Digital Commons Network^™

An Evaluation Of Social Capital's Effect On Depression Among Adolescents, Ezechukwu Awgu

Dissertations

Mental illness has been described as a “global burden of disease,” and depression accounts for a large part of the burden (Aslund, Starrin, Nilsson, 2010). In 2009, 35.7 percent of the adolescent population in the United States who reported past-year symptoms of a major depressive episode, for example, feelings of sadness, discouragement, loss of feelings of self-worth, and loss of interest in social activities, also used illicit drugs including marijuana, inhalants, hallucinogens, cocaine, heroin, and prescription-type psychotherapeutics for non-medical purposes (SAMHSA, 2009, APA, 1994). Additionally, substance abuse due to alcoholism was among the major causes of death for adolescents aged …

Identifying In-School Predictors Of Postsecondary Success For Students With Hearing Impairments, Jennifer Lynn Coyle

Dissertations

Students with hearing impairments are historically a low incidence disability group. Gaps in knowledge of evidence-based practices for implementing transition education and services for this population is limited, primarily as a function of the size of the population; they have not received much attention from the educational research community. Students with hearing impairments often experience more successful outcomes in postsecondary education and employment than other disability groups, but less than those without a disability; however, we know little of the specific educational experiences associated with such success. In contrast, a body of work on predictors of post-school success for students …

Rule-Based Precise Localization Services In Mobile Environments, Mohammed Elbes

Dissertations

In recent years there has been great interest in the positioning of people and assets in indoor and outdoor environments. Many systems were constructed to accomplish this. The application of these systems depends on the environment and the precision required for localization. The Global Positioning System (GPS) cannot be used for a precise indoor localization due to the attenuation and scattering of the signals. For indoor environments, other technologies like Wireless LAN, laser, camera images and motion sensors are used in precise localization. GPS can be used in outdoor environments but if localization accuracy is a critical requirement, other technologies …

Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy: A Descriptive Study, Erica Jex Gergely

Dissertations

The current study seeks to examine the program operations and treatment practices of individuals and organizations providing equine-assisted therapy services nationwide. Currently, there are several hundred programs across the United States that utilize equine-assisted therapy to treat common mental health problems in children, adolescents, and adults. Not all equine therapy programs function under the same theoretical model and therefore do not deliver treatment services using equivalent principles or techniques. In addition, program policies, procedures, and ethical guidelines of each provider vary. To date, there exists a paucity of research regarding equine-assisted therapy including both qualitative and quantitative data.

The present …

Examining The Role Of Research Mentoring In Predicting Research Self-Efficacy Among Minority Professional Psychology Doctoral Students, Donald Edward Knight

Dissertations

The involvement of racial/ethnic minority doctoral students in the conduct of psychological research is of significance in meeting the mental health challenges of an increasingly diverse US population. However, scant empirical evidence exists regarding the mentored research experiences and resulting increases or decreases in confidence these students encounter in conducting research. The purpose of this study is to examine predictors [i.e., Research Mentoring Experiences (RME), perceptions of the Research Training Environment (RTE), and Interest in Research (IRQ)] of research self-efficacy among a sample of racial/ethnic minority PhD students in APA-accredited clinical and counseling psychology programs. The study is guided by …

Does Understanding The Kalamazoo Promise Impact African American Participation?, J. Douglas Penn

Dissertations

Since 2006, all of the public school graduates in Kalamazoo Michigan have been entitled to have their tuition and fees paid for to any post-secondary institution in the state. The scholarship program is called the Kalamazoo Promise, and it utilizes scholarships as a means to stimulate region-wide economic vitality. The Kalamazoo public school district reflects many metropolitans in the U.S. by having a minority majority, in which African Americans make up the largest single ethnic group. This evaluation of the Kalamazoo Promise is unique in that it focuses specifically on perspectives from the African American community. 35 interviews were conducted …

Behavior Based Sales: A Study Of Behavioral Techniques For Sales Performance Improvement, Peder Henrik Seglund

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the impact of a behavior-based sales training package on sales performance for the sales divisions of two different organizations located in separate cities in the Midwestern United States. The independent variable was a package that included: behavior-based sales training; feedback; and reinforcement. The primary dependent variable was sales performance results, which is a measure of the participants’ closing percentage. Secondary dependent variables included income, participant attendance at sales meetings, participant satisfaction, and changes in knowledge (at site 2 only).

