Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Preliminary Report On The Faunal Remains And Taphonomic Analysis Of Plover's Lake Cave, Cradle Of Humankind, South Africa, Juliet Krueger Brophy

Masters Theses

This study examines a sample faunal assemblage from Plover’s Lake Cave, South Africa, and uses the faunal identification and taphonomic indicators to determine the bone accumulating agents and make inferences about their behavior and environment. Fossil assemblages can be dramatically affected by ancient bone collectors as evident by their taphonomic signatures. The taphonomic overprint given to a site is typically due to episodic factors and the paleoenvironmental reconstructions that are based upon these assemblages must take into account any biases the accumulating agents may impart. After performing several analyses involving bone modification and taxonomic abundance, I suggest three accumulators were …

The Effect Of Official College Athletic Web Sites On The Job Of Division I Sports Information Directors, Karen J. Bielak

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of official college athletic Web sites on the job of Division I sports information directors. Specifically, it focused on how often the site is updated, who is responsible for performing that duty, and whether a position has been created solely for the purpose of maintain the Web site. The target population included all 327 Division I sports information directors. Directors from Division I schools were chosen because of the high probability that their school maintains an official Web site that it has had an impact on the sports information director …

The Interaction Between Andrew Johnson And The Press, Jennifer L. Lowe

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine the unstable relationship that existed between Andrew Johnson and the press. Information collected throughout this examination can be used to understand the power of the media in regard to Andrew Johnson’s presidency. Primary documents were examined to determine how the press reacted to Johnson’s policies and actions.

What is perhaps most remarkable about Andrew Johnson’s presidency is that he enjoyed almost unprecedented popularity and support during the first months of his term in office. Within months of his inauguration, however, nearly all politicians and members of the press held him in deepest …

Personal Narrative Views Of Mothers And Their Children: Setting Events For Mother-Child Interactions?, Meredith P. Schwartzman

Masters Theses

The personal narratives of mothers and children were examined for coherence and richness. Both were assessed for commonalities in narrative structure and possible links to mother’s responsiveness to child’s aversion behaviors. Narrative structure was empirically manipulated to assess changes on responsiveness and child negativity. A sample of thirty mother-child dyads were recruited for participation from normal populations and ten mother-dyads were recruited through the University of Tennessee Psychological Clinic. Measures include the Child Behavior Checklist 9CBCL; Achenback & Edelbrock, 1983), Personal Narrative (Castlebury & Wahler, 1997), and the Standardized Observation Codes-Revised (SOC-R, see Cerezo, 1988). Mother and child narratives were …

Paternal Involvement: Effects On Delinquency, Porche' Teshia Wynn

Masters Theses

Despite the numerous research studies published regarding the influence of parenting on delinquent behavior, there is yet a clear understanding of how fathers’ parenting practices specifically influence behaviors. Because the majority of previous studies have solely focused on how mothers’ parenting practices affect adolescent behavioral outcomes, research has failed at specifically defining characteristics of fathers’ parenting practices and their influence on behaviors. Because this has been a debatable topic of research for several years, the purpose of the present study is to determine if fathers’ involvement, in the adolescent years, contributes to more favorable behaviors than when fathers are not …

Molecular Anthropology And The Punta Lobos Assemblage: Dna-Based Sex-Typing Of Juveniles From Ancient Hair Samples, Adriane Michelle Scola

Masters Theses

The recent proliferation of techniques suitable for DNA recovery in ancient samples has prompted anthropological researchers to explore molecular-based investigations of human remains from archaeological contexts. This study demonstrates the utility of ancient DNA analysis to strengthen a site-specific demographic profile from the Punta Lobos assemblage. DNA extraction via a silica-based extraction technique from juvenile hair bulb samples and further DNA amplification via high cycle-number PCR was undertaken to genetically type individual sex. Morphologically indeterminate subadult samples were typed as biological males when amplification was successful. The inclusion of preliminary amplification results from a mitochondrial DNA marker suggests that DNA …

