A Cross-Cultural Examination Of The Effect Of Employer Support On Employee Productivity, Shawn Tuman, Haley Lipton

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The purpose of this creative, collaborative, capstone project is to conduct a cross-cultural examination of the effect of employer support on employee productivity by compiling, examining, and synthesizing conclusions from existing research. In a world of growing globalization and technological innovation, the speed of productivity is often the cornerstone that differentiates successful businesses from unsuccessful businesses, providing a competitive advantage to the quick while the others fall behind. Often this increased level of efficiency comes at a cost beyond the price of the product and the salary of employees, a deeper, psychological cost. By reviewing research focused in the United …

Gender Differences Associated With The Evolution Of Attributes Sought In Sports Apparel, Jami Adler

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Since the turn of the century, many things have changed around the world, with a focus on the athletic apparel and fashion industries. Using Fowler’s (1999) research regarding the attributes sought in sports apparel, this study serves as a replication to determine how attributes sought in sports apparel have evolved. Online surveying through Qualtrics was utilized for data collection. The research explored the trend of Athleisure and the rising demand for versatile clothing. The role of gender and its associated differences significantly influenced the attributes sought in sports apparel. In addition, this study explored three additional attributes that consumers evaluate …

El Viaje Desde Centroamérica A Los Estados Unidos: How Us Foreign Policy Impacts Migration From Central America To The United States, Cecilia Cerja

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

In the face of ever increasing civil conflict in Central America, the United States is attempting to grapple with immigration reform as the number of refugees continues to rise. Though the dominant narrative seems to indicate that people are flocking to the United States for economic opportunity, upon further analysis it seems that there are a variety of push and pull factors for migration to the United States. In this thesis three case studies of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala are analyzed to determine the push and pull factors causing migration to the United States. After examining the push and …

Nigerian Terror: The Rise Of Boko Haram, Kelly Moss

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria was the world’s deadliest terrorist group of 2014, second deadliest in 2015, and is one of the most perplexing terrorist groups to arise in the past 50 years. This study sought to identify how Boko Haram rose to power in Nigeria, and found the following factors to be explanatory: Nigeria’s weak state capacity stemming from colonialism and poor post-colonial governance, the politicization of religion, and Boko Haram’s relationship with other terrorist organizations such as Al-Shabab, Al-Qaeda, and Daesh. This study further analyzed domestic and international responses to Boko Haram, up to present day, and …

An Archaeological Perspective On Architectural Evolution At Fort Harrison, Rachel Nicole Bergstresser

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Fort Harrison is a historic home located in Rockingham County, Virginia. Occupation of the site began in 1749, when Daniel Harrison constructed the original limestone dwelling, and today it is protected and interpreted by Fort Harrison, Inc. The Department of Anthropology at James Madison University has performed exploratory archaeological fieldwork to better document change in the way the site has been utilized.

This project has evaluated the hypothesis that the main (front) entrance to the house was relocated from the northerly-facing side to the southerly-facing side, in conjunction with the decision to enlarge the structure. Archaeological findings and architectural evidence …

The Superhero Inside: Exploring The Minds Of Ourselves And Our Superheroes, Briana Craig

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The Superhero Inside is a research-based, non-fiction novel that connects elements of psychology to the concept of superheroes. There are seven chapters that explore a range of topics, including why we are fascinated by villainous characters and how superheroes represent (or misrepresent) diverse groups of people.

“So How Reaganesque Exactly Are These Republicans?”: Strategic Invocations Of Collective Memory About Ronald Reagan During The 2015-2016 Republican Primary Presidential Debates, Rachel Moss

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

My thesis explores the implications of the references to President Ronald Reagan in the 2015-2016 Republican presidential primary debates. I conducted a rhetorical analysis of the references to Reagan throughout these debates, while also considering their relation to public and collective memory theory. In order to analyze the different ways in which Reagan was mentioned, I divided the analysis into the undercard debates, mainstage debates, and the mainstage debate that occurred at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. In the undercard debates, candidates often utilized attention-grabbing strategies in order to aid their chances of moving up to …

Effects Of Mental Health Campaigns, Susan Schott

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This project examines the effects of a mental health campaign on college students. This is important to research because universities and colleges alike need to understand the effects that campaigns about mental health on campus can have on students. I researched this by conducting an online experimental study on a sample of 511 students at a university in the Mid-Atlantic region. Qualtrics randomly assigned the participants into two groups, where one group viewed an experimental campaign and the other a control ad. The participants were measured using a post- test questionnaire which tested their self-perceptions of anxiety and level of …

The Effect Of A Stage Of Change Tailored Intervention On Physical Activity And Psychological States Of Older Adults, Emilee Blosser

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Abstract

The Effect of a Stage of Change Tailored Intervention on Physical Activity and Psychological States of Older Adults

Introduction: As life expectancy increases in the United States, activity promotion programs aim to help older adults continue to remain happy, healthy, and productive. Programs that facilitate exercise and lifestyle changes can offset regular age-related declines and improve participation in regular fitness programs. Developing more active lifestyles can help the elderly maintain independence in their everyday activities.

