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School Gardens: Reconnecting Children With Nature And Food, Alyssa M. Boyle

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis discusses the importance of school gardens. First, two current environmental and societal problems are highlighted: the industrialized food system and what Richard Louv has termed, "Nature Deficit Disorder," in children. School gardens are then presented as an effective tool that can address and remedy such issues. Lastly, a how-to manual for implementing such projects in schools is provided as well as a few sample lesson plans to be used in conjunction with the garden in each subject across the curriculum.

Initial Development And Validation Of The Rural Competency Scale, Cassandra Gail Pusateri

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Rurality is a term that can be used to describe rural residency and the cultural characteristics of rural individuals and areas. The counseling profession has increased its attention to culture with the development of the multicultural counseling competencies (Sue, Arredondo, & McDavis, 1992) and assessments designed to measure competency levels for providing services to diverse clientele (e.g., Kim, Cartwright, Asay, & D'Andrea, 2003; LaFromboise, Coleman, & Hernandez, 1991; Ponterotto, Gretchen, Utsey, Rieger, & Austin, 2002; Sodowsky, Taffe, Gutkin, & Wise, 1994). However, the commonly used definitions of culture as well as the instruments available to measure multicultural counseling competence do …

Effects Of Pack Weight On Endurance Of Long-Distance Hikers, Anthony T. Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Hikers attempting long-distance trails, like the Appalachian Trail, load their backpacks down with gear that may exceed ideal limits on pack weight. Hikers pack clothing to deal with changing weather conditions, sleeping bags, tents, tarps, cooking gear, food, water and other accessories to compensate for the lack of comfort in the remote wilderness. These heavy weights may affect hikers' ability to walk in comfort and result in physical injuries such as ankle sprains, knee pain, muscular fatigue, and soft tissue damage. Heavy pack weights can cause injuries and possibly prevent hikers from completing long distance hikes.

This study evaluated pack …

The Effects Of Computer Reliance And Relationships On Memory, Denise Beyer

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Research supports the notion that the internet may serve as a transactive memory source for many individuals. Because, for many, information from technology is so accessible, humans may be less likely to encode and store information in their memory, potentially resulting in a smaller knowledge base over time (Sparrow, Liu, & Wegner, 2011). The current study examined the effects of exposing participants to a computer, friend, or neutral prime. Procedure order was also varied among the groups to determine whether potential memory failure would occur due to an encoding failure or a retrieval failure. Participants were asked to write out …

Does The Presence Of A Non-Coincident Visual Spatial Pattern Facilitate Spatial Pattern Learning? Implications For A Dedicated Spatial Pattern Learning System, Scott Katz

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Spatial pattern learning is defined as an ability to learn spatial relationships of objects in space without the use of discrete visual landmarks or environmental geometry (Brown & Terrinoni, 1996). Spatial pattern learning has been suggested to be a distinct form of learning because it is not affected by cue competition and has been shown to occur in the absence of discrete landmarks and environmental geometry (Brown, Yang, & DiGian, 2002; Sturz Brown, & Kelly, 2009). In the proposed study, the distinctness of spatial pattern learning was investigated. Specifically, human participants searched in an interactive 3-D computer generated virtual environment …

Recognizing The Other: Training's Ability To Improve Other Race Individuation, W. Grady Rose

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Members of one race or ethnicity are less able to individuate members of another race compared to their own race peers. This phenomenon is known as the other race effect (ORE) or the cross race effect (CRE). Not only are individuals less able to identify members of the other race but they are also more likely to pick those individuals out of a crowd. The categorizationindividuation model predicts that this deficit arises from a lack of motivated individuation; in which members of the other race are remembered at the category level as a prototype while own race members are remembered …

Living Out Love In Marriage: Learning And Applying Four Types Of Love To Sustain Marriage, Erroyl Mcginty

