Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Happiness On Gender Stereotyping In Social Perception, Eurika B. Marina

Master's Theses

Past research has shown that people's perception of others can be influenced by a number of factors, including their own affective state. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of happiness on gender stereotyping. College undergraduate participants in a happy or neutral state completed a social judgment task in which they determined the likelihood of guilt of either a male or a female suspect in a computer hacking case. Happy participants showed increased gender stereotyping, but only against the male suspect. Neutral participants did not show stereotype activation only when the suspect was identified as female. …

The Influence Of Socioeconomic Factors On The Development Of Early Number Concepts, Brittany Meghan Caldwell

Master's Theses

Why are some children entering school unable to count, while others are able to

do simple addition? It may be that early experiences, like practice with numbers and extra resources to promote logical thinking, lay the foundation for how children and adults understand and use math in their everyday lives. The major objectives of this thesis are to explore the 1) link between children's intuitive number sense and their development of exact number concepts, 2) influence of language on early math achievement, and 3) influence of socioeconomic factors on various aspects of cognitive development. Participants included 133 preschool aged children …

Pathway To The Podium: Situating Rhetorical Agency Within The Tommie Smith And John Carlos 1968 Mexico City Olympic Protest, Andrew Carter

Master's Theses

The recent romanticization and celebration of the Tommie Smith and John Carlos 1968 Mexico City Olympic Protest has allowed contemporary American society to recognize both athletes as heroes and pioneers within the Civil Rights movement. They have been honored with of a number of awards both nationally and internationally, as well as memorialized with a 22-foot high statue that was erected on the campus of San José State University in 2005. From once being ostracized as national villains, Smith and Carlos have come full circle in how they are referenced within public consciousness. However this recent transformation on the part …

The Work Engagement And Job Performance Relationship: Exploring The Mediating Effect Of Trait Emotional Intelligence, Lisa Jackson

Master's Theses

This cross-sectional study examined the mediating effect of affect-related traits on the relationship between work engagement and job performance. Specifically, a sample of 225 students from a large state university was used to examine the effect of trait emotional intelligence (EI) on work engagement and both in-role and extra-role performance. It was found that work engagement directly impacted both in-role and extra-role performance, indicating that engaged workers are more likely to perform well both on job-related tasks (in-role performance) and also on going above and beyond what was expected of them in their job role (extra-role performance). In addition, work …

Teaching English As A Second Language Through Rap Music: A Curriculum For Secondary School Students, Beth Segal

Master's Theses

This project provides a sample of the curriculum, Rapping English, which uses rap/hip-hop style music to teach ELLs vocabulary, grammar, discourse and prosody. The rationale for using musical instruction is based on Gardner’s (2006) multiple intelligence theory and Bloom’s (1978) learning domains. This curriculum instructs students through musical intelligence and the affective domain which are often neglected in traditional instruction. Furthermore, this project explores how musical curriculum can be used to lower the affective filter (Krashen, 1981) and provide emotionally appealing and memory stimulating instruction in line with the findings of current neuropsychology, specifically the work of R. Caine and …

Hip-Hop, Medellín And Social Change, Veronica Henao Posada

Master's Theses

This study explores the ways in which the Hip-hop movement is producing social change in Medellín, Colombia. Looking specifically at a Hip-hop school called Cuatro Elementos Skuela, which exists autonomously and with very little state support in the Medellín neighborhood of Aranjuez, I argue that young people are contributing to the reconstruction of the city’s social, cultural and economic fabric. I start by explaining the historical context of Medellín, describing the different sets of conflicts that unleashed high levels of violence and caused the fragmentation of the social, cultural and economic fabric. Moreover, I review the role of the …

Maternal Reaction To Diagnosis: Examination Of Categorization And Methods Of Scoring, Alison Bradley

Master's Theses

This study examined the potential usefulness of a continuous rating system for the Reaction to Diagnosis Interview (RDI; Pianta & Marvin, 1992) compared to the already validated dichotomous coding system. Measures of family functioning, parent psychological well-being, and parental coping were also correlated with the continuous rating system. Participants were 116 young children (29 with asthma, 37 with diabetes, and 50 with cancer) and their primary caregivers. Parents were interviewed by a trained researcher and completed well-validated self-report measures of family functioning and parent psychological well-being and coping. Consensus conferencing for classification disagreements was discussed. Differences and similarities among subcategory …

The Lion & The Ringmaster: Croatia's Accession To The European Union, Jelena N. Bilandzich

Master's Theses

July 1, 2013 marked Croatia's official induction into the European Union. For Croatia this was the culmination of a long negotiation process filled with concessions and challenges. This situation inspired the question of how Croatia's alliance with the EU has affected the state? In order to analyze this relationship the aspects of Croatian identity and sovereignty were explored, in addition to the EU's principles and problems regarding member and candidate states. The evidence found within this investigation came from a number of literary sources ranging from the academic to official government documents. Furthermore, nine interviews were conducted within Croatia, which …

