Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of Item Saliency And Question Design On Measurement Error In A Self-Administered Survey, Michael J. Stern, Jolene D. Smyth, Jeanette Mendez

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Recent survey design research has shown that small changes in the structure and visual layout of questions can affect respondents’ answers, but the results are not always consistent across studies. One possible reason for some of the inconsistency may be differences in the item saliency of the questions used in the experiments. In this article, the authors examine how item saliency might influence visual design effects. The authors report the results of three experimental alterations in question format and visual design using data from a 2005 random sample mail survey of 1,315 households. The results suggest that the saliency of …

Predictors Of Juvenile Court Dispositions In A First-Time Offender Population, Karen C. Kalmbach, Phillip M. Lyons

Psychology Faculty Publications (Archived)

Scholars and policy makers have long been troubled by the potential for some youth to receive disparate sanctioning as a function of extralegal factors, especially against the backdrop of ethnic/racial minority group overrepresentation in the juvenile justice system as a whole. Beginning in the late 1990s, many states began to adopt a graduated sanctions model in response to the emerging ‘get tough’ zeitgeist of the day. Originally intended by the federal government to reinforce juvenile accountability and to ensure equitable treatment of all youth in custody, some stakeholders began to note concerns about uneven outcomes in the use of graduated …

My Sister, Our Stories: Exploring The Lived Experience Of School Leavers Through Narrative And Poetics, C. Amelia Davis, Jennifer L. Pepperell

Curriculum, Foundations & Reading: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to explore the educational experiences of two adult female siblings who are both school leavers. Through the use of thematic narrative analysis, sibling narratives and poetic re-presentations, their stories were developed. These stories represent the participants’ experiences of prior schooling and their current commitments to education. While each story conveyed a profound similarity in terms of prior schooling, contrasting narratives were illustrated through description of transitional moments and sibling relationship. The analysis also explored the intersections of race, gender,and social class within educative moments of the life experiences of the participants.

Mindfulness And The Art Of Living Creatively: Cultivating A Creative Life By Minding Our Mind, Satinder Dhiman

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

This paper studies the role of mindful creativity in life and at work. It explores the relationship between mindfulness as a creative process and the concept of flow, suggesting that the Buddhist meditative practice of mindfulness contributes to the successful attainment of both of these experiences. It utilizes the Buddhist construct of mindfulness as a framework to approach the works of Langer, a Harvard psychologist, and Csikszentmihalyi, who popularized the concept of flow. This author had the privilege of interviewing Csikszentmihalyi and Langer recently. For Langer, total engagement and immersion in everything done is the key to mindful creativity, which …

Service Learning In Higher Education Exercise Science Programs, Wendy Bjerke Ph.D.

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Service Learning in Higher Education Exercise Science Programs

ABSTRACT

Research Category

INTRODUCTION: Service Learning (SL) describes teaching methods that incorporate student service activities with specific learning objectives. SL has been applied to allied health higher education programs.

PURPOSE: To determine the applicability of SL to exercise science courses. SL data associated with an undergraduate course in exercise physiology serving a local fire department is examined.

METHODS: Among 90 firefighters, resting heart rate, blood pressure, estimated relative VO2 max, body composition, lower extremity power, upper body strength, flexibility, and perceived stress was assessed pre and post an education and physical …

Exploring The Relationships Of Perceived Discrimination, Anger, And Aggression Among North American Indigenous Adolescents, Kelley J. Sittner Hartshorn, Les B. Whitbeck, Dan R. Hoyt

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

A growing body of research has documented associations between discrimination, anger, and delinquency, but the exact nature of these associations remains unclear. Specifically, do aggressive behaviors emerge over time as a consequence of perceived discrimination and anger? Or do adolescents who engage in aggressive behavior perceive that they are being discriminated against and become angry? We use autoregressive cross-lagged path analysis on a sample of 692 Indigenous adolescents (mean age = 12 years) from the Northern Midwest and Canada to answer these research questions. Results showed that the direction of effects went only one way; both perceived discrimination and anger …

A Cluster Analysis Of Service Utilization And Incarceration Among Homeless Youth, Lisa A. Kort-Butler, Kimberly A. Tyler

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Our paper examines service usage (e.g., shelter) as well as a typology of individuals who are most likely to use groupings of services among 249 homeless youth. Our results revealed that the majority of homeless young people have used food programs (66%) and street outreach (65%) on at least one occasion within the past year. Cluster analysis of services revealed four distinct groups: (1) basic survival service use, characterized by above average shelter, food, and outreach service use, but below average on counseling, substance abuse/ mental health services, and incarceration; (2) multiple service use, which included above average use of …

