Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Barebacking And Rebellion: An Examination Using Reactance Theory To Investigate The Re-Emergence Of Unsafe Sexual Practices Among Gay And Bisexual Males, Jon W. Braddy

Doctoral Dissertations

The recent rise in unprotected anal intercourse among men who have sex with men and the possible reasons for that behavior despite general health concerns reflects the purpose and direction of this dissertation. Two issues are investigated within this study: first, is reactance the possible cause for bare-backing and second, how influential are the socially constructed reasons given by gay and bisexual men for the behavior increase? Results from 2036 questionnaires collected during a large, metropolitan circuit party found that there is a statistical link between higher reactance scores and the likelihood of engaging in unprotected anal intercourse. Secondly, two …

A Socio-Spatial Analysis Of Rural Poverty In East Tennessee, Margaret D. Foraker

Doctoral Dissertations

The incidence of poverty in rural areas is actually higher than that in urban places. This study fills a gap in geographic research by examining poverty in rural and small town communities in east Tennessee using the 1990 census. A cluster analysis of high poverty block groups identifies different categories of poor. Just as “who is poor?” varies across the United States, “who is poor?” in east Tennessee varies. The identity of the poor in rural east Tennessee is found to be contrary to popular images of povery in Appalachia.

The massive reorganization of rural economies in recent decades is …

Seeking After Empire: Bioarchaeologists And American Indians In The New Millennium, Michelle Dawn Hamilton

Doctoral Dissertations

New and amended cultural resource laws are changing the academic and scientific landscape of North American bioarchaeology and archaeology. The passage of the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act in 1990 was an important watershed event in the history of the discipline of biological anthropology, and the increasingly successful utilization of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act by federally recognized sovereign tribes is resulting in unanticipated legal restrictions on the scientific collection of bioarchaeological data from American Indian skeletal remains and mortuary site settings.

The evolving relationships between bioarchaeologists and American Indians is examined in the context …

Biological And Statistical Variation In Age Estimation From Pubic Symphyseal Morphology With Regard To Individual Identification And Demographic Profiling, Erin H. Kimmerle

Doctoral Dissertations

Population variation in the morphological aging process of the pubic symphysis has generated much debate. The question of whether age parameters derived from an American population will reliably estimate age-at-death for East European skeletal populations is important since the ability to accurately estimate an individual’s age-at-death hinges on what standard is used. Consequently, successful age estimation, individual identification, and demographic profiling rests on the ability to correctly define the skeletal parameters of age-at-death.

The purpose of this study is to assess the aging process of American and East European populations and to determine what age parameters should be applied to …

The Political Roles Of Presidential Children: Kennedy Through Clinton, Tabitha Alissa Warters

Doctoral Dissertations

Many facets of the institution of the presidency warrant examination. Individual presidents, cabinets, staffs, and first ladies have all been studied in-depth, but one aspect of the presidency remains fundamentally unexplored: the political activities of presidential children.

Role analysis using case studies was the method of examination used. Role analysis was the method used in early studies on first ladies and is replicated in this study on presidential children. The basic assumption is that all presidential children from Kennedy through Clinton have performed political roles. By examining the repeated political activities of the 24 presidential children, five political roles were …

Tennessee 4-H Center Summer Residential Camping Programs: Settings For Positive Youth Development As Perceived By Youth Campers, Jill T. Martz

Doctoral Dissertations

Adults involved in residential camping for children claim that the camp experience enhances children’s development in a variety of ways but there is little empirical research to document their claims. The purpose of this research was to explore the nature of the impact of residential camping on youth campers. The relationship between attributes of life skills practiced and the contextual features of the camp environment was the primary area of examination. The demographic variables of grade and gender were also examined to determine if significant differences in program effects existed.

The study population included fourth through sixth grade youth attending …

Macroeconomic Monetary Policy And Sub-Macroeconomic Impacts: Evaluation Across Eras, Christopher Douglas Kauffman

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the impacts of monetary policy on regions of the United States. The purpose is to show how monetary policy decisions affect the average economy relative to disaggregate components, and to examine the effects over different periods. This will provide broader insight into the workings of the economy beyond the aggregate impacts, and should add a significant amount of information to the current literature on regional monetary effects. To allow for endogeneity between variables, the vector autoregression (VAR) method is used. Impulse response functions (IRFs) are derived to show dynamic responses of regions to a monetary policy shock. …

Effects Of Working Memory And Presentation Condition On Narrative Production And Inferencing Skills In Children With Language-Learning Impairment, Carren Eby Mills