The Plight Of Kenyan Domestic Workers In Gulf Countries, Caroline Muthoni Gikuru

Master's Theses

Kenya’s economy remains the regional leader within the East African Community (EAC) and among East African countries at large. However, political instability such as the 2007 post-election violence and the region’s social and political instability trickling into Kenya, have negatively affected the country’s economic growth. To bridge the economic gap, Kenyan women are seeking employment in the domestic service sector in the Gulf Countries, with Saudi Arabia being the most popular destination. At their destination countries, some domestic workers are subjected to various forms of abuse by their employers, leaving the worker without recourse due to the lack of legal …

From Corps To Co-Ops: Are Co-Operatives A Viable Reintegration Strategy For Ex-Combatants?, Patrick Moses Musibi

Master's Theses

From 1989, Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programmes have played a major role in peace agreements worldwide. The first United Nations peacekeeping mission with a DDR mandate was ONUCA, (Observadores de las Naciones Unidas en Centroamerica) or the United Nations Observer Group in Central America and involved the reintegration of ex-combatants after the conflict had finished. While the disarmament and demobilization phases of the DDR programs are fairly straightforward events, success in the reintegration phase remains a great challenge. In this thesis I argue that paying closer attention to the challenges facing ex-combatants at an individual level can help in …

Re-Visiting Homosexuality In Cameroon: Effective Advocacy On The Path From Homophobia To Dignity And Equality, Jean Cedric Ndzomo

Master's Theses

Cameroon, one of the countries in the world that continues to criminalize homosexuality, has been on the news recently due to the torture and murder of young journalist and gay activist, Eric Ohena. This paper examines the discrimination faced by the LGBTI community in Cameroon by exploring the origins of homophobic violence, the role played by Cameroon's legal system, and the struggles of LGBTI Cameroonians in their fight for a better life. The analysis includes a review of the work by scholars on colonialism and sexuality in Africa, and questions the roots of violence and abuse against the LGBTI community …

The Role Of Information And Communication Technology In The Acculturation Of Vietnamese Refugees, Khanh A. Tran

Master's Theses

One of the most significant refugee populations in the United States is the Vietnamese. This group initially fled their native country to escape political oppression at the conclusion of the Vietnam War in 1975 and continued to flee in a series of separate waves that continued for more than three decades. As a relatively new immigrant group in the U.S., the Vietnamese still face a variety of challenges as they try to reestablish their lives and adapt in a new cultural environment. Acculturation is a complex process that is influenced by a number of factors. Throughout history, U.S. immigration policy …

Pretreatment Predictors Of Weight Loss In A Comprehensive Behavioral Weight Loss Program, Erin M. Lenz

Master's Theses

There is considerable variability in response to behavioral weight control treatment. Identifying pretreatment health behaviors that predict an individual’s weight loss success has the potential to assist with assignment into more appropriate treatment settings (i.e., standard behavioral program versus comprehensive home environment program) that are likely to yield greater weight loss outcomes over time. Participants (N= 201; 48.9 ± 10.5 years; 78.1% women) enrolled in a study comparing a standard behavioral weight loss program (BWL; n=99) to a home-environment focused weight loss program (BWL+H; n=102) completed baseline questionnaires assessing individual control variables (i.e., dietary restraint, self-weighing) and control over the …

Evidence And Implications Of Weight Clustering Among Adolescents, Jennifer C. Acker

Master's Theses

Both obesity and eating disorders (ED) are increasingly conceptualized from an ecological model of health, which emphasizes the importance of individual and contextual variables. The peer context is particularly important for understanding adolescents’ weight related attitudes and behaviors; however, specific peer processes that impact obesity and EDs are unclear. Because social comparison is common during adolescence, how teens view their body in comparison to the body size of their close friends may be influential. The purpose of this study is to examine how adolescents’ perceptions of their friends’ body sizes relate to their weight-related cognitions, behaviors, and mental health symptoms, …

Confused Spaces: Theatricality As A Device For Defining Different Types Of Public Space, Danton Christopher Spina

Master's Theses

Confused Spaces has come to the conclusion that theatricality can be a device for defining different types of public space. This book aims to define theatricality in architectural terms by taking principles from the disciplines of theater and urban design. It limits the scope of the definition to a specific set of elements of theatricality that include spectacle, transition, flexibility, and compactability. After attempting to define why these elements of theatricality are valid architectural concepts, the text then pushes to understand the experience that these elements can create. Through the use of historical and contemporary references, an argument for theatricality …

Measuring The Counter/Assumption Model's Effect On Argumentation Quality, Evan D G Ovadia

