Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Fitting Eyewitness Identification And Confidence To A Diffusion Model Of Processing, Brittany Nicole Race

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It is necessary to better serve justice to understand the mechanisms behind eyewitness identification and reports of confidence. The material contained within attempt to fit eyewitness identification to a diffusion model of processing, RTCON (Ratcliff & Starns, 2009). Participants saw eight mock crime videos and were then tasked with using eight showups or eight lineups to identify the suspects within the video. Half of the presentations were target present and half were target absent. Additionally, participants were either presented with biased or unbiased instructions. Strangely, unbiased lineups led to higher hit rates which is contrary to most findings in the …

Relationship Among Genetic And Physiological Biomarkers, And Horse Characteristics, Casey Orr

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to evaluate relationships among genetic and physiological biomarkers and phenotypic characteristics in horses. Three breeds (Quarter Horse, Thoroughbreds, Miniatures), and five genes of interest (leptin, ghrelin, cytochrome P450, glucocorticoid receptor, and lactate dehydrogenase) were the basis of the investigation. Genomic DNA was extracted from buffy coat samples of Quarter Horses (n = 21), Thoroughbreds (n = 26), and Miniatures (n = 34). Data were analyzed using MIXED MODEL procedures of SAS, with the main effects of breed and SNP genotype. Horse was the experimental unit, and dependent variables were classified as physical, cell differentials, …

Query Theory Applications: Choice Experiments Under Oath, Attendance To Attributes, And Genetically Modified Food Labeling Policy, Nathan Paul Kemper

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, there has been an intensifying campaign by some stakeholders regarding concern over genetically modified (GM) foods in the U.S. As a result, the issue of labeling has entered into the federal agenda. This research uses Query Theory to provide a deeper understanding of the demand for GM foods and the preferences for GM policy. Query theory is first applied to the formation of hypothetical bias in the estimation of consumers’ willingness-to-pay. To address this, the honesty oath is used as an ex-ante technique to reduce hypothetical bias.

Paper one using Query Theory in a discrete-choice experiment (DCE) …

Attachment Styles And Trust Propensity In Females With Borderline Personality Disorder, Jacob Matthew White

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is one of the most frequently encountered and complex disorders in mental health care. Interpersonal impairment is a central issue for individuals with BPD. This complex disorder has received negative stigma along with historically more females than males receiving this diagnosis (Linehan, 1993). Therefore, this study examined a clinical sample of 30 females diagnosed with BPD. Through the collection of data this study used the following measures: a basic demographic questionnaire gathering specific age, ethnicity, current relationship status, parental relationship status, the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR; Brennan, Clark & Shaver, 1998), and the Propensity …

Eveleth, Minnesota: A Portrait Of My Home Town, Judith I. Luna

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This 30-minute documentary film provides snapshots of the small northeastern iron mining town of Eveleth, Minnesota, on the Mesabi Iron Range. It uses a two-pronged approach: 1) a first-person return to the town by the filmmaker almost 50 years after graduating from high school to see how the town may have changed, 2) a look at some historical and cultural factors which made the town what it was when the filmmaker was growing up and what continues to animate the town in the face of iron mining’s decline and rebirth. The latter include the immigrant experience and influence as the …

551 And Counting: An Insight Into The Show "One Whirled View", Craig Matthew Pasquinzo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The documentary film 551 and Counting: An Insight into the Show “One Whirled View” takes a contemplative look at the public access show "One Whirled View" and its creators. "One Whirled View" has aired locally on public access television in Fayetteville, Arkansas for the past twenty-four years. The show was created by Roger Henry and Dan Vega, two eclectic friends that share a similar view of current news. This twenty-four minute film includes interviews with both Roger Henry and Dan Vega. Other interviews with Joel Hirsch, Dr. Sidney Burris, Richard Drake, and Dan Robinson help to substantiate information and give …

Examining Exemplary P-20 Partnerships Using A Mixed Methods Approach, Elizabeth Erin Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Historically, P-12 schools and institutions of higher education have operated independently of each other, creating a gap that acts as a barrier between high school and postsecondary institutions. This gap is blamed for many societal issues including high college remediation rates, low college-going rates among minority groups, and low six-year college graduation rates. P-20 partnerships, agreements between P-12 schools and institutions of higher education with the purpose of improving the P-20 education system, have emerged as a way to address these problems.

From laboratory schools in the 19th century to modern-day professional development schools, P-20 partnerships in teacher education have …

Making A Gender Transition In Northwest Arkansas: Issues Of Access And Civil Rights In The Health Care System, April Michele Wallace

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The transgender population in Northwest Arkansas has difficulty in finding quality, accessible healthcare for gender transition-related procedures and for basic medical needs as well. These difficulties stem in part from a complex combination of discrimination, lack of information and training for proper treatment and care. This study takes a look at what is and isn’t available to transgender people in Northwest Arkansas and why they travel to other states and countries to seek healthcare.

