Digital Commons Network^™

Real Women? Gender And Race In Prime Time Police Shows, Rondrek Juwayne Cowans

Dissertations

For the past 25 years, reality shows, in particular, police reality shows has figured prominently in American culture as a true representation of police/criminal interactions. This dissertation is a case study that examined the portrayal of African Americans as criminals on the police reality show entitled The Police Women of Cincinnati, Memphis, Dallas, Maricopa County (Phoenix, AZ) and Broward County (Ft. Lauderdale, FL). The cities were chosen because they represent the entire five seasons that the series has been on television. This particular police reality show was also chosen due to its mirror image of local and national television newscasts. …

Fleeing East From Indian Country: State V. Eriksen And Tribal Inherent Sovereign Authority To Continue Cross-Jurisdictional Fresh Pursuit, Kevin Naud Jr.

Washington Law Review

In State v. Eriksen, the Washington State Supreme Court held that Indian tribes do not possess the inherent sovereign authority to continue cross-jurisdictional fresh pursuit and detain a non-Indian who violated the law on reservation land. This Comment argues the Eriksen Court’s reliance on RCW 10.92.020 is misplaced. RCW 10.92.020 is irrelevant to a consideration of sovereign authority. States do not have the authority to unilaterally define tribal power. A tribe retains sovereign powers not taken by Congress, given away in a treaty, or removed by implication of its dependent status. The Eriksen Court also misinterpreted the state statute …

The Banaban Resettlement: Implications For Pacific Environmental Migration, Gil Marvel P. Tabucanon

Pacific Studies

In the mid-1940s, Banaban Islanders relocated to Rabi Island in Fiji. The decision was the culmination of decades of phosphate mining on Banaba in colonial times. This article examines the context and long-term impacts of policies and legal frameworks relevant to the Banaban resettlement. The Banaban experience is a Significant case study because it involved relocation of an entire island population rather than individual or family migration, and the resettlement crossed international boundaries. Although the Banaban resettlement is unique and was contingent on peculiar colonial and factual circumstances it offers insights for environmental migration. Long-term preparation establishing trust funds, advance …

The Real Toy Story: The San Francisco Board Of Supervisors Healthy Food Incentives Ordinance, Cortney Price

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Obesity among children in the United States has tripled over the last thirty years. Incidentally, the world's largest fast food restaurant, McDonald's, first introduced its children's Happy Meal thirty-two years ago. Shortly thereafter, the first Disney inspired toy found its way into Happy Meals and the hearts of the "billions and billions served." Although the iconic Happy Meal and accompanying toy have become "a staple of Americana akin to baseball and apple pie," the continued existence of the practice is being threatened in light of the powerful influence toys have on children's food choices, thus contributing to the current obesity …

The Equilibrium Of Collective Wrongness Or The Effect Of Mindfulness On Advisor Performance After Market Dislocations, Philipp Hensler

Student Scholarship

We conducted, to our knowledge, the first empirical study of mindfulness with respect to financial advisors and their post 2008 financial crisis behavior. Our hypotheses were derived from semi-structured interviews with financial advisors, the results of which provided the framework for modeling advisor behavior in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Survey responses from 346 U.S. financial advisors revealed surprising insights about the effects of individual and organizational mindfulness on actual and perceived performance levels during the turbulent 2008-2012 period. Results suggest that mindful advisors affiliated with mindful firms deliver better client performance in dynamic markets. Less mindful advisors …

The Happy Memories Of North Korean Defectors: Discovering Personal Narratives Of Hidden Happiness Through Disintegrative Inquiry, Eric P. Foley

Student Scholarship

Thirty North Korean defectors were interviewed and asked to share happy memories from across their lifetimes. A "disintegrative" photo-album technique was used to facilitate rich descriptions while reducing pressure for narrative consistency. Eight narrative voices were identified: four master cultural narratives and four personal narrative constructions. Nineteen respondents initially reported life segments devoid of happy memories but each discovered "hidden happinesses" in response to simple reconsideration prompts from the interviewer. Hidden happinesses were primarily narrated in personal voice, with positive correlation found between hidden happiness discovery and time interval between leaving North Korea and arriving in South Korea. A grounded …

Work-Life Fusion: A Paradigm Shift In Understanding Work And Life Management: Scale Development, Validation, And Multigenerational Analysis, Donna L. Haeger

Student Scholarship

A Work-Life Fusion scale is introduced and developed to measure the extent to which people leverage technological tools both virtually and in face-to-face exchanges to concurrently manage work and life issues while at work. Subscales emerge from the data with strong reliability measures and rigorous techniques are employed to achieve validation. The scale is used as a resource to explore its impact on Work-Life Satisfaction, Job Satisfaction, and Psychological Job Control. Multi-group analysis across generations surfaces clear indication of a shift to a fused approach toward work and life management as cohorts become younger.