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this thesis project is to show married couples, and those who want to be married how to live out God's love in their marriage. We will examine and explain four components of love; Feelings and Physical Love (Eros), Action and Service (Philia), Commitment and Covenant (Storge), and God's Love (Agape). We will show the biblical foundation for each of the four parts. The material used will come from the life experiences from couples of all types of marriages (new, successful, troubled, failing, divorced, separated, recovering, etc.). Much of the research will come from surveys of couples. Other …

Mad Men: The Relationship Between Psychology And Religion In Chaim Potok’S The Chosen, Laura Longobardi

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

After watching an episode from the first season of Mad Men, that cleverly juxtaposed the Catholic Sacrament of Confession and a session with a psychologist, I wondered: are religion and psychology really all that different? After reading Chaim Potok’s 1967 novel The Chosen, I began to think that the perceived differences between these two disciplines were superficial. Psychology and religion both provide people with a valuable way of understanding their relationship to the world around them, in spite of the apparent differences between them. By examining Sigmund Freud and William James’ attitudes toward both religion and psychology and applying these …

Phantom Islands A Collection Of Short Stories, Marie Buckner

Dissertations and Theses

This collection of short stories takes its name from various islands historically believed to exist and at one time or other located on maps, sometimes remaining on them for centuries, but later removed after they were proved to be illusory. Reports of these islands usually came from sailors as they explored new realms, mistaking actual islands for imaginary ones or by geographical error. Illusions can persist unchallenged for ages. A similar yet modern illusion is the persistence of vision, a phenomenon by which an afterimage, say, on a screen, is thought to persist on the retina for approximately one twenty-fifth …

43rd Annual Wku Student Research Conference, Student Research Council, Western Kentucky University

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

No abstract provided.

Stress, Anxiety, And Somatic Symptoms: A Comparison Of Biomarkers In A Clinical Sample, David J. Finitsis

Master's Theses

Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent class of mental disorders, often characterized by a chronic course and comorbid psychopathology. The anxiety-stress literature utilizing cortisol as a biomarker of the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis has been inconsistent. The establishment of salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) as a biomarker of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activation allows researchers an opportunity to examine the stress response more fully. This study sought to explore relationships between trait anxiety and salivary stress biomarkers in an outpatient sample attending a specialized anxiety treatment center. Multiple regression and moderator analyses were conducted to examine associations between psychosocial and physiological …

Meta-Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of Biological And Non-Biological Treatments For Postpartum Depression, Sarah Jeung Soon Christian

Theses and Dissertations

I provided an updated, comprehensive review of treatments for mothers diagnosed with postpartum depression. Studies included in this meta-analysis were single-group pre-posttest, non-randomized and randomized controlled studies published from 1986 to 2010 that included face-to-face psychotherapy and psychopharmacology as well as non-traditional methods such as exercise and nurse-assisted counseling. 53 published studies were analyzed. The randomized studies showed a moderate to large effects (d= 0.72 to 1.25, k= 9) when postpartum interventions were compared to a control condition, and smaller effects (d= 0.3 to 0.57, k = 13) to treatment as usual. When postpartum interventions were compared to each other …

Degree Of Handedness, But Not Direction, Is A Systematic Predictor Of Cognitive Performance, Eric Prichard, Ruth Propper, Stephen D. Christman

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

A growing body of evidence is reviewed showing that degree of handedness (consistent versus inconsistent) is a more powerful and appropriate way to classify handedness than the traditional one based on direction (right versus left). Experimental studies from the domains of episodic memory retrieval, belief updating/cognitive flexibility, risk perception, and more are described.These results suggest that inconsistent handedness is associated with increased interhemispheric interaction and increased access to processes localized to the right cerebral hemisphere.