Doctoral Dissertations

Ten children with language-learning impairment (LLI, M = 11;2 years) were compared to chronological age- (CA, M = 11;2 years) and language age- (LA, M = 8;4 years) matched peers to examine presentation condition effects on level of syntactic complexity and number of story grammar components recalled for stories that were at or below the children’s reading level. Children were also compared on their ability to correctly answer information, value, and logical inferencing questions based on the stories. In addition, verbal and non-verbal working memory skills were assessed for group differences, and to determine the degree to which verbal and/or …

A Test Of The Multiregional Hypothesis Of Modern Human Origins Using Basicranial Evidence From Indonesia And Australia, Authur C. Durband

Doctoral Dissertations

Proponents of the Multiregional Hypothesis of modern human origins have consistently stated that the material from Australasia provides one of the most compelling examples of regional continuity in the human fossil record. According to these workers, features found in the earliest Homo erectus fossils from Java can be traced through more advanced hominids from Ngandong and are found in both fossil and recent Australian Aborigines. For this study, non-metric observations will be used to determine the degree of similarity between earlier Homo erectus from Sangiran, the Ngandong fossils (including the Sambungmacan hominids), and fossil/modern Australian Aborigines in the cranial base. …

Cognitive Theory Of War: Why Do Weak States Choose War Against Stronger States?, Sang Hyun Park

Doctoral Dissertations

The key question to be addressed in this paper is why weaker states with a slight chance of winning do not avoid war against stronger states. Even though most war theory does offer a few insights about the conditions under which weak states choose war when there is only a slight possibility of winning, explanations based on either emphasis on rationality or ignorance of “interacting structure” of international relations leave many practical remedies unexplained. This paper explains asymmetric conflict on the combination of Prospect theory and Game theory. The interacting game structure of asymmetric conflicts can be summarized. Under the …

Forgiveness And Rumination: Their Relationship And Effects On Psychological And Physical Health, Kimberly A. Edmondson

Doctoral Dissertations

Forgiveness has recently become a popular focus of research in psychology. In addition to philosophical and theological explorations, psychologists have extended the study of forgiveness into physical and psychological health. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between forgiveness and rumination, as well as the associations among these two factors, health and acute physiological responses. Sixty females participated in a betrayal narrative as well as a rumination period. Two measures of state forgiveness, one measure of trait forgiveness, and two measures of trait rumination were used. Blood pressure and cortisol reactivity were assessed. State forgiveness was associated …

Seeking After Empire: Bioarchaeologists And American Indians In The New Millenium, Michelle Dawn Hamilton

Doctoral Dissertations

New and amended cultural resource laws are changing the academic and scientific landscape of North American bioarchaeology and archaeology. The passage of the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act in 1990 was an important watershed event in the history of the discipline of biological anthropology, and the increasingly successful utilization of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act by federally recognized sovereign tribes is resulting in unanticipated legal restrictions on the scientific collection of bioarchaeological data from American Indian skeletal remains and mortuary site settings.

The evolving relationship between bioarchaeologists and American Indians is examined in the context …

Gender Differences In Adolescents With Disruptive Behavior Disorders: A Look At Self-Report, Projective, And Treatment Outcome Measures, Ashley Campbell

Doctoral Dissertations

The vast majority of research on disruptive behavior disorders has focused on all male or predominantly male samples. However, researchers have noticed a primary difference in the way boys and girls present symptoms of disruptive behavior disorders. This study examined gender differences in the description of and the psychological mechanisms underlying adolescent disruptive behavior disorders. Differences were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist, MMPI-A and Rorschach with a group of adolescents (N=61; 34 males and 27 females) in residential treatment who had a diagnosis including a disruptive behavior disorder. Measures were given upon admission and discharge from treatment.

The results …

Criterion-Related Validity Of Big Five Adolescent Personality Traits, Amy Susannah Friday

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examined the correlation of academic performance of adolescents and the Big Five personality traits, as well as gender and age differences one and two years later. An archival sample of 542 6^th graders, 446 9^th graders and 341 12^th graders from the southeastern United States were used. All five of the Big Five personality traits were found to significantly correlate with GPA at all three grade levels except for Extraversion with 12^th graders. Correlations between personality and GPA were not statistically different for 6^th, 9^th, and 12^th grade males …

Summarizing And Measuring Participants' Perceptions Related To Performance Appraisal Effectiveness, Stephen Henry Gaby

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to summarize the performance appraisal literature regarding the characteristics associated with effective outcomes and then develop an instrument that can be used in field settings to measure these characteristics. A framework based on the organizational justice literature was developed to organize and integrate the various findings from past appraisal research. Characteristics which past research has found to be associated with desired outcomes were grouped into three broad categories which roughly parallel the three types of organizational justice. An instrument was then created drawing on findings from the climate literature which indicate that individuals respond …

Keeping Quiet: Self-Silencing And Its Association With Relational And Individual Functioning Among Adolescent Romantic Couples, Melinda Schuessler Harper

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between self-silencing and aspects of relational and individual functioning among adolescent couple members involved in romantic relationships. Two hundred and eleven adolescent couples dating for a minimum of four weeks completed questionnaires assessing relationship satisfaction, self-silencing behaviors, sexual behaviors, global communication, and experiences of depressive symptomatology. Adolescent couples also participated in a videotaped conflictual interaction and rated perceptions of themselves and their partner on dimensions of frustration, conceding, sarcasm, and discomfort.

