Digital Commons Network^™

Grit In The Classroom, David Anthony Vaughn

Master's Theses

In the United States today, educational opportunity is not equally distributed. Statistical data show a persistent educational achievement gap that disproportionately affects students of color or with a low socioeconomic status. There have been countless efforts to reform this inequality within the American school system; however, many efforts have ignored underlying issues regarding power structures and may instead be rooted in the biased beliefs of dominant culture. Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) Public Charter Schools, in particular, emphasize seven character strengths that are intended to promote success for their students and bring them to and through college. Such traits may …

Aligning K-12 And Higher Education: Using An Intersectional Approach To Identify Student Preparation Factors Present Upon College Entry, Edgar Martinez

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine factors that were present in incoming college students that pertained to the connection they had with those in academic support roles, both during high school and upon college entry. The data for this study were collected using a survey containing closed- and open-ended items related to students’ sense of belongingness and connectedness within their high school and college settings. A total of 113 San José State University undergraduate students completed the survey. The findings indicated that students’ attributed their motivating force for succeeding in high school and reaching college to their teachers. …

Can Positive Mood Or Mindfulness Interventions Increase Body Satisfaction?, Gabrielle Mary Rodgers

Master's Theses

Research has indicated that body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and eating disorder interventions have historically targeted clinically diagnosed individuals. These interventions target specific predicting risk factors such as negative affect and body dissatisfaction. The current study focused on the relationship between negative affect and body dissatisfaction for a nonclinical population. The central questions were (i) whether the posited relationship between negative affect and body dissatisfaction could be replicated for a nonclinical population and (ii) if interventions that target mood would also lead to increases in self-perceived body satisfaction. The efficacy of mood interventions as a means to target body dissatisfaction was …

Diagnostic Practices Of Autism Spectrum Disorders In Brazil, Ana Claudia Vespa Mainer Dias

Master's Theses

In Brazil, in spite of over half a million students with special needs in primary education, little research has been conducted about ASD diagnostic practices. This involves learning about the training that professionals are receiving, what diagnostic practices are being implemented on the field, and whether those are being contextualized according to the Brazilian culture. Students with special needs are directly affected by the results of diagnostic practices, since identifying the individuals is one of the first steps. Lack of understanding about that stage may lead to the problematic realities of underidentification or overidentification, exclusion of children who should receive …

Perceived Stress And Self-Efficacy As Correlates Of Satisfaction With The Dissertation Process Among Doctoral Students In Educational Psychology In Selected Universities In The United States, Gabriela A. Dumitrescu

Master's Theses

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of perceived stress and self efficacy on student satisfaction with the dissertation process among doctoral students in educational psychology in selected universities in the United States.

Method

Survey research method was used as the research platform for this study. Online surveys using Survey Monkey were administered to doctoral student in Educational Psychology from selected universities in the United States. Dissertation self-efficacy was measured with the Dissertation Self-Efficacy Scale (DSES; Varney, 2003). Perceived Stress was measured with the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10; Cohen, Kamarch & Mermelstein, 1983). …

Understanding Academic Achievement Among Low-Income, Urban, Black Adolescents: The Role Of Father Involvement, Patrick Henry

Master's Theses

Although the Black-White test score gap has improved over time, it still persists. Furthermore, this academic risk for Black youth is compounded by the disproportionate representation of Blacks among low-income families in the U.S. Thus, the present study aims to shed light on factors related to greater academic success among adolescents in low-income, urban, Black families. Overall, this study addresses the following question. How does the presence of a biological father and positive father involvement impact the academic achievement of their adolescent children? Data from the Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study (TCS) were analyzed in order to address …

An Qualitative Study Of The Meaning High School Students Ascribe To Occult Media Consumption, Jalisha Tolbert

Master's Theses

This qualitative research design explored how high school students ascribe meaning to occult media in pop culture, and it explore possible effects of occult consumption impacting their life aspirations. The research conducted at a high school located on the west side of Chicago, Illinois with a sample size of 10 students from the eleventh grade. First, an exploratory assessment will show how youth ascribe meaning to occult media consumption, and in turn, qualitative interviews presented whether it imposed any effects on life aspirations. The qualitative methods included a qualitative interview, where the researcher asked each participant to explore the meaning …

Global Human Trafficking: New Insights On An Old Crime, Joanna Surma

Master's Theses

Thousands of men, women, and children become victims to human trafficking each year. Almost every country in the world is affected by this heinous crime. Human trafficking exists in many different forms including sexual exploitation, slavery, forced labor or servitude, the removal of organs, child soldiers, etc. Despite the age-old practice being traced back to the 13th century, it continues to exist and even grow today. Unfortunately, not much research is available on the topic. Combating human trafficking is a growing priority for many governments; however, certain obstacles to data collection and analysis continue to exist. Recently, a new study …