The intervention package was implemented at each site over a course of …

Performance On A Data Entry Task When Participants Receive Three Different Types Of Graphic Feedback, Sarah E. Vanstelle

Dissertations

This purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of three types of graphic feedback on worker performance and satisfaction. The first type displayed individual performance (IF), the second displayed individual performance and average group performance (SCF-GA), and the third displayed individual performance for each individual in the group (SCF-IP). Participants were 54 undergraduate students who were randomly assigned to one of the three groups. They performed a computerized data entry task that simulated the job of a medical data entry clerk. The primary dependent variable was the number of correctly completed patient records. Secondary dependent variables included: …

The Voices, Views, And Experiences Of 13 Nonresident African American Fathers, David Asbery

Education Doctoral

This qualitative study focused on how nonresident African American fathers maintain their role as fathers while dealing with the stereotypes, myths, and ambiguities associated with nonresident fatherhood. In addition, this study explored some of the cultural challenges specific to the experience of the nonresident African American father. The qualitative inquiry research explored the nonresident African American father’s experience through interviews with 13 nonresident African American fathers to gain insight about their perspectives on being a nonresident African American father. For this study, six open-ended questions were selected from the research literature. The aim of this study was to fill a …

Flow And Cooperative Learning In Civic Game Play, Chad Raphael, Christine Bachen, Pedro F. Hernández-Ramos

Communication

Flow theory offers an individualistic explanation of media enjoyment, while cooperative learning theory posits a social explanation for enhanced learning in groups. This classroom-based experimental study examines whether game players can experience both conditions and the influence of each on several types of civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions. We find that high quality cooperative learning contributed to acquiring civic knowledge and skills. In contrast, flow was more influential for developing dispositions to empathy and interest in learning more about the game topics. Thus, we conclude that players can experience flow while engaged in cooperative learning, but that these two conditions …

The Relationship Between Automatic Negative Thoughts And Depression Among A Sample Of University Of Nizwa Students, Basim Mohammad Aldahadha, Suad Mohamed Sulaiman

Journal of Educational and Psychological Studies

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the automatic thoughts and depression in light of gender, specialization, level of study, achievement and hours of internet-usage. The sample of this study consisted of 329 (101 males and 228 females). Two instruments were used to collect the data: the Automatic Thought Questionnaire (ATQ) and the Beck Depression Inventory- second edition. (BDI-II). The results showed a positive correlation between depression and ATQ (r = 0.8, p. < 0.001). There was a negative correlation between ATQ and depression among non-depressed students (r = -0.78, p < 0.001). There were significant differences between male and female students (p < 0.05) in favor of females in ATQ. There were significant differences between the levels of achievement in favor of students with excellent GPA. The results also showed that there were no significant differences (p 0.05) that related to other variables.

Effects Of A Chronic Increase In Plasma Corticosterone On The Brooding Behavior Of The Prairie Skink, Plestiodon Septentrionalis , Alexander James Anton

Student Work

The effects of chronic corticosterone (CORT) increases on the maternal behavior of the Prairie Skink, Plestiodon septentrionalis were studied in the laboratory during the summer of 2012. It was hypothesized that chronic increases in plasma CORT would result in decreased maternal effort and higher egg mortality, with similar results to analogous studies in birds. Plasma CORT was elevated using a non-invasive, exogenous treatment and behaviors were observed using video recordings. CORT treatments significantly reduced the amount of time spent tightly coiled around eggs in experimental individuals, and significantly decreased the amount of time experimental females spend in contact with their …

The Client Who Lost Despite Winning And The Client Who Won Despite Losing: Reflections On Starting A New Immigration Clinic., Aaron S. Haas

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract Forthcoming.

When It Rains, It Pours: The Violence Against Women Act's Failure To Provide Shelter From The Storm Of Domestic Violence., Alyse Faye Haugen

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

The threat of abuse affects women of all socioeconomic levels, educations, and zip codes. For centuries, women were second-class citizens in the eyes of society and the government. Women could not access resources to prevent violence and subsequently were denied essential victim services. The passage of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 1994 expressed the government’s commitment to ending domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and other gender-based violent crimes. Although VAWA exists, violence against women continues to be pervasive, devastating women’s lives daily. Victims of domestic violence face several issues. These include protecting children from abuse, finding and securing …

Payday Peonage: Thirteenth Amendment Implications In Payday Lending., Zoe Elizabeth Lees

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract Forthcoming.