Data analyses addressed the effect of self-silencing on aspects of relational and individual functioning for both actor (the person …

The Dynamics Of Identity Development: Exploring The Relevance Of Separation-Individuation, Jennifer N. Engler

Doctoral Dissertations

The current study attempted to illuminate the patterns of relations between the processes of separation-individuation and identity development in a late adolescent, university sample. A total of 281 undergraduate volunteers participated in the study, each completing the Separation-Individuation Test of Adolescence (SITA), the Ego Identity Process Questionnaire (EIPQ), and a brief demographic survey. Results indicate that there are significant relations between these two processes and that those combinations of separation-individuation variables that are associated with more process in identity development may differ by the identity test under investigation. Utilizing a stepwise multiple regression, degree of identity exploration was found to …

Changing Governance, Business Elites, And Local Regulation In Nashville, Ola Johansson

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I explore how power and governance in Nashville is related to economic and institutional change on a national and global scale—the transition from Fordism to post-Fordism. By investigating the political and social institutions of the city, it is my objective to understand how the elites are operating to control and direct development. The study is an in-depth look at the activities of local business and how they decide to respond in a situation of change and uncertainty. Here I stress the importance of collective action among the business elite, which is equally meaningful to explore as the …

A Validation Study On The Teamwork Receptiveness Inventory, Matthew E. Fearrington

Doctoral Dissertations

As the use of work teams has increased in American corporations during the last 30 years, much of the empirical research has focused upon the relationship between individual personality traits and job performance rather than on individual attitudes about working on team settings. This study attempted to establish the construct (convergence of indicators and discriminant validity) and criterion-related validity of an instrument designed to measure individual receptiveness to working in teams. Four hundred seventy-four undergraduate, first-year engineering students (over 80% were male) were asked to complete the Teamwork Receptiveness Inventory (TRI; Fearrington, 2001), the NEO-FFI (Costa and McCrae, 1992a), the …

Relationship Of College Students' Response Styles On The Strong Interest Inventory To Scores On The Beck Depression Inventory And The Career Thoughts Inventory, Martha C. Dagenhart

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among college students’ response styles on the Occupations section of the Strong Interest Inventory (SII), as indicated by the “Like,” “Dislike,” and “Indifferent” percent indexes, and their scores on the Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI) and the Beck Depression Inventory – Second Edition (BDI-II). The SII is a career interest inventory that measures a person’s level of interest across a wide range of areas including occupations and leisure activities. When presented with an item on the SII, an individual indicates whether he or she likes, dislikes, or is indifferent to that …

Justification Of Antisocial Behavior, Wiliam Robert Walton

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to further the study of conditional reasoning (CR) methodology to study personality. The direction of the expansion was two fold. First was to increase the content area of the study of aggressive personality by developing justification mechanisms (JMs) for antisocial behaviors. Second, was to determine the feasibility of using different reasoning-based tasks to measure JMs. Thus the development of a CR based reading comprehension task to measure antisocial JMs was undertaken. This study represents the preliminary investigation of the viability of this measure.

The Conditional Reasoning Reading Comprehension test (CR2C) was administered to 833 …

The Socialization Of Compulsive Buyers: The Roles Of Families And Mass-Mediated Sources, Saovanee Tesgim

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the roles of the upbringing environments and mass-mediated sources in the socialization of compulsive buyers. Its purpose was to find the answers to these research questions: what does it mean to be a compulsive buyer; what kind of role does family play in the consumer socialization of compulsive buyers; what kind of role does mass media and advertising play in the consumer socialization of compulsive buyers? To answer these questions, in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 women respondents who were identified as compulsive buyers and who fit into one of four categories: the Provider, the Striver, …

Suggestion And Suggestibility: A Factor Analysis, Anthony F. Tasso

Doctoral Dissertations

The aim of this study was to examine the domains of suggestion and suggestibility using factor analytic methodologies. Previous investigations, all of which were carried-out between forty and sixty years ago, yield equivocal results. The present study used nine behavioral measures of suggestibility and hypothesized that three distinct factors would emerge. It was hypothesized that hypnosis, Chevreul pendulum and body-sway would load on the first factor, the odor test, progressive weights, and placebo responsiveness on the second factor, and conformity, persuasibility, and interrogative suggestibility to load on the third factor. 110 college students participated in the study. Factor analyses failed …

