Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Essays On Agglomeration, Access To Medical Services, And The Real Estate Market, Jing Li

Economics - Dissertations

This dissertation comprises three papers that study how external economies of scale help to explain geographic variation in access to medical services as well as potential implications on the real estate market. Specifically, the first two papers examine whether an increased concentration of the hospital service industry promotes productivity in treating patients and if so, what are the specific channels through which agglomeration economies might take place in the health care industry. The third paper explores how the productivity variation is reflected in the real estate market.

Chapter 2 examines two factors that help to explain geographic variation in health ...

Intrinsic And Extrinsic Motivation: Abraham Lincoln As An Adult Learner, Warren Greer

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Over the last two decades, research has identified factors that foster versus undermine human motivation and well being with important implications for learning and performance. Much of the research is concerned with intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation and autonomous versus non-autonomous learning environments. The data suggests that learning and performance are often significantly enhanced in autonomy-supportive environments that foster intrinsic motivational perspectives. This study examines the lived experience of Abraham Lincoln in the context of his adult learning motivation, forming a qualitative narrative around his adult educational experiences. It was hypothesized that Abraham Lincoln benefited from learning experiences with high levels ...

Coping With College Stress: Does Sense Of Coherence Influence The Use Of Alcohol And Otc Medication?, Rebecca Silver

Psychology - Dissertations

The combination of stress and psychological symptoms (e.g., anxiety, depression) have been associated with alcohol consumption and the nonindicated use of over the counter (OTC) medications. However, some people have personal resources that contribute to a successful management of the stress response. Antonovsky's (1987) salutogenic theory proposes that a person's sense of coherence (SOC) buffers the relationship between stress appraisal and stressor-induced reactions. This study examined the SOC in relation to associations of stress-related indices with substance-related coping behaviors. One hundred and sixty-five college student participants completed questionnaires that assessed their demographics, stressors, perceived stress, SOC, psychological ...

It Takes More Than Public Speaking: A Leadership Analysis Of The King’S Speech, Patrice-Andre Prud'homme, Brandon O. Hensley

Faculty Publications – Milner Library

In a time of global anxiety, a recent internationally acclaimed film aptly shows the development of a leader who never intended to lead. This leadership analysis of The King's Speech critically explores transformation shaped by the pressures of war, modernity, and a public figure's speech impediment in the advent of radio broadcasting. Supportive leadership and followership are examined, as the Duchess of York serves as an exemplar of both. The central catalyst of transformative leadership comes from Lionel Logue, who exercises his role with emotional intelligence and key strategies that are invaluable to the eventual King finding his ...

Letter In Support Of The White House Directive Mandating Public Access And Reuse Rights To Publications And Data Arising From Federally Funded Research., Denise Troll Covey, Gloriana St. Clair

Denise Troll Covey

No abstract provided.

Handle With Care: Benefits And Drawbacks Of Volunteers In The Library, Jennifer Bartlett

Library Faculty Publications

This "New and Noteworthy" book review column focuses on resources about volunteer management in school, public, academic, and special libraries.

The Politics Of Gustave Courbet’S Landscape Paintings, Nicolette Zorn '13

Senior Theses

My thesis focuses on Gustave Courbet’s landscape painting The Valley of Les Puits-Noir from 1868. The purpose of my thesis is to extend the political reading that scholars have argued about his other paintings to The Valley of Les Puits-Noir. This reading can be applied to his entire body of landscapes in future studies. Courbet was opposed to Napoleon III and the Second Empire, an opposition he visibly communicated in his earlier genre paintings. Scholars have written about Courbet’s landscapes, and consider them neutral when compared to his earlier works. My research focuses on the political history during ...

Academic Achievement Motivation And High School Dropout: An Integrative Model, Alyssa Parr '13

Senior Theses

High school dropout is a pressing issue in the United States as 7.1% of all 16 to 24 year olds in the United States are high school dropouts (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2012). To create effective dropout prevention programs, we must understand the factors that contribute to this national crisis. Two factors that play a role in educational outcomes are achievement motivation and performance. The purpose of this study was to test a model, based on SCCT and EVT, which predicts high school dropout from self-efficacy, performance, and subjective task value. The model was tested through the statistical ...

Growth In Sub Saharan Africa, 2000-2011, Sherrie Choong

Economics Master's Theses

This paper examines the economic growth in Sub Saharan Africa, 2000-2012 and if China is the cause for the recent growth. By looking at the 10 fastest growing Sub Saharan Africa countries and 10 slowest growing Sub Saharan Africa, all trades and FDI with China is observed in order to answer if Sub Saharan Africa depends on China for growth. Due to limitation of data, all data used are secondary and abstracted from various publications such as World Bank, IMF, government publications and scholar articles.

The Effect Of Cataract Surgery On Depression And Vision-Related Quality Of Life In An Elderly Population, Paige Martin

Honors College

Cataracts due to age affect the ability to perform daily visual activities, thereby reducing independence, which can leave a person feeling depressed. This project is designed to study the relationships between cataract surgery and depression and vision-related quality of life in an elderly population. Two groups were studied: Participants undergoing cataract surgery and a wait-list control group. Levels of depression and vision-related quality of life were assessed at baseline and at one-month post-surgery/baseline point. Changes in depressive symptoms did not differ between the two groups; however, vision-related quality of life and visual acuity are significantly increased with cataract removal ...

