Digital Commons Network^™

Swimming In Static, Sahalie Saecker Hashim

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In this novel, two young adults exist simultaneously in separate worlds. Torn apart by perception, culture, and socioeconomic differences, these individuals come to learn what it means to see the world, and understand one another through extraordinary experiences.

The Second-Generation Effects Of Microcredit In Western Guatemala, Jordyn Elizabeth Haught

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Most microfinance institutions have assumed that positive second-generation effects follow involvement in microcredit, but the nature of these effects has been unclear since few scholars have directly focused their attention on them. To address this gap in the literature I conducted exploratory survey research in Western Guatemala in January 2011. I returned with 97 interviews conducted with 68 Guatemalans who had received a microloan at some point in their lives, and 29 who had never received a formal loan. In the sample of their 306 children, the parents of 94 had never received a loan, while the parents of 212 …

Child Development And Child Rearing In Ciudad Juárez, México Colonias: Economic, Social, And Cutural, Alma Angelica Hernandez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Supporting the development of healthy children is a goal for parents. Proper development becomes a challenge when children do not receive adequate health care, educational enrichment, and housing. These challenges are amplified by the continuous rise in violence in the U.S.- México border region. This study looks specifically at child development and child rearing practices in two poor colonias (neighborhoods) in Ciudad Juárez (Chihuahua, México). It relies on and extends from a project conducted by Gente a favor de gente and funded by the Paso del Norte Health Foundation. There were 2 phases in this study: a quantitative phase (N=151) …

Hemispheric Asymmetry Of The Affective Priming Effect, David R. Herring

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The present study examined the role of prime strength on the lateralized affective priming effect. Participants were presented unilateral primes (i.e., either to the left or right visual field) and then made evaluative decisions on centrally presented targets. Across both experiments, the affective congruity effect occurred for high, but not low, arousing primes. In Experiment 1, when stimuli were primes or targets but not both, the affective priming effect occurred in the right visual field (left hemisphere) for high arousing primes. However in Experiment 2, when stimuli were presented as both primes and targets receiving repeated parafoveal and foveal exposure …

The Effect Of Dichotomous Versus Likert Response Format On The Measurement Of Socially Desirable Response Bias, Celia Medrano

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Socially Desirable Responding (SDR) is defined as a biased tendency to endorse personality inventory items that are generally judged to be socially acceptable, and to avoid endorsing items that are judged to be socially undesirable. Rare Virtue (RV) scales, such as the MMPI-2 Lie scale, have been designed to detect SDR. The items of such scales, called RV items, typically invite respondents to claim unlikely virtues or deny common faults. The present study hypothesized that RV items perform much differently when a Dichotomous response format (e.g., true/false) is used than when a Likert response format is used. A total of …

Responding To Haiti's Earthquake: Volunteer Health And Community Relationships, Mary Nelan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Disaster volunteers are an important group of workers on the ground after a disaster. International volunteers have not been the subject of much research in the past. Following the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti, an American-based NGO set up a base in Leogane, the epicenter of the earthquake. The purpose of this research is to further understand the disaster volunteer population and help inform international NGOs who respond to disasters. This thesis focuses on the volunteers who worked with that organization during 2010. As a volunteer, I witnessed the situations that inspired this research through my own experiences for …

What Motivates Females To Participate In Collegiate Level Sports?, Laura Abril Pacheco

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Despite the many health benefits, physical activity trends in females have been previously reported to be lower than males. The purpose of this study is to explore the motivational influences that engage college females to participate in sports. This was a cross sectional, causal-comparative survey study that included mixed methods of data collection. 82 female college athletes from two post-secondary institutions responded to a 35 item Modified Sports Motivation Survey and 7 participants volunteered to be in a focus group discussion. Motivational factors examined were fitness, skill/mastery, fun/excitement, affiliation/recognition, team factors, ego/competition, parental support, and external rewards. Quantitative analysis revealed …

"Dancing On The Corpse's Ashes": Analyzing The Emotional Use Of Music And Genre By At The Drive In And How It Communicates Border Identity, Crystal A. Robert-Segura

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Music has the ability to communicate various facets through the use of lyrics, dissonance and melody. At the Drive In, an emo, post-hardcore band from El Paso, TX won worldwide fame with their last album, Relationship of Command (2000). The band was active from 1993-2001. Throughout their time as a band they were able to communicate their life experiences, as well as the varied cultures that make-up the band.

