Digital Commons Network^™

Hierarchy In The Library: Egalitarian Dynamics In Victorian Novels, John Johnson, Joseph Carroll, Jonathan Gottschall, Daniel Kruger

English Department Faculty Works

The current research investigated the psychological differences between protagonists and antagonists in literature and the impact of these differences on readers. It was hypothesized that protagonists would embody cooperative motives and behaviors that are valued by egalitarian hunter-gatherers groups, whereas antagonists would demonstrate status-seeking and dominance behaviors that are stigmatized in such groups. This hypothesis was tested with an online questionnaire listing characters from 201 canonical British novels of the longer nineteenth century. 519 respondents generated 1470 protocols on 435 characters. Respondents identified the characters as protagonists, antagonists, or minor characters, judged the characters’ motives according to human life history …

Differences Between Male Perpetrators Of Child Homicide, Isabel Perez-Morina

Theses and Dissertations

The scientific study of child abuse and infanticide is a relatively young practice in the field of medicine, psychiatry and psychology, and although the role of parents in child homicide has been studied, minimal research has focused on the role of the male paramour, or the child's mother's boyfriend, as the perpetrator of child homicides. This study aimed to examine the differences between male paramours and biological fathers who kill children and hypothesized that biological fathers or step-fathers are significantly more likely than the child's mother's male paramour to kill their children due to relationship factors between the perpetrator and …

The Role Of Acceptance And Pain Intensity In Chronic Pain Disability And Physical Functioning, Lisa Lukwinski Ferguson

ETD Archive

Chronic pain is a wide spread, debilitating disorder. With the development of Relational Frame Theory, the pathological nature of avoidance behaviors has been brought to the forefront of chronic pain research and acceptance based therapies are being extensively studied. Although interdisciplinary chronic pain rehabilitation programs draw from a variety of disciplines, they incorporate many components of acceptance therapy. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between chronic pain acceptance, pain intensity, disability, and physical functioning. This study sought to answer the following questions: 1) Do patients who complete an interdisciplinary chronic pain rehabilitation program differ from …

The Effects Of Opiod And Benzodiazepine Weaning On Cognitive Ability In The Context Of A Chronic Pain Rehabilitation Program, Daniel M. Fishman

ETD Archive

Pain is a component of many disease processes however in some cases, when pain becomes a chronic condition it can become the problem itself. It can be a debilitating condition which is emotionally and economically costly to the individual, his or her family, and societies as a whole. Theories of pain have evolved over the last several decades to incorporate a Biopsychosocial Model of Pain. The biological portion of the model relies on The Gate Control Theory of Pain, although some emerging research points to a Neuromatrix model. As is suggested by the term, Biopsychosocial Model of Pain, the biologic …

Childhood Obesity And Depression, Leslie N. Horton

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Obesity is a commonly experienced health issue. Children who suffer from obesity may experience medical concerns such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension (American Obesity Association, 2006). Obese children may also face psychological consequences. An overweight child may experience criticism from peers while finding it difficult to participate in age-related activities. Considering this fact, one can understand why psychological effects of childhood obesity are of concern. The purpose of this study is to examine the links between obesity and childhood depression, rated by the Childhood Depression Inventory (CDI-2). Twenty-nine children were administered the CDI-2. Activity level and age of children …

The Relationship Of Dynamic Indicators Of Basic Early Literacy Skills (Dibels) Oral Reading Fluency And The Terra Nova, 2nd Ed. Performance On Ohio Grade 3 Reading Achievement Assessment, Linda Adkins Ford

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between performance on the DIBELS ORF Benchmark 2, the Terra Nova, 2nd Ed., and reading proficiency on the Ohio Grade 3 Reading Achievement Test. The research question examined the wisdom of using both the DIBELS ORF Benchmark 2 Indicator and the Terra Nova, as predictors for the Ohio Grade 3 Reading Achievement Test. After gathering archival data for the 136 students involved, a Pearson-Product Moment Correlation was used to determine this correlation. Data was additionally analyzed using a Hits and Misses Table. Results produced a significant, positive correlation between DIBELS …

Utilizing The Theory Of Planned Behavior To Explain Suicidal Intent, Pamela R. George

