Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Building Advocacy In Healthcare: The Impact Of Intergroup Dialogue On The Cultural Sensibility Outcomes Of Health Profession Students Using An Individual Diversity Development Framework, Chassity Leeshell Holliman Douglas

Online Theses and Dissertations

Racial and ethnic minorities suffer disproportionately from persistent health disparities such as heart disease, hypertension, cancer, asthma, obesity, and diabetes among others (Sullivan & Mittman, 2010). Several social inequalities influence the characteristics of minority health disparities including higher levels of poverty, insufficient education, unemployment, poor housing conditions, and lack of health insurance. However, healthcare disparities are also influential contributors to health disparities. Healthcare disparities are brought about through differences in access to or availability of quality facilities, care, and services. Given the unequal circumstances that are formed from health and healthcare disparities for minority populations, the increase in the diversity …

Comparing Orgasm Descriptions Between The Sexes, Christopher Frederick Palmer

Online Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the effects of sex and sexual context (masturbation or sexual intercourse) on characteristics present in descriptions of orgasms from 291 undergraduate participants aged 18 years or older, using the coding scheme presented in the Human Orgasm Model (Mah & Binik, 2001). Participants were asked to describe their most recent orgasm, and to designate whether the orgasm occurred during masturbation or sexual intercourse. Twenty men and 34 women achieved their orgasm through masturbation, and 47 men and 190 women achieved their orgasm through sexual intercourse. The Human Orgasm Model specifies 26 characteristics of orgasms, of which 25 were …

Like And Share: The Effectiveness Of Social Media On University Student Response Behavior During Emergency Events, Ashley Brooke Collett

Online Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to identify how effective the use of social media is when used by university students during emergency events. The literature review included in this thesis studies the cases made by other researchers, who were equally as curious about social media's communication effectiveness, and in some incidents evaluated how it was used, the results produced, and what contribution it made during the timeline of that emergency.

The methodology inquired about, and examined, the types of events which students most commonly use social media, the frequency of such use, and their interest in seeing this type …

Leadership Characteristics And Practices Of American Association Of School Administrators (Aasa) Superintendents Of The Year And Finalists, Doris Lynette Crawford

Online Theses and Dissertations

Houston (2007) concluded, "To preserve the possibilities for our children requires leadership, and that leadership is also a critical condition for success. While the educational journey takes place in the classroom and school, the trip is planned, the fuel is acquired, and the steering is done in the superintendent's office" (p. 432). The purpose of this study was to determine the key characteristics and practices needed by school district superintendents to meet the demands of this position in the twenty-first century. The key characteristics were identified by exemplary superintendents who had been recognized for their effectiveness. 55% of the population …

Predicting Staff Sexual Misconduct In Female Housing Units: Individual Versus Social Climate Factors, Hannah Mae Robbins-Johnson

Online Theses and Dissertations

Staff sexual misconduct in prison has received increased attention since passage of the Prison Rape Elimination Act. As part of a larger investigation of violence and conflict in women's correctional facilities, over four thousand women prisoners from 15 facilities and 80 housing units rated the kinds of inmate and staff problems they felt existed in their housing units, including staff sexual misconduct. Due to the data being nested in housing units, we utilized multilevel regression analyses that regressed staff sexual misconduct scores on a range of individual and social climate variables. Social climate variables were found to be more influential …

Safety During A Disaster: A Comparison Of Disaster Events, Lauren Webb

Online Theses and Dissertations

Disasters such as hurricanes disrupt the lives of everyone in their path. The preparation for and response during and after such an event can make all the difference for those involved. Past hurricanes need to be learned from, hurricanes such as Katrina and Hugo; lessons learned from events like these can be applied in future ones such as they were in Sandy and Gustav. This thesis reviews past research done concerning problems and themes of unsafe situations during hurricanes in urban centers, finding these themes and making suggestions to be used in the future to attempt to prevent future re-occurrences. …

Green And Grey: Water Justice, Privatization, And Resistance, William Mcclanahan

Online Theses and Dissertations

Since its initial proposal in the 1990s, `green criminology' has focused on environmental crimes and harms affecting non-human and human life, ecosystems, and the planet as a whole. Describing global trends toward privatization of water supply systems and the criminalization of several water conservation activities and tactics, this paper employs theoretical perspectives offered by green, cultural, and critical criminologies, focusing on overt resistance to water privatization and oppressive regulations governing rainwater storage and residential water recycling. Taking a critical theoretical perspective, this paper examines water access and autonomy, individuals and groups openly resisting the criminalization of household water reuse and …

The Effect Of Appalachian Regional Dialect On Performance Appraisal And Leadership Perceptions, Amie Sparks Ball

Online Theses and Dissertations

Speakers of Appalachian English face unique difficulties in the workplace. Long-held stereotypes of Appalachian English speakers can lead to unfair presumptions about a person's competence and professionalism. Previous research has shown stereotyping on the basis of non-standard dialect can affect recruitment and hiring decisions made by employers. The present study addresses the possibility that these biases extend beyond the hiring process by investigating the impact of Appalachian regional dialect on performance appraisal, perceptions of leadership potential, promotion potential, status perceptions, and solidarity perceptions.