The band was able to communicate through their music, identity. The band was from the U.S.-Mexico border. The U.S.-Mexico border extends nearly 2,000 miles from San Diego, CA to Brownsville, …

Making The Honor Roll: Can Schools Learn From Business Excellence?, Oscar Humberto Salcedo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Our schools and school systems are feeling crunched from different directions. Some stakeholders are clamoring for more accountability, others for better results, and still others to do more with less funding. It is not surprising then that school communities are trying different approaches in an attempt to be responsive to different voices. Several schools have decided to borrow the disciplines of the International Standard known as "ISO 9001:2000" (hereafter ISO 9001) from the business realm in an attempt to address these pressures. This research investigates the applicability and benefits of ISO 9001, as perceived by school administrators and educators …

Studying Rape Through A Theorectical Lens: The Development Of A Serial Rape Model Using Fbi Data, Brooke Smith

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The current study assessed whether there is an empirical foundation for different theories of rape including the feminist, evolutionary, social disorganization, psychopathy, and rapist type theories. Using a data set from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on serial rapists collected in the early 1990's, the study included two phases. The first phase assessed whether FBI data supported the previously mentioned theories of rape by analyzing associations between individual variables that are thought to support each theory. Support was demonstrated for the evolutionary and psychopathy theories. Using MPlus statistical software to accommodate the multi-level nature of the data, the second …

Predictors Of Recidivism In A Predominantly Hispanic Sample Of First-Time Juvenile Offenders, Yvette Valenzuela

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Prior studies have identified risk factors that predict recidivism among serious and chronic juvenile offenders. The current study was conducted to identify risk factors in a related but much larger group -- first time juvenile offenders. The aim was to develop a risk assessment tool that could identify (a) high-risk juveniles when they are first referred to the juvenile justice system, so that they can be targeted for intervention, and (b) low-risk juveniles who probably do not need intervention. Participants in the study were 321 first-time juvenile offenders at the El Paso Juvenile Probation Department (EPJPD). Eighty-nine percent of the …

A Survey Of Speech-Language Pathologists: Long-Term Speech Therapy Needs For Patients Within Three Neurological Conditions, Kara J. Ayala, Irmo Marini, Karen Luckett, E. Lisette Blanco

School of Rehabilitation Services & Counseling Faculty Publications

Forty-seven speech-language pathologists (SLPs) completed a written survey designed to obtain their opinions regarding the speech-language pathology needs of patients presenting with communication deficits following traumatic brain injury, cerebrovascular accident and cerebral palsy. Results indicated that over one-half of the SLPs in the study cited the most common reason that speech therapy is stopped is due to lack of insurance coverage, not because the patient reached maximum improvement. After discharge from services, 78-92% of SLPs affirmed that their patients would have benefitted from ongoing speech-language treatment if insurance limitations were not a consideration. In many instances, therapy was recommended for …

Biblical Sources In The Development Of The Concept Of The Soul In The Writings Of The Fathers Of The Early Christian Church, 100-325 C.E., Thomas W. Toews

Dissertations

The topic of the human soul has seen renewed interest in recent years. Studies have been produced that have looked at the soul in light of modern science and medicine along with a continued focus on the thoughts of the ancients on this topic. The early Church Fathers played an important role in mediating the thoughts of the ancients to more recent times. Because of this role, it is important to understand what function the Scriptures had as a source of authority in this process.

