Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Framework For Designing Of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Network, Shengyin Li

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The lack of sufficient public charging stations for electric vehicles has long been recognized as a major hinder for massive adoption of electric vehicles (EV). This dissertation aims to develop a framework for designing charging station infrastructure networks that electric vehicle with limited travel range can be recharge en-route to complete trips to destinations and then would facilitate the adoption of electric vehicles. The rest part of this dissertation is concerned with modeling travel range of electric vehicle and users behavior of deviating from their most preferred routes when siting charging stations. The proposed multi-path refueling location model provides the …

Leisure, Obesity And Weight Loss: An Exploration Of Leisure, The Public Health Ecological Model Of Obesity And Identity Theory, Weber Player

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Obesity is a global health crisis with complex causal relationships. From the mid 1990s to 2010, obesity related research in the clinical and social sciences has exploded. This expansion has resulted in a proliferation of obesity-related articles published in top-tier journals and the creation of new journals solely devoted to obesity research. In contrast within leisure scholarship, a review of leisure journals reveals that published research on the relationship of leisure, obesity and weight loss is minimal. However, numerous leisure scholarship/theory principles are relevant to obesity prevention and treatment. Similarly, public health officials have developed numerous systems-oriented multilevel framework models …

Examining The Space-Time Constraints Concept On Tourist Behavior For Visitors To The South Carolina Coastal Area Of The United States, Sanghoon Kang

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This dissertation explored three themes with regard to the spatial aspects of tourist behavior, conducting three independent analyses. For these analyses, this dissertation research adapted Shoval's (2012) definition of the space-time constraints concept developed by Hagerstrand (1970): the purpose of trip (i.e., authority constraints), the length of visit (i.e., capability constraints), and the composition of travel party (i.e., coupling constraints). The purposes of the three analyses were to examine the relationships 1) between the space-time constraints and the spatial patterns of travel; 2) between ICT use (i.e., smartphones) and the spatial patterns of travel, space-time constraints, tourists' unplanned destination visits, …

An Examination Of Psychological Climate Linking Mechanisms Across The Strategic Priorities Of Health And Stress, Alec Munc

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Given that employee health and well-being represent a significant source of financial costs for organizations, this dissertation seeks to address some of the pathways through which organizational efforts to improve physical and mental health may operate. This study drew from a model of safety climate (Neal & Griffin, 2000) to propose that psychological climate exerts in influence on employee health and well-being through the joint moderators of knowledge/motivation and behaviors. The model also extended beyond the typical climate linking mechanisms to include moderators both individual (behavioral activation & behavioral inhibition systems) and contextual (workplace physical exposure). Using a two-wave prospective …

Estimating The Effect Of Extended And Emergency Unemployment Benefits On The Long-Term Unemployed, James Jones

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Unemployment insurance is designed to help workers smooth consumption in the event of a negative employment shock. These benefits are traditionally funded and administrated by the individual states and territories of the United States. The depth and severity of the “Great Recession” that started in December of 2007 and ended in June of 2009 was such that, Congress was compelled on multiple occasions to extend those benefits. Legislation during this period extended the duration of unemployment benefits to the longest period in history, as unemployed individuals in many states could receive up to 99 weeks of unemployment compensation. The policy …

Soviet Launch Of Sputnik: Sputnik-Inspired Educational Reform And Changes In Private Returns In America, Hyeonggu Cha

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On October 4th 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world’s first man-made satellite, Sputnik 1, into an elliptical low Earth orbit. This surprise triggered an arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union, and science-oriented educational reform in the U.S. The Sputnik swung off of the U.S. in military, politics, policies, and education. The Sputnik woke Americans up from complacency came from technology, science, and educational superiority. Educational reform started with emphasizing science and defense education and it was expanded to educations at all level. Early reforms, National Science Foundation (NSF), National Defense Education Act (NDEA) of 1958, …

The Impact Of Co-Workers On Safety Outcomes: Comparing Models Of Mediation, Moderation, And Incremental Effects, Anna Mcfadden

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The current study examined the role of co-worker support for safety within the broader context of perceived safety climate predicting safety behavior and outcomes for the mobile worker population of team truck drivers. Namely, the mediation, moderation, and incremental direct effects of co-worker support for safety were tested. The current study examined 366 team truck drivers from a single trucking company. Results indicated that co-worker support for safety did not moderate the relationship between safety climate perceptions and behavior and injury outcomes. However, co-worker support for safety did partially mediate the relationship between safety climate perceptions and safety behavior. Additionally, …