Tensions Of Violence, Social Harm, And Profit: An Examination Of The National Football League, Jonathan Anthony Felden

Online Theses and Dissertations

The subject of sport and leisure is prominently unchartered territory within criminology. The National Football League provides a unique opportunity for scholarly exploration as the sport is predicated on violence and preserves existing systems of inequality. Stemming from the defining late modern characteristics of risk management and actuarial justice, the topics of injury and harm within the sport have been brought to light by lawsuits against the league claiming that the corporation knew of the dangers of mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI) and actively attempted to subvert this knowledge. This paper employs an amalgamation of theories and research to comprehensively …

The Heroin Problem: Learning From Past Experiments In Narcotic Maintenance, Ashley Marie Phillips

Online Theses and Dissertations

The following paper examines the ongoing political, legal and cultural debate regarding heroin maintenance in the U.S. that emerged after the passage of the Harrison Act. Moreover, it focuses on the United States' very brief experimentation with narcotics maintenance clinics from 1914-1924 and why the clinic system was ultimately dismantled by the Treasury Department. This paper also highlights the U.S. public policy debate that emerged as early as the 1950s and continues today to develop heroin maintenance trials.

The Art Of Collaboration In Academic And Clinical Partnerships, Kelsey Spencer Bennett

Online Theses and Dissertations

Occupational therapists in various settings share a professional identity valuing occupation. Their socialization into a practice setting is context-dependent, in terms of the skills needed and roles to be enacted. Collaboration between occupational therapists in clinical and academic settings benefits each participant, along with presenting challenges given the systems where they work. The purpose of this project was to delve into understanding the culture of the settings (academic and clinical) influencing a community-based research partnership. Through a mini-ethnographic approach, similarities and differences of culture emerged describing the depth of components for the collaboration between research group members. This description may …

Culture And The Sweet 16 Boys Basketball Tournament, James Corey Sayre

Online Theses and Dissertations

This is a cultural look at the importance of the Kentucky Boys Sweet 16 Basketball Tournament.

The Relationship Of Collegiate Athletic And Recreational Sports Involvement To Student Success And Persistence, Gregory Joseph Corack

Online Theses and Dissertations

Administrators often scrutinize extracurricular involvement in college as an unnecessary financial strain on dwindling university budgets. Student Affairs practitioners must constantly justify programs as adequate additions to the in-class learning students receive on a daily basis. The experiential education students receive through extracurricular programming is well documented, and an essential part of the college experience. Varsity athletes and intramural participants gain valuable skills through their participation in sports activities and are consequently present some of the highest group success rates on campus.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between involvement in collegiate varsity and recreational sports …

Exploring The Responsibilities Of Wildlife Law Enforcement Officers: An Examination Of Citations Issued By Kentucky Conservation Officers, Conrad Morgan Lanham

Online Theses and Dissertations

Conservation officers are law enforcement agents whose primary responsibility is the enforcement of statutes regarding wildlife. Several bodies of research have noted the expansion of law enforcement capabilities and responsibilities of conservation officers to include the enforcement of general laws that fall outside the conservation officers' original mandate. The purpose of this study is to explore the work roles of contemporary conservation officers in Kentucky. Using data from citations issued by Kentucky conservation officers from 2006 to 2011, this research examines patterns of wildlife violations, boating violations, and general violations across time and space. Comparisons of these types of violations …

Visitor Perceptions Of Black Bear Management Options In Big South Fork National River And Recreation Area, Robert Maxwell Lakes

Online Theses and Dissertations

Human/bear interactions will continue to increase as humans continue to live and recreate in closer proximity to bear habitat. One area positioned for a marked increase in human/bear interactions is Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (BISO). To make decisions on the best management options for the growing black bear population, BISO managers need information about park visitor beliefs and concerns. The purpose of this research was to examine stakeholder views related to black bear management options within BISO. We hypothesized that different stakeholders would have varying opinions about management actions towards black bears. The findings were that …

