Digital Commons Network^™

Developing An Evidence-Based Hiv Testing Message For Young African American Women, Melanie P. Moore

Theses and Dissertations

African American women have the highest rates of HIV infection among women of all racial/ethnic groups in the United States, and over 50% of HIV infected young adults are unaware of their infection. HIV testing is a cost-effective mechanism for reducing HIV transmission. Despite this, limited research has been devoted to developing interventions specifically promoting HIV testing. This two-part study proposed to address this gap through developing a culturally tailored HIV testing message aimed at increasing HIV test intentions among young African American women. Study 1 was a quantitative study that examined predictors of HIV testing history and future HIV …

Measuring Friendship Maintenance In Gay Men, Eliah Reding

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the existing friendship maintenance literature to develop a psychometrically sound scale for the measurement of friendship maintenance among gay men. Existing friendship maintenance research does not adequately capture the uniqueness of gay male friendship. Utilizing DeVellis’s (2016) steps of scale development, this dissertation constructs a new scale, the GayFABS, to assess the unique aspects of friendship maintenance in gay men. Unique in this dissertation is the use of a focus group to establish content validity rather than the traditional approach of expert review. An exploratory factor analysis is conducted to structure the scale and its component subscales. …

Demographic Study On 4,038 Sexual Assault Victims: Identifying Vulnerabilities And Vulnerable Populations With Extralegal Variables, Michael Atkerson Worthington

Theses and Dissertations

Sexual assault (SA) is an ongoing concern in the United States (US). With a rate above the national average, SA is especially a concern in the Western state in which this study was conducted. Identifying victim vulnerabilities related to SA is an area of research that is currently limited. In this retrospective study, data on victim vulnerabilities were collected from 4,038 standardized SA forensic medical examination forms. Descriptive statistical analyses were conducted to identify vulnerabilities and Pearson's chi-square tests of association were conducted to explore the relationships between extralegal variables. The extralegal variables represent data not contained within the scope …

Squatters, Shanties, And Technocratic Professionals: Urban Migration And Housing Shortages In Twentieth-Century Chile, Nathan C. Norris

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the struggles of squatters and slum dwellers for housing prior to the 1973 coup in Santiago de Chile, Valparaíso, and surrounding areas, with a focus on the Frei era of the late 1960s. The work argues that severe urban overcrowding generated advocacy for housing during the rise of progressive and leftist politics in Chile. It also explores the dynamics of efforts to promote housing through the lens of the work of professionals in the fields of architecture and urban planning. It argues that Chilean professionals adopted modernist principals in the fields of architecture and planning when promoting …

Grieving Behaviors During Parental Bereavement In Western Societies, Victor A. Luna

Theses and Dissertations

This paper will examine the grieving behaviors of parents who have lost a child. More specifically, it will discuss how grieving behaviors that are deemed appropriate depend on one’s gender, and how societal norms discourage behaviors that are deemed inappropriate. The focus will be on industrialized Western societies.

Urban Social Landscapes And Urban Places: Processes Of Making And Informing Maronite Identity In Beirut, Divin Boutros

Theses and Dissertations

This research looks at the Maronites of Beirut and examines, from their perspective, the role of belonging, imagined geographies, and memories of place in the processes of making and informing Maronite identity in Beirut after the civil war of 1975. The civil war of 1975 allows me to examine the city’s change in demographics in relation to the Green Line that divided the city between a Muslim West Beirut, and a Christian Eastern Beirut during the civil war. The thesis approaches Beirut’s homogenous neighborhoods, a result of the city’s cantonization during the civil war, as problematic for the future of …

Minimal Hearing Loss In School-Age Children: Prevalence And Relationship To Reading Impairment, Laura Peek

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The two-fold purpose of this study was to determine if a) students with reading impairments fail hearing screenings at higher rates than students without reading impairments and b) if the pattern of simple view of reading classification differs across hearing screening results.

Method: This project included 19 students with reading impairments and 17 students with typically reading skills in grades 2 through 11. Each participant completed a hearing screening and a complete battery of language and literacy tests to determine their hearing screen status and simple view classification.

