Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Challenging Space Through Activism: Scaling Local And Global Issues At The 2012 London Olympic Games, Bridget Botelho

Master's Theses

This qualitative study focuses on issues of space created by the Olympic Games in London and the ways in which activists demonstrated against these issues by using space to their advantage. The Olympic Games is a phenomenon that scales local, national and international space in various ways, through its effects on global culture, identity, and economic processes. The games have a history of protest and activism, but the issues created by the games and struggles against them are not often discussed. My study aims to analyze the spatial effects of the Olympics on a local and global level through the …

Reducing Knowledge Overconfidence By Reducing The Threat Of Knowledge Cue Utilization, Christopher Neil Burrows

Master's Theses

Overconfident judgments are common. We are often more confident about things than we should be, and this may lead us to make maladaptive decisions. Debiasing confidence by cuing people in to how confident they should be could help people make better choices. However, people may be unwilling to accept debiasing information if doing so implies their own ignorance. This study examined whether self-affirmation can buffer people against threats to self-image, helping people to accept debiasing cues. I hypothesized that combining a cue with self-affirmation would lead to enhanced debiasing over cues or self-affirmation alone. In order to investigate this hypothesis, …

Identifying Barriers To Adherence For Hiv+ Patients Placed On Renal Dosing, Richard S. Colon Jr

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

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 Modern Sex Doll-Owner: A Descriptive Analysis, Sarah Hatheway Valverde

Master's Theses

Over the last fifteen years, the sex doll industry has grown from producing inexpensive novelty items to creating a multimillion-dollar global industry featuring high- quality, realistic love dolls. These dolls are designed and advertised for sexual stimulation, companionship, artistic representations of human fantasy, and other creative pursuits, such as photography. Made of flesh-like silicone, modern sex dolls sell from $3,500-$10,000.

The use of human simulacra for sexual stimulation is an enduring practice. However, the psychological community has said little on the subject. Early sexologists briefly reference Agalmatophilia or Statuphilia, a rare sexual attachment to statues. Today, the sex doll …

"We've Got Something More To Prove Here": Racial-Ethnic And Social Class Identities And The Challenges Facing Latina/O College Students, Gretchen Marin

Master's Theses

Latinas/os are one of the fastest growing minority groups in the United States. In fact, the United States Census Bureau projects that by the year 2050, the numbers of Hispanics will more than double, increasing from the current figure of 50.5 million to 102.6 million. Despite such rapid population growth, the numbers of Latinas/os with at least a Bachelor’s degree remain low. In this study, I explore the intersection of racial-ethnic and social class identities in relation to academic identities. Specifically, I examine the challenges facing Latina/o college students of various socioeconomic backgrounds as they negotiate a predominantly White, middle-class …

Repetitive And Stereotyped Behaviors From Age 2 To Age 4: A Look At The Development Of High- And Low-Level Repetitive Behaviors In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Kelley Knoch

Master's Theses

Restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) are core features in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Previous literature has subdivided RRBs into low and high levels. Low-level behavior is characterized by a repetition of movement, such as stereotyped movements, whereas high-level behavior includes insistence on sameness and rigid adherence to a routine. There is conflicting evidence frequency and severity of RRBs in early development in children with ASD. In the current study, we examined developmental differences in the frequency and severity of RRBs in children with ASD (n = 109) compared to children with developmental delays (DD) (n= 34). Participants were evaluated at …

Understanding The Relationship Between Perceived Levels Of Stress, Mindfulness, And Meditation Practices, Michael Gallagher

Master's Theses

Mindfulness meditation has become increasing popular in the Western world the last few decades. Although the research in the area of mindfulness is just beginning, many studies report positive benefits to individuals who learn this type of meditation. This study compares the perceived stress levels of college students who report common characteristics of individuals who practice mindfulness meditation against college students who do not report those common characteristics of mindfulness. The student’s level of mindfulness was measured using the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire while the Measurement of Stressful Life Events was used to determine the student’s perceived stress levels to …