Entrepreneurship, Creativity, And Local Food Systems: Essays On Regional Economic Development In South Carolina, Kristen Lientz

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Within the existing economic development literature, there is a well-established linkage between the presence of skilled human capital and economic growth. A subset of this literature has focused on the role that a specific type of skilled human capital, known as the “creative class,” may play in facilitating regional economic development. This dissertation builds upon the existing creative class literature by examining the factors that have attracted the creative class to the state of South Carolina. In addition, this research gives special attention to the entrepreneurial activities of creative class professionals who engage in small-scale farming. Recent interest surrounding the …

Tomorrow's Leading Ladies: How Core Self-Evaluations, Leadership Perceptions, And Social Support Influence Young Women's Leadership Aspirations, Lauren Ellis

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Given that women are an underrepresented population in organizational leadership, the purpose of this dissertation was to understand the forces driving college-aged women’s leadership aspirations. Using a two-study design, the current research sought to understand the influence that internal (psychological) and external (social) factors can have on a young woman’s desire to lead. In Study One, which included 228 college-aged female participants, results indicated there was a significant, positive between Core Self Evaluations (CSE) and leadership aspirations and provided partial support for the mediating effects of leadership fit on the CSE-aspiration relationship. Results from Study One failed to support the …

Understanding Group Cohesion Of Festival And Events Attendees Satifaction And Intention To Revisit, Younsuk Kong

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Festivals and events provide a venue for individuals to relax, to spend time with their family, to escape from the daily demands of modern life, to enjoy themselves and to socialize as a way to enhance their quality of life. In addition, many leaders have used festival and events for the economic development of their communities (Getz & Frisby, 1988). However, according to Petrick and Li (2006), this research has been limited to topics associated with marketing, management and economic impact. For example, Finkel, McGillivaray, McPherson, & Robinson (2013) pointed out that scholars have investigated the relationships between festival and …

Analytics In The Atp, Christopher Pillitere

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This paper applies data analysis used in the major team sports to the Association of Tennis Professional (ATP). A linear regression model is used to determine the aspects of the professional tennis most relevant to player success. Special focus is given to the effect of a player’s overreliance on his serving performance. The available data (1991-2014) is divided into two periods in an effort to observe any differences between the era dominated by Pete Sampras and the era dominated by Roger Federer. The results from the former period indicate the same effect on player success of first and second serving …

Therapeutic Riding And Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Program Evaluation, Brenna Goodwin

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Therapeutic riding is a commonly used therapeutic approach for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Research supports therapeutic riding for children with ASD; however, the effect of specific sub-types of therapeutic riding (e.g., therapeutic riding drill team) has been under investigated. Furthermore, the role of self-efficacy and other programmatic components (e.g., interaction with horses, interaction with other participants, etc.) of therapeutic riding programs have not been studied, especially among children with ASD. This study evaluated a therapeutic riding drill team for children with ASD to determine if and to what extent self-efficacy and other program components were present. Three forms …

The Factors Determining The Quantity Of Taxies - An Empirical Analysis Of Cities In China, Yunzi Zhu

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The inefficient allocation of transport capacity in the taxi industry leads to the imbalance between the demand and supply of taxies. This paper tries to investigate the influencing factors on the quantity of taxies from the perspective of the demand. It is based on the empirical analysis and assumes that the quantity of buses (Bus), average wage per citizens (AW), population density (PD), road density (RD), the availability of subways (SW) and the e-hailing application (EH) co-determine the quantity of taxies. Under the assumption, I collected the data in 287 cities from 2010 to 2013 and put them into the …

"She Just Wanted To Get With An Athlete": The Effects Of Race And Status On The Public's Perception Of Guilt In Sexual Assault Cases, Katie Barnes

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This thesis explored the effects of race and athlete status on the public’s perceptions of guilt in sexual assault cases. It investigated how race and athlete status of a man accused of sexually assaulting a woman affected the perceived believability of the accuser and the perceived severity of the crime. It also explored the correlation between perceived guilt and rape myth acceptance. The results of this thesis did not directly support the hypotheses but hypothesis 4 was significant in suggesting that participants who gave any of the accused a lower guilt rating had higher levels of rape myth acceptance. The …

The Impact Of China's "West To East" Electricity Transmission Project On Energy Poverty, Xiaotian Chen

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Energy poverty, which means that people can't get enough energy for daily life, is one of the big problems in rural place of Northwest region of China. The government wants to solve the problem with a large-scale electricity transmission project named "West to East". The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the impact of "West to East" project on the reduction of energy poverty in Shaanxi province in China through the analysis of 119 counties between the years 2003 to 2015. Since residential electricity price are set by the government at artificially low levels, an alternative measure is constructed …

