Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Domestic Violence And Sexual Assault: Research Practices For Protection Orders, Shelby Connett

Student Work

Mission Statement: “To be a source of help, hope, safety, and inspiration to survivors of domestic and sexual violence. We embrace and focus on the story of each individual with deep concern and care in order to understand, facilitate, advocate, and support.”

SASA has been in existence for 40 years serving individuals and families in many important ways. Their current set of service provisions can be found detailed below in an organizational chart.

Habitat For Humanity Omaha: Homeownership Program: Quantitative And Qualitative Report, Rachel Lubischer, Heather Carlson

Student Work

This report includes quantitative results, qualitative results, an overall summary, and recommendations. The Quantitative Introduction includes an demographic analysis of 2018 Quarter 3 applicants to the Homeownership Program. The Quantitative Data pages include an explanation of quantitative methodology, data collection, and analysis procedures. Additionally, a comparison of applicant demographic and outcome data, an overall summary, and research limitations are provided. The Qualitative Data pages include information on the data collection process, coding procedures, and primary themes identified. A concept map of qualitative themes and categories, an overall summary, and research limitations are also provided. The Summary provides an overall summary …

Determining The Interruption Of Services While Performing V2i Communication Using The Spmd Prototype, Binaya Raj Joshi

Student Work

The use of Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I), Vehicle to Roadside Unit (V2R) and Vehicle to Other (V2X) communications are increasingly applied over existing and upcoming transportation means by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) and other federal agencies. From previous statistical data, these technologies would primarily avoid or mitigate vehicle crashes and would provide more safety, mobility and various other benefits on the roads (“Traffic Safety Facts 2012,” 2013; “Traffic Safety Facts 2013” 2014). During the communication processes between vehicles, infrastructures and roadside units’ various sensitive data such as positions and speed of the vehicles, …

An Analysis Of The Effects Of Financial Education On Financial Literacy And Financial Behaviors, Jamie Frances Wagner

Student Work

This study estimates how financial education affects a person’s financial literacy score, short-term financial behaviors, and long-term financial behaviors using data from the 2012 National Financial Capability Study (NFCS). There are seven categories of financial education—high school, college, employer, high school and college, high school and employer, college and employer, and combinations of all three courses—to estimate the effectiveness of financial education. This course detail has not been studied in previous literature about financial education.

Financial education has a positive relationship with a person’s financial literacy score. Splitting the sample into groups based on education and income results show that …

Delineating The Wildland Urban Interface Using Publicly Available Geospatial Data, Mary Rozmajzl

Student Work

The Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), a human-designated area between undeveloped wildlands and urban areas, has been identified using many different kinds of data. The most common data used have been census housing densities to determine urban areas and a vegetation layer from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) to identify wildlands (Theobald and Romme 2007, Radeloff et al. 2005, Stewart et al. 2003, and Haight et al. 2004). Knowing the location and area of a WUI is important for federal land agencies because federal legislation (Federal Register Notice 2001, 66-3) has provided parameters to identify WUIs and has directed agencies …

How Does The Fictional Tv Marriage Influence A Young Adult's Own Perceptions About Marriage?, Gina A. Svedsen

Student Work

This study explored the relationship between television influence and the young adult‘s perception of marriage. The participants were 178, college-aged males and females (median age 20) from a large Midwestern university. How much television participants watched and the types of programs they watched were examined. Participants were asked where they got their information about marriage and how they thought marriage was displayed on TV. Two hypotheses were tested -- H1: Female students are more likely than male students to use TV programs for ideas on what marriage is really like; H2: Television has a greater influence over female students than …

Breaking The Criminogenic Code: A Frame Analysis Of Neo-Nazi And Violent Jihadi Propaganda, William Travis Morris

Student Work

This dissertation focuses on neo-Nazi and violent jihadi propaganda and its role in defining social boundaries. Frame analysis was used to gain a deeper understanding of how neo-Nazis and violent jihadis construct propaganda to neutralize objections and promote drift. Specifically, diagnostic and prognostic frames were analyzed for 10 "effective" propagandists and two "ineffective" propagandists in a comparative framework. This research uses a social psychological perspective, paying particular attention to the emotion of shame and advances the "violence as communication" model into "terrorism as criminogenic propaganda." Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to analyze how neo-Nazi and violent jihadi propagandists incorporate …

The Experience Of Counseling The Terminally Ill And The Best Counseling Practices, Helen Jackson Bleicher