Adolescent Violent Victimization And Precocious Union Formation, Danielle C. Kuhl, David F. Warner, Andrew Wilczak

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This article bridges scholarship in criminology and family sociology by extending arguments about “precocious exits” from adolescence to consider early union formation as a salient outcome of violent victimization for youths. Research indicates that early union formation is associated with several negative outcomes; yet the absence of attention to union formation as a consequence of violent victimization is noteworthy. We address this gap by drawing on life course theory and data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine the effect of violent victimization (“street” violence) on the timing of first coresidential union formation—differentiating between marriage …

Estimating The Size Of The Methamphetamine-Using Population In New York City Using Network Sampling Techniques, Kirk Dombrowski, Bilal Khan, Travis Wendel, Katherine Mclean, Evan Misshula, Ric Curtis

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

As part of a recent study of the dynamics of the retail market for methamphetamine use in New York City, we used network sampling methods to estimate the size of the total networked population. This process involved sampling from respondents’ list of co-use contacts, which in turn became the basis for cap-ture-recapture estimation. Recapture sampling was based on links to other respondents derived from demographic and “telefunken” matching procedures–the latter being an anonymized version of telephone number matching. This paper describes the matching process used to discover the links between the solic-ited contacts and project respondents, the capture-recapture calculation, the …

Marriage Fraud, Kerry Abrams

Faculty Scholarship

This Article examines the astonishing array of doctrines used to determine what constitutes marriage fraud. It begins by locating the traditional nineteenth-century annulment-by-fraud doctrine within the realm of contract fraud, observing that in the family law context fraudulent marriages were voidable solely at the option of the injured party. The Article then explains how, in the twentieth century, a massive expansion of public benefits tied to marriage prompted new marriage fraud doctrines to develop in various areas of the law, shifting the concept of the injured party from the defrauded spouse to the public at large. It proposes a framework …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Transformational Leadership Tendencies And Safety Outcomes In Selected Manufacturing Settings, Barbara J. Boroughf

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Each year about 6 to 8 percent of the U.S. workforce sustains a work related injury of which 3 to 4 percent of the injured population ends up losing time from work due to the severity of the injury (National Safety Council [NSC], 2011). According to the NSC Injury Facts (2011), every 147 minutes in the United States, a worker will be fatally injured, and every six seconds a worker will sustain an injury that is serious enough to require medical treatment. There is a wide variability in safety performance among organizations. Studies have found there is a relationship between …

Bullying, Cyberbullying, Incivility, And Sexual Harassment: A Spectrum Of Interpersonal Mistreatment, Christine D. Love

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the growing occurrence of deadly shootings on college campuses (Jenson, 2007), campus administrators have placed emphasis on early detection of potentially dangerous students. One indicator of possible violence is perpetration of uncivil or aggressive behaviors (Clark, 2008a; Kolanko et al., 2006). Placing behaviors on a spectrum of interpersonal mistreatment can provide cues to behaviors that could escalate into greater violence. The main purpose of this study was to determine whether bullying, cyberbullying, incivility, and sexual harassment directed at faculty members occurs on such a spectrum and as separate or overlapping constructs. Factor analyses were conducted on frequency of occurrence …

Effects Of Message Interactivity Upon Relational Maintenance Strategy In Digital Communications Between Organizations And The Public, Zhan-Qing Liu

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Digital communication between organizations and the public is strategically important in shaping mutual understanding and long term relationship. The primary focus of this project was to investigate the relationship between message interactivity and relational maintenance strategy in the email communication process on organization websites. At issue is to what extent message interactivity and relational maintenance strategy is purposefully incorporated in email responses to public inquiries and consequently, to what extent such interactivity is potentially related to the quality of communication in terms of relationship maintenance. An experimental approach was used to exchange emails with randomly selected 2011 Fortune 500 companies …

Examining The Impact Parental Educational Attainment Has On Students' Perceptions Of Residence Hall Living, Joshua D. Lawrie

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study sought to examine the impact parentalEducational attainment had on how students perceived their residence hall environment. This multi-campus study utilized the University Residence Environment Scale, along with a demographic form to gather data. The study occurred on three campuses during the Spring 2012 semester and had 347 participants. The findings suggest there were no differences in how parentalEducational attainment impacted participants' perspectives of the residence hall. ParentalEducational attainment was a significant factor when coded only as two options (i.e. college degree, no college degree). Additional results were that gender and ethnicity played a role in how students …

