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Essays On The Well-Being Of An Aging Population, Alice Zulkarnain

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation consists of three essays that examine health and labor issues among the middle aged and elderly.

Chapter 1. A Delayed Retirement Policy and Male Labor Supply: Evidence from the Entire Dutch Population

This chapter examines the labor supply effects of a national delayed retirement policy introduced in the Netherlands in 2009. The policy offers a reduction in taxes on labor income for each year after the age of 62 in which a person worked. I estimate the average effect of the policy on male labor supply as well as its responsiveness to the size of the incentive. Comparing …

An Exploration Of The Paradox Of Bisexuality In Women: The Dawn Research Study, Anna Levy-Warren

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Research on lesbian, gay and bisexual populations has reported higher levels of emotional distress among bisexual adults than their gay and lesbian peers. Findings also demonstrate substantial variability in distress levels within populations of bisexual adults. Little research has examined reasons for this variability. Theoretical explanations for distress among bisexuals include foundations in Cognitive Dissonance Theory and Minority Stress Theory, though these theories have not addressed the variability across outcomes. The current study proposes a new theoretical model to explain variability in levels of distress across bisexual women. According to this theory, levels of psychological distress in bisexual women are …

Die Meistersinger, New York City, And The Metropolitan Opera: The Intersection Of Art And Politics During Two World Wars, Gwen L. D'Amico

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In 1945, after a five-year hiatus, the Metropolitan Opera returned Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg to its stage. It had been the only one of Wagner’s operas that had been banned during World War II, ostensibly because of its German nationalism and association with the Third Reich. But was it the German nationalism or Wagner’s own anti-Semitism that caused the unease? What resounded with the audiences? World War II stands at an historic cross roads in the reception of Die Meistersinger in America. This is where the present day “problem” with this work begins. The Metropolitan Opera’s decision created …

The Impact Of Modality Expectancy On Memory Accuracy For Brand Names, Daniel Rubin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

It is proposed that an individual’s expectations regarding the modality by which to-be-remembered brand names will be communicated in the future can impact memory accuracy for those brand names. Specifically, we hypothesize that the likelihood of malapropistic errors (i.e., false recognition of phonetically similar brand names) increases with greater attention to phonemic codes relative to orthographic codes. Attention to these memorial representations is driven by expectations as to whether retrieval will be written or spoken. When visually presented with brand names, those expecting text-based retrieval pay relatively greater attention to the visual forms or orthographies of brand names, as this …

Participation Strategies In Low-Resource Settings And Their Impact On Cognitive And Non-Cognitive Skills: A Study In Four Different Geographical Regions, Magdalena Galazyn

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In a global 21st century, positive social, cultural, emotional youth development is crucial. Theories of human development suggest that development is complex, contextual, and multidimensional. Thus, with changing conditions worldwide, it is important to understand the effects of young people’s activities in challenging circumstances and how different factors promote or hinder optimal development. Research shows that education provides positive benefits to child and youth development (Phillips & Lowenstein, 2011), but many individuals do not have equal access to resources and opportunities such as public or private schooling (Woodhead, Frost, & James, 2013), and thus show poorer outcomes on cognitive tests, …

United In Political Solidarity: How Multicultural Endorsement And Group Identity Inspire Intergroup Political Solidarity Among Members Of Lower Status Groups, Justine Calcagno

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation tests a new theoretical model that describes when low status group members will work with members of higher status groups for social change, known as intergroup political solidarity. Research on intergroup political solidarity has focused on either the high status group’s orientation toward solidarity or when members of separate groups work together on behalf of a common low status group. There is thus a lack of research on intergroup political solidarity from the perspective of lower status groups.

It is proposed that recognition of group differences by the high status group influences orientations toward intergroup political solidarity. Specifically: …

Understanding The High School Dropout Process Through Student Engagement And School Processes: Evidence From The Educational Longitudinal Study Of 2002, Tara Marie Mastrorilli

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Dropping out of school has been viewed as a final stage in a cumulative process of disengagement. In recent years, the construct of engagement has received increased attention leading policymakers and scholars to suggest that efforts to increase engagement in school could reduce high school dropout rates. Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), this study examined the predictive relationship between tenth-grade students’ engagement and dropping out of high school. Engagement was viewed as a meta-construct comprised of multiple dimensions within three domains: behavioral, emotional, and cognitive. Additionally, this study examined how school processes, specifically administrator control …

Hearing Aid Use And Cognitive Function: A Systematic Review, Hershel Korngut

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This systematic review analyzed the research relating the use of hearing aids to cognitive function. Hearing aid use was examined to see if wearing hearing aids improves cognitive function, if the length of time hearing aids are worn impacts cognitive ability, if the type of hearing aid used has any impact on cognitive function, and if hearing aid use slows down cognitive decline. Ten studies met the criteria for this review. An analysis of the research revealed some evidence to support wearing hearing aids improves cognitive function, however, there is substantial evidence that shows no impact between wearing hearing aids …