Student Work

As people approach the end of their lives, many experience anxiety throughout the dying experience. This research investigated the death experience of terminally ill patients and the best counseling practices among licensed mental health practitioners. The questions developed by the researcher served as the measure, which was developed specifically for this research. The questions were given to a small purposive sample of counselors (N=10) who work in hospice settings, private practice, and oncology clinics. This research found that counselors focus on the psychosocial and spiritual aspects of dying, and observe patients having less death anxiety when they are comfortable with …

The Tipping Point To Terrorism: Involvement In Right-Wing Terrorist Groups In The United States, Anne M. Stacey Reeser

Student Work

This dissertation focuses on right-wing terrorism (RWT) in the United States perpetrated by adherents to the White Supremacist Movement (WSM). In depth case history data were collected using a variety of sources and analyzed on 66 federally indicted WSM terrorists representing 10 different terrorist organizations in the United States from 1980-2002. The primary means of analysis was a qualitative case analysis using narrative data to uncover what influences an individual to become involved in a terrorist group. Specifically, I analyzed the influences of: 1) structural components, 2) family dynamics, and 3) non-familial relationships on the involvement process. Results from this …

Occurrence Of Rumination: Effects Of Feedback Valence, Self-Disclosure, And Social Anxiety, Chun Han Chen

Student Work

Rumination, defined as repetitive and automatic thought reviewing of negative experiences, was the major object to explore. The research contemplated the mechanism facilitating the occurrence of ruminative thoughts. The hypothesis was that negative emotion from depreciated performance as well as the task requiring self-disclosure might instigate the intense discomfort within which rumination might occur. The researcher examined the potential interaction effect of Performance Feedback x Self-disclosure on rumination. In addition, stable individual characteristics of social anxiety might affect rumination. The statistical analysis explored the predictive effect of social anxiety on rumination. When the situation required one to disclose the self …

Is It Windy Enough For You? The Potential For Wind Energy To Generate Electricity, Income, And Energy Security In Rural East-Central Nebraska, Roy M. Zach

Student Work

Citizens living in the Columbus, Nebraska area once met all of their local electric power needs via the Columbus and Monroe hydropower facilities. Today, this area imports significant quantities of electricity via high voltage power transmission lines, thereby creating dependencies on areas far away. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential for wind power within this area of Nebraska—in order to generate electricity, income, and energy security at a more local level. A thorough analysis of the local wind resource, and its comparison to the local electric power demand, demonstrates the economic feasibility of producing electricity from …

Collaborative Success And Community Culture: Cross-Sectoral Partnerships Addressing Homelessness In Omaha And Portland, Patrick T. Mcnamara

Student Work

This dissertation explores the impact of community culture on the success of cross-sectoral collaboratives addressing homelessness in Omaha, Nebraska, and Portland, Oregon. A comparative case study approach is used to build theory about how the environment helps to make conditions conducive or challenging to collaboration between government, business and nonprofit organizations. The concept of community culture is operationalized by including three interrelated factors - social capital, community power, and political history - to assess the two cities. Omaha is a model of a private sector community culture, high in bonding social capital, where central control of decision making and elite …

Compulsive Talkers: Perceptions Of Over Talkers Within The Workplace, Jason R. Axsom

Student Work

Compulsive talkers have been the focus o f limited communication studies, and those that have been written addressed the need for defining and identifying those considered to be over communicators. To date, no recorded studies has investigated the potentially negative impact compulsive talkers could have on those that work with them. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions and reactions of interactants with compulsive talkers in the workplace. Interviews with coworkers of compulsive talkers were conducted to determine their perceptions of these over talkers and their attributes. From these interviews, four distinct patterns emerged. Overall, compulsive talkers …

Acceptance Of Technological Change: Do Age, Expertise And Self-Efficacy Matter?, Cheryl Fernandez

Student Work

This study was designed to examine the acceptance of change by employees of different ages, in different contexts. This study challenged the stereotypes held against older individuals by proposing that factors other than age contribute to the acceptance of changes. It examined two context-specific variables, self-efficacy and expertise which contribute to acceptance of technological changes. The findings indicated that older individuals with computer experience had higher self-efficacy. On the other hand, younger individuals had higher self-efficacy, regardless of computer experience. Also, individuals who felt younger than they actually were had higher self-efficacy when they had experience with computers, compared to …

The Effect Of Values, Conscientiousness, And Self-Efficacy On Ethical Decision-Making, Marcy Young