Internship Design And Its Impact On Intrinsic Motivation And Student Career Choice., Paul Stansbie

Plymouth Business School Theses

This study examines the role experiential education, in the form of internships, plays in the professional development of Hospitality and Tourism Management students. Through an appraisal of the literature, it outlines the many benefits available to direct and indirect stakeholders through the facilitation of a structured, work based learning experience. In particular, it analyses the internship through an evaluation of job design by applying both Hackman and Oldham’s (1975a) Job Characteristics Model (JCM) and developing a proposed intern’s version of that model. The outcomes demonstrate that dimensions of the work undertaken do contribute significantly to an individual’s satisfaction and intrinsic …

An Empirical Study Into Uk Customer Expectations Of Dining Out In Relation To Meal Cost, Christina Westhead

Plymouth Business School Theses

The continued growth of the UK dining out industry, and the unceasing trend in popularity for customers to spend time and money eating outside the home, has led to an increase in the number of dining out establishments, and competition between businesses. Although there have been studies examining aspects of the restaurant industry and food consumption outside the home, very little research has looked specifically at customer expectations. Therefore, this thesis examines customer expectations associated with the meal experience in relation to the varying costs of dining out opportunities. In addition, the study reflects on customers’ socio-economic characteristics combined with …

Resources And Instructional Strategies Effective Middle School Science Teachers Use To Improve Content Area Reading Skills, Melanie S. Beaver

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the resources and instructional strategies effective middle school science teachers use to improve content area reading skills. Reading instruction in the middle school years should follow the natural cognitive progression that occurs in the adolescent brain from learning to read to reading to learn. Scientific reading is a different type of reading than most middle school students are accustomed to. It is important to understand that students will continue to be expected to read non-fiction critically for success in the 21st century. Effective teachers know this, and they perceive themselves as teachers of reading regardless of the …

Factors Affecting The Governance Of Innovation Commercialization: A Theoretical Model, Datta Avimanyu, Richard Reed, Len Jessup

Business Faculty Publications

The ability to commercialize innovations is central to firm survival and success and despite research on parts of the process, there is no overarching framework. Successful commercialization can include retaining ownership of the innovation and bringing it to market, sharing it by licensing or developing it with partners, or by selling it. A firm-level model is constructed that goes from innovation sourcing, through assessment of viability, to selection of the optimum form of governance. External networks and absorptive capacity at the meso level, plus micro- and macro-level factors, as moderators affecting the strength of the relationship between viability and governance …

Nyar Savannah Program 2012, National Youth-At-Risk Conference, Savannah

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

N/A

Art Therapy In A Bereavement Camp Setting To Aid In Emotional Expression And Processing Of Loss, Rebecca Snyder

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the effects of art therapy on children ages six to eight who have experienced the loss of a loved one. Children experience death in ways that are different from adults due to their level of development. Research indicates that children benefit from creative approaches to processing the death of a loved one as they can rely on symbolic language rather than the use of words. Within this study, art therapy sessions were implemented at a weekend long bereavement camp in order to increase knowledge about the effects of art …

Empowering Equity In Postsecondary Transition For Marginalized Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students With Disabilities By Implementing A Culturally Responsive Summary Of Performance Teacher Training And Support Program, Rebekka Joanne Jez

Doctoral Dissertations

Marginalized culturally and linguistically diverse students with special needs often struggle after high school. Many special educators are unaware of legal mandates and best practice in postsecondary transition, especially the intricate needs when working this group. The culturally responsive Summary of Performance (CRSOP) training and support program was designed to inform and support teachers in self-determination and culturally responsive practices while transitioning students from high school. Five teachers and seven students in a large urban district were interviewed and surveyed before and after the CRSOP training and support program to evaluate the effectiveness of the CRSOP teacher training. Teachers reported …

Pluralism On Appeal, Paul Gugliuzza

Faculty Scholarship

In a thoughtful response to my article, Rethinking Federal Circuit Jurisdiction, Ori Aronson notes that judges “work in context, be it social, cultural, or...institutional,” and that “context matters” to their decisions. Indeed, the primary aim of my article was to spur a conversation about the context in which the judges of the Federal Circuit — who have near plenary control over U.S. patent law — decide cases. That context includes many matters in narrow areas of law that bear little relation to the innovation and economic concerns that should animate patent law. To inject those concerns into the court’s province, …