Mood And Memory: An Association Between Pattern Separation And Depression, Don J. Shelton

Theses and Dissertations

Depression is associated with reduced declarative memory performance and decreased hippocampal volume. Depression has also been associated with decreased levels of adult neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus. Computational models propose that neurogenesis is critical for the computational process of pattern separation, whereby distinct memory representations are created for very similar stimuli and events. It has been proposed that depression negatively impacts pattern separation abilities; however, a link between depression and performance in pattern separation memory tasks has yet to be investigated. Accordingly, we designed a study to investigate the relationship between pattern separation performance and the severity of depression symptoms. …

Eurasian Jays Predict The Food Preferences Of Their Mates, Alan C. Kamil

Avian Cognition Papers

The cognitive abilities of animals continue to fascinate both scientists and nonscientists. Although the abilities of the primates, our closest living relatives, generally attract most interest, several different lines of research have demonstrated high levels of intellectual capacity in birds, particularly corvids. The members of this family are known for their large brains and have performed well in many cognitive tasks using different paradigms (1–3). This finding has led to substantial revision of thinking about avian intelligence, including the suggestion of convergence in the evolution of cognitive abilities between corvids and primates (4). In PNAS, Ostojić et al. (5) add …

A Study Of Sharing And Reciprocity In Grey Parrots (Psittacus Erithacus), Franck Péron, Maria John, Stephanie Sapowicz, Dalila Bovet, Irene M. Pepperberg

Sentience Collection

Demonstrations of nonhuman ability to share resources and reciprocate such sharing seem contingent upon the experimental paradigm used (note Horner et al. in PNAS 108:13847–13851, 2011). Here, such behaviour in Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) was tested in two experiments, both designed to avoid possible issues involving apparatus complexity, visible reward options, and physical competition and/or limited communication between subjects. In both studies, two birds, working in dyads, took turns in choosing one of four different coloured cups with differing outcomes: empty (null, nonrewarding), selfish (keeping reward for oneself), share (sharing a divisible reward), or giving (donating reward to other). In …

Functional Segregation Of The Entopallium In Pigeons, Robert G. Cook, Tadd B. Patton, Toru Shimizu

Psychology Faculty Publications

In birds, the entopallium is the primary telencephalic target of the major visual ascending route called the tectofugal pathway. Often functionally compared to the primate geniculo-striate pathway and its subsequent telencephalic (cortical) regions, the latter processes visual information in a parallel fashion in terms of anatomy, physiology, and function. Little is known, however, about the exact mechanism of whether or how information is segregated or integrated in the avian tectofugal pathway including the telencephalon. Testing four pigeons, we examined whether or not color, form, and motion information is selectively processed by different portions of the entopallium. Each learned three distinct …

Is Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor A Possible Mechanism Underlying Risperidone Sensitization In Adolescent Rats?, Qing Shu, Gang Hu, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Risperidone is one of the most widely used atypical antipsychotic drugs and is approved for the treatment of mental disorders (eg. schizophrenia, autism) in children and adolescents. The present study investigated the repeated treatment effect of risperidone and associated neurotropic mechanism in the phencyclidine (PCP)-induced hyperlocomotion model in adolescent rats. We examined whether repeated risperidone treatment would cause a sensitized inhibition of PCP-induced hyperlocomotion in adolescent rats, and whether such a sensitization effect was mediated by risperidone-induced alterations in Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), an important biomarker which plays a role in neuropathology of schizophrenia and action of antipsychotic medications. Male …

The Revolving Door: A Closer Look At Major Factors In Volunteers’ Intention To Quit, Joseph A. Allen, Stephanie L. Meuller

Psychology Faculty Publications

In nonprofit organizations, volunteer coordinators deal with high rates of volunteer turnover due, in part, to increased levels of volunteer burnout. This study sought to identify how burnout can help explain volunteers’ intention to quit and identify two potential antecedents of burnout: voice and role ambiguity. Specifically, it is hypothesized that volunteer voice and role ambiguity affects volunteers’ intention to quit through their relationship with volunteer burnout. Data were obtained from volunteers working in an animal welfare organization in the western United States (N = 151). An online survey was administered to volunteers who responded to a variety of questions …

Pre-Exposure Training As A Means To Reduce Vection Induced Symptoms Of Motion Sickness, Nicholas James Stapleton

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The focus of this study was designed to empirically examine the effect of inducing mild motion sickness as an ameliorative to a more severe motion sickness exposure. Twenty-seven participants were selected for this study based upon their susceptibility to motion sickness, that is, only people who were determined to be motion susceptible were tested. All participants were exposed to a motion sickness-inducing environment. Eighteen participants were trained to adapt to motion sickness by exposure to a milder motion sickness-inducing environment, ending either 6 hours or 24 hours prior to the more severe motion test environment.