Examining The Sociocultural Experiences Of Cherokee Nation Citizens In Athletic Competition And Sport, Michael Dewayne Merrie

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the sociocultural experiences of Cherokee adults in athletic competition and sport. Specifically, following a qualitative design, fifteen participants were interviewed about their personal experiences in athletic competition and sport while growing up in rural Oklahoma. Interviews were open-ended and followed a semi-structured script of questions with additional probes. Once completed, the recorded interviews were transcribed and data were analyzed. The data revealed six axial codes and three selective codes. Cherokee culture, psychoSocial identity, and athletic competition were the three major selective codes discovered in this study. Qualitative analyses revealed that participants have …

Increasing Superintendent Longevity In Kansas, Cory Lee Gibson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to illuminate the factors that may impact a superintendent’s longevity in the same district. Specifically, this study is motivated by four research questions: (1) What factors do superintendents in Kansas attribute to remaining in the same position greater than six years? (2) What factors do superintendents in Kansas attribute as the causes for leaving a district? (3) What is the current level of satisfaction of Kansas school superintendents within their current roles? and (4) What are some changes in policy or practice that may increase superintendent longevity in Kansas?

According to Dale Dennis, Kansas Deputy Commissioner of …

A Gis Approach To Modeling Groundwater Levels In The Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer, Josef Orion Lilly

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Groundwater depletion, a subject of growing concern for a significant portion of Arkansas, may lead to future economic challenges for the Arkansas Delta region. The Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer is the uppermost aquifer and features the largest groundwater capacity in the Mississippi Embayment Aquifer System. The Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer, commonly referred to as the “alluvial aquifer”, spans 53,000〖 km〗^2 underlying portions of Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois, and Tennessee. As the alluvial aquifer trends southward for approximately 250 miles alongside the Mississippi River, its geographical extent ranges from 50 to 125 miles wide. There is a …

Effect Of Light Intensity On Production Parameters And Feeding Behavior Of Broilers, Maurice Raccoursier Frost

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project was performed in two parts. The first was focused on light intensity as it affects performance. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) was performed. Broilers, Cobb 500 (n = 1584) were housed in 3 commercial houses (121.9 x 12.2 m). In each house birds were randomized and placed in 72 pens of 121.9 x 121.9 cm (22 bird/pen, males and females). All the treatment groups were provided with 24h light (L) during the first week and then 18L:6Dark (D) and 20 lux from day 7 to 14. The 3 intensity treatments of 5 lux (lx), 10 lx and …

Perceptions Of Division I Athletic Director Career Paths, Eric A. Wood

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is increased information about the profile of current collegiate athletic directors as it relates to education, age, race, and gender. However, there is a gap in the knowledge of the career paths of the modern day Division I collegiate athletic director position compared to the athletic directors studied over 20 years ago. There is also a gap in the knowledge of the skills necessary to be an effective athletic director from the perspective of Division I athletic directors. The purpose of this study was to use the Perceptions of Division I Athletic Director Career Paths (PADCP) scale to determine …

Reasonableness And Clarity Of Tenure Expectations: Gender And Race Differences In Faculty Perceptions, Rodica Lisnic

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation studies how higher education policies and practices can affect faculty retention and proposes changes that higher education institutions need to make to retain their faculty. Faculty assessment of reasonableness of tenure expectations is explored in the first manuscript and faculty perceptions of clarity of tenure expectations are explored in the second and third manuscripts. Job satisfaction data from a sample of 2438 tenure-track assistant professors at research universities is used.

The first manuscript investigates the reasonableness of tenure expectations as it relates to work-life balance. The focus is on whether women’s and men’s appraisal of departmental and institutional …

Gastrointestinal Health As A Stimulus For Native American Attraction To Medicinal Asteraceae And Further Implications For Human Evolution, Christopher David Stiegler

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Asteraceae, or the daisy family, is the largest family of flowering plants in the world, and its ethnobotanical, medical, and economic value is readily apparent cross-culturally. The aim of this thesis is to examine why constituent genera of the Aster family have remained such an integral part of human medicinal plant knowledge, and thereby to reveal any potential physiological, biological, or evolutionary mechanisms underlining human patterns of use regarding the Asteraceae. The present study focuses specifically on Native American plant knowledge made available by the expansive database in the works Daniel Moerman (Moerman 2003). Frequencies of plant use and …