Results: Results of a chi square test comparing reading status and …

The Supervision Of School Nurses In New Jersey: Parallel Needs, Actions, And Impacts On Student Care, Lee-Ann Halbert

Theses and Dissertations

New Jersey Certified School Nurses (NJ-CSNs) practice in an environment of parallel needs and actions where the primary goal is the education of the students in the building, yet the health and safety of each student are paramount. The research presented here evaluates how the supervision provided to the NJ-CSNs affects their clinical practice and other areas of decision-making in the school setting. This mixed methods research study of 557 NJ-CSNs reveals that school nurses who are supervised by an educator whose background includes being a registered nurse are better able to provide the optimal support for the nurses, and …

Religious Discrimination In Courtroom Oaths, Shannon M. Griffith

Theses and Dissertations

The current study investigated whether trust in Atheists moderates the relationship between prejudice against Atheists and belief in a hypothetical Atheists’ witness testimony. Pilot studies revealed that participants do not innately label witnesses who affirm as Atheists and determined that there was no significant difference between ratings of belief in Atheists witnesses in comparison to Christian witnesses. Responses from 185 MTurk participants confirmed that belief in witnesses did not significantly differ between Atheists and Christians. Furthermore, trust did not moderate the relationship between prejudice against Atheists and belief in the Atheist witness. These studies furthered research in distrust against Atheists …

Birth Control In Context: A Case Study Of Urban Egyptian Women, Farida Ezzat

Theses and Dissertations

Contraceptive choices, as a reflection of agency, inform us about various ways individual women seek particular forms of empowerment, in light of socio-economic, affective, and gender-based constraints. Ultimately, this serves to challenge inflexible conceptualizations of the status of women by calling into question the claim that patriarchy is unequivocally coercive and that women are inescapably disempowered and providing new avenues from where we may begin to rethink female agency and empowerment.

To Help Or Not To Help? Assessing The Impact Of Envy And Gratitude On Prosocial Behaviors, Anna Maria C. Behler

Theses and Dissertations

Envy is an other-oriented but negative emotion; no research has examined the influence of envy on prosocial behavior. Study 1 examined whether envy and gratitude would promote or inhibit prosocial behavior. I hypothesized that envy would result in less helping behavior than a neutral condition, whereas gratitude would increase helping behavior. Results supported the hypothesis that envy inhibits prosocial behavior. There was not enough evidence to suggest that gratitude promoted helping.

Study 2 examined how envy and gratitude affected prosocial behavior when participants were given the choice to help or harm others. I hypothesized that experiencing envy would result in …

Effects Of Intelligent Computer-Generated Interactive Mathematics Programs On Students’ Achievement And Affective Domain, Holly Marie Wendel

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship each of the mathematics web-based programs, MyMathLab and Assessments and Learning in Knowledge Spaces (ALEKS), has with students’ mathematics achievement. In addition, the study examined the relationship between students’ affective domain and the type of program as well as student achievement. The affective domain measures were students’ anxiety, self-efficacy as well as their attitudes towards mathematics. The study used a quasi-experimental nonrandomized pretest-posttest control group during the spring 2016 semester. The data were collected using several different instruments including: (a) a questionnaire, (b) a test of prerequisite skills, and (c) …

Interprofessional Collaboration: Aac, Michelle Bird, Anna Kusior

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Enslaved Labor In The Gang And Task Systems: A Case Study In Comparative Bioarchaeology Of Commingled Remains, William D. Stevens

Theses and Dissertations

This study designs and tests an approach intended to confront one of the major problems faced within biological anthropology, the commingling or mixing of human skeletal remains. The first goal of the study is to implement an approach to sorting mixed human remains in order that they can be made amenable to comparative study. Bioarchaeologists depend on an array of measures, preserved in the human skeleton, to assess the lifestyles and identity of past human groups. As many of these measures are preserved within the morphology of different bones, it is imperative that the association and context of remains are …

A Visitor-Centric Approach To Socially Sustainable Museums: The Egyptian Geological Museum, Eman El-Adawy

Theses and Dissertations

The greatest threat that museums are facing in different parts of the world, including Egypt, is that museums no longer have the capacity to sustain themselves and their activities. Therefore, museums are in need to change the way they function to become more sustainable. New models for museums seek to give power to its visitors. A Visitor-centric approach in museums ultimately focuses on providing a product and a service which is compatible with the needs and expectations of visitors. This research represents an initial step in analyzing the relationship between customer-satisfaction and the quality of the education service on one …

The Effect Of Health Insurance On Out Of Pocket Expenditure, Andrew M. Bean

Theses and Dissertations

The dependent care provision of the Affordable Care Act went into effect September 2010. This change in insurance policy can be used as a natural experiment to examine the effect of health insurance on healthcare expenditures using a control function two-part model to address endogeneity.