Globalization, Labor Market Transformation, And Union Decline In U.S. Metropolitan Areas, Todd Vachon

Master's Theses

In this study, I analyze the determinants of total, private, and public sector union density among 191 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas in the year 2000. In particular, I examine the effects of five measures of globalization (global capital, foreign direct investment, exports, foreign-born citizens, and foreign-born non-citizens) and four measures of labor market transformation (deindustrialization, corporate restructuring, bureaucratic burden, and casualization) on metropolitan union density while controlling for labor market structure, the business cycle, and the political climate. My analysis demonstrates that: 1) globalization and labor market transformation have moderately negative, but cross-cutting effects on union density; 2) globalization has …

Like Laws And Sausages: The Tale Of A Mere Portion Of The Process To Develop The South Broad Street Corridor Plan, Amy R. Lopez

Master's Theses

The processes to develop community plans share certain standard activities and stages while remaining distinctive and without pre-scripted procedures. This study documents the process that yielded the South Broad Street Corridor Plan June 2012 draft. The objective is to present the decision-making processes and their connections to the final plan document along with the plan document itself.

Form-Based Codes, Design Guidelines And Placemaking: The Case Of Hayward, Ca., Cindy Ma

Master's Theses

Throughout history planning codes and standards have been used to regulate the built environment for health, power, order, and economic reasons. More recently, in the urban design and planning field, planning codes and standards have emerged to become tools in the process of “placemaking”. The concept of placemaking builds from the desire of humans to create places, not spaces, which are unique, attractive, identifiable, and memorable. It is a concept that is comprised of visual and social components, recognizing the need for both in the creation of successful places. In the field of urban design and planning, form-based codes (FBCs) …

Investigating The Instructor's Role In New Student Sense Of Classroom Community, Alix E. Davidson

Master's Theses

The purpose of the study is to determine whether an instructor’s intentional effort to build community in his/her classroom results in a higher sense of classroom community among students. This study also examined what types of community building activities were conducted by each instructor and measured the students’ responses to each different activity. This was intended to establish a preliminary set of best practices for creating classroom community. A two-part questionnaire, including an adapted version of the Classroom Community Scale, was administered to instructors (n=5) and students (n=113) enrolled in two or four unit courses at California Polytechnic State University. …

Getting On The Bus: Marketing San Luis Obispo's Regional Transit Authority, Jenna Higgins

Master's Theses

A new trend is emerging, seeking to recognize the benefits of and encourage the use of public transportation. In the past, public transit agencies have not directed much energy or focus at marketing, seeking to use limited funds elsewhere. “The common perception is that money spent on marketing would be better spent on transit systems themselves…over time, a sustained investment in marketing increases the number of people who use transit. Increased ridership leads to increased revenue, and ideally, an increase in service to match the new demand” (Arpi, 2009).

Even as marketing gains importance in the public transit world, questions …

Physiological Politics: Stress And Dominance Responses To Political News, Erin Strauts

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Local Environmental Quality On International Tourism Demand: The Case Of China, Cong Huang

Master's Theses

Abstract: This paper studies the impact of local environmental quality on international tourism demand based on a panel data set of tourist arrivals from ten foreign countries in 18 typical provinces in China over the period of 1999-2010. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) with different specifications show that the growth of pollution has a negative and significant influence on the international tourism demand. More specifically, the air quality plays a crucial role in this relationship, whereas the water quality does not. In addition, similar results can be found after addressing the potential endogeneity between environmental quality and tourism with the use …

Nonprofit Continuum: Brazilian-Centered Organizations In The Bay Area Of San Francisco, Caroline Rehill

