskandar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluates the effect of urban freeway deconstruction on the local economy. Scholars for years debated the role of urban freeway on the local economy. Those who found a positive effect of urban freeway use national data to support their finding. However, other scholars found the effect of urban freeway on the local economy mixed. Four major questions are raised in this study: What are the key factors of the city that affect the decision to remove urban freeways? What are the similarities and differences between cities that choose to remove their urban freeways? Does freeway deconstruction bring about …


Student Government Leadership In The 21st Century : Its Importance And Why It Must Be Supported., Spencer Scruggs May 2014

Student Government Leadership In The 21st Century : Its Importance And Why It Must Be Supported., Spencer Scruggs

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

No abstract provided.


Greening Louisville's East Market District : A Comparative Assessment Of Sustainability., Ashley O. Dale May 2014

Greening Louisville's East Market District : A Comparative Assessment Of Sustainability., Ashley O. Dale

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The East Market District located in Louisville, KY is currently undergoing a multi-million dollar urban regeneration. This transformation is being marketed as a primer sustainable neighborhood with the goal of serving as a model for other cities in the United States. As result of these changes, it is imperative to analyze the concept of sustainability from a variety of stakeholder perspectives utilizing content analysis on interviews and LEED Neighborhood Scorecard. Utilizing these methods, the central goal of this study is to understand the various interpretation of sustainability within this neighborhood. The findings observed via the critical assessment of the LEED …


Broadband Infrastructure In The 21st Century : An Evaluation Of Local Outcomes And Conditions., Chad Stephen Foster May 2014

Broadband Infrastructure In The 21st Century : An Evaluation Of Local Outcomes And Conditions., Chad Stephen Foster

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since 2001, the Federal government has invested approximately $10 billion to expand broadband infrastructure throughout the nation, including various loan programs and grants authorized through Farm Bills and, more recently, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Kruger, 2012). These investments dwarf capital investments made by the top telecommunications and cable companies estimated at $50 billion per year (Federal Communications Commission [FCC], 2010, p. 18). While the rage on all levels has been connecting residents, few studies have attempted to measure investments in broadband infrastructure to demonstrate positive outcomes or improvements, especially from a wide variety of economic and …