The Mediating Effects Of Positive Psychological States On The Relationships Between Hindrance Stressors And Organizational Citizenship Behaviors: A Multi-Level Approach, Kandice Goguen

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Organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) are informal and voluntary behaviors that positively contribute to organizational functioning (Organ 1997; Katz & Kahn, 1978). To better understand and encourage such behaviors, the present study investigated the influence of hindrance stressors and positive psychological states in the workplace. Responses from a sample of university employees were analyzed to examine the individual and unit-level effects of role ambiguity, organizational constraints, and lack of job control on individual-level supervisor-rated OCBs through individual and unit-level positive psychological states. Results showed that each hindrance stressor negatively influenced OCB participation directly and through decreased positive psychological states at the …

An Analysis Of Major League Soccer: Competitive Balance And Wage Dispersion, William Hobbs Iii

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Major League Soccer is in a transitional state which may see it projected into the realm of international relevancy, competing with European soccer. This transition is fueled by contracting renowned superstars from Europe via the designated player (DP) rule. This study examines implications of the DP rule on competitive balance (CB) of the league and wage dispersion among teams. The effect of the rule on CB is inconclusive in the model constructed, but propositions of a more appropriate CB measure are presented for future research. The DP rule has caused higher levels of salary dispersion within the league and this …

The Ink Transfer And Image Definition Differences Between Elastomer And Photopolymer Printing Systems, Jason Palmer

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With recent advancements in elastomer imaging and plate technologies, a study comparing the ink transfer and image definition characteristics of the current flexographic printing systems was conducted. Using a number of print metrics across a variety of testing conditions, overall results suggested that the elastomer printing system laid down more ink and produced shaper printing than the photopolymer printing system. In particular, the elastomer printing system showed greater solid ink densities for the solvent and aqueous ink printing conditions, while the photopolymer printing system showed higher values in the ultraviolet ink printing conditions. Results across conditions also revealed that the …

The Cold Driver: Driving Performance Under Thermal Stress, Drew Morris

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Exposure to cold environments can impact complex task performance and increase cognitive and physiological error in response to thermal stress. Critically, the task of driving a vehicle requires the use of calibrated mental and physical actions to be conducted safely without error. Few studies have examined the effects of cold stress on driving performance and none have explored the potential for advanced driver safety systems to detect error. Active vehicle safety systems which monitor dangerous driving behavior due to drowsiness have been researched and developed, though technology associated with thermal stressed driving error is unexplored. The current study examined the …

Community Facilities And The Health Of Older Adults In China, Jingyuan Xu

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Previous research has indicated that there is an association between community characteristics and health status among older adults, but the mechanisms underlying this relationship, and what factors may moderate this relationship are unclear. This study attempts to fill this gap by assessing whether physical/social activities mediate the relationship between community facilities and the health of older adults using CHARLS 2011 survey including 6,651 older adults in China. In addition, this study tests gender differences in this relationship. Communities are primarily operationalized using government-defined boundaries. Health status is characterized by overall self-rated health and functional limitation. As predicted, this study found …

A Study Of Change From Draft To All Volunteer Military: Analyzing Patriotism, Sensation Seeking, Value Of Money, Use Of Force And Intention To Join The Military, Selcuk Sami

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The current study has explored some incentives for young people to enlist in the military in the context of a national transformation into all-volunteer force from draft system. Specifically, in this study, I examined how strongly patriotism, sensation seeking, value of money for people, use of force in military interventions and intentions to join the military affect young people's behavior to enlist in the military. The Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991) was used as a part of the model in this study. This study also looked for differences on intentions to enlist in the military among young people who …

How Much Is Your Home Worth? Essays On Housing Value And Its Determinants, Anne Anders

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This first chapter uses neighborhood vacancies as a proxy for foreclosures and examines their impact on the value of surrounding neighborhood properties.

Often, the negative spillover of a foreclosure results from decay of the foreclosed property. Existence of a foreclosure within a neighborhood is proxied for by a vacant structure within 300 feet of the observed unit, resulting in a lower bound foreclosure externality.