Student Work

This research explores the roles that values, conscientiousness, and self-efficacy play in ethical decision-making. Although previous research has shown that values affect ethical decision-making, few researchers have evaluated the effect that conscientiousness has on ethical decision-making. Research has evaluated the effect that self-efficacy has on ethical decision-making, but a relationship has not been found. The current study hypothesizes that individuals high in self-transcendence values will make more ethical decisions than individuals high in self-enhancement values. Also, individuals high in conscientiousness are expected to make more ethical decisions than individuals low in conscientiousness. Third, individuals high in self-efficacy are expected to …

Play Assessment: The Effects Of Peer Interaction On Children's Cognitive Capabilities., Korrinda Mendez

Student Work

Play Assessment (PA) has recently gained the attention of researchers as a potential valid assessment tool for determining the cognitive capabilities in younger children. O f particular importance is the use o f PA among various contexts. Specifically, PA can provide insight into the types of contextual situations that promote higher levels of cognitive skills in younger children. The present study explored peer interactions as a contextual aspect of PA using the PACSS empirical coding scheme to determine the highest level of play behavior. According to the present study, results did not yield any significant differences in overall cognitive play …

The Relationship Between Rhetorical Sensitivity, Locus Of Control, And Religiosity Among College Students, Paul J. Hartzell

Student Work

This study looked at the relationship between rhetorical sensitivity, locus of control and religiosity amongst college students at three fundamentally different college institutions. Data were collected from 235 students. Results revealed that students belonging to the most religiously fundamental group have significant differences from students outside that same group. A major finding was discovery of a positive relationship between rhetorical reflectomess and fundamental religiosity as well as a negative relationship between rhetorical sensitivity and fundamental religiosity. Also a significant but modest relationship was found between external locus of control and rhetorical sensitivity and between internal locus of control and noble …

Emotional Intelligence As A Moderator Of Problem Based Arousal On Solution Quality And Quantity, Anne E. Herman

Student Work

The study examined the interactive influence o f the affective qualities of a problem and a problem solver’s emotional intelligence (El), an individual difference in the ability to perceive, express, integrate, understand, and regulate emotion, on the quality and quantity of solutions generated to two different ill-structured problems. The general hypothesis was that emotional intelligence would moderate the effect of the negative emotional arousal of a problem controlling for the influence of cognitive intelligence, such that the discrepancy between those higher and lower in emotional intelligence would be greater for the problem which is high in emotional arousal than for …

An Examination Of The Associations Between The Locations Of Probationers And Crimes: A City Block-Level Analysis, Stephanie A. Titus

Student Work

This research will use adult probation data from the Douglas County Court Probation Office for 2000 and 2001 to evaluate the relationship between the locations of probationers and their possible effects on the amount of crime on residential city blocks in Omaha, Nebraska. The analyses will relate the probation data to the dependent variables that are based on the Part I Index Crimes obtained from the Omaha Police Department. The research will attempt to evaluate the effects of probationers on the amount of crime on city blocks and compare this with the effects of block-level characteristics and crime on the …

Constructing Identity In Place : Celia Thaxter And The Isles Of Shoals, Deborah B. Derrick

Student Work

This study explores rhetorical constructions of place and self in the non-fiction narratives and letters of Celia Laighton Thaxter. Thaxter was a 19th century poet, journalist and writer who grew up on the Isles of Shoals off the coast of New Hampshire. Widely published in her day, Thaxter was one of the foremothers of American nature writing. This study considers the significance of place in relation to Thaxter’s development as an individual and as a writer. The study finds that the Isles o f Shoals provided a foundation for Thaxter’s personal and professional identities. Thaxter’s relationship with the Shoals was …

A Causal-Comparative Study To Determine Differences In Levels Of Awareness Of Racism Among Graduate Counseling Students, Sarah C. Wiegman

Student Work

The present study examined the differences in levels of awareness of racism among graduate counseling students. The researcher examined the hypotheses that there would be a significant difference in levels of awareness of racism between those who completed the Counseling Multicultural and Diverse Populations class and those who did not, as well as, there would be a significant relationship between levels of awareness of racism and number of credit hours completed in the counseling education program at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. One hundred and six participants (91 female and 15 male) ranging in age between 22 and 57 …

The Effects Of Self-Efficacy And Locus Of Control On The Sexual Behaviors Of College Females, Michelle Noah

Student Work

This research examined the relationship between self-efficacy, locus of control, and sexual behaviors among college females. The research null hypotheses suggest that; 1) There is no correlation between self-efficacy and responsible sexual behaviors, and 2) There is no correlation between locus of control and responsible sexual behaviors. Questionnaire data were collected from 109 undergraduate females at a Midwestern University. The sample was primarily Caucasian (89%), heterosexual (96.3%), and single (73.4%) with a mean age of 23 years. An investigator designed questionnaire, adapted in part, from the Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale (RIELC), The General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE), and a …