Master's Theses

Brazil has always been a country of immigration. Since the mid 1980s, Brazil has also become a country of emigration. Brazilians have migrated to the United States in large numbers throughout the past decades. In the host country, Brazilians experience the same issues inherent in any immigrant community, such as immigration status, education, health, and socio-economic issues. To address these issues and ease immigrants’ stay in the host country, nonprofit organizations and community groups are created. This thesis project examines, identifies, categorizes, and contextualizes the Brazilian-centered nonprofit organizations in the Bay Area of San Francisco. Contrary to existing research on …

An Integrated Approach For Developing Adaptation Strategies In Climate Planning: A Case Study Of Vulnerability In Dukes County, Massachusetts, Jonathan Pollak

Master's Theses

Climate Action Plans (CAP’s) are recent innovations in policy that have been catalyzed by a need to adjust the relationship between human activity and the Earth’s climate system. CAP’s often are composed of methods to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in addition to adaptation strategies. Research indicates, however, that many plans focus on mitigation strategies while adaptation policies related to predicted changes caused by climate change are often overlooked. This thesis presents an integrative framework for locating areas that are in need of adaptation strategies through a GIS based decision support system that visualizes vulnerability. It is operationalized through an empirical …

The United States Military Realignment On Okinawa, Kevin M. Evringham

Master's Theses

The United States maintains military bases in foreign countries in efforts to protect American overseas interests, whether they are economic, diplomatic or for geostrategic purposes. In Japan, where the United States has maintained military installations since the end of World War II, debate over the realignment of forces on Okinawa has caused minor, yet growing, rifts in the stable United States-Japanese alliance. Current plans to shift American military forces from Okinawa to locations throughout the Pacific do not take into account the historical or geostrategic factors for their stationing in Japan. This thesis identifies the geostrategic challenges to the current …

Mothers Do Not Drive The Development Of Adult Homesign Systems: Evidence From Comprehension, Emily Carrigan

Master's Theses

Studying the communication systems that arise in spontaneously occurring cases of degraded linguistic input can help clarify human predispositions for language. Some deaf individuals born into hearing families, who do not receive conventional linguistic input, develop gestures, called “homesign,” to communicate. We examined homesign systems used by four deaf Nicaraguan adults (ages 15-27), and evaluated whether homesigners’ hearing mothers are potential sources for these systems. Study One measured mothers’ comprehension of descriptions of events (e.g., “A man taps a woman”) produced in homesign and spoken Spanish. Mothers comprehended spoken Spanish descriptions (produced by one of their hearing children) better than …

Creating A Pedestrian Level-Of-Service Index For Transit Stops: Evidence From Denver’S Light Rail System, Patrick Gallagher

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Eurotech Students In Germany: Preparation, Experience And Outcome, Daisy A. Michaels

Master's Theses

Higher education study abroad programs for U.S. students are on the rise. A variety of undergraduate disciplines are being coupled with international components to bring U.S. students to a higher level of global awareness to meet the demands of today’s economy. The University of Connecticut’s Eurotech Program is an example of this trend. Its students earn degrees in both German and engineering in a five year program. They are given practical training through study and internships in Germany under the auspices of the Baden-Württemberg Exchange Program. One of the Eurotech Program’s major goals is to enhance job opportunities for its …

The Antecedents, Process, And Consequences Of Female Sterilization For Low-Income Women In Mumbai, Marie A. Brault

Master's Theses

Surgical sterilization is the primary method of family planning among low-income women in India; the result of limited knowledge and poor access to family planning alternatives. To understand the dynamics of sterilization, 37 in-depth interviews were conducted with sterilized women from the study community, as well as key informant interviews with community men, providers and government officials. The results indicate that sterilization decisions are made after exceeding ideal family size, that the procedures for sterilization frequently do not follow official protocol, but that for the most part women are highly positive about being free of the risk of unwanted conception.