Molecular Anthropology And The Punta Lobos Assemblage: Dna-Based Sex-Typing Of Juveniles From Ancient Hair Samples, Adriane Michelle Scola

Masters Theses

The recent proliferation of techniques suitable for DNA recovery in ancient samples has prompted anthropological researchers to explore molecular-based investigations of human remains from archaeological contexts. The study demonstrates the utility of ancient DNA analysis to strengthen a site-specific demographic profile from the Punta Lobos assemblage. DNA extraction via a silica-based extraction technique from juvenile hair bulb samples and further DNA amplification via high cycle-number PRC was undertaken to genetically type individual sex. Morphologically intermediate subadult samples were typed as biological males when amplification was successful. The inclusion of preliminary amplification results form a mitochondrial DNA marker suggests that DNA …

Worldviews In Music: A Rhetorical Study Of Philosophies Of Truth And Reality In Country Music And Contemporary Christian Music, Karen Lynn Legg

Masters Theses

This study examines the philosophies of truth and reality that are communicated through the lyrics of Country and Contemporary Christian Music. The lyrics from the top ten songs from the years 1980, 1990, and 2000 were collected and analyzed for both genres. The songs were then coded and placed in one of eight categories: N/A, Naturalism, Transcendentalism, Theism, Naturalism/Theism, Transcendentalism/Theism, Naturalism/Transcendentalism, and Undeterminable. Country and Contemporary Christian Music’s trends were discussed individually as well as compared and contrasted to each other. Results found that Contemporary Christian songs communicate a Theistic view of truth and reality every time worldviews were brought …

The Effectiveness Of The Chemical Perturbation Index For Monitoring Water Quality In Three Mixed-Use Urban Watersheds, Knoxville, Tennessee, Brooks A. Jolly

Masters Theses

Landscape change within the United States has resulted in significant physical and chemical alteration of our nation's surface waters. Many research projects have demonstrated that landscape features moderate or cause observed water quality conditions. Urbanization is a rapidly growing form of landscape change in the United States and ranks second to agriculture as a major cause of stream degradation. Understanding the effect of urbanization on surface waters is only one component of the larger issue of restoring and maintaining the integrity of urban stream water quality. Effective watershed management is a social process that requires the inclusion of local citizens …

Psychometric Properties Of The Pswq-A In A Community Sample Of Older Adults, Julie A. Crittendon

Masters Theses

Among older adults, GAD is as prevalent as major depression (Blazer, George, & Hughes, 1991). As a result of scale development and norming that generally incorporates younger samples, psychometrically sound anxiety and worry instruments for older cohorts are limited. The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ; Meyer, Miller, Metzger, & Brokovec, 1990) is one instrument that may be useful for assessing worry in older adults, although limitations of this scale recently were highlighted that resulted in the development of a revised version that more effectively might assess worry in older adults, the Penn State Worry Questionnaire-Abbreviated (PSWQ-A; Hopko et. al., 2003). …

Validation And Comparison Of Two Ankle-Mounted And Two Waist-Mounted Electronic Pedometers, Murat Karabulut

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to validate and compare the accuracy of two ankle- mounted pedometers [StepWatch 3 (SW-3) and Activity Monitoring Pod 331 (AMP)] and two waist-mounted pedometers [New Lifestyles NL-2000 (NL) and Digiwalker SW-701 (DW-701)] under controlled and free-living conditions. The study had three parts: part I: walking on a treadmill at six different speeds, part II: a) evaluation of potential sources of error: leg swinging, heel tapping, and driving a car in city limits, and b) pedaling a stationary cycle ergometer, and part III: wearing pedometers for 24 hours. Ten males and 10 females walked on …

China’S Public Health Sector In Transition: Assessing Market Reform Impacts, Bo Li

Masters Theses

Many studies have been done to evaluate China’s transitional economy and its impacts on the public health sector. It is a widely accepted proposition that the market reform initiated in the late 1980s significantly changed the public health sector. While some scholars argue that the Chinese people’s overall health status has improved compared to that of the pre-reform era, others identify declining health expenditures and widening regional gaps, indicating quite a dim health situation. In this thesis, I argue that market reforms have not improved the people’s access to health services. In the reform era, the overall civil health status …