The Determinants Of Policing Unfounding And Prosecutorial Case Rejections In San Diego, California Sexual Assault Cases, Elizabeth M. Keller

Student Work

The vast amount of research that has been done on sexual assault in the past thirty years has yielded a great amount of knowledge bout the phenomenon of sexual assault and the way the criminal justice system responds to it. One hypothesis that emerges from this literature is that certain cases of sexual assault may be treated differently by police and.prosecutors because of characteristics of the victim, the suspect, or of the case itself This study tests that hypothesis, using data·collected by the San Diego Police Department's Sex Crimes Unit over a multi-year period in the 1990s. This study. specifically …

A Preliminary Investigation Of Sense Of Humor And Purpose In Life, Sandra Batten

Student Work

It was hypothesized that sense o f humor is related to purpose in life. A convenience sample o f 136 undergraduates completed the Modified Purpose in Life test (Chang & Dodder, 1983-84) and the Multidimensional Sense o f Humor Scale (Thorson & Powell, 1993). The overall correlation between the two scales in this sample was .30 ( p < .001). The sub-scales o f the MSHS that related most robustly to purpose in life were Coping ( r = . 3 1 , p < .001) and Attitude Toward Humor and Humorous People ( r = .45, p < .001).

Fears And The Presence Of Imaginary Companions And Personified Objects In Preschool Children, Jill R. Ramet

Student Work

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between a pre-school child’s fears and the child’s use of an imaginary companion or personified object. Preschool-aged children (36 To 74 months) were interviewed using a revised version o f the FSSC-R fear scale, and an imaginary companion questionnaire. Parents were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire. Data analyses revealed that children who did not have an imaginary companion or a personified object had an absolute higher total fear score than children who had this type o f figure, although this difference was not significant. Children with the lowest absolute …

Assessing Toddlers' Problem-Solving Skills Using Play Assessment: Facilitation Versus Non-Facilitation, Leslie J. Mccaslin

Student Work

Play assessment is rapidly emerging in the field of cognitive assessment in young children. One aspect of play assessment involves the identification of the types and levels of problem-solving skills children possess. Information about a child’s degree of problem-solving skills could aid school psychologists in understanding the child’s level of cognitive development. Research in the area of play assessment has not focused as much attention on problem solving as it has on other components of play. More research is needed in order to determine if a free play session or an adult-facilitated session is better for assessing a child’s problem-solving …

The Relationships Between Biodata And Personality: How Different Is Different?, Lindsay A. Bousman

Student Work

The relationships between personality measures and biodata measures were examined using a measure of the Big Five Factors of personality, and a newly created biodata measure. Each measure was used to predict academic achievement and job satisfaction. The biodata measure was created to mimic a factor structure similar to the five factors of personality, to allow a better comparison of the two measures. However, the biodata items were original (with combinations of previously used original items), and were developed for use in this study. Biodata items are typically multiple-choice, situational, and historical in nature, whereas personality items are typically based …

Interpersonal Forgiveness In Elementary School-Aged Children, Susan M. Goss

Student Work

The purpose of this study was to extend the adolescent and adult research and assess how forgiveness develops in elementary school-aged children. Sixty-three children aged 7 to 12 reported how willing they would be to forgive three types of transgressions (emotional, physical, and property) involving an accidental or deliberate act, with or without an apology, and of either low or high severity. In addition, empathy, prosocial behavior, and religiosity were measured. Age, empathy, prosocial behavior, and religiosity were not related to willingness to forgive as had been expected. However, gender differences were found, with boys reporting a greater willingness to …

The Relationship Between Stress And Humor With Asian College Students, Michelle Kristine Jordan

Student Work

The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction of humor and stress in the Asian students in the University o f Nebraska’s International Language Learning Program (ILUNO). Intensive language students completed self-report questionnaires measuring stress and humor. The Spearman correlation revealed that humor has no significant impact on stress experienced by the Asian students. When the level of humor was high, stress symptoms were high.

The Effects Of Expertise And Information Relevance On Information Search Strategy., Jason Lebsack

Student Work

Differences between experts and novices have been the focus of a variety of studies throughout the psychological literature. In general, task outcome differences have been found between experts and novices, but further study is needed to understand the mechanism for explaining these outcome differences. This study investigated taskprocessing differences between experts and novices, specifically, the use of relevant and irrelevant information. Forty human resource professionals served as experts and 40 undergraduate students served as novices in this study. Participants made two hiring decisions. Using an information board format, participants examined eight attributes across six candidates for the job of museum …