Examining Urban African American Adolescent Perceptions Of Neighborhood And Time Spent In Risky Contexts: Cross-Sectionally And Longitudinally, Kevin Michael Miller

Master's Theses

The purpose of the current study was to cross-sectionally and longitudinally examine the relationship between adolescent perceptions of their neighborhood and time spent in “risky contexts.” Specifically, the relationship between adolescent perceptions of neighborhood danger and the percent of time spent with older peers or outside was examined. In addition, this study analyzed the relationship between youth perceptions of neighborhood support and the percent time they spent with older peers or outside. All these relationships were also explored in regard to the moderating impact of gender and parental monitoring. An Experience Time Sampling technique (ESM) was utilized to determine how …

Influence Of Metaphoric Language On Juror Decision Making, Melissa Michelle David

Master's Theses

This paper examines the effects of metaphoric language on judgment, assessment and juror verdict decision making. It further examines potential interactions between the use of figurative language and defendant race on juror verdict decisions. Research has potential implications on how the recent cultural climate has changed racial biases within the realm of juror decision making.

Group-Level Differences Of Moral Foundations, Jeremy Winget

Master's Theses

Previous research has started to map the moral domain for individual actors. In particular, Haidt and colleagues (Haidt, 2007, 2008; Haidt & Graham, 2007; Haidt & Joseph, 2004) have extended the moral domain beyond the traditional notions of justice and rights concerns. From this line of research, moral foundations theory emerged, which holds moral intuitions derive from innate psychological mechanisms that co-evolved with cultural institutions and practices. However, to date, there has not been a systematic demonstration of how these moral foundations operate within intergroup settings. Janoff-Bulman and Carnes (2013) have proposed a comprehensive model of the moral landscape that …

Music And Aggression: Effects Of Lyrics And Background Music On Aggressive Behavior, Andrew Triplett

Master's Theses

Given the ever-growing popularity of music in daily life, it is of the utmost

importance to understand how it influences affect, cognition, and behavior, especially given the violence of certain genres of music. The present study was designed to investigate the relationship between music and behavior, specifically to examine how the lyrics and background music interact to influence affective hostility and aggressive behavior. Data were collected from a sample of 168 students (61% Female; MAge = 19.24, SD = 2.470) at a large, private, Midwestern university to investigate this relationship. The music was manipulated by randomly assigning the participant to …

Psychological Predictors Of Community Violence Exposure In Ethnic Minority Male Adolescents, Amanda Burnside

Master's Theses

Urban, minority males are disproportionately impacted by community violence exposure (ECV). However, person-based analyses have demonstrated variability in rates of ECV, suggesting that demographic risk factors do not always result in increased ECV, and it may be important to examine the utility of psychological factors in this relationship. Research suggests that depressive symptoms may actually exacerbate the risk of ECV. The current study examines the effect of internalizing symptoms on future ECV. Data were derived from a larger longitudinal study of adolescents who had committed a criminal offense. This subset of 184 participants ranged in age from 14-18. Results indicated …

Parenting-Related Stress, Parental Distress, And Youth Health-Related Quality Of Life In Families Of Youth With Spina Bifida: Parenting Behaviors As Mediators, Colleen F. Bechtel

Master's Theses

Research has shown that youth with spina bifida (SB) have poorer psychosocial outcomes, including health-related quality of life (HRQOL), compared to typically developing youth. Demographic and illness-severity factors that may affect HRQOL have been identified, but modifiable factors affecting HRQOL have not yet been identified in this population. Potential modifiable factors include parent factors. In fact, in other pediatric populations, parent factors have been found to impact HRQOL above and beyond illness-severity. This impact may be especially salient for youth with SB, as these youth are more socially isolated and depend on parents for both medical and non-medical caregiving needs. …

In Plain Sight: How Social Images In Education Shape The Social Identity Of Black Students, Kandyce Cabacar

Master's Theses

This thesis will postulate social identity development in Black students is shaped by their school experience. Reviewing how racial grouping is a critical factor in how we engage with others socially, this study will curate the variables of society that assembles the Black image. Social construction influenced by media messages and the neighborhoods that determine our respective schools will also be analyzed. By borrowing from the research of social psychology and contributions of sociologists on race relations, this thesis will demonstrate how expectations influenced by racial stereotypes of Black students create a correlation to social identity. These findings are discussed …

Summertime Sleep And Bmi In Urban Minority Girls: Relations To Physical Activity And Executive Functions, Carolyn Rose Bates