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Suicide has become a national and global problem, with the prevalence of suicide attempts increasing in recent years (Brown, Henriques, Sosdjan, & Beck, 2004; Kessler, Borges, & Walters, 1999). Even though research on suicide has identified risk factors and demographic characteristics to help aid in predicting who is at risk for attempting suicide, predictive models of intent of suicide have been unsuccessful in identifying particular individuals at risk of eventually dying by suicide (Cassells, Paterson, Dowding, & Morrison, 2005; Goldstein, Black, & Nasrallah, 1991; Powell, Geddes, Deeks, Goldacre, & Hawton, 2000). The purpose of this study is to propose an …

Adhd Assessment Practices Used By General Practitioners, Pediatricians, Psychiatrists, And Psychologists In West Virginia, Kristal D. Jenkins

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed behavioral disorder in childhood (NIH, 2000) and its prevalence continues to increase. ADHD is diagnosed by a variety of practitioners, including general physicians, pediatricians, psychiatrists, and clinical/school psychologists. There is little known regarding how these diversely trained professionals differ or may be similar in their beliefs regarding ADHD and their approach to diagnosis and treatment. The current study utilizes a survey methodology to address the commonalities and differences in the approaches these professionals take to conceptualize diagnostic criteria, etiology and course of treatment for children diagnosed with ADHD. The need for further …

A Developmental Intervention Approach To Promoting Positive Development: Pathways Of Intervention Change, Marilyn J. Montgomery, William M. Kurtines, Laura Ferrer-Wreder, Steven L. Berman, Carolyn Cass Lorente, Ervin Briones, Wendy Silverman, Rachel Ritchie, Kyle Eichas

Faculty Publications - Graduate School of Counseling

This paper describes work directed toward creating community-supported positive youth development interventions that draw on a developmental intervention science outreach research approach. With respect to developmental interventions, this approach focuses on creating evidence-based longitudinal change intervention strategies for promoting long-term developmental change. The paper describes three broad challenges (theoretical, methodological, and meta-theoretical) that the authors faced in their efforts to develop and implement community-supported intervention programs built on this approach. The authors describe first the theoretical challenges they addressed in developing the conceptual framework for their community-supported intervention; second, the challenge of developing and refining a methodological framework for evaluating …

Promoting Positive Youth Development New Directions In Developmental Theory, Methods, And Research, William M. Kurtines, Laura Ferrer-Wreder, Steven L. Berman, Carolyn Cass Lorente, Wendy K. Silverman, Marilyn J. Montgomery

Faculty Publications - Graduate School of Counseling

The articles in this special issue report the efforts of the Miami Youth Development Project (YDP), a community-supported positive youth development program of outreach research that draws on a developmental intervention science (DIS) perspective (i.e., a fusion of the developmental and intervention science literatures). These reports illustrate how the application of DIS outreach research contributes to knowledge of human development at all levels (practical as well as methodological, theoretical, and metatheoretical). Consistent with a DIS outreach research approach, YDP is committed to the use of descriptive and explanatory knowledge about changes within human systems that occur across the life span …

Promoting Positive Identity Development In Troubled Youth: A Developmental Intervention Science Outreach Research Approach, William M. Kurtines, Marilyn J. Montgomery, Kyle Eichas, Rachel Ritchie, Arlen Garcia, Richard Albrecht, Steven Berman, Laura Ferrer-Wreder, Carolyn C. Lorente

Faculty Publications - Graduate School of Counseling

This article illustrates how developmental intervention science outreach research contributes to knowledge development on the promotion of positive identity development by describing results from the Miami Youth Development Project. The project is committed to the use of descriptive and explanatory knowledge about evidence-based individual and institutional intervention strategies for promoting developmental change in self and identity. Our efforts, described here, include a method for measuring theoretically and personally meaningful identity change, a procedure for integrating key aspects of qualitative and quantitative data through relational data analysis, and an evidence-based positive youth development intervention that fosters measurable and meaningful identity change.

Acculturation And Mental Health Among Mexican Immigrant Women, Monique Diana Castaneda

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between the independent variable of acculturation and the dependent variable of mental health. The sample was drawn from a group of Mexican immigrant women residing in San Bernardino, California.