Staking Out Gender: A Poststructuralist Analysis Of Gender Roles And Identity In Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Patrick Pittis

Honors College

My aim in writing this thesis was to show that, contrary to the underlying themes of most critical approaches to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, there is more to be gained by approaching the series from a poststructuralist, postmodern feminist perspective, an approach that is aligned with the works of Judith Butler and Michel Foucault. From this approach, one can see that the show’s rhetoric suggests gender is an unfixed, discursively constructed phenomenon, rather than a static oppositional masculine/feminine binary. The show’s subversive rhetoric is indicative of its agency, which can also be identified by the impact BtVS ...

Rhode Island Current Conditions Index -- March 2013, Leonard Lardaro

The Rhode Island Current Conditions Index

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Public Policy On Health Service Providers, Marier Allison

Economics - Dissertations

Chapter 1

Low-income, publicly insured admissions historically cost more to treat than the average patient. To ensure that hospitals are reimbursed an adequate amount for care of indigent populations, Medicare reimburses hospitals an additional percentage amount according to federally set financial schedule. The reimbursement cutoff is discrete: at fifteen percent of a disproportionate patient percentage, a hospital is reimbursed an extra 2.5 percent of the standard prospective payment rate. I extend a simple model of hospital quality as a function of insurance reimbursement increases to determine that under certain circumstances there exists a positive relationship between quality and reimbursement ...

The Impact Of Schadenfreude As An Emotional Frame In Crisis Communications On Perception Of Corporate Reputation, Kristi Gilmore

Mass Communications - Dissertations

This dissertation expands on the recent research focus on the role of stakeholder emotions in crisis communications. Using a 2x2 experimental design, this study explores the emotions of sadness and anger, as well as the concept of schadenfreude in relationship to stakeholders' perceptions of corporate reputation. In addition to using the previously tested emotions of sadness and anger in this context, the concept of schadenfreude (the feeling of pleasure one experiences when a person or organization suffers a misfortune or set back) was re-introduced to the field to better assess its potential role in the crisis communication process, specifically its ...

Library-Led Open Education Resources Initiatives: Strategies For Engaging Faculty, Sarah Beaubien

Presentations

Open education resources (OER) are freely available materials for educators and learners. The open education movement is quickly expanding to include free textbooks, open courseware, and new models of delivering educational content. With expertise in the areas of open access, copyright, and institutional repositories, Librarians are well-suited to lead open education initiatives. This session discusses strategies for implementing open education initiatives, showcasing and preserving open education materials, and building partnerships to sustain this movement.

Library-Led Open Education Resources Initiatives: Strategies For Engaging Faculty, Sarah Beaubien

Sarah Beaubien

Open education resources (OER) are freely available materials for educators and learners. The open education movement is quickly expanding to include free textbooks, open courseware, and new models of delivering educational content. With expertise in the areas of open access, copyright, and institutional repositories, Librarians are well-suited to lead open education initiatives. This session discusses strategies for implementing open education initiatives, showcasing and preserving open education materials, and building partnerships to sustain this movement.

Hierarchical Use Of Cues In The Missing Object Recognition Task By Rats (Rattus Norvegicus), Jerome Cohen, Marium Arain

Psychology Publications

This study investigated rats’ preferences for using non-spatial and spatial cues in a missing-object recognition task. Rats were trained to find a sunflower seed under any one of four previously missing adjacent objects, the test array of a trial, after having found seeds under three of them in the ‘study’ array of that trial. On some trials the study and test arrays consisted of a different object at each baited food site and on other trials, of identical objects. A previously missing object's position and orientation within its array and its global position within the large foraging chamber varied ...

Untangling Cultural Differences In Behavioral, Physiological, And Psychological Symptoms Of Dementia And Alzheimer’S Disease, John S. Avant

University Libraries Lance and Elena Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

Abstract

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR; 4^th ed. Revised; American Psychiatric Association) and (BPSD) there are many behavioral, physiological, and psychological issues that have been correlated with the progression of the Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Examples of these issues include; emotional regulation problems, variations in eating behavior, and an advancing decline in memory. Though certain symptoms of the disease seem to be widely universal, current literature shows that a number of disparities do exist. There are several differences between and within populations suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia that are ...

Early Life Stress, Drug Abuse, Exercise Effects On Bdnf And Sex-Influenced Exercise Differences, Karissa Dold

University Libraries Lance and Elena Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

In 2011, the U.S. reported 3 million child maltreatment cases, an uncomfortably high but recurring figure each year. Research shows exposure to early life stress (ELS) increases an individual’s susceptibility to substance abuse, specifically of nicotine, alcohol, and cocaine. Increased susceptibility may result from dysregulation of the HPA axis sustaining activation into adulthood after ELS. Hyperactivation of the HPA axis significantly reduces hippocampal BDNF, a neurotrophin involved in neuronal growth and plasticity. Reduced hippocampal BDNF may be a factor in substance abuse vulnerability. Additionally, research shows exercise protects hippocampal BDNF from stress induced down-regulation. To explore these relationships ...

Technological Adaptation On The Frontier: An Examination Of Blacksmithing At Fort Michilimackinac, 1715-1781, Amy S. Roache-Fedchenko

Anthropology - Dissertations

This research examines the blacksmith and his work within the 18th century fur trade community at Fort Michilimackinac (1715-1781). Located at the northern tip of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, this fortified trading post was important to the French (1715-1760) and British (1761-1781) fur trade economies in North America. Archaeological data and historic documents describing the use, trade, and demand for iron products at Fort Michilimackinac are used to understand the blacksmith and his work within the 18th century fur trade frontier and the wider socioeconomic landscape of which he was part. Blacksmiths were essential in supporting the material needs ...