The Assessment Of Psychopathic Traits And Risk-Taking Using Balloon Analog Risk Task (Bart), Melissa Kathryn Hunt

Masters Theses

Continuing a program of research assessing the utility of the Behavioral Analog Risk Task (BART, Lejuez et al, 2002) as a measure of risk taking, the BART was administered to a non-forensic sample of individuals high and low in self-reported psychopathy. Inter-relations of BART performance with measures of psychopathy and impulsivity were examined, with an emphasis on exploring the predictive validity of self-report measures on overt risk-taking behavior. Following completion of the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (SRP-II; Hare, 1991), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS; Barratt, 1985), and the Authority Problems subscale (Pd2) of the MMPI-2 (Harris & Lingoes, 1955), physiological data were …

Effect Of Gender, Socioeconomic Status And Family Structure On Depression In Adolescents In Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lada Mujkic

Masters Theses

The relationship between self-reported depressive symptomatology among adolescents in Bosnia-Herzegovina, who experienced the chronic stress during four year war, and risk factors such as gender, socioeconomic status, and family structure were investigated in the current study. The present study tested the hypothesis that each one of above mentioned risk factors individually impact depressive mood. Also interactions between gender and socioeconomic status and gender and family structure were hypothesized. A nationally representative sample of high school teenagers was selected from two high schools in the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sarajevo (N=559, 263 boys and 296 girls, mean age 15.34). Data from questionnaire …

Toward A Geography Of Hormones: The Human Sex Ratio At Birth In The United States 1970-1995, Michael C. Meyers

Masters Theses

It has been hypothesized that humans may exert facultative, adaptive control over their sex of their offspring through the action of the endocrine system. No conclusive evidence of this has been found, although varying hormonal levels in parents at the time of conception may partly influence the sex of the child (James 1986, 1987b, 1999). A decline in the human sex ratio at birth (SRB) observed in the U.S. and some other countries has been attributed by some investigators to widespread environmental exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals.

The many factors hypothesized to influence the SRB make testing this attribution difficult, …

The Haunted Hero: Mythology And Meaning In The Fathering Accounts Of Long-Haul Truckers, Jeremy P. Sayers

Masters Theses

Long-haul truckers face challenges of time and distance in their attempts to be what they consider good fathers. In their quest to define themselves as fathers and as men, they are also shadowed by the challenge of a pervasive macho mythology of the trucker as an American cultural hero – a high-flying, hard-driving, highway cowboy. As were the cowboys of the Old West, the mythological trucker is a loner, complete in his freedom from the worries and demand of more pedestrian lives. Through intensive interviews with 12 men who make their living as over-the-road (OTR) truckers, I explore the interwoven …

Technology And Communication: Emerging Family Communication Patterns Among Young Adults And The Influence Of Technology, Shilpa Venkateshwaran

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to understand the emerging family communication patterns among young adults and the influence of technology. This study of young adults tried to study the two family types: conversation-oriented and conformity-oriented and the influence of technology has on the family types. E-mail is fast becoming an important mode of communication and hence the study of the adaptation of this media in family communication is important during the transition phase. This study tried to find the predicted changes in communication.

Effects Of Group Composition And Mating Season On The Agonisitic And Affiliative Behavior Of Rhesus Macaques (Macaca Mulatta), Lauren Dawn Cox

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine what, if any, were the effects of group composition and mating season on grooming and aggression in captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Three groups of rhesus macaques were observed during the summer of 2003. The behavior of these three groups was compared in order to determine if any group differences were present. The following January, two of these groups (one had been disbanded) were observed again to determine if behavior varied in the mating season.