Purpose: The goal of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a physical activity intervention tailored to participants’ stage of change on attitudes …

Interactions Between Anxiety Subtypes, Personality Characteristics, And Emotional Regulation Skills As Predictors Of Future Career Outcomes, Cerella Chandra

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Trait anxiety, anxious arousal, rejection sensitivity, and implicit feelings of rejection in adolescence were examined as predictors of long-term career performance, satisfaction, success, and ambition. Personality traits such as conscientiousness and grit, as well as coping and emotion regulation skills were analyzed as potential moderating variables. Anxious arousal and rejection sensitivity were predicted to be more strongly associated with negative career outcomes, and coping skills were predicted to be more effective in diminishing negative consequences of anxiety. Multi-reporter data were obtained from 184 teens at ages 17-19 and 26-27, and 27-29. Trait anxiety was the only anxiety variable to correlate …

Improving Conversation Skills In A Child With Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Textual Prompts And Front-To-Back Fading, Emily Knox

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

A central characteristic of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are deficits in social communication, which often results in delays in speech and impairments in communication skills. The present study’s goal was to improve the quality of conversation skills in a seven-year-old diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. A multiple baseline across behaviors probe design was used to teach the child appropriate responses in three conversation scripts about topics of interest of the child. The scripts were presented to the child using visual text prompts that were faded out using a front-to-back fading procedure. When the child met criteria for reinforcement, it was …

Associations Between Grit And Academic Factors, Alexandra Bowen

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Grit has been identified as a promising area of research in social psychology for its association with various success outcomes. Given the connection between grit and success, researchers have begun to investigate factors associated with grit to better understand how gritty people achieve their goals. Other researchers have questioned if grit is unique from other related traits, like conscientiousness and self-control. This project sought to explore both of these questions: the factors associated with grit and the discriminant validity of grit. Specifically, this project looked at grit in relation to cognitive failures, fear of failure, and growth mindset to inquire …

The Effects Of Speaking Rate Manipulations On The Perception Of Voicing Contrasts, Sarah M. Howell

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Phoneme-level research involving speaking rate has typically relied on a single method of synthetically manipulating rate of speech by compressing the vowel portion of a syllable. This does not mimic what occurs during natural speech production, and therefore could be influencing the perception of voicing contrasts. An experiment was conducted to address this problem by constructing a continuum of voice onset times for the velar place of articulation and then subsequently altering the rate of speech using three methods of manipulation: compressing the vowel, compressing the consonant and vowel proportionate to what occurs naturally, and compressing the total duration of …

The Effect Of The Similarity Of Events On Change Deafness, Caroline Cole

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Change deafness is a perceptual phenomenon that occurs when an observer fails to rapidly detect an above-threshold change in a sound source. The present research represented an initial investigation into one stimulus factor, the perceived similarity between array events, that potentially gives rise to change deafness to continuously moving target events. Participants (N=13) were presented with arrays of three simultaneous tones of inharmonic, synthetic /a/ and /i/ vowels. Each array event had a distinct pitch [low (A₂), middle (D^#₃), high (B₄)] and starting location in perceived space on the azimuth (-40°, …

The Role Of Leadership In Student Organizations, Samantha Mcanallen

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the extent to which the leaders of the Eta Delta chapter of Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) and the JMU Women’s Rugby club embody the characteristics of the leaders of successful organizations by examining these two organizations in the context of the characteristics of successful organizational cultures. In order to conduct an appropriate examination of the cultures of these two organizations, I chose to compare them to the characteristics of successful group cultures presented in Daniel Coyle’s The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups. Throughout his book, Coyle highlights the …

Coding For Infant Vocalizations Amongst Mid And Low Socioeconomic Status Families, Lera Young

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Many studies have been conducted to examine the various effects on infant and toddler speech development. Numerous studies have proven that there are a myriad of factors that impact the production of speech. Some of these factors include family dynamics, physical ability, health, socioeconomic status, etc. This Honors Project investigated the differences in infant vocalizations from low and mid SES families. We first developed a classification system to define and categorize intentional vocalizations; and then applied this classification system to determine differences in the low and mid SES recordings. A comparison of five recordings from both low and mid SES …