Social Class And Capital Punishment: A Theoretical And Empirical Analysis, Jennifer L. Tilley

Online Theses and Dissertations

While it is generally assumed that virtually all persons executed in the United States are poor, the social class - execution link has not been well documented or theorized in the literature. Far more research has analyzed the relationship of race and gender to execution. Using data on executions carried out in Texas between 2000 and 2012, individuals sentenced to death from the Supreme Court's Gregg decision through 1997 in Tennessee, narrative case studies, and a content analysis of state-defined mitigating circumstances, this study provides both detailed documentation of the social class characteristics of those executed, as well as a …

Bankster's Paradise: The Importance Of Discourse In Creating A Haven For Criminogenic Banks In The United States, Maria Jacqueline Bordt

Online Theses and Dissertations

This work examines the ways in which language can contribute to a cultural climate in which white-collar crime is no longer considered "deviant," but rather is considered part of a normally functioning political economy. The 2012 money laundering case involving HSBC is examined in conjunction with the rhetoric of popular financial counselor Dave Ramsey. This research seeks to define how language involving the accumulation of capital is equated with virtuousness, thus constructing a myth about the criminality inherent to "legitimate" capital enterprises.

Physical, Emotional, And Competitive Aggression Tendencies In Contact And Non-Contact Collegiate Athletes, Samyra Rose Safraoui

Online Theses and Dissertations

Differences in aggression tendencies between athletes who play a contact sport and athletes who play a non-contact sport at the collegiate level were investigated. Specifically, emotional, physical, and competitive aggression tendencies were measured for both groups and then compared to each other using independent t tests and effect sizes. One hundred student-athletes from a medium sized midwestern university participated in the study, with an even split between contact and non-contact athletes. Student-athletes were sent an electronic survey via email and Survey Monkey; all materials were approved by the university's Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Athletics department.

It was determined that …

Benefits Of A Multi-Generational Workforce: Perceptions Of Age-Friendly Work Environments, Aneeta Alysha Noorani

Online Theses and Dissertations

Age-friendly workplaces (1) emphasize mutual respect and inclusion at work and (2) provide comprehensive support for employees of all ages by utilizing a combination of policies, procedures, settings, and/or structures to (3) remove the barriers that segregate by age group and (4) encourages participation of all employees regardless of their age. The current study explored the idea of an age-friendly workplace by developing a measure of an age-friendly workplace and examining its influence on employees. The Age-Friendly Work Environment Scale was developed to assess the extent to which employees view their organizations to manage employees of different ages effectively. Using …

Evaluating The Suitability Of Phased Evacuation And Contraflow For The Evacuation Of Boston's Coastal Population, Courtney Connor

Online Theses and Dissertations

Because the city of Boston rests along the Atlantic coast and is highly vulnerable to flooding from hurricanes, local emergency planners have considered utilizing phased evacuation and contraflow strategies as a means to more effectively evacuate. This research attempted to determine whether phased evacuation or contraflow are suitable evacuation strategies that can be incorporated into Boston's evacuation plan in order to increase the evacuation rate and reduce motor vehicle congestion.

A computer simulation evaluating the use and non-use of phased evacuation and contraflow was performed. The simulated evacuation included 50% of the population from South Boston and the Columbia Point …

From Community Policing And Crime Control To Security Policing And Citizen Control: Rural And Small-Town Policing In Post 9/11 America, Josh Yeager

Online Theses and Dissertations

Research is lacking on rural and small-town policing in the post 9/11 era. This is unfortunate in view of changing perceptions of threat and insecurity, the financial crisis of 2008 and curtailments placed on funding for rural and small-town police agencies. This thesis argues that the proliferation of homeland security resources and priorities has significantly shaped rural and small-town policing in recent years. Rural and small-town law enforcement agencies, often lagging behind in resources and funding as compared to their urban counterparts, have embraced homeland security agendas, priorities and technologies as a means of securing their financial goals and abilities. …

The Effects Of Family Supportive Supervisor Behaviors (Fssb) On Work And Health Related Outcomes, Dorothy Abigail Blaine Johnson

Online Theses and Dissertations

The composition of the workforce has changed dramatically over the past several decades, the number of dual-career couples and working mothers with young children has increased dramatically. Many organizations have responded by implementing work-family benefits to help employees deal with the conflicting demands of work and family. Yet, researchers have found that these benefits may be underutilized by employees (Allen, 2001).

One reason these benefits may be underutilized is due to a lack of perceived supervisor support for the use of these benefits (Cook, 2009). This study will examine the processes underlying how family supportive supervisor behaviors influence positive job …