The results suggest that the number of intergroup fights has an inverse relationship to intragroup …

Secrets In Common: Intellectual Foundations Of The Lodge That Found Billet In The Dens And Klaverns, Damien Borg

Masters Theses

Secrets in Common is an anthropological history that undertakes to explain the similarities of membership and ideology between the Freemasons and two formations of the Ku Klux Klan. The work is divided into seven sections. It was compiled from both extant, which was of principle significance, and secondary printed material. After many hours of reading and countless attempts at “understanding,” three short ethnographic narratives were compiled: they makeup the central axis of the material. The first narrative describes the Freemasons, while the second two are on the “Reconstruction Klan” and the “Klan of the ‘20’s,” henceforth referred to as Kuklux …

Message Strategy And The Perception Of Self-Efficacy In Behavioral Intentions Resulting From Advocacy Advertising, Yoon-Joo Lee

Masters Theses

This thesis uses the Haley (1996) study as a conceptual framework for the study of advocacy advertising. The purpose of this thesis was to explore the role of message strategy in increasing the consumers' perception of self-efficacy, perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE) in behavioral intentions resulting from advocacy advertising. Additionally, the thesis explored the correlations and causal relationships between self-efficacy/ PCE, and behavioral intention and behavioral intention and the consumers' evaluation of the organization as good.

A quasi-experimental design was used. A questionnaire along with one of the two experimental stimuli (a print advertisement with the transformational-ego or the informational-ration message …

Genocide And Genocide Prevention: Outlines Illustrated With The Tragedy In Rwanda 1994, Ginger L. Denton

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to contribute to comparative research towards a theory of modern genocide and ways to prevent mass murder. Definitions, typologies, key elements, patterns, a comparison of the Holocaust with the Rwandan genocide, and preventative measures are included in the study.

Special Event Communication In The Age Of Terrorism, Judith Ann Flanagan

Masters Theses

Special events have come to take an increasingly viable role in the United States of America. This thesis examines special events communication in the wake of September 11, 2001 (9-11-01), terrorist attacks on the U.S. utilizing the assistance of the International Festivals and Event Association (IFEA). The project involved two phases. In the first phase, members of the IFEA were surveyed concerning their perceptions of communication prior to and following the 9-11-01, terrorist attacks. In the second phase, the convention program of the IFEA was content analyzed with a view toward examining the communication-related programs available to special event professionals. …

Stuck In Science: The Natural Scientist And Non-Objective Ways Of Knowing Nature, Marianne R. Chrystalbridge

Masters Theses

My research investigates whether and to what extent natural scientists utilize non-objective but personally meaningful ways of knowing, that is, different modes of perceiving, interpreting, judging, and comprehending, in addition to their objective stance as scientific researcher, in constructing their understanding of nature. I investigate whether or not the norms of science restrict discussion of non-objective ways of knowing to the margins of the discourse. I pursue this topic through a review of literature on ecological sustainability that emphasizes the importance of buttressing objective knowledge with non-objective ways of experiencing and talking about nature.

In interviews with fifty natural scientists, …

Developing Habitat Suitability Models: An Example From Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee And North Carolina, Usa, Using The Land Snail Vitrinizonites Latissimus Lewis, Andrew Strom Dye

Masters Theses

Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) is one of the foremost areas of biological research in the United States. The spatial and temporal aspects of the data collected in biological research provide many opportunities for implementing Geographic Information System (GIS) models. Many biological studies in recent years have sought to describe the relationships between organism distribution and habitat variables.

This thesis analyzes the spatial distribution of the land snail Vitrinizonites latissimus Lewis as an example of how GIS-based habitat suitability models can be derived from data collected in GSMNP. Seven habitat variables including slope, aspect, elevation, soils, vegetation, geology, and …

A Comparison Of Knee Joint Size, Obesity, And Osteoarthritis Involving Two Recent Skeletal Samples, Jeffrey Reed Huber

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was two-fold: to examine secular changes in the size of the knee joint during the last century in White males and females, and to compare the prevalence of knee osteoarthritis over the same time frame. In addition, a specific effort was made to determine a relationship between the modern rise in obesity and knee osteoarthritis. The sample included 291 males and 140 females from both the Robert J. Terry Collection and the William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection.