On The Screen, In The Mind: An Erp Investigation Into The Interaction Between Visuo-Spatial Information And Spatial Language During On-Line Processing, Emily Zane

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project used Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) to explore neurophysiological brain responses to prepositional phrases involving concrete and abstract reference nouns (e.g., "plate" and "moment", respectively) after the presentation of objects with varying spatial features. Prepositional phrases were headed by in or on and were either matching (e.g., "in the plate/moment") or mismatching (e.g., "on the plate/moment"). Conjunction phrase matches and fillers were also presented. Before half of the concrete-phrase items, a photographic depiction of the reference noun was presented. In these photographs, objects were displayed in a way that was either more appropriate for in or for on. Similarly, before …

Exploring Older Adults’ Perceptions Of The Utility And Ease Of Use Of Personal Emergency Response Systems, Patricia A. Mclean

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Key Words: Older adults, aging in place, functional impairment, assistive home-based technology, personal emergency response system (PERS).

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore and describe perceptions of the utility and ease of use of a personal emergency response system (PERS) among older adults who are aging in place.

Research Question: “What is the meaning of a PERS use for functionally impaired older adults?”

Design: An exploratory-descriptive qualitative design was used to recruit members of a VNSNY CHOICE Managed Long Term Care (MLTC) site in Queens, NY, who met the study’s eligibility through the selection criteria. …

Darwinian Debunking Reconsidered, Amanda J. Favia

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

What can evolutionary theory tell us about morality? From descriptive claims that explain morality as an evolved trait to normative (or prescriptive) claims that rely on evolution to describe how humans ought to behave, philosophers have debated whether or not evolutionary theory can or should inform moral theory. Most recently, the debate about evolutionary ethics has shifted to metaethics. In this case, philosophers have sought after evolutionary explanations in the hopes of resolving long-standing debates between moral realists and moral antirealists.

These metaethical debates have centered on what are called Darwinian debunking arguments. Proponents of the Darwinian debunking argument, …

Social Isolation, Social And Emotional Loneliness, And Self-Reported Hearing Difficulties In Older Adults With Hearing Loss, Yuliya Borik

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Hearing loss is known to affect communicative ability and has been associated with poor health-related outcomes such as impaired cognition, increased risk for falls, and psychotic manifestations. Social isolation and loneliness are also widely recognized to negatively impact mental and physical health. The purpose of this systematic review is to review literature that explores a relationship between hearing loss with and/or without self-reported hearing difficulties and social isolation and social and emotional loneliness in older adults with hearing loss ranging from mild to profound. The goal is to determine whether there is a direct relationship between subjective and/or objective hearing …

The Words And Worlds Of Disability: Discourses On Disablement Within The Situated Practices Of Service Providers, Enitza C. Carril

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

From a traditional perspective, disability stood outside the normal bounds of development, belonging within the realm of pathology and the disabled person was defined as deficient. Disability may also be characterized as an instance of human diversity and disabled as a designated identity that is socially constructed in an ongoing process—an interaction between individuals and social contexts. The process of disablement is linked to discourses used to define and act upon people ascribed with a disabled identity. This study assumes that disability is an instance of human diversity, a valid developmental trajectory, which is enacted and embedded in sociocultural, political, …

Excavating Eportfolios: What Student-Driven Data Reveals About Multimodal Composition And Instruction, Amanda M. Licastro

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The pedagogical practice of asking students to compose in open, online spaces has grown rapidly in recent years along with an increase in institutional and financial support. In fact, in July 2013, the Association for Authentic, Experiential and Evidence-Based Learning (AAEEBL) announced the “coming of age” of ePortfolios as the percentage of higher education students using ePortfolios rose above the 50% mark in the U.S. (“About”). There are a host of constituent assertions that support the use of open online writing platforms in college-level courses. These claims include that writing publically cultivates digital literacy through broader audience awareness, facilitates interactivity …

Ethnicity Matters: Implications For Understanding And Acting Upon Disparities In Health Affecting Black Men In The United States, Helen V. S. Cole

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Compared to non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks have higher rates of mortality from heart disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and HIV/AIDS. Black men have a life expectancy approximately 4.7 years than the life expectancy of non-Hispanic white men, due in part to higher prevalence of chronic disease among black men. Many factors are hypothesized to contribute to disparities in health between races, including differences in socioeconomic status; culturally-linked behaviors such as diet, substance use, and physical activity; access to quality healthcare and other resources; and experiences of racism, both institutional and interpersonal. However, in public health research, race is usually treated as …