Overcoming Barriers In Affordable Housing Cross-Sector Collaborations, Jennifer R. Madden

Student Scholarship

Cross-sector collaboration is a viable strategy for addressing complex social problems like the lack of affordable housing. However, the literature tells us collaboration is difficult, complicated and discouraged by some scholars. Qualitative research involving 31 leaders participating in affordable housing cross-sector collaborations revealed despite size, sector or success, most collaborations for affordable housing encounter a common set of obstacles: funding, partner, community and/or government barriers. Key findings also suggest leaders of successful collaborations exhibited heightened emotional and social competencies, took actions for creating a better future, remained mission focused, and collaborations continuously redesigned to meet ongoing challenges.

Quality Statistics In Banking Reforms For National Transformation, Sarah O. Alade

CBN Journal of Applied Statistics (JAS)

This paper outlines the important role of statistics in aiding proper planning and achievement of sustainable economic development. The paper elaborates the importance of investing in quality and reliable statistics for policy design and implementation and stresses the vital role statistical information play in effective operation in both private and public sector in every economy. The role of quality, reliable and timely information to a well-functioning financial system and as a guide to monetary policy making is illustrated in the paper. The paper credits accurate statistical information to the success of the Nigerian banking sector reform. However, it suggests that …

The Relationship Of Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports (Pbis) On Co-Located Urban High Schools Infractions, Suspensions, School Progress Grade And The School Environment, Carolyn M. Tyson

Education Doctoral

The responsibility for school administrators to provide a safe school environment demonstrates institutional accountability under the regulations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Students who violate the safety component of the public school discipline code face suspensions and expulsions. On average, students spend more than 16 million hours a year serving suspensions. This quantitative study examined the effect of Sugai’s three-tiered Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework on co-located urban high schools. The study analyzed the relationship of the PBIS framework on the number of infractions, number of suspensions, …

Effects Of D-Galactose Treatment And Moderate Exercise On Spatial Memory In Rats, Amanda R. Austin

Dissertations

Cognitive decline is a process frequently associated with aging. Physical exercise appears to counteract cognitive decline, specifically spatial abilities, and decreases the effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) associated with aging. In addition, brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) are well recognized as chemical mediators of the neurophysiological benefits of exercise.

In order to study the impact of exercise on spatial memory and neurotrophic factors, this study utilized an animal model of accelerated aging involving chronic d-galactose administration. Specifically, previous research indicates daily injections of d-galactose for 6-10 weeks may increase ROS in mice and …

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 …

Separating Component Signals Of Episodic Simulation Using A Catch Trial Design, Adrian W. Gilmore

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Tasks that require mentally simulating events, such as remembering events from one’s past and imagining events from one’s future, have been shown to involve a highly overlapping set of brain regions. Across a growing number of studies, relatively few regions have been found that show differences in activity between remembered and imagined events. However, studies have not disambiguated neural activity related to task orientation: i.e., preparing to remember events from the past or imagine events in the future) from activity related simulating events, per se. The current experiment uses functional MRI and employs a catch trial design to test the …

Brain Structure In Older Adult Siblings, Nathaniel Lucena

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Considerable variability exists in patterns of brain aging within and across individuals. Quantifying familial contributions to brain structure in late life may help us understand this variability. We estimated heritability of gray and white matter volumes and cortical thickness in a sample of older adult full siblings: 2-4 individuals per pedigree; N = 75). Estimation of heritability was based on computation of intraclass correlations. Heritability estimates were higher for total cortical thickness compared to volumes. There was no evidence of overall laterality in heritability estimates, or differences between primary sensory and association regions. There was a tendency for lower estimates …

The Role Of Loneliness And Life Events: Comparing Avoidant And Borderline Personality Features And Their Relation To Depression, Janine Galione

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Personality disorders are theoretically and empirically linked to experiencing high negative affect, such as depression, and individuals with features from some personality disorders, such as borderline: BDL) and avoidant: AVD), are hyper-responsive to rejection. Loneliness has also been established as a vulnerability to the onset of depressive episodes and as an outcome to rejection sensitivity, however the relationship between personality pathology and loneliness is still unclear. The purpose of this study is to compare whether AVD and BDL features might be differentially associated with depression scores by analyzing the interaction with life events and loneliness. We studied a representative, community-based …

Acute Exercise And Its Effect On Cognitive Performance In Sleep Deprived Individuals: A Review Of Literature., Jennifer Nicole Miller

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This literature review observes seven different studies that researched the effects of exercise on some measure of cognitive or psychological performance when sleep deprived. The purpose of this review is to consolidate the results of various exercise protocols on the effects of sleep deprivation to make a general conclusion regarding the effect on cognition. This will give insight into the future of research regarding how exercise may combat performance decrements seen when sleep deprived. There are several inconsistencies among current research concerning exercise and sleep deprivation; a standard needs to be created so the results of these studies can be …

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.