Contingency Workload Demand Forecast Techniques For Cargo And Flying Hours, Calvin J. Bradshaw Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Accurate forecasting of contingency workload demand for USTRANSCOM (USTC) is a herculean effort. Transportation Working Capital Fund (TWCF) managers rely on various subject matters outside and within the combatant command to estimate future workload. Since rates are set annually, when TWCF activities use incorrect or incomplete projections of workload, this leads to erroneous price structures and misaligned customer billing rates. The USTC leadership lacks the ability to accurately forecast workload demand, which is a key driver for service provider rate-setting. As a result, some customers perceive spiked rates and seek service from other competitors, which generates lost revenue, customer dissatisfaction …

Population Structure, Genetic Diversity, Geographic Distribution, And Morphology Of Two Boechera (Brassicaceae) Parental Species (Boechera Thompsonii And Boechera Formosa) And Of Their Resultant Hybrid Boechera Duchesnensis, Christina Elizabeth Fox Call

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Over the relatively short period of its evolutionary history, Boechera (Brassicaceae) has undergone rapid radiation that has produced 70+ morphologically distinct, sexual diploids. However, reproductive isolation has moved more slowly than morphological divergence in this group and the diploids appear to hybridize frequently where they coexist. Boechera duchesnensis appears to be the result of hybridization between its putative parents Boechera thompsonii and Boechera formosa. Objectives: The objectives of this study are to (i) analyze and document genetic diversity patterns in the population structure, - including allelic and heterozygosity frequencies - of B. thompsonii and B. formosa …

Semiparametric Regression Analysis Of Panel Count Data And Interval-Censored Failure Time Data, Bin Yao

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation discusses three important research topics on semiparametric regression analysis of panel count data and interval-censored data. Both types of data arise commonly in real-life studies in many fields such as epidemiology, social science, and medical research. In these studies, subjects are usually examined multiple times at periodical or irregular follow-up examinations. For panel count data, the response variable is the counts of some recurrent events, whose exact occurrence times are usually unknown. For interval-censored data, the response variable is the time to some events of interest, often called survival time or failure time, and the exact response time …

Gender And Sexual Health: Applying Gender Role Theory To Men And Women’S Intention To Engage In Sexual Health Information Seeking Behaviors, Ariella R. Tabaac

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study is to examine the pathways between gender and behavioral intention to engage in sexual HISB through application of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). It was found that feminine and masculine gender role stress differentially influence perceived behavioral control and behavioral attitudes, and that intention to engage in HISB was higher among women than men. Attitudes and PBC significantly predicted behavioral intention in this model. Further, women in the sample were more likely to search for sexual health information, with online sources being the most frequently reported resource. Additionally, past HISB was a significant …

Factors That Influence Community College Student Perceptions Of Their Instruction Following Behaviors In Online Courses, Vickie Volk

Theses and Dissertations

Enrollments in online courses offered in community colleges have sharply increased over the past decade. At the same time, it appears there is a growing trend toward community college students displaying a tendency to incorrectly and/or incompletely read and follow instructions in online courses. The ability to follow instructions has a direct impact on the success of students in online classes. This study examined factors that influence community college student perceptions of their instruction following behaviors in online courses using self-regulated learning as the theoretical framework. Participants were 102 students enrolled in general education online courses at a Great Plains …

Repeated Trait Evolution Driven By Divergent Natural Selection At Early And Late Stages Of Speciation, Spencer J. Ingley

Theses and Dissertations

Speciation – the process by which new species arise – is of fundamental importance in the biological sciences. The means by which new species arise, and the relationship among living species, has been a topic that has captivated both lay and scientific observers for centuries. In recent years, the study of speciation has enjoyed increased attention, resulting in significant advances in our understanding of how species form. Although our understanding of the processes that contribute to speciation has increased dramatically in recent years, our knowledge of how reproductive barriers accumulate as speciation proceeds is still limited. Thus, studies that evaluate …

Counselor Self-Efficacy: Relationship With Mindfulness And Self-Compassion, Sinead K. Unsworth

Theses and Dissertations

Mindfulness training has well-documented effects on psychological and physical health (Davis & Hayes, 2011). Recent findings suggest that mindfulness may be a predictor in counselor self-efficacy (Bentley, 2008; Greason & Cashwell, 2009; Kane, 2010). However, a review of literature indicates that this relationship, along with the mediating effects of self-compassion, have not been examined quantitatively with mental health providers-in-training. This study examined the predictive relationship between mindfulness and counselor self-efficacy and the potential mediating effects of self-compassion. A total of 213 mental health providers-in-training were surveyed to determine their levels of mindfulness, self-compassion, and counselor self-efficacy. Three scales were used …