Master's Theses

Urban minority youth, particularly females, are at high risk for increased weight gain during the summertime months, and may also experience insufficient sleep at this time. Few studies have objectively measured summertime sleep in this population or related sleep to weight gain during this season. The current study draws on a sample of 66 urban minority girls aged 10-to-14 who participated in a community-based summer day camp program promoting physical activity (PA). The study objectively characterizes sleep in this sample, both in unstructured and structured contexts. Additionally, the study examines potential pathways underlying summertime relations between sleep and weight, including …

Examining The Effects Of Coping Strategies Specific To Community Violence Exposure Among African American Adolescents, Suzanna So

Master's Theses

Variability in exposure to community violence (ECV) and aggressive behaviors in African American youth from urban communities can be attributed to general coping, but these studies have been inconclusive. Recent qualitative research identified four types of coping that are specific to ECV; however, quantitative research is needed to understand the adaptiveness of these strategies. The current study examined the factor structure of a measure for ECV-specific coping strategies. The current study also assessed how ECV-specific coping was associated with ECV and externalizing behaviors. Data from the current study were derived from an archival dataset comprised of 594 African American adolescents. …

Risk And Resilience Factors Among Low-Income Latino Adolescents: The Impact On Daily Ratings Of Mood, Stephanie Andrea Torres

Master's Theses

Given that Latino adolescents endorse more negative mood when compared to their counterparts of other backgrounds (CDC, 2012), it is especially advantageous to evaluate the impact of risk and resilience factors on mood among this population. The current study uses daily diary methodology to examine the impact that daily economic stress, daily family stress, familism, and ethnic identity commitment and exploration have on daily ratings of mood among 58 (M =13.31, 47% female) low-income Latino adolescents. Results show that daily family stress was strongly linked to daily mood while familism emerged as a salient resilience factor. Contrary to predictions, ethnic …

The Moderating Role Of Emotion Regulation On Longitudinal Associations Between Stress And Mental Health In College Students, Evan Zahniser

Master's Theses

Emotion regulation is consistently linked to subsequent wellbeing, but little research has examined the moderating role of emotion regulation in associations between mental health and other relevant factors. Patterns of gender differences in emotion regulation also remain somewhat unclear. The present study targets these gaps by examining two specific emotion regulation strategies in interaction with stress and gender in predicting internalizing symptoms among college students, a population for whom emotion regulation may be particularly important given the high-stress nature of the college transition. A large sample of students (N = 1,130) provided self-report data at three time points over their …

Solitary By Any Other Name: Silence To Segregation In American Prisons, Chelsea Van Aken

Master's Theses

This thesis examined the United States’ ability to circumvent international and constitutional law in regards to solitary confinement in American prisons. Drawing on scholarship examining inmates’ rights and inmates’ resistance movements, international human rights doctrine, United States constitutional law, activist led movements, and inmate testimony, the thesis demonstrates that the United States is able to simultaneously claim that it is meeting its human rights violations while resisting reforms to both state and federal current policy of warehousing inmates in solitary confinement for decades at a time through two strategies. First, the United States utilizes framing strategies to deny the use …

Examining The Moderating Effect Of Life Satisfaction On The Relationship Between Perceived Underemployment And Job Attitudes Among Millennials, Savannah M. Trakes

Master's Theses

Underemployment has been associated with negative attitudes and behaviors. However, little research attention has been paid to identify variables that might moderate the relationship between underemployment and job attitudes. Given that Millennials are one of the groups most susceptible to underemployment, I examined the relationship between perceived underemployment and job attitudes (i.e., job satisfaction, intent to remain) using life satisfaction as a moderator among Millennial employees. Based on survey data from 552 Millennial employees across various sectors, results showed that perceived underemployment was negatively related to job satisfaction, intent to remain, and life satisfaction. Inconsistent with the prediction, life satisfaction …

Exposure Assessment Of Asthma And Modeling Of Pm2.5 During The 2007 Southern California Wildfires, Areana Flores

Master's Theses

A three-year study (1 Jan 07 to 31 Dec 09) was conducted for Los Angeles and Riverside counties to validate current findings on impacts of wildfires on respiratory health. A dataset developed from multiple sources containing daily rates of air pollution (O3, NO2, CO, and PM2.5) and meteorological variables (temperature, dew point, wind speed, and inversion height) was correlated with asthma emergency department (ED) visits. A second correlation was calculated for a modified dataset that excludes all episodes of wildfire events within the study period. The difference in correlations between both datasets was computed. PM2.5 was positively associated with asthma …

Crying Wolf: An Analysis Of The Use Of Sensational Content Within The Media And The Desensitizing Effects It Has On Audiences, Lindsey Lowe