Life Experience: Freddy Got Fingered As Neo-Surrealist Masterpiece, Frank Koshel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The late Roger Ebert was known for his entertainingly harsh reviews. The review he wrote of the 2001 film Freddy Got Fingered is one notable example. "The day may come when 'Freddy Got Fingered' is seen as a milestone of neo-surrealism. The day may never come when it is seen as funny," wrote Ebert in his April 20, 2001 review of the film. Humor is subjective and there is no accounting for taste but this thesis will prove that the much-maligned film Freddy Got Fingered is a milestone of neo-surrealism. Freddy Got Fingered director Tom Green has a …

Beaches, People, And Change: A Political Ecology Of Rockaway Beach After Hurricane Sandy, Bryce B. Dubois

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation uses restoration practices of Rockaway beach post-Hurricane Sandy as a lens to investigate tensions between nature and society on urban coasts. By focusing on this New York City beach, this dissertation aims to examine the interaction between the beach, residents, city and federal agencies, and local environmental grassroots stewards in their response to coastal flooding and erosion. This is an ethnographic case study of Rockaway Beach during the two years (October 2012-October 2014) following Hurricane Sandy. This case study is based on secondary data analysis of interviews with 52 key informants, field-notes from participant observation at community and …

The Remedy That's Killing: Cuny, Laguardia, And The Fight For Better Math Policy, Rachel A. Oppenheimer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Nationwide, there is a crisis in math learning and math achievement at all levels of education. Upwards of 80% of students who enter the City University of New York’s community colleges from New York City’s Department of Education high schools fail to meet college level math proficiencies and as a result, are funneled into the system’s remedial math system. Once placed into pre-college remedial arithmetic, pre-algebra, and elementary algebra courses, students fail at alarming rates and research indicates that students’ failure in remedial math has negative ripple effects on their persistence and degree completion. CUNY is not alone in facing …

Mccarthyism And The Id: "Forbidden Planet" (1956) As A Veiled Criticism Of Mccarthyism In 1950s America, William Lorenzo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Many American science fiction films of the 1950s served as political allegories commenting on the post-war fears of the nation. One major fear was the fear of communist infiltration: the Red Scare. In films of this era, the enemy walks as one of us. In most of these films, the alien other, the monster from without, takes on a familiar form. But at the height of all these fears comes the fear of the enemy from within, an enemy that winds up destroying us from the inside out, as can be seen in Forbidden Planet (1956). In this film, a …

Utilizing Linguistic Context To Improve Individual And Cohort Identification In Typed Text, Adam Goodkind

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The process of producing written text is complex and constrained by pressures that range from physical to psychological. In a series of three sets of experiments, this thesis demonstrates the effects of linguistic context on the timing patterns of the production of keystrokes. We elucidate the effect of linguistic context at three different levels of granularity: The first set of experiments illustrate how the nontraditional syntax of a single linguistic construct, the multi-word expression, can create significant changes in keystroke production patterns. This set of experiments is followed by a set of experiments that test the hypothesis on the entire …

Struggling To Learn, Learning To Struggle: Strategy And Structure In The 2010-11 University Of Puerto Rico Student Strike, José A. Laguarta Ramírez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

From April 2010 to March 2011, the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) underwent a two-phase strike sequence against neoliberal austerity measures. Altogether, that process resulted in the eventual concession of all of the students’ main demands, an unprecedented feat at the UPR, and a rare one in Puerto Rican history in general. In this dissertation I seek to cast light on this improbable event by examining, first, how neoliberalization patterned and contoured the choices facing the century-old UPR student movement. Second, I explore how interactions within the movement, including the framing contest among leadership teams and their interaction with the …

Gendered Expression Online: Exploring Gendered Communication On Facebook And In A Collaborative Editing Task, Christina M. Shane-Simpson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

College students are increasingly using digital media, such as social network sites (SNSs) and collaborative editing tools (Wikipedia), as identity exploration tools, aligning or distancing themselves from their offline selves through the online affordances of anonymity and agentic choice. The opportunities for gender fluidity available online (Armentor-Cota, 2011) provide college students with opportunities to experiment with and manipulate varied identities in a safe space where consequences of confronting identity norms may be less severe (Turkle, 1996; Shaw, 1997). Similarly, restrictive offline gender differences may diminish in online spaces, favoring a more flexible and androgynous enactment of gender (Martin, Cook, & …

A Developmental Perspective On Parental Cognitions And Emotions In The Context Of A Parent-Mediated Intervention For Children With Asd, Emily R. Hotez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Previous research demonstrates that parenting-related schemas and perceptions, reflective functioning abilities, and emotional experiences (i.e., parental cognitions and emotions) play a pivotal role in predicting whether parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are actively involved in, and demonstrate capacity in, meeting their child’s needs in the context of intervention programs or services related to their child’s development. In light of these findings, researchers have focused increased attention towards investigating whether parent-mediated interventions that target children’s behaviors and developmental outcomes exert collateral effects on parental cognitions and emotions.