Capecitabine Induced Hand And Foot Syndrome And The Reproducibility Of Friction Skin, Rodney Allen Schenk

Master's Theses

In 2008, a 62 year old male was detained by United States Customs and Immigration officials when attempting to enter the United States because his fingerprints were not detectable. It was later reported by his medical doctor in Singapore that the individual suffered from Hand and Foot Syndrome (palmar-plantar erythrodysaesthesia) as a result of his cancer treatment of capecitabine (N4-pentyloxycarbonyl-5-deoxy-5- fluorocytidine) which causes interruptions to the normal growth of keratinocytes in the friction skin. Capecitabine is a recently developed, orally administered fluoropyrimidine prodrug designed to generate 5-fluorouracil through a three-step enzymatic process giving it antineoplastic properties to combat cancerous tumor …

Do You See Yourself In The Future Or Past? The Moderating Role Of Cultural Orientation In Explaining Temporal Orientation Of Self-Referencing, Seungae Lee

Master's Theses

A cognitive process where audiences relate incoming information to themselves is self-referencing. Advertising practitioners often assume that the self-referencing strategy is one of the most persuasive advertising strategies. Since the self is one of the most well-developed and frequently used constructs in memory, self-referencing advertisements were expected to be more memorable and persuasive (Meyers-Levy & Peracchio, 1996). Further, this self-referencing strategy can result in different consequences of advertisements evaluation depending on which dimension of the self is activated, because the self is a multi-dimensional construct. The current study investigated different types of self-referencing based on temporal orientation of the self. …

Friend-Zone With Benefits: The Parasocial Advertising Of Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Anette Lueck

Master's Theses

This research focuses on the social media-driven convention of advertising, and seeks to analyze the type of communication that occurs between celebrity endorsers and audiences within social media. Kim Kardashian is used as the most current and successful celebrity endorser. A content analysis, including posts and responses from April and May 2011, is used to analyze the type of advertising messages and celebrity/audience interaction. The goal of the study is to establish whether Parasocial Interaction could improve the effectiveness of advertising. Due to findings that yielded a high amount of endorsements embedded into personal stories, as well as female approval …

Efficiency Of Using Commercial Dna Extraction Kits And The Organic Extraction Method In Removal Of Polymerase Chain Reaction Inhibitors, Brandi Jo Payne

Master's Theses

The first step in the determination of a perpetrator of a crime using DNA profiling is obtaining good quality DNA. The substrate on which the body fluid is located may contain substances that can co-extract with DNA and may inhibit subsequent PCR analysis. In this study, the efficiency of the removal of such contaminants were tested using three different methods, namely the PrepFiler DNA extraction kit, DNA IQ DNA extraction system, and the organic DNA extraction protocol. One, two, five, and ten μl of whole blood were deposited on soil, wood chips, and cotton swatches treated with bleach. DNA was …

East Of The Tracks: Grassroots Environmentalism In South Mississippi, Heather Kay Sanchez

Master's Theses

Environmental justice literature challenges the disparity and oppression regarding the quality of life associated with residential environments among communities of color. Recent disasters, such as hurricane Katrina, the Tennessee coal sludge disaster (December 2008), and the BP Oil Spill (2010) have garnered visibility for environmental issues, particularly in the south. Nevertheless, the topic has largely been ignored in Mississippi among academia, many advocacy groups, and at the state level despite the emergence of several community based grassroots environmental groups throughout Mississippi in recent years. From Columbia, to Crystal Springs, to Hattiesburg, a coalition of environmental groups is forming with Hattiesburg …

The Role Of Family Ties In Mitigating Moral Hazard: Firm-Level Evidence From Tamil Nadu, India, Goldie Chow

Master's Theses

Drawing on firm-level data from the district of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, India, this study explores the role of family ties as a means to counteract potential moral hazard concerns. It is shown that firms will be more likely to employ family relations when faced with a higher hidden context for moral hazard. Specifically, the analysis finds that the presence of family members within the firm is higher when the firm provides general training and that firms that are more likely to do external business with family relations when it is believed that the legal system is not effective. Additionally, …