A Gis Analysis Of Sidewalk Infrastructure In Starkville, Ms, Robert Devon Bise

Theses and Dissertations

Sidewalks provide many community services, yet not much geospatial research exists regarding sidewalks, especially in Mississippi. The purpose of this thesis was to use geographic information systems to inventory and map sidewalks for Starkville, MS and to compare sidewalk availability and quality to 2010 US census block demographics. In Starkville, sidewalks served 28% of the census block population, which classifies the city as “Car-Dependent” according to a Walk Score criteria. Majority minority census blocks and majority white census blocks had similar proportions of sidewalks. However, 97% of “Excellent” quality and 64 more sections of ADA compliant sidewalks were within majority …

Obesity Interventions In Egypt: Identifying Gaps And Highlighting Assets, Hana Shahin

Theses and Dissertations

Worldwide, obesity is a growing epidemic and a leading non-communicative disease. Egypt has high levels of obesity, causing harm to both individuals and society at large. Data on obesity in Egypt includes measures of obesity rates, comorbidity, and consequences, but there is little documentation on obesity interventions. This is in large part due to the fact that obesity is overlooked by the Egyptian government and culture. This study aimed to collect data on available programs and interventions in Egypt, to explore assets and challenges to obesity programming, and to ask for recommendations for combatting obesity. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with …

Columbus State University's Servant Leadership Program: A Phenomenological Study, Wendi Jenkins

Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study examined the experiences of various participants of the Columbus State University Servant Leadership Program. The primary data collection method was in-depth focus groups with supplemental interviews. The perception data were coded and analyzed according to the research questions. The research resulted in three major categories, along with several themes under each category, which emerged out of the experiences shared by the participants: 1) there was a high level of importance placed on relationships within and among the program; 2) numerous overarching program aspects such as sense of personal growth and skills sets for success were recognized by …

American Black Bear Distribution And Density In Missouri, Clay Michael Wilton

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding species’ distribution, density, and sources of bias in population estimates is critical for reliable conservation strategies. I assessed American black bear distribution, density, and abundance in southern Missouri. Using anecdotal occurrence data, I demonstrated support for a northward trend in extent of occurrences over time and a positive correlation between bear distribution and human–bear incidents. I also used GPS telemetry and camera traps to investigate detection biases in DNA hair snare methods and tested efficacy of two sampling designs for estimating density using spatial capture-recapture models. Results demonstrated that detection probability decreased following a negative asymptotic relationship with decreasing …

Is ‘How’M I Doin’?’ A Universal Question? Unpackaging Cultural Differences In Feedback Seeking, Rana Gaby Moukarzel

Theses and Dissertations

The feedback literature is based on the premise that given a favorable context and a drive to reduce uncertainties, all individuals should seek self-relevant performance information. However, this framework has only been empirically examined using Western samples and has failed to consider the influence of the broader context, with the exclusion of Sully de Luque and Sommer’s (2000) cultural framework. The purpose of this project was to integrate extant culture theory into the feedback seeking literature for a more comprehensive framework, and a more global understanding of cultural contingencies surrounding the feedback seeking process. Findings revealed the universality of feedback …

Standing In The Doorway: Role Complexity In The Position Of Senior Student Affairs Officer, Jasi L. O'Connor

Theses and Dissertations

Student affairs practice at small schools is becoming increasingly complex, and staff at all levels, including the senior student affairs officer (SSAO) are required to manage multiple roles. The purpose of this study was to use a grounded theory methodology to investigate if the need for the SSAO to hold multiple roles requires them to be able to effectively utilize both leadership and management skills. A second research question of this study was to investigate if the culture of a religiously-affiliated college impacts the way the SSAOs conduct their role. To investigate these questions, SSAOs at small, private, liberal arts …

Ecology, Phylogenetics, And Conservation Of Draba Asterophora Complex: A Rare, Alpine, Endemic From Lake Tahoe, Usa, Emily Ruth Smith Putnam

Theses and Dissertations

Rare, alpine, endemic species are particularly at risk for extinction. Alpine environments are especially vulnerable to climate change and human impacts, such as ski resort development and snowmaking. Draba asterophora Payson is a rare, alpine species that occurs only in three disjunct mountain-top regions surrounding Lake Tahoe. It is currently threatened by human impacts, such as ski resorts, as well as indirect influences of climate change and therefore in need of better understanding for conservation purposes. Draba asterophora may be able to serve as a case study for other similarly vulnerable, rare, alpine, endemic species with conservation needs. We utilized …