Fleeing To Fault Zones: Incorporating Syrian Refugees Into Earthquake Risk Analysis Along The East Anatolian And Dead Sea Rift Fault Zones, Bradley Wilson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The influx of millions of Syrian refugees into Turkey has rapidly changed the population distribution along the Dead Sea Rift and East Anatolian Fault zones. In contrast to other countries in the Middle East where refugees are accommodated in camp environments, the majority of displaced individuals in Turkey are integrated into local cities, towns, and villages—placing stress on urban settings and increasing potential exposure to strong earthquake shaking. Yet, displaced populations are not traditionally captured in data sources used in earthquake risk analysis or loss estimations. Accordingly, this study presents a district-level analysis assessing the spatial overlap of earthquake hazards …

The Lived Experiences Of Emergency Department Personnel In Working With Individuals With Mental Health Needs, Sarah Wohlford-Neubauer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Individuals who work in emergency departments and emergency services in the United States have daunting, overwhelming, and difficult tasks to perform. In addition to medical emergencies that include physical trauma and illnesses, emergency personnel treat individuals with psychiatric emergencies. This qualitative research study explored the lived experiences of ten emergency department personnel that had experienced working with individuals with mental health needs. The ultimate purpose of the study was to break down individuals’ experiences into a shared description of a universal phenomenon. The study utilized a phenomenological, qualitative research design to capture the essence of this phenomenon. Participants’ responses to …

Preparedness To Counsel Transgender College Students: Perceptions Of College Mental Health Clinicians, Valerie G. Couture

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess the perceived preparedness levels of college mental health clinicians to counsel transgender college students. Multicultural counseling competency is required of professional counselors and transgender individuals are considered to be part of the multicultural population. A survey was completed by college mental health counselors (N = 84) from across the United States. The results showed a moderate amount of preparedness overall with no significant differences based on years of counseling experience nor graduation from a CACREP accredited program. Results did show the participants believed they do have a professional duty to be knowledgeable …

An Investigation Into Hybrid Models Of Mindreading: A Dual Type Theory Account, Alexandra Jewell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mindreading, or attributing mental states to others, involves instances of simulation and theory; but there is controversy over which one of these methods is the primary, or default, mechanism. I propose that mindreading is a theory-based process, such that we utilize theory over simulation when both are available and reliable. To argue my position, I suggest that theory has been inaccurately portrayed in past discussion and that we possess two types: a connectionist network (tt1) and a traditional, conceptual folk-psychology (tt2). By dividing theory in this way, we can explain common phenomena of mindreading that other theory-based accounts do not …

On The Air, On The Hill: The Story Of Radio At The University Of Arkansas, Blake Ryan Sutton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

On the Air, On the Hill: The Story of Radio at the University of Arkansas is a film about the past, present, and future of radio on campus at the U of A. From the original campus station KFMQ in 1924, to the present day student station KXUA and the region’s NPR affiliate KUAF, the film explores not only the rich history of radio at the U of A, but also what the future holds for campus radio in the face of an ever-changing media landscape. The film draws from interviews with Fayetteville historians, as well as the major players …

A Content Analysis Of Advertising On Children’S Television Networks, Demarius Davis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This content analysis study on licensed characters in advertising collected data in summer 2015 from three children’s cable networks: Cartoon Network, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Using Social cognitive theory and based on past research (Barcus, 1975; Atkin, 1976; Calcott & Lee, 1994; Stitt & Kunkel, 2008; LoDolce et al., 2013; Castonguay et al., 2013), the study examined whether the use of licensed characters and emotional appeals varied in advertising for healthy or unhealthy foods, mass media genre and the character’s gender. The study found licensed characters are more likely to be used to promote unhealthy foods, originate from movies and …

The Power Fantastic: How Genre Expectations Mediate Authority, Angela Rose Cox

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation reconciles academic and popular uses of the term genre, concluding that genre is a transmedial, mutable, associative, recognized system regulated through tacit understandings of prestige and power in a given Social space. The study employs a digital humanities method (dependent on digitally facilitated data analysis), conducting descriptive discourse analysis on collected online discussions from fan spaces concerning the fantasy genre and matters related to fantasy. In this way, I construct an image of the fantasy genre, and genre in general, as a multimodal space in which material freely passes between traditional and new media and participants actively negotiate …

Preferred Leadership Communication Styles Across Cultures, Joy J. Cherfan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reports the results of a two-part study investigating preferred leadership communication styles across multiple cultural clusters. Utilizing a survey, part one identified the three most preferred leader communication styles (i.e., dominant, dramatic, contentious, attentive, animated, open, friendly, relaxed, impression leaving) in six cultural clusters. Using focus group data, the second part provides insight into subordinates’ perceptions of how these communication styles are enacted by leaders in each cluster. Guidelines on how to better communicate are offered to expatriates in hopes of helping them more successfully complete overseas tasks. Such guidelines are needed due to the high percentage of …