Master's Theses

This thesis presents a new platform called See the Reason, built upon a tree- structured argumentation model called the Counter/Assumption model. In the Counter/Assumption model, a topic is posted first, then under that topic, reasons for and against, and for each reason, counterarguments, and for any counterargu- ment, more counterarguments. The model enables us to systematically determine whether a claim is “tentatively true” or “tentatively false,” in an effort to motivate people to make their side’s claims tentatively true and the opposing side’s claims tentatively false, thus encouraging conflict. Research suggests that debates with more conflict are better, so this …

Field Dection Device Of Reactive Oxygen Species, Danielle Lee Cowgill

Master's Theses

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) contribute to approximately 30.5% of all injury related deaths in the United States per year and approximately 1.7 million TBIs per year occur as an isolated injury or other injury. Military personnel are exposed to TBIs and have less availability to resources traditionally used to diagnose a TBI. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a large role in secondary traumatic brain damage, especially lipid peroxidation, following TBIs. One of the principle and most studied byproducts of lipid peroxidation is malondialdehyde (MDA). The focus of this paper was to create an initial proof-of-concept field diagnostic device to detect …

Maladaptive Personality Traits And Sex Addiction Profiles, Jonathan Knute Jore

Master's Theses

How do pathological personality traits relate to specific expressions of compulsive sexual behaviors? Previous studies have concluded that there are only small relationships between these two constructs, but such studies have usually conceptualized sexual compulsion as a unidimensional construct. The current study used a correlational design to evaluate the relationship between pathological personality traits and six general domains of sexually compulsive behaviors and cognitions in an inpatient and outpatient clinical sample (N = 540) of males seeking treatment for sex addiction. The pathological personality trait results were assessed using the MMPI-2 Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) domain and facet traits. The sexually …

Anticipated Life Role Salience And Career Decision-Making Difficulties, Emily A. Schedin

Master's Theses

With the dual-earner population increasingly becoming the norm, undergraduate students are forced to consider the ways in which their career choice may affect their future family life, as well as how their family life may affect their career. Research has shown that undergraduate students may alter their vocational aspirations or adjust their future family plans to avoid work-family role conflict thus implying that students are making career decisions based on their prioritization of anticipated future life roles. The present study sought to investigate how the salience of different life roles may factor into the level of career decision-making difficulty (CDMD) …

Seasonal And Diurnal Behavioral Patterns Of Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops Truncatus, That Exhibit High Site And Low Site Fidelity To Mississippi Sound, Shauna Marisa Mcbride

Master's Theses

This study examined whether bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) exhibit site fidelity to the Mississippi Sound and how the seasonal and diurnal behavioral patterns of dolphins that exhibit high site fidelity to the Mississippi Sound differ from those of dolphins with lower site fidelity. Opportunistic surveys conducted from July 2006 to April 2010 were analyzed. Statistical analyses consisted of nonparametric tests (Spearman's correlation, loglinear models, and Pearson's chi-square) to compare behavioral patterns of high site fidelity, mixed, and low site fidelity groups. Behavioral patterns significantly differed between site fidelity groups across seasons and diurnal periods. Feeding behavior was observed significantly more …

Alcohol Consumption And Unwanted Sexual Experiences Among College Females: The Mediating Role Of Protective Behavioral Strategies, Kayla Darlene Moorer

Master's Theses

The narrowing gender gap regarding consumption has resulted in more alcoholrelated consequences specific to females. Compared to males, females report more sexual consequences, such as doing something they later regret, as a result of alcohol consumption. For this reason, there is a vital need for researchers to identify active methods that females can engage in while consuming alcohol in order to reduce the risk of unwanted sexual experiences (UWS). Protective behavioral strategies (PBS) have been shown to decrease overall alcohol-related consequences, but further investigation is needed to determine which strategies are most influential in reducing the occurrence of specific alcohol-related …

An Examination Of Media Accounts Before And After School Shootings: A Content Analysis Of Newspaper Articles Pertaining To Firearms On Campus, John Ronald Harrington

Master's Theses

Very few topics elicit such polarizing responses as that of the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. Since our country's infancy, firearms have been an integral part of our society. Over the years firearms have undoubtedly become ingrained in the American culture, but their presence has not been unanimously welcomed. While many Americans stand firmly by their right to bear arms, others adamantly oppose the notion that civilians should be able to possess such firearm s. This study explores the current literature regarding firearms, concealed carry firearms, and the news media's portrayal of concealed carry firearms on school campuses. …

Influence Of Parenting Styles And Protective Behavioral Strategies On College Students' Alcohol Use And Alcohol-Related Consequences, Saarah Danielle Kison