Participants during the pre-exposure experimental …

Physical Activity And Brain Function In Older Adults At Increased Risk For Alzheimer’S Disease, J. Carson Smith, Kristy A. Nielson, John L. Woodard, Michael Seidenberg, Stephen M. Rao

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Leisure-time physical activity (PA) and exercise training are known to help maintain cognitive function in healthy older adults. However, relatively little is known about the effects of PA on cognitive function or brain function in those at increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease through the presence of the apolipoproteinE epsilon4 (APOE-ε4) allele, diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or the presence of metabolic disease. Here, we examine the question of whether PA and exercise interventions may differentially impact cognitive trajectory, clinical outcomes, and brain structure and function among individuals at the greatest risk for AD. The literature suggests that the protective …

Antisocial Behavior From Adolescence To Early Adulthood: Heritability, Stability, And Correlates Using A Longitudinal Twin Sample, Ashley Dibble

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the heritability, stability, and outcomes of antisocial behavior from adolescence into adulthood in a longitudinal twin sample. Specifically, the genetic and environmental influences on conduct disorder, adult antisocial behavior, and alcohol dependence were examined. The influence of genes and environment on the relationship between these disorders was also examined. The study utilized a subset of FinnTwin12, a population-based twin study that consists of five consecutive birth cohorts. The subsample consisted of 1035 twin pairs (N = 2070) and of that 2070, 1854 completed the intensive interview at age 14. At age 22, …

Rats Acquire Stronger Preference For Flavors Consumed Towards The End Of A High-Fat Meal, Kevin P. Myers

Faculty Journal Articles

Rats learn to prefer flavors associated with postingestive effects of nutrients. The physiological signals underlying this postingestive reward are unknown. We have previously shown that rats readily learn to prefer a flavor that was consumed early in a multi-flavored meal when glucose is infused intragastrically (IG), suggesting rapid postingestive reward onset. The present experiments investigate the timing of postingestive fat reward, by providing distinctive flavors in the first and second halves of meals accompanied by IG fat infusion. Learning stronger preference for the earlier or later flavor would indicate when the rewarding postingestive effects are sensed. Rats consumed sweetened, calorically-dilute …

Application Of Qualitative Behavioural Assessment To Horses During An Endurance Ride, Patricia A. Fleming, Cheree L. Paisley, Anne L. Barnes, Françoise Wemelsfelder

Sentience Collection

Endurance horses are considered subject to a unique set of training and competing pressures due to the long distances travelled. The health and welfare of these horses could be compromised if they have not been adequately trained or are pushed beyond their limits, and there are increasing concerns regarding the capacity of horses to cope with the exercise demands placed on them, with high elimination rates for lameness and metabolic reasons. Veterinary inspections during these rides are important for assessing physiological measures, but the inclusion of behavioural assessments is also warranted. We investigated the application of Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA) …

Inter-Observer Reliability Of Qualitative Behavioural Assessments Of Sheep, Clare Phythian, Eleni Michalopoulou, Jennifer Duncan, Françoise Wemelsfelder

Sentience Collection

Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) is whole-animal methodology that assesses the expressive qualities of animal demeanour using descriptors such as ‘relaxed’, ‘anxious’ or ‘content’. This study aimed to examine the inter-observer reliability of 12 fixed-list QBA descriptors for sheep that had been generated in a previous Free-Choice Profiling study by experienced animal welfare inspectors, based on the same video footage used in the current study. The 12 QBA terms were scored by two different assessor groups consisting of two veterinary science students and four veterinary surgeons (Group 1), and seven farm assurance inspectors (Group 2). The two assessor groups met and …