What About The Children: How Children Of Same-Sex Couples Are Left Without State-Run Support, Ann Kathryn Watson

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

States should enact legislation affording same-sex partners the same rights and responsibilities to their children as opposite-sex partners. Although federal law mandates specific duties owed to the child, the language is silent about whether it applies to same-sex partners. Moreover, Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. Some states—namely Texas—have passed their own version of DOMA. These states have subsequently denied same-sex partners the same rights granted to opposite-sex partners—such as conservatorship, visitation, and child support. Same-sex partners have used DOMA as a legal strategy to either avoid …

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Campaign 2012 And Beyond: Awareness And Participation For Behavioral Change, Ebony Chetto

Journalism

The following study investigates how to develop and maintain a health outreach program in order to make a behavior change in participating in the breast cancer movement. The number of women becoming affected by breast cancer is increasingly growing, and the students who developed the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Campaign saw the need to raise awareness of this disease on campus and in the community. The campaign’s focus was to create and publicize an outreach event called Rock the Tatas, a fundraising concert to support the fight against breast cancer. With scholarly research, the design of the campaign attempts …

Application Of Linear Mixed-Effects Models To Crossover Designs., Lei Zhou

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Crossover design is a type of longitudinal study with each subject receiving different treatments in different time periods. It has been used frequently in the pharmaceutical industry and other medical fields to investigate the safety and efficacy of new drugs or new treatments. For crossover studies, the treatment effects from the earlier period may be carried over to the later period, which is called the carry-over effect, the response may naturally change over different periods. How to assess treatment effect with accounting for all these features deserves further investigation. Linear mixed-effects (LME) model has been widely applied to analyze data …

Second Year College Experiences That Affect Persistence And Attrition For First Generation And Continuing Generation Students At Small, Private Institutions., Angela Brown Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The persistence and attrition of second year college students is a growing concern of colleges and universities as second year college students face some of the greatest challenges (Gahagan & Hunter, 2006; Lemons & Richmond, 1987; Morgan & Davis, 1981; Wilder, 1993). This study examined the factors that predict second year student persistence for students who have enrolled at private institutions in the state of Kentucky. This study reviewed those pre-entry variables that predict persistence beyond the second year. Students were surveyed (during the end of) their fourth semester in college. Spady's (1970b) model of student dropout and Tinto's (1975) …

Anxiety In Older Adults With Dementia Residing In Long-Term Care Facilities., Lauren Summer Hess

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dementia, depression, and anxiety are the most common psychiatric disorders among long-term care residents and, because dementia is associated with behavioral problems that can be difficult to manage, the growing number of long-term care residents with dementia and mental health disorders presents a challenge for providing quality care. Research has established the co-occurrence of depression and anxiety and anxiety and agitation in this population. However, a consensus on the conceptualization of the co-occurrence of these constructs has not been reached. It has also been postulated that older adults with dementia may not be able to experience anxiety as conceptualized due …

Self-Efficacy In The Context Of Psychological Abuse: A Model Of Efficacy Erosion., Kristen E. Hosey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current research proposed that psychological abuse within an intimate relationship erodes one's self-efficacy and aimed to demonstrate a negative relationship between past psychological abuse and how one reacts to a challenge. It was hypothesized that when faced with a challenging task past psychological abuse would be related to decreased task persistence, increased negative affect, and choosing low-difficulty future tasks. Each of these relationships would then be simultaneously mediated by general and specific self-efficacy. The study was conducted in two phases with undergraduate women. During the first phase participants self-reported demographic and relationship history information, level of general self-efficacy, and …

Attributions For Interpersonal Healthcare Mistreatment And Continuity Of Care, Daniel Joel Northington

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Although continuity of cancer-related care increases the use of early detection cancer screening exams (Doescher, Saver, Fiscella, & Franks, 2004), and thereby improves treatment outcomes (Mandelblatt et al., 2009), Latino (Latina) women in the U.S. currently report lower continuity of care than non-Latino White (Anglo) women (American Cancer Society, 2010; Doescher, Saver, Fiscella, & Franks, 2001). Such disparities may be due, in part, to interpersonal healthcare mistreatment (Smedley, Stith, & Nelson, 2003), as well as mistreatment-related attributions and emotions (Betancourt, Flynn, & Ormseth, 2011; Tucker, 2008). Therefore, according to Weiner's model of attribution and emotion (1986) as well as Betancourt's …

Cultural Study Of Attributions Of Sports Fans, John C. Park

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Cultural differences in the attributions of sports fans in the US have not been sufficiently explored. Studies have shown that individualists have the tendency to make more internal attributions compared to collectivists (Kashima & Triandis, 1986; Al-Zahrani & Kaplowitz, 1993; Cha & Nam, 1985; Hallahan et al., 1997). Furthermore, in sports setting, individualists have the tendency to engage in the self-serving bias, whereas collectivists may not engage in this process (Schuster et, al, 1989; Lee et. al, 1996; Hallahan et. al, 1997; Crittendon, 1991). Undergraduate students at La Sierra University, California, participated in an experiment where cultural differences in fans' …