Maternal Influences On Children's Eating Behaviors, Raena Lynne Matthews

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to examine maternal influences on childhood obesity, specifically the impact of maternal modeling of eating behaviors and sensitivity/control on children's eating behaviors. It was hypothesized that: 1) maternal modeling of eating behaviors would significantly predict children's eating behaviors, 2) the degree of maternal control of children's eating cues would influence child self-regulatory ability,1 and 3) maternal modeling would have a greater relationship to child eating behavior than maternal sensitivity/control.

Participants were 153 mothers with at least one child 6 to 11 years old. Mothers completed a questionnaire ‘ assessing eating behaviors for themselves and …

Importance Of The Kappa Opoid System For Ultrasonic Vocalizations Of Young Rats: Role Of Peripherally-Versus Centrally-Located Kappa Opioid Receptors, James Roy Osburn

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this thesis was to determine whether the kappa opioid receptors modulating ultrasonic vocalizations production are located in the central and/or peripheral nervous system.

Crf1 Receptor Antagonists Attenuate Escalated Cocaine Self-Administration In Rats, Laura O'Dell

Selected Works Temporary Series

No abstract provided.

Cellular And Behavioral Interactions Of Gabapentin With Alcohol Dependence, Laura O'Dell

Selected Works Temporary Series

No abstract provided.

Enhanced Vulnerability To The Rewarding Effects Of Nicotine During The Adolescent Period Of Development, Laura O'Dell

Selected Works Temporary Series

No abstract provided.

Acetylcholine Levels In The Prefrontal Cortex And Hippocampus During Trace And Delay Conditioning, Mary Melissa Flesher

Theses Digitization Project

The goal of this experiment was to examine the pattern of ACh release in mPFC and HPC during performance in trace and delay appetitive conditioning.

Efficacy Of Early Literacy Intervention Project For Early Literacy Development In Family Child Care Homes, Gloria Ruth Kinzler

Theses Digitization Project

This project focused on the concept that family childcare providers who completed "Building Literacy Bridges" intervention project, which included interactive early literacy classes on phonological and print awareness, dialogic and shared reading skills, as well as providing a literacy rich environment, would implement those concepts into their daily care with children. Nine family childcare providers completed the four-hour per week, four-week intervention project.

Role Of Parent Negative Affect As A Predictor Of Child Cardiovascular Reactivity And Child Internalizing Symptoms, Emily Anne Wear

Theses Digitization Project

The goal of this study was to explore a psychophysiological model of negative parent-child interactions particularly with daughters which include child cardivovascular response and mental health outcomes.

Mothers' Perceptions Of Their Own And Their Spouses' Parenting Styles In Cultures Of Origin, Acculturating Culture, And Cultures Of Destination, Linda R. Cote, Marc H. Bornstein

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

No abstract provided.

The Denial Of Emergency Protection: Factors Associated With Court Decision Making, Carol E. Jordan, Adam J. Pritchard, Pamela Wilcox, Danielle Duckett-Pritchard

Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women Publications

Despite the importance of civil orders of protection as a legal resource for victims of intimate partner violence, research is limited in this area, and most studies focus on the process following a court’s initial issuance of an emergency order. The purpose of this study is to address a major gap in the literature by examining cases where victims of intimate partner violence are denied access to temporary orders of protection. The study sample included a review of 2,205 petitions that had been denied by a Kentucky court during the 2003 fiscal year. The study offers important insights into the …

How To Identify Dear Enemies: The Group Signature In The Complex Song Of The Skylark Alauda Arvensis, Elodie F. Briefer, Thierry Aubin, Katia Lehongre, Fanny Rybak

Ethology Collection

Song geographic variation and Neighbour–Stranger (N–S) discrimination have been intensively but separately studied in bird species, especially in those with small- to medium-sized repertoires. Here, we establish a link between the two phenomena by showing that dialect features are used for N–S recognition in a territorial species with a large repertoire, the skylark Alauda arvensis. In this species, during the breeding season, many pairs settle in stable and adjoining territories gathered in locations spaced by a few kilometres. In a first step, songs produced by males established in different locations were recorded, analyzed and compared to identify possible microgeographic variation …

Low Frequency Groans Indicate Larger And More Dominant Fallow Deer (Dama Dama) Males, Elisabetta Vannoni, Alan G. Mcelligott

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

Background: Models of honest advertisement predict that sexually selected calls should signal male quality. In most vertebrates, high quality males have larger body sizes that determine higher social status and in turn higher reproductive success. Previous research has emphasised the importance of vocal tract resonances or formant frequencies of calls as cues to body size in mammals. However, the role of the acoustic features of vocalisations as cues to other quality-related phenotypic characteristics of callers has rarely been investigated.