Master's Theses

The current study examined the relationships between parenting styles, protective behavioral strategies (PBS), alcohol use and negative alcohol-related consequences in college students. While parenting styles have been associated with alcohol use, there are no studies which have investigated the relationship between parenting styles and negative alcohol-related consequences. Further, while alcohol use and negative consequences have been related to PBS, no studies have investigated the relationship between parenting styles and PBS. The current study hypothesized that PBS will be a partial mediator between parenting styles and alcohol use. The current study also hypothesized that PBS will be a partial mediator between …

Stimulant Use, Associated Psychopathology, And Eating Disordered Symptomatology, Tiffany Ann Hopkins

Master's Theses

The current study developed profiles of eating disorder, personality, and other psychopathological symptoms related to the use of central nervous system stimulants versus other types of drug use. Participants included 124 women in residential treatment for substance use with and without comorbid eating disorders. Symptomatology was measured by the Eating Disorders lnventory-3 (EDI-3), Millon Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III), and Personality Assessment Inventory (PAl). The current study utilized a series of six multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs) and discriminant analyses to determine patterns of psychopathology separating stimulant use from other drug use. Results indicated that women who used stimulants were primarily separated …

Melancholia & Metaphor In Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains Of The Day, Kristin Lasheaú Teston

Master's Theses

Critics widely acknowledge the psychological grounding of Kazuo Ishiguro's writing. His 1989 novel The Remains of the Day presents a central character deeply afflicted by his inability to acknowledge his condition. Both literal and figurative loss proliferates throughout the novel, and turning to Sigmund Freud's influential essay, "Mourning and Melancholia," allows us to understand how loss influences Stevens's narrative. In this essay, Freud explores conditions that result after the loss of person or an ideal. For Stevens, the lost object is the myth of pre-war English traditions. Freud's theories regarding melancholia provide a crucial insight to Stevens's inability to acknowledge …

Narratives By Six Year Old And Nine Year Old Boys: Brute: Institutional, And Non-Institutional Mental Facts, Adam Craig Whipple

Master's Theses

Brute facts, institutional facts, and non-institutional mental facts were studied. The philosophy of constructionism and the theory of intent provided a framework for this research. Intentionality provided the basis for social facts. Brute, institutional, and noninstitutional mental facts were operationally defined. This study analyzed the use of these facts in the narratives of 6-year-old boys and 9-year-old boys. There were a total of 19 participants in this research. This research established brute, institutional, and non-institutional mental facts as appropriate operational categories for studying children's narratives. The 6-year-old boys produced more brute facts than the 9-year-old boys. The 9-year-old boys produced …

Building Women’S Solidarity To Advance Women’S Rights In Bolivia, Luzdary Hammad

Master's Theses

This paper takes a historical look at the deep-seated ethnic and class divisions between women in Bolivia. It also examines the cultural challenges that help explain the status of women in Bolivia and the obstacles women face to become politically active. It provides the theories of decolonization and depatriachalization as practical ways Bolivia can move past their colonial and patriarchal history. It also looks into what feminism means overall in Latin America and what strategies Latin American women have used to make change for women. It then provides a political history of Bolivia from 1994 to the present giving the …

Terror As A Social Movement Tactic: Applying The Multi-Institutional Politics Approach To The Case Of The Abu Sayyaf Group, Erika Mae Lorenzana Del Villar

Master's Theses

Solely equating terrorism with criminality discounts the social, political, cultural, and historical motivations that drive people to employ violence as a strategy for collective action. Using the multi-institutional politics approach to social movements (Armstrong and Bernstein 2008), this study explores the choice of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in the Philippines to employ terror and violence as the primary social movement tactic to pursue their Islamic separatist cause. Analysis of archival and open-source data, together with original interviews, reveal that the problem is multi-institutional – developmental, cultural, historical, social and political all at the same time. The choice of violence …

Dense Recordings Reveal Typical And Atypical Development Of Tense Productivity In A Child Previously Diagnosed With Asd, Iris Chin

Master's Theses

Research on tense development has found that typically developing (TD) children are productive with tense morphology starting between two to two-and-a-half years old. Research findings on children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however, have been mixed. To better understand how tense development may differ between TD children and children with ASD, we examined the speech of two children, one TD [Cleo] and one that previously presented symptoms of ASD [Audrey]. This study is novel in its use of the Speechome Recorder, which collects dense audio-video recordings of children’s speech in home environments. We found that both children were productive with …

Modeling The Emergence Of Natural Language Lexicons, Russell Richie

Master's Theses

It is largely acknowledged that natural languages emerge from not just human brains, but also from rich communities of interacting human brains (de Boer, 2000; Galantucci et al., 2012; Senghas, 2005). Yet the precise role of such communities and such interaction on emergence of core properties of language has largely gone uninvestigated in naturally emerging systems, leaving the few existing computational investigations of this issue (de Boer, 2000, i.a.) somewhat ungrounded. Here we take a step towards investigating the precise role of community structure in the emergence of linguistic conventions with both naturalistic empirical data and computational modeling. We first …