In light of this, the following study researches and analyzes the usage of the two …

I Am Smart, Therefore I Can: Examining The Relationship Between Iq And Self-Efficacy Across Cultures, Diomaris E. Jurecska, Chloe E. Lee-Zorn, Kelly B.T. Chang, Elizabeth Sequeira

Faculty Publications - Psychology Department

The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between intelligence (IQ) and self-efficacy in children and adolescents living in the United States and Nicaragua. The sample consisted of 90 (46 male, 44 female) students (mean age = 11.57 years, SD = 3.0 years) referred by school administrators and faculty. United States (US) participants (n = 27) resided in rural counties in the Northwest. The other group consisted of 63 students from Central America. A comparison between groups revealed that in the US, sample higher grades and IQ scores are typically associated with higher levels of self-efficacy. However in …

Short-Form Analysis Of The Restructured Clinical Scales And Psy-5 Scales Of The Mmpi-2, F. Scott Winstanley, Bradley N. Axelrod

Archives of Assessment Psychology

The Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales and Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) Scales of the MMPI-2 are becoming more popular for interpretation of standard MMPI-2 profiles. These new scales were developed using all 567 questions of the MMPI-2, making it necessary for the patient to complete all items for interpretation of these scales. This study generate estimations of the RC and PSY-5 scales with protocols in which only 370 questions were completed. Equations were created with over 1000 protocols and then cross-validated with a different set of protocols. The results showed moderate utility of the RC and PSY-5 scales with only 370-items …

The Shift In Coaching Dynamics During Long-Term Business Coaching Relationships, Axel Meierhoefer

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The focus of this dissertation was on the changes in long-term external business coaching relationships (defined as more than 4 months). The current study intended to answer two questions: (a) how does the relationship between a coach and a coachee change in long-term coaching engagements? and (b) how do these changes impact the coaching process dynamics and results? The phenomenon that was discovered through this research is called the shift moment. It exemplifies the transition from skill or problem oriented issues, which often represent the original cause of the coaching relationship, to the holistic transformation of the coachee. A qualitative …

The Meaning Making That Leads To Social Entrepreneurial Action, Kathleen Roberts

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation is an exploratory study of the meaning making that leads to social entrepreneurial action; specifically, action that has either moved beyond the local or at the local level has impacted several different systems. Recent leadership research suggests that to meet today's complex challenges and create sustainable change, leadership must possess bigger minds, meaning advanced and mature ways of understanding the world (Cook-Greuter, 1999; Torbert, 1999). By challenging and changing established equilibriums with new structures, new systems, and new relationships, social entrepreneurs reflect a capacity to understand the world in complex ways. Through the lens of constructive-developmental theory (Kegan, …

Resilience Factors Affecting The Readjustment Of National Guard Soldiers Returning From Deployment, D. Patricia Tackett

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Following the September 11, 2001 attack on the United States, there has been increased utilization of the Reserve Components (RC) by the military to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Service members in the National Guard and Reserve (NG/R) represent approximately 40% of the forces involved in these conflicts. Current research indicates that NG/R personnel and their families may be at greater risk to deployment stressors than their Active Component counterparts. Estimates for the development of mental health problems including PTSD among returning RC personnel, range as high as 42%. The focus of this study was to advance the …

Employment Restrictions For Individuals With Felon Status And Racial Inequality In The Labor Market, Darren Wheelock, Christopher Uggen, Heather R. Hlavka

Social and Cultural Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Saving Haiti's Children From Hell, W. Harren H. Binford

Intercultural Human Rights Law Review

Haiti's devastating earthquake in January 2010 left thousands of children orphaned and tens of thousands separated from their families. Following the earthquake, foreign militaries, nongovernmental agencies, humanitarian aid workers, missionaries, and volunteers descended en masse on the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere to help the victims, especially children, in the midst of the disaster. Unfortunately, some of those who came to help Haiti's children showed little regard for the domestic and international legal protections in place to protect child victims of disaster. As a result, these individuals, organizations, and governments added additional layers of chaos and alienation to these …

Recognizing Rape As Torture: The Evolution Of Women's Rights Legal Protective Techniques, Iveta Cherneva

Intercultural Human Rights Law Review

When thinking about torture, the image coming to mind is that of a detainee held by state authorities for purposes of information extraction. The newspapers' photo images of Abu Graib detainees and sharp-teeth dogs are inevitably recalled. The present article examines a different angle with regard to the legal conceptualization of torture as a violation of international human rights law. The 2008 Report by the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak opened a door by linking torture to sexual and domestic violence and women's rights, creating a potential future impact with results that remain to be seen. …

