Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

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 ...

The Racialization Of Us Health Care Reform: The Case Of Gold-Plated Cadillac Health Plans, Emily West

Emily E. West

The term “gold-plated Cadillac health plans” became nationally prominent during John McCain’s run for President in 2008, and high-premium insurance plans continue to be called “Cadillac plans” today. The metaphorical phrase “gold-plated Cadillac” defines health care as a consumer and even a luxury good; implies that owners of these plans are irresponsible, wasteful healthcare consumers; and evokes the stereotype of an “out-of-control” African American consumer. The history of the Cadillac brand and of gold-plated Cadillacs in particular in popular culture demonstrates the salience of these associations. The use of this phrase in recent health care reform debates is considered ...

Essays On Academic Achievement And Student Behavior In Public Schools, Wael Soheil Moussa

Economics - Dissertations

This dissertation examines the student academic achievement through various mechanisms, put in place by the public school district, classroom student behavior, and negative external shocks to the students' living environment. I examine the impacts of various treatments on student short and long run academic outcomes such as math and English test scores, grade retention, special education diagnoses, as well as high school graduation. Each essay will be presented as a chapter of the dissertation.

The first essay uses student-level administrative data from New York City Public Schools to examine the impacts of school entry age on student academic outcomes (including ...

Adolescent Personality, Confucian Values, Parenting Typologies And Adolescent Behavioral Outcomes: A Study In South Korea, Yo Ok Chang

Child and Family Studies - Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the associations among adolescent personality traits, Confucian values, parenting styles (and psychological control), and aggressive behaviors in South Korean families. Although the use of aggression by Korean adolescents has increased in contemporary Korean society, there is a lack of research on how adolescent personality traits and cultural values impact adolescent behavioral outcomes through parenting styles and psychological control. The sample included 361 parents (mothers and fathers) and their adolescents (7th and 8th grade) and the teachers of participating adolescents. Results indicated that adolescents' agreeableness, extraversion, and neuroticism were associated with adolescent overt ...

Experiencing Citizenship In A Globalizing World: The Impact Of Off-Campus Programs, Ryan Owen Williams

Political Science - Dissertations

College serves as a critical time in the lives of young adults in the formulation of their identification with citizenship, of their sense of belonging or affiliation. In an era of increasing globalization, this psychological dimension of citizenship requires further research and elaboration. This project seeks to determine if and how the academic and off-campus choices students make in college impact their worldview, their loyalties and sense of responsibility toward others. How far do students' allegiances extend and what experiences in college help to create these bonds and commitments? This study asks whether international experience via study abroad is a ...

China And The New Triangular Relationship In The Americas: China And The Future Of Us-Mexico Relations, Enrique Dussel Peters, Adrian H. Hearn, Harley Shaiken

Center for Latin American Studies Publications

This book advances the concept of “triangular relationships” by analyzing benefits and conflicts within US-Mexico-China relations as Chinas´ influence increases. The contributors examine this phenomenon from economic, political, and social perspectives. China´s deepening impact in the Americas suggests that triangular relation-ships, such as those examined in this volume, will necessarily weigh more heavily into other fields of research in the future.