Teachers And The Development Of Student Noncognitive Skills, Albert Cheng

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Scholars of education policy are increasingly aware of the independent role that noncognitive skills (e.g., self-regulation, Social skills, and other personality or character traits) play in long- and short-run student well-being. However, little is known about how these skills are effectively developed. One theory is that noncognitive skills are developed through role modeling by teachers. A student, by virtue of observing and sharing a Social connection with his or her schoolteachers, begins to emulate noncognitive skills that they exhibit. In this dissertation, I test this theory. I focus specifically on noncognitive skills related to conscientiousness and measure them using new …

Incorporating A New Class Of Uncertainty In Disaster Relief Logistics Planning, Emre Kirac

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, there has been a growing interest among emergency managers in using Social data in disaster response planning. However, the trustworthiness and reliability of posted information are two of the most significant concerns, because much of the user-generated data is initially not verified. Therefore, a key tradeoff exists for emergency managers when considering whether to incorporate Social data in disaster planning efforts. By considering Social data, a larger number of needs can be identified in a shorter amount of time, potentially enabling a faster response and satisfying a class of demand that might not otherwise be discovered. However, …

Leveling The Playing Field? A Content Analysis Of Espn.Com And Espnw.Com’S Online Coverage, Rachael Caldwell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this exploratory study was to compare sports coverage provided by the male-centric website ESPN.com and its affiliated female-centric website ESPNW.com. The amount and type of coverage provided for female athletes was the primary focus of this study. Results suggest that ESPNW.com provides an outlet for increased coverage of women’s sports, but the type of coverage provided to female athletes is not equivalent to that of their male counterparts. These results supported findings in previous studies on mass media coverage of women’s sports, specifically coverage on the emerging field of Internet coverage.

Children’S Peer Relationship Quality And Changes In Peer Victimization: The Search For Viable Intervention Targets, James Thomas Craig

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Stable peer victimization during childhood and adolescence has been linked to both concurrent and future Social and psychological maladjustment (e.g., Hawker & Boulton, 2000; Juvonen, Graham, & Schuster, 2003; Kaltiala-Heino, Rimpela, Rantanen, & Rimpela, 2000; Reijntjes, Kamphuis, Prinzie, & Telch, 2010). Currently, there is evidence to suggest the quality of children’s peer relationships is associated with the level and course of their victimization experiences (e.g., Fox & Boulton, 2006; Schwartz, McFayden-Ketchum, Dodge, Petit, & Bates, 1999; Wolke, Woods, & Samara, 2009). Although the link between peer relationship quality and victimization has been well-documented in the literature; lacking is a thorough …

The Effect Of Face-To-Face Versus Computer-Mediated Communication On Interpersonal Outcomes In Getting-Acquainted Situations, Nicole Rae Brandon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

People use technology more today than ever before to self-disclose and form new relationships with others. Successful relationship development is often marked by the presence of positive interpersonal outcomes (i.e., closeness and liking). However, there is contention regarding whether computer-mediated communication (CMC) is as effective at developing positive interpersonal outcomes compared to face-to-face (FtF) communication. CMC is often considered subpar due to the lack of nonverbal cues that can be expressed. Two studies were designed to 1) compare the effect of FtF and CMC platform self-disclosures on closeness and liking in zero-acquaintance situations and 2) explore mediators that might explain …

Baha’I Sacred Architecture And The Devolution Of Astronomical Significance: Case Studies From Israel And The Us, Michael Steven Meizler

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sacred architecture is a complex conglomerate of different ideals of a faith. Within modern terms, the Baha’i faith is an excellent example of modern sacred architecture. Within ancient times the architecture of temples and shrines oftentimes had celestial alignments meant to connect the adherent to the gods. With this in mind, the Baha’i faith is evaluated with the use of cartography, celestial measurements, orthophotography, and archival research to evaluate the significance of the Baha’i sacred architecture and the symbolism embedded within it. The Baha’i faith came out of Persia during the 19th century and relocated to Israel late in that …

Recognition Training For Faces Across Age Gaps, William Blake Erickson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Face recognition is a problem that has theoretical and applied value. However, the fact of facial aging is rarely addressed in research and unmentioned in the major theories of face recognition. Facial aging also has ramifications for missing persons and fugitive cases, confounding attempts by law enforcement to recover these people whose last known images are years or decades out of date. This dissertation reports three studies aimed at measuring baseline age-gap recognition ability and testing various training regimens designed to increase accuracy rates for this unique kind of recognition task.