The results indicate no consistent secular change in direction or location between White males and females. Although …

Application Of Progressive Gateway Community Strategies In Townsend And Tuckaleechee Cove, Leon Christion Jr.

Masters Theses

Gateway community and rural planning literature was examined to determine the essential elements of successful Gateway Communities and was combined with interviews with citizens, consultants and government agents to ascertain present conditions. Analysis of these elements was applied toward a case study of the Tuckaleechee Cove planning process.

Common problems experienced in rapidly developing gateway communities are environmental degradation, visual blight, low wages, seasonal unemployment, and loss of residential base.

Tuckaleechee Cove lacks sufficient landowner support to address issues on a Cove-wide basis. National Parks, local communities, county government, state agencies, federal agencies, citizens, landowners, and the business community must …

A Comparison Of Knee Joint Size, Obesity, And Osteoarthritis Involving Two Recent Skeletal Samples, Jeffrey Reed Huber

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was two-fold: to examine secular change in the size of the knee joint during the last century in White males and females, and to compare the prevalence of knee osteoarthritis over the same time frame. In addition, a specific effort was made to determine a relationship between the modern rise in obesity and knee osteoarthritis. The sample included 291 males and 140 females from both the Robert J. Terry Collection and the William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection.

The results indicate no consistent secular change in direction or location between White males and females. Although …

Chinese Political Regime And The Rising Income Inequality In The Reform Era, Xiaoyang Hou

Masters Theses

This thesis probes the sharply rising income inequality in reform-era China under the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) authoritarian regime. Accepting the premise that economic transition inevitably leads to the income inequality, my special focus in this thesis is to demonstrate how political factors contribute to the worsening income inequality in China.

This study shows that the skewed power structure generates the income inequality. I explore three factors pertaining to the political regime that lead to the widening income inequality in reform-era China, which are: first, the nature of Chinese political system, which includes: the CCP’s dominant position in party-state China; …

Organizational Correlates Of Negative Workplace Behavior: A Field Study, Graeme K. Mitchell

Masters Theses

This was a field study conducted in the entertainment industry in eastern Tennessee designed to investigate the relationship of perceived supervisor support and perceived pay equity with negative workplace behavior. Participants consisted of 171 employees of an entertainment company who completed a questionnaire with four scales, including one developed in this study. Results showed a significant, inverse correlation of perceived supervisor support and negative workplace behavior (r = -0.45, p< .01) and a significant correlation of pay inequity and negative workplace behavior (r = 0.33, p<.01) that demonstrated the negative consequences of perceived inequity or maltreatment. The correlations of perceived supervisor support and organization citizenship behavior (r = 0.48, p<.01), and pay equity and organization citizenship behavior (r = 0.23, p<.01) suggested that perceived pay equity or supervisor support led to behaviors that helped the organization. No relationship was found between the type of negative workplace behavior people engaged in and perceived pay equity, however, perceived supervisor support was inversely correlated with “withdrawal” (r = -0.31, p<.01). Perceived supervisor support had a very strong relationship with the LBDQ-XII factor “consideration”. Previous research has suggested people engage in negative workplace behaviors because they see inequities in their compensation or treatment at work, and this behavior was an attempt to restore equity. Future research should consider whether specific organizational factors predict discrete types of negative workplace behavior, what the impact of senior leader decision-making is on workplace behavior, whether one or many factors precipitate workplace behavior and whether organizational citizenship behavior and negative workplace behaviors are opposing or independent constructs.

The Role Of The Acquisitions Editor In University Press Publishing, Emily M. Garman

Masters Theses

This study examines the changing role of acquisitions editors within university presses. The various factors that contribute to the changing role of acquisitions editors were examined through personal interviews of twenty-nine acquisitions editors from university presses across the United States. Twenty questions were presented to the editors on editorial responsibilities, book marketing, electronic publishing, education and job training, and author/editor relationships. This study concentrated on those questions, as well as on the evolving role of acquisitions editors when affected by variables such as library acquisitions, financial trends, electronic publishing, and rules for professorial tenure that affect changes in scholarly publishing. …