The current dissertation investigated a sample of 70 mothers of …

Community Violence, School Climate, And Social-Emotional Well-Being In The Democratic Republic Of Congo, Leighann Starkey

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Despite abundant information on negative child outcomes related to school and community violence in Western nations, the impact of such violence is less well studied in low-income countries. Through secondary analysis of data from an impact evaluation of a school-based intervention in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, this study uses verbally administered questionnaires with students and teachers to examine the association between children's exposure to community violence and their social-emotional well-being, specifically concerning mental health problems and victimization by peers. In addition, this paper explores how this relationship between exposure to community violence and social-emotional well-being may be modified …

The Design, Fabrication And Characterization Of Integrated Photoconductive Antennas For On-Chip Terahertz Wave Radiation And Detection, Ruben Dario Velasquez Rios

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Terahertz (THz) wave (between 0.1 and 10 THz) is attracting a lot of attention due to its unique properties that are favorable to various applications. These include non-ionizing radiation, better resolution than a microwave, unique spectral absorption, and an ability to propagate through many types of materials. It has been intensively researched in sensing and imaging technology for a wide range of applications in areas such as biology, pharmaceutical, food and drug control, medical science, and security screening. Driven by mostly scientific research interests, the majority of THz systems are more focused on system performance rather than system size, integration, …

Media Representation Of Asian Americans And Asian Native New Yorkers’ Hybrid Persona, Min Huh

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Asian Americans, having been degraded in the realm of popular media and neglected in the consumer market, have been unable to obtain a voice or leave a trace in American pop culture. The meager representation that Asian Americans rarely have is highly controlled through a distorted lens, inclined to paint them in a grotesquely exaggerated light for comic relief. The absence of Asian Americans in the media has compelled the Asian American youth to adapt the personas of different cultures in their desires for social and cultural mobility. These factors have given birth to a hybrid persona among Asian Native …

Art As Display, Frank M. Boardman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Art is essentially a type of display. As an activity, art is what we do when we display objects with certain intentions. As a set of objects, art is all of those things that are displayed for those purposes. The artworld is the social atmosphere that surrounds this particular activity of display. And a history of art is an evolving narrative of change in the practice of this sort of display.

Specifically, to focus for convenience on art as a set of objects, this is what we can call the “displayed-object thesis”:

x is a work of art iff: (a) …

Risk Factors Of Eating Disorders And The Modern Orthodox Jewish Family, Susan D. Schmool

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Eating Disorders (EDs) are characterized by maladaptive attitudes, beliefs, and/or behaviors related to eating. Maladaptive behaviors can include restrictive eating, bingeing, purging, excessive exercising, and use of diuretics. Research has identified several characteristics within individuals that can be considered risk factors for the development of EDs including perfectionism, low self-esteem, elevated BMIs, affluence, and stressful life events. Several of these characteristics are very common in the Modern Orthodox Jewish community. Modern Orthodox Jewish female adolescents are a very unique and at-risk population in society. This population has a prevalence of EDs that is 50% higher than the general population (Baruchin, …

Headhunting: Evaluating The Disruptive Capacity Of Leadership Decapitation On Terrorist Organizations, Ted Clemens Iv

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Leadership decapitation -- the practice of removing a leader from a position of authority through targeted killing (i.e. assassination) or arrest -- has long been a feature of counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency strategies the world over. Still, how effective is the practice of leadership decapitation in actually bringing a halt to, or even impeding, terrorist activity? Can removing top leaders of terrorist enclaves from power disrupt their groups to the point of organizational degradation or dissolution? And lastly, because no two terrorist groups are the same; when a terrorist group experiences leadership loss, how can the group be expected to react? …

The Efficacy Of Motor Imagery Training On Range Of Motion, Pain And Function Of Patients After Total Knee Replacement, Noorelhoda Mahmoud, Marc A. Razzano Jr., Karen Tischler

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The present study examined the potential of motor imagery training and investigated the role of motor imagery instructions (audio) to improve knee range of motion after a total knee replacement. The participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental motor imagery group (n=4) or a control group (n=6). Both groups performed specific exercises to improve their knee range of motion and strengthen their muscles. Participants in the Motor Imagery group performed a motor imagery training exercise for a knee flexion stretch on the stairs prior to performing the actual exercise. The motor imagery group demonstrated a significantly greater increase in …