Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Assessing The Toxicity Of A Reconstituted Water Simulating Streams Influenced By Mountaintop Mining In Central Appalachia, Benjamin David Browning

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Freshwater ecosystems in Central Appalachia experience increased concentrations of manganese (Mn) and total dissolved solids from the runoff of surface mines and valley fills. Biological communities have been impacted by these surface mining operations and it has been suggested that the increase in total dissolved solids may contribute to these negative effects, but standard laboratory toxicity tests have not found increased concentrations of total dissolved solids to have such negative effects as seen in the field. The elevated total dissolved solids in mining influenced streams may only be toxic in conjunction with another toxicant that is presence in these systems …

Environmental Participation And Evaluation On Marshall University's Campus, Noah Adkins Smentkowski

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Encouraging environmental awareness and engagement on Marshall University’s campus is a fundamental goal of the institution’s Sustainability Department. In working with the department, this study sought to describe the student body’s perceptions, opinions, and rates of environmentally friendly behaviors on campus. In addition to describing the desired population, analysis was conducted to identify what factors influence pro-environmental behaviors within students to produce more effective messaging and engagement strategies for the Sustainability Department. Through the lens of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), individual action is produced by behavioral intent, influenced by an individual’s values, norms, and perceived situational control. Measures …

Development Of Culturing Methods For Native Mayfly Taxa For Use In Laboratory Toxicity Testing, Kevin Nicholas Rowsey

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Salinity is increasing in freshwaters throughout the world due to anthropogenic impacts with the implication of the increases to biological communities only now being realized. Declining mayfly populations in Appalachian streams have generated increased interest in elevated dissolved solids in that region and their effect on benthic macroinvertebrates, particularly the sensitive Ephemeroptera taxa. Field and laboratory evaluations have indicated high sensitivity of mayflies to elevated dissolved solids. The research described herein is part of an ongoing effort to provide opportunity for toxicity testing with native mayflies in the laboratory. A successful endeavor would establish mayfly sensitivity to total dissolved solids …

A Durkheimian Analysis Of Anomie And Deviance In The National Football League: An Exploratory Case Study, Eric M. Carter

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to determine whether Durkheim’s concept of anomie applies to National Football League players. This study was an attempt to discover if and why NFL players are more likely to commit deviant acts. Why do these players that seemingly have everything throw their lives away by committing crimes? This study attempts to address these questions by linking Durkheim’s classic anomie theory with the deviance in the NFL.

In Durkheim’s book, The Division of Labour in Society (1893), anomie emerges through society’s transition from mechanical to organic solidarity. In this, economic change is too fast for …

Re-Evaluating The Major Stressors Of Policing, James Walter Carter Ii

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In this study, a sample of 37 officers employed with the Huntington Police Department, a medium-sized Appalachian police department, were sampled about the stressfulness and frequency of selected items from Sewell’s Life Events Scale. From the responses to the survey items, a scale was created to assess the combined effects of frequency and stressfulness. Respondents were also asked to indicate what percentage of their total accumulated job-related stress was generated by each of Barker and Carter’s generic stressors of policing. Several group differences were found. A ranking of stressors was developed for the frequency, stress, the combined scales and compared …