Using the special neighbor sample of the American Housing Sample waves 1985, 1989 and 1993, small neighborhoods are observed and categorized into racially different neighborhoods (black, integrated or white neighborhood). Additionally, neighborhood-specific averages are constructed, such …

Essays On The Financial Crisis, Financial Regulation, And Banks, Danielle Zanzalari

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The conventional wisdom was that the Capital Purchase Program (CPP), under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), would benefit large banks over small sized banks, magnifying the claim that banks were 'Too Big to Fail'. In my first chapter, I examine whether investors react differently to important news regarding the CPP, depending on the asset size of banks. Using returns to common stock shareholders, I analyze the CPP announcement, bank capital infusions, and repayments and find that large banks, regardless of whether or not they entered into the CPP program and received capital, had large and significant returns at the …

An Embedded Case Study Of The Proposed Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Statute & The Proposed Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Statute, James Vines

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The purpose of this explanatory, embedded case study was to understand why the proposed Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention statute and the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment statute did not passed. The data for the study was conducted through direct observations of congressional committee hearings, document analysis and open-ended interviews. The proposed Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention statute addresses cyberbullying by imposing criminal sanctions. The proposed Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Statute seeks to provide federal grants to institutions of higher education to implement anti-harassment programs. The findings revealed that vague terminology, language dealing with LGBT people and sexual orientation as well …

Disability Status, Disability Type, And Training As Predictors Of Job Placement, Jessica Stahl

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Human Capital Theory was used as a means to formulate predictions regarding the placement rates for disabled and non-disabled individuals who participated in job training programs at a non-profit agency in the Southeast. Research suggesting that disabilities are viewed as an economic liability by employers was reviewed, along with empirically based rejoinders to this stereotype. The first goal of this study was to address flaws in the existing categorization systems of disabilities, and to justify a categorization system that was more detailed than the typical psychological/physical disability distinction in the I/O and vocational rehabilitation literature (e.g., Ren, Paetzold, and Colella, …

Values Assigned To National Parks By Hispanics In The United States: Castillo De San Marcos And Fort Matanzas Nm And Great Smoky Mountains Np, Carla Mora-Trejos

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The integrity of Parks and Protected Areas (PPA) depends on management that acknowledges their position as part of the socio-cultural context and demonstrates awareness and attention to ethnic and racial dimensions of the communities adjacent to these areas. The Unites States National Park Service has dedicated resources and effort to determine ways to keep units in the national park service relevant in a changing world. The fastest growing and second largest demographic in the Unites States is the Latino or Hispanic population. Very little has been published about this rapidly growing population of Latin Americans residing in the United States …

Three Essays On Corruption And Government Finance, Yukun Sun

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There are three chapters in my dissertation. In chapter one I study the impact of government corruption on tax avoidance by corporations with tax liability in China. I begin by developing a model of a firm's choice of tax avoidance based on the level of corruption in the firm's province. I show that a higher level of government corruption and a higher tax rate are predicted to increase a firm's tax avoidance. My empirical estimates show that a one-standard-deviation increase in government corruption corresponds to a 6% increase in tax avoidance by firms, based on data from nearly 600,000 firms …

Estimation Of Procurement Auctions With Secret Reserve Prices, Di Wu

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The first two chapters of my dissertation are essays on estimation of procurement auctions with secret reserve prices. In the last chapter, I develop a test on strong disposability versus weak disposability for non-parametric data envelopment analysis (DEA) estimators. In auctions with secret reserve prices, the possibility that the item goes unsold in the first round generates a particular form of multi-round auction in which information on bids is revealed after each round. If bidders have an imperfect estimate of project costs, the information revealed by observing the bids of others in the previous round can mitigate the classic winner's …

Re-Shaping Our Vision Of Intimate Partner Violence: A Qualitative Analysis Of Survivors' Reaction To Existing Campaigns, Erin Alexandra Neal

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2003), an estimated 5.3 million incidents of intimate partner violence (IPV) occur each year in the United States, resulting in nearly 2 million injuries, and approximately 1,300 deaths. Additionally, The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (2011) found that 1 in 3 women (35.6%) have experienced sexual and/or physical violence at the hands of an intimate partner. More attention has been paid to IPV in the past two decades, resulting in an increase in the number of prevention and intervention mass media campaigns; however, very few campaigns report consulting survivors …

Skating For Strength: The Experiences Of Skating In Women's Flat Track Roller Derby, Jerrica Ty Rowlett

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Feminists are continually seeking methods of improving the lives of women, whether that is through fighting for women's rights, promoting embracing aspects of being a female, or discovering new methods of female empowerment. This research looks at the last of these by exploring the experiences of women who are within their first year of competitively playing women's flat track roller derby through a qualitative phenomenological study. In order to do this, eight women were interviewed from two competitive teams located in the southeast region of the United States. From these interviews, five categories of experience emerged as significant aspects of …