Methodology/Principal Findings: We examined whether the acoustic structure of fallow deer groans provides reliable information on the quality of the caller, …

Parent-Offspring Resource Allocation In Domestic Pigs, Anna Drake, David Fraser, Daniel M. Weary

Feeding Behavior Collection

Behavioural research on domestic pigs has included parent-offspring conflict, sibling competition, and the use of signals which influence resource allocation. In this paper, we review key sow-piglet behavioural studies and discuss their relevance to resource allocation theory. Sibling competition begins in the uterus and continues after birth, as piglets compete directly for access to the sow's teats. This competition is made more severe by a unique dentition, which newborn piglets use to lacerate the faces of siblings during teat disputes. Competition often leads to the death of some littermates, especially those of low birth weight. Piglets also compete indirectly for …

Growing Epidemic Of Videogame Addiction, Christopher S. Hager

Graduate Research Papers

Videogames are rapidly becoming more popular with children and adults alike. Ever since the mid 1980s, videogames have been a major part of pop culture and a widely accepted form of entertainment. With more advances of technology and internet, online gaming has also evolved. Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games such as Everquest and World of Warcraft have become a topic of addiction (msnbc.com, 2008). Some individuals have neglected jobs, families, and personal well-being to continue to play these games, with signs of addiction mimicking substance addiction. The American Psychiatric Association is even considering involving videogame addiction as a compulsive …

Approaches To Personality Disorder Diagnosis: Comparing The Cognitive Affective Processing And The Five Factor Models Of Personality, Cortney C. Rhadigan

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The Cognitive-Affective Processing Model (CAPS) suggests that personality is best understood as a collection of cross-situationally consistent traits that are expressed based upon features of the situation. This differs from the Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality, in which personality is believed to be composed of five broad trait domains that are observed consistently across multiple situations. This study compares the diagnostic accuracy of 202 licensed members of the Michigan Psychological Association who assessed personality pathology using short vignettes written to represent situationally-specific expression of traits (CAPS) compared to vignettes written with FFM trait description and DSM-IV TR description. The …

What Does It Mean To Live A Fully Embodied Spiritual Life?, Jorge Ferrer

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This essay discusses the meaning of embodied spirituality—based on the integration of all

human attributes, including the body and sexuality—and contrasts it with the disembodied

spirituality—based on dissociation and/or sublimation—prevailing in human religious

history. It then describes what it means to approach the body as a living partner with which

to co-create one’s spiritual life, and outlines ten features of a fully embodied spirituality.

The article concludes with some reflections about the past, present, and potential future of

embodied spirituality.

The Past And Future Of The International Transpersonal Association, Stanislav Grof, Harris Friedman, David Lukoff, Glenn Hartelius

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The International Transpersonal Association (ITA) was formed in 1978 for the purposes

of promoting education and research in transpersonal subjects, as well as sponsoring

global conferences for the international transpersonal community. The association was

subsequently dissolved in 2004, but is now in the process of being reactivated and revitalized.

As background for this development, this paper reviews the history of ITA including its

international conferences and noteworthy presenters, the organization’s definition, strategies,

and specific goals, and details of its contemporary revival.

The Therapeutic Potentials Of A Museum Visit, Andrée Salom

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Museums are safe spaces for the objects they hold and for the persons that visit them, providing environments that can function in therapeutic ways. Within the wide range of objects, there is enough diversity to help guests discover what similarities they have with others as well as what makes them unique as individuals. Within exhibits, individuals can explore themselves through the reactions they have to particular pieces, through the observation of what holds their attention within the environment, and through the awareness and development of their contemplative mind. Museums can introduce transpersonal information, add information to previous transpersonal experiences, and …