Master's Theses

This thesis examines the development and use of sensational media content to analyze this growing phenomenon and the effects that it has had on audiences. This research focuses primarily on specific examples of sensational media content including: The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat, The Great Train Robbery, the “War of the Worlds” broadcast, the Hindenburg disaster, footage of the Vietnam War, Apollo 11 and the first moon landing, and The Day After. These examples were chosen to chronicle the development and use of sensationalism and to illustrate that media audiences of today are desensitized to sensational content because …

A Framing Analysis Of Latinos In The Facebook Pages Of News Organizations, Juliana Zapata Acosta

Master's Theses

This study of the Facebook pages of six legacy media organizations extended framing theory to apply to social media. In the study of 557 articles, four new frames and 10 new subframes were identified. The immigration frame and its two subframes, deportation and undocumented, dominated the coverage of Latinos during the period of the study. The politics frame was the second most dominant frame. This study updated the old data and found that no progress has been made, with the exception of a lesser use of the criminal frame. This improvement could be because the study included six months of …

Troubadours Of The Disaster, Peter Christian Caravalho

Master's Theses

Following the death of his father, San Francisco-based music critic Manuel “Manny” Soares is sent by his editor to Amsterdam to find the next big thing in music. Manny hopes that the physical distance from his home will help him work through his father’s passing. Manny finds himself on a late-night flight to Schipol Airport. On a layover in Frankfurt, Manny manages to cause a small riot in the airport bar and escapes. Once he makes “groundfall” in Amsterdam as his editor, Ian, puts it, Manny is on the hunt. Globalization mixed with culture shock follow him as he navigates …

Deconstructing Exploitative Systems And Restoring A Balanced Biosphere: An Ecofeminist Posthumanist Reading Of Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres And Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer, Aubrey A. Laughlin

Master's Theses

Although many scholarly articles have provided ecofeminist insights and

critiques of A Thousand Acres that connect the abuse of women to the abuse of the land, few have dealt specifically with the link between the treatment of women and the treatment of nonhuman animals. In the first chapter of this paper, I argue that associations between women and nonhuman animals in A Thousand Acres sustain the constructed reality of patriarchal communities. Similarly, Prodigal Summer’s narratives center around females and nonhuman animals, but also provide a broader focus that emphasizes the interconnectivity of the entire biotic pyramid and optimistically holds that …

Exploring The Relationship Between Commuting Stress, Job Strain And Safety Behaviors While Commuting: The Dual Role Of Work-Related Rumination, Katrina A. Burch

Master's Theses

For those who commute to and from work on a daily basis, this is an activity that requires attention to both what one is doing and the environment, in order for the commute to be done safely. Although research has shown that work can spill over into home and other non-work domains, very little attention has been paid to the impact that work may have on the transition time between one’s work and home domains. The present study sought to examine the impact of daily commuting stress and end-of-day job strain on the safety of one’s commute through the experience …

Learning Delays In A Mouse Model Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Amanda R. Rendall

Master's Theses

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder with core symptoms of atypical social interactions and repetitive behaviors. It has also been reported that individuals with ASD have difficulty with multisensory integration, and this may disrupt higher-order cognitive abilities such as learning and social communication. Impairments in the integration of sensory information could in turn reflect diminished cross-modal white matter connectivity. Moreover, the genetic contribution in ASD appears to be strong, with heritability estimates as high as 90%. However, no single gene has been identified, and over 100 risk genes have been reported. One of these genes -- contactin-associated-like-protein …

Shared Space: Measuring The Boundaries And Assessing The Efficiencies, Benjamin W. Wargo

Master's Theses

Shared space is a design concept becoming increasingly common in European countries. It intentionally blurs pedestrian-driver boundaries in order to reduce vehicle speeds, create more walkable areas, and improve aesthetics and sense of place. What constitutes a shared space is not clearly defined in the existing literature. Steps toward a systematic method for assessing a space’s “level of sharedness” have been developed in this research to minimize the present ambiguity.

A paradox of shared space, suggested by numerous observers but little studied, is that while allowing freer pedestrian movement, shared space also appears to promote greater vehicle efficiency than conventional …

Revisiting Community Water Fluoridation, Jessica Marie Seyfried

Master's Theses

There is a bourgeoning controversy unknown to many surrounding one of the CDC’s top ten public health achievements of the 20^th century. After more than 50 years of implementation, community water fluoridation may not have achieved the declines in caries rates we once thought or hoped for, especially in light of alternative approaches to preventing caries including but not limited to other sources of fluoride supplementation, changes in diet, and tooth brushing behavior.

In fact, a survey of past research highlights the fact that this policy decision may be based on out of date and/or a lack of research …