Convict Criminology Prisoner Re-Entry Policy Recommendations, Stephen C. Richards, Jeffrey Ian Ross, Greg Newbold, Michael Lenza, Richard S. Jones, Daniel S. Murphy, Robert S. Grigsby

Social and Cultural Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Antecedent And Sequalae Issues Of Nepalese Women Trafficked Into Prostitution, Chandra Kant Jha, Jeanne Madison

Journal of International Women's Studies

Using a qualitative descriptive methodology, this study explored the experiences of Nepalese women trafficked into prostitution in India. The study found that poverty and lack of awareness about being at risk for trafficking are the major precursors for their trafficking experience. Abduction, fake marriages and the seduction of a better job were the major approaches adopted by pimps to traffic the women. The study also showed that after returning from the Indian brothel(s), they were rejected by their family and community. Such rejections occurred as family and community perceived these young women as at high risk for HIV infection. Strategies …

Gender Empowerment And Equality In Rural India: Are Women’S Community-Based Enterprises The Way Forward?, Maria Costanza Torri, Andrea Martinez

Journal of International Women's Studies

Despite the renewed commitment of the international community to provide economic opportunities for poor women, most observers suggest that the majority of the past and current experience of community enterprise programmes for women has failed to make any significant impact on women’s incomes and social empowerment. Based on ethnographic research methods, this paper presents a feminist analysis of a singular women’s community enterprise promoted by local NGOs in the state of Tamil Nadu in India, usually known as GMCL (Gram Mooligai Company Limited). GMCL has been promoted by local NGOs in the state of Tamil Nadu and is an example …

Finland Lies About A Historic Suffrage Achievement. Really? Finland? Yup., Mark W. Powell

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Challenging Identities: Muslim Women In Australia, Peliwe P. Mnguni

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Challenging Identities: Muslim Women in Australia, edited by Shahram Akbarzadeh.

Book Review: Politicisation Of Sexual Violence: From Abolitionism To Peacekeeping, Ogochukwu Nzewi

Journal of International Women's Studies

Review of Politicisation of Sexual Violence: from Abolitionism to Peacekeeping by Carol Harrington

Gender Differences In The Processing Of Acute And Repeated Stress, Jaidee Zavala

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Chronic stress is implicated in the pathogenesis of a variety of diseases, including affective, immune and cardiovascular disorders, which are differentially experienced by men and women. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), arginine vasopressin (AVP), and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) are the major regulators of the stress response and are widely expressed in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVH), where adaptive responses to stress are generated. Adult male and female rats were subjected to single (acute) or 14 consecutive daily (repeated) 30 min restraint sessions, or maintained as unstressed controls. Rats were perfused after their final restraint, and their brain tissues sectioned and …

/Intɛli/ A Bilingual Computer Software Treatment Program For Apraxia Of Speech, Esnire Abigail Gomez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Apraxia of Speech (AOS) is a motor speech disorder characterized as difficulty planning and producing precise and refined movements of the articulators for intelligible speech (CASANA). Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the success of /Inteli/, an experimental computer program that incorporates melodic intonation therapy (MIT), modified eight step continuum, visual and auditory cues, and voice recordings for instant feedback to increase speech intelligibility. Method: A single subject multiple-baseline design was used to examine the effects of /Inteli/ on the speech intelligibility of a child diagnosed with severe AOS. Treatment was applied to 30 multisyllabic words in …

The Mind And Metaphysics Of Agency, Gareth Fuller

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In this thesis, I try to spell out what it is to be a human agent. I start by defending an account of agency which I call the cognitive account. The cognitive account of agency holds that there are certain mental capabilities that are required to determine what is an action of the agent and what is not. This then leads into a discussion of intentionality, where I defend a functionalist account of intentional realism. After this I discuss how actions and events are individuated leading into a discussion of what it is to do something intentionally. This relies heavily …