Overdetermined Atrocities, James G. Stewart

All Faculty Publications

An event is overdetermined if there are multiple sufficient causes for its occurrence. A firing squad is a classic illustration. If eight soldiers are convened to execute a prisoner, they can all walk away afterwards in the moral comfort that “I didn’t really make a difference; it would have happened without me.” The difficulty is, if we are only responsible for making a difference to harm occurring in the world, none of the soldiers is responsible for the death — none made, either directly or through others, an essential contribution to its occurrence. In many respects, this dilemma is the …

Prospects For Scalability: Relationships And Uncertainty In Responsive Regulation, Cristie Ford

All Faculty Publications

Ian Ayres’s and John Braithwaite’s book Responsive Regulation: Transcending the Regulatory Debate (1992) gave us many significant insights. The book has transcended its own time. At the same time, on the 20th anniversary of its publication, two things about Responsive Regulation are striking. The first is the direct, personal relationship on which the regulatory interaction is premised. The second is the boundedness and manageability of the regulatory project. At least in prudential regulation of global financial institutions in the wake of the recent financial crisis (though surely elsewhere too), neither of these features can be taken for granted. This brief …

Order And Disorder: Rational Acumen And Emotional Incompetence In The Television Detective Story, E. Deidre Pribram Ph.D.

Communications: Faculty Publications

‘Order and Disorder’ examines the relationship between emotional disorders and the exquisite rationality of contemporary televisions detectives as portrayed in such series as Monk (USA), House (Fox), and Cracker (ITV). Television heroes who combine both emotionality and rationality would seem a more integrated form of human characterization. However, the permitted configuration of emotion and reason is highly constrained. Theirs is an ongoing struggle between thinking and feeling, in which rationality is their gift and emotionality, depicted as illness, is the constant curse that both threatens and enables their gift. These characters’ conflicts become a barometer for contemporary attitudes about emotional …

Challenging Technicism: Space For The Individual Bureaucrat In Public Administration Theory And Practice, Nicole M. Elias

Publications and Research

Participation in PAT-Net 2011 led me to rethink some basic assumptions surrounding public administration theory and what constitutes knowledge in public administration scholarship and practice. My reflection responds to the major questions posed during the Ph.D. Student Workshop on "Writing Theory in a Technicist Field": specifically, why a technicist attitude is so pervasive in a democratic society and what alternatives have been posited for confronting technicism to advance theoretical and critical scholarship.

The Politics Of Abortion Policy In The Heterogeneous "Muslim World", Anissa Helie

Publications and Research

Legal frameworks inspired by Muslim jurisprudence (also referred to as Shari’a) regulate the lives of as many as 600 million women around the world, a majority of them living in Asia. Personal Status Codes or Family Codes impact various aspects of women’s status as citizens, professionals, wives, mothers, etc.

As in many other, non-Muslim contexts, questions linked to women’s bodies tend to generate fierce debates especially in the arena of reproductive rights. A number of women’s rights defenders from Muslim societies have noted that Family Codes often become more restrictive where conservative and/or extremist religious voices are able to influence, …

Policing Gender, Sexuality And ‘Muslimness’, Anissa Helie

Publications and Research

In her Introduction to the book Sexuality in Muslim Contexts: Restrictions and Resistance (ZED Book, UK), Anissa Helie discusses the notion of "Muslimness" and how such a homogenizing notion, if unchallenged, may serve to justify the policing of sexuality in various Muslim countries and communities.

The book itself looks at emerging trends that affect women’s sexuality, with a particular focus on Asia and the Middle East, and documents both the curtailing of sexual rights occurring in diverse Muslim societies and the strategies designed to counter these developments.

Yet this focus in no way suggests that the policing of gender and …

Leveraging Learning To Improve Disaster Management Outcomes, Denise D. P. Thompson

Publications and Research

Disaster management agencies should be exemplars of learning given the volatility of their operating environment. However, there are cognitive, social, and organizational barriers that prevent these organizations from learning. The purpose of this article is to use the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) as an example of an organization that achieves double-loop learning in spite of known barriers. This research shows significant learning variations in the CDEMA organization from the regional to the national level. The results demonstrate that the CDEMA Coordinating Unit and a few national member agencies achieve double-loop learning, while the opposite is true for …

Understanding Delinquency With Friendship Group Religious Context, Amy Adamczyk

Publications and Research

While much research has examined the link between personal religious beliefs and practices and delinquency, little research attention has been given to the influence of friends’ religious beliefs for explaining teen delinquency. This study fills this gap in the literature by examining the role of individual and friends’ religious beliefs and born-again identity for shaping delinquency. Methods. Two waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and measures taken from individuals and their friends are used to examine the influence of individual and friends’ religiosity and born-again identity for violent and property offending. Results. Friends’ private religiosity …