In Theirown Voices: Attitudes About Mental Health Utilization By African American Females At A Predominantly White Institution, Dionne Maria Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

This study explored the attitudes of mental health utilization by African American female students at a Predominantly White Institution (PWI). Because African American females have been found to underutilize mental health services, particularly those provided by the university, the study’s goals were to explore participants’ beliefs related to (a) treatment efficacy, (b) barriers to seeking mental health services, and (c) counselor preferences. The data from this study were analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach to identify participant attitudes regarding the utilization of mental health services. The findings resulted in the development of a theory of mental health utilization. In …

Endangered Species And U.S. Military Training - What’S The Value?, Jeffrey S. Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to value military training using tradeoffs associated with endangered species. Because of urban sprawl, endangered species are encroaching upon many military training facilities throughout the United States. This encroachment interrupts military training activities and may affect the grounds where training takes place. Laws associated with the Endangered Species Act prevent any activities that may harm or destroy critical habitat necessary to ensure endangered species survival.

Choice modeling, which is a subset of contingent valuation, is a stated preference methodology that allows researchers to question respondents about complex scenarios, and to calculate values based on …

Reducing Adverse Impact While Maintaining Validity: Finding The Balance Between Competing Employee Selection Goals, John Ashley Henderson

Doctoral Dissertations

Adverse (or disparate) impact has probably represented one of the most persistent and pervasive problems in employee selection. Innumerable approaches to eliminating its presence have been attempted, but most have been met with limited success. To date, this success has been measured in only slight reductions in adverse impact unless substantial losses in validity are accepted. While a number of reasons for these results have been advanced, this research asserted that part of the problem originated in the narrow perspective with which employee selection is often defined. This narrow perspective has resulted in a singular focus on validity with insufficient …

Estimation Of Skeletal Age-At-Death From Dental Root Translucency, Debra A. Prince

Doctoral Dissertations

Estimating the biological profile for an unknown individual is a crucial part of forensic anthropology, bioarchaeology and paleodemography. The current research deals with one aspect of the biological profile: estimation of skeletal age-at-death. Several methods are available to estimate skeletal age-at-death, but most involve placing a skeletal element into a phase category. This type of phase-oriented age estimation, in addition to improper statistical methodology, leads to several problems: 1) observer subjectivity; 2) large age ranges and open-ended intervals; 3) stages that overlap one another; 4) aging bias; 5) age mimicry; and 6) taphonomic problems. Solutions to these methodological and statistical …

Still Always The Dad’: The Meaning Of Fatherhood For Midlife Fathers Of Adult Children, Truett Paul Mcanear

Doctoral Dissertations

This study describes the subjective experience of being an involved midlife father with adult children. While previous fatherhood research has focused primarily on the impact of father involvement on child outcomes, researchers have only recently begun to explore the impact of father involvement on the fathers themselves. Within this literature minimal research is evident regarding the impact of fatherhood on men at midlife. This study addresses this gap in the literature with a phenomenological investigation of the experience of father involvement for midlife fathers of adult children. The researcher conducted in-depth interviews with 9 midlife fathers regarding their experience of …

Motor Vehicle Wealth Taxes And Fleet Age: Air Quality Implications, Karie Anne Barbour

Doctoral Dissertations

The objective of this dissertation is to determine whether motor vehicle wealth taxes have unintended consequences for fleet turnover, emissions and air quality. Twenty-eight U.S. states have an annual motor vehicle wealth tax that is based on either the age or value of the vehicle, which results in tax liabilities that decrease with age. Given this structure, households have an incentive to make adjustments to their vehicle stocks in favor of older vehicles. These adjustments may be harmful to the environment as older vehicles have higher emissions.

To achieve this objective I have divided this dissertation into three separate empirical …

Differentiation Of Fragmented Bone From South East Asia: The Histological Evidence, Derek Christian Benedix

Doctoral Dissertations

“The skeletal remains of some other animals, particularly when fragmentary, are often difficult to distinguish from human bones and teeth” (White 1991:3, emphasis mine).

Archaeological sites yield evidence that may be culturally modified items such as lithic tools, pottery, beads, buttons, watches, wedding rings, to items in nature classified by Dart (1957) as osteodontokeratic. Osteodontokeratic remains (or bone, tooth, and horn) are osseous human or animal elements that have either been modified tools or strictly osseous tissue itself. Bones of human and non-human origin comprise a significant portion of an assemblage. Deciphering the spatial context of the various forms …