Development And Validation Of A Process Focused Measure Of Childhood Depression, Ida Babakhanyan

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this research was to develop a measure of childhood depression and test its psychometric properties with depressed and non-depressed children. First, an overview of our current understanding of childhood depression and the measures used in assessment is reviewed. Following, the problems with our diagnostic classification are presented, providing justification for the development of a new measure for childhood depression. A bottom-up approach is used in this study to develop a theory driven measure for identifying depression in children which focuses on the process. Thus, varying from the primarily symptom based assessment tools that are currently used in …

Performance Of Number Of Factors Procedures In Higher Order Analysis: A Comparative Study, Marc Thomas Porritt

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) is one of the primary statistical tools available for the verification of the structure of a psychological measure. In the case of a nested test the structure of the higher levels is verified by performing EFA on the factor scores of the lower levels, a process known as higher order factor analysis (HOFA). One of the most significant decisions made during the EFA process is how many factors to extract. A number of methods have been developed to empirically answer this question. These methods have been proven highly accurate under normal circumstances. Since HOFA is an …

The Rna Binding Protein Ksrp Destabilizes Gap-43 Mrna To Limit Axonal Elongation In Cultured Hippocampal Neurons, Clark W. Bird

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

The KH-type splicing regulatory protein (KSRP) promotes the decay of AU-rich element (ARE) containing mRNAs. Although KSRP is expressed in the developing and mature nervous system, very little is known about its role in regulating gene expression in the brain. In this study, we utilized in vitro binding and decay studies to examine whether KSRP regulates the stability of the GAP-43 transcript, an ARE-containing neuronal mRNA whose protein product plays a role in axonal growth and synaptic plasticity. We found KSRP destabilizes GAP-43 mRNA by binding to the GAP-43 ARE, a process that depends on the presence of the fourth …

Supporting Teachers' Use Of Nonfiction Text In The Primary Grades Classroom: One Practical Strategy, Renee Rice Moran

ETSU Faculty Works

The purpose of this article is to argue for the benefits of using nonfiction text in the primary grades classroom. Readers are provided with a brief theoretical framework which outlines how nonfiction may increase achieve,emt, motivation, and interest for young students. Additionally, practical strategies are included for classroom teachers which work to frontload and support students in the act of processing nonfiction text as well as increase teachers' comfort level with the implementation of a nonfiction unit of study.

Individual And Social Network Sexual Behavior Norms Of Homeless Youth At High Risk For Hiv Infection, Kimberly A. Tyler, Lisa A. Melander

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although previous research shows that homeless youth engage in numerous risky sexual behaviors, little is known about whether or not specific rules govern this conduct within their social networks and how group norms influence subsequent sexual actions. The current study utilizes 19 in-depth interviews with homeless youth to investigate different elements of their sexual behavior. Findings reveal that their decision to have sex generally depends on chemistry and physical appearance whereas a potential partner’s risky sexual history and heavy substance use discourages youth from engaging in sex. Both males and females discuss condom usage as it relates to unknown sexual …

Interpersonal Counterproductive Work Behaviors: Distinguishing Between Person-Focused Versus Task-Focused Behaviors And Their Antecedents, Violet Ho

Management Faculty Publications

Purpose – This study proposes a nuanced perspective for conceptualizing interpersonal counterproductive work behaviors (ICWBs) by distinguishing them into behaviors that hinder other workers’ task performance (task-focused ICWBs), and those that are personal in nature (person-focused ICWBs). A relational stress perspective is adopted to examine work-based dependence relational stressor and negative-affect relational stressor as predictors of each category of behavior, with trait competitiveness as a moderator.

Design/methodology/approach – Deductive and inductive approaches were used to generate items measuring each type of ICWBs, and the two-factor ICWB structure was validated using data from 136 respondents. Data from a different sample of …

On The Interpretability Of Law: Lessons From The Decoding Of National Constitutions, James Melton, Zachary Elkins, Tom Ginsburg, Kalev Leetaru

Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper Series

An implicit element of many theories of constitutional enforcement is the degree to which those subject to constitutional law can agree on what its provisions mean (call this constitutional interpretability). Unfortunately, there is little evidence on baseline levels of constitutional interpretability or the variance therein. This article seeks to fill this gap in the literature, by assessing the effect of contextual, textual and interpreter characteristics on the interpretability of constitutional documents. Constitutions are found to vary in their degree of interpretability. Surprisingly, however, the most important determinants of variance are not contextual (for example, era, language or culture), but textual. …