Using The Scientific Method To Guide Learning: An Integrated Approach To Early Childhood Curriculum, Hope K. Gerde, Rachel E. Schachter, Barbara A. Wasik

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Researchers and practitioners have become increasingly interested in how early childhood programs prepare young children for science. Due to a number of factors, including educators’ low self-efficacy for teaching science and lack of educational resources, many early childhood classrooms do not offer high-quality science experiences for young children. However, high-quality science education has the potential to lay an important foundation for children’s knowledge and interest in science as well as reinforcing and integrating critical language, literacy, and math readiness skills. This paper examines the current research on science in preschool classrooms and provides suggestions on how to teach science that …

The Relationship Between Rating Scales Used To Evaluate Tasks From Task Inventories For Licensure And Certification Examinations, Adrienne W. Cadle

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The first step in developing or updating a licensure or certification examination is to conduct a job or task analysis. Following completion of the job analysis, a survey validation study is performed to validate the results of the job analysis and to obtain task ratings so that an examination blueprint may be created. Psychometricians and job analysts have spent years arguing over the choice of scales that should be used to evaluate job tasks, as well as how those scales should be combined to create an examination blueprint. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between individual …

Performance Asymmetries In Tool Use Are Associated With Corpus Callosum Integrity In Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes): A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study, Kimberley A. Phillips, J. Schaeffer, E. A. Barrett, William D. Hopkins

Psychology Faculty Research

The authors examined the relationship of corpus callosum (CC) morphology and organization to hand preference and performance on a motor skill task in chimpanzees. Handedness was assessed using a complex tool use task that simulated termite fishing. Chimpanzees were initially allowed to perform the task wherein they could choose which hand to use (preference measure), then they were required to complete trials using each hand (performance measure). Two measures were used to assess the CC: midsagittal area obtained from in vivo magnetic resonance images and density of transcallosal connections as determined by fractional anisotropy values obtained from diffusion tensor imaging. …

Bone Marrow-Derived Microglia-Based Neurturin Delivery Protects Against Dopaminergic Neurodegeneration In A Mouse Model Of Parkinson's Disease, K. C. Biju, R. A. Santacruz, C. Chen, Q. Zhou, J. Yao, S. L. Rohrabaugh, R. A. Clark, James Lewis Roberts, Kimberley A. Phillips, S. Z. Imam, S. Li

Psychology Faculty Research

Although neurotrophic factors have long been recognized as potent agents for protecting against neuronal degeneration, clinical success in treating Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders has been hindered by difficulties in delivery of trophic factors across the blood brain barrier (BBB). Bone marrow hematopoietic stem cell-based gene therapy is emerging as a promising tool for overcoming drug delivery problems, as myeloid cells can cross the BBB and are recruited in large numbers to sites of neurodegeneration, where they become activated microglia that can secrete trophic factors. We tested the efficacy of bone marrow-derived microglial delivery of neurturin (NTN) in protecting …

Pattern Of Social Interactions After Group Integration: A Possibility To Keep Stallions In Group, Sabrina Briefer Freymond, Elodie F. Briefer, Rudolf Von Niederhäusern, Iris Bachmann

Ethology Collection

Horses are often kept in individual stables, rather than in outdoor groups, despite such housing system fulfilling many of their welfare needs, such as the access to social partners. Keeping domestic stallions in outdoor groups would mimic bachelor bands that are found in the wild. Unfortunately, the high level of aggression that unfamiliar stallions display when they first encounter each other discourages owners from keeping them in groups. However, this level of aggression is likely to be particularly important only during group integration, when the dominance hierarchy is being established, whereas relatively low aggression rates have been observed among stable …