Equitable Sustainable Development In Small American Cities: The Northend Greenway And The Path Forward, Amelia Morrison

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

As global climate change prompts a demand for “green” urban development, the representation of sustainability as a panacea to all environmental, economic, and social issues has been increasingly challenged by social justice advocates. In particular, critics of the social component of this supposedly balanced sustainability model have characterized holistic sustainability rhetoric as an appropriation of equity discourse to serve the interests of a narrow set of affluent consumers. The ongoing question of who benefits from sustainable development has revealed highly problematic patterns of displacement and gentrification that fall disproportionately on low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. This tension is examined …

Climate Communication Through A Community Perspective, Kathryn Mcgee

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This project utilized psychology and science communication strategies to develop creative, locally framed climate change messaging. Through an online survey of 300 Gloucester County, VA residents, community themes of place attachment, environmental connection, risk assessment and climate change acceptance were recorded. Using the results from the survey I created a website, https://guidinggloucester.wixsite.com/home, which serves as an avenue for communicating with Gloucester residents. The website displays the results of the survey, explains climate change information that is relevant to Gloucester County, and gives examples of local actions to help increase engagement in climate solutions. In addition to the website, I …

Study Abroad And Track Ii Diplomacy, Makena Rafferty-Lewis

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Track II diplomacy, or person-to-person diplomacy is one of the most basic, but also most important types of international relations. Track II diplomacy requires not just effective legislature to be in place, but also requires individuals to have cross-cultural competency. One question that arises is how is this type of connectivity between cultures is formed. One of the most direct links can be found in students. As the political environment changes, young minds and rising experts will be the people who need to handle future international problems, that are possibly different from what we have seen in the past. How …

International Post-Conflict Peacebuilding In Bosnia And Herzegovina And Cambodia, Mia Fisher

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The end of the Cold War brought many changes to the international system, including a rise in intrastate armed conflict and violence against civilians. Consequently, the international community performed increasingly complex and multidimensional peace support operations, and peacebuilding advanced onto the international agenda during the 1990s. Despite the increased attention on peacebuilding in recent decades, most operations have been relatively unsuccessful, and local and international actors continue to struggle with how to implement effective policies to rebuild post-conflict states. The purpose of this research paper is to examine how the international community contributes to post-conflict peacebuilding efforts and to better …

Handedness And The Oldowan Tool Industry: Is Preferential Right-Handedness A Relic From Our Evolutionary Past?, Jessica Dymon

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Although there is literature on psychological, anthropological, and biological reasons for global preferential right-handedness, there has yet to be literature studying the connection among these three disciplines. The goal of this pilot study is to shed light on the correlation of handedness and Oldowan tool manufacturing in order to provide direction for future study. By taking a cross-disciplinary perspective on evolutionary advantages, genetics, and brain lateralization, it is believed researchers may be able to understand why 90% of the human population is preferentially right-handed. This study concludes that there is a correlation between handedness and toolmaking efficiency, and that further …

Explaining Anthropophagy And Social Violence In The Mesa Verde Region Of The American Southwest, Riley Smith

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This thesis is an examination of a controversial problem in anthropology and archaeology – the motives and cultural context of anthropophagy, or cannibalism. Views that the practice was a reflection of a primitive state of humanity have given way to a more ethnographically-informed appreciation of the practice as culturally situated with a diverse set of potential motives. Claims of anthropophagy in the ancient past influence perceptions of both prehistoric and modern groups. Because of the wealth of information gathered from recent excavations, it is now possible to explore the context of, motives for, and consequences of anthropophagy in the American …

Between Beeps: An Autoethnographic Study On Type 1 Diabetes, Intersectionality And The Body In Chaos, Cristal Llave

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

This autoethnographic study examines Type 1 Diabetes through the lens of intersectionality framework, power and discipline, and the chaotic story of the body. As an Adult Type 1 Diabetic at diagnosis, I explore the tensions between my already established identities as an Asian American woman in academia attempting to incorporate and accept another identity, an identity of illness. This study utilizes sensory discourses and aesthetic arrangement of ten illness narratives to delve into my experience, placing the points of tension between my identities in conversation with my body’s silenced story of chaos as it undergoes acts of power and discipline. …

The Confirmation Of Betsy Devos: Polarization, Populism, And Moral Foundations In U.S. Political Rhetoric, Jacob William Wrasse

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The political communication behaviors from both the U.S. voting public and elected representatives contribute to a political discourse that is typified by hyper partisanship and extreme polarization (Hibbing, Smith, & Alford, 2013). Existing research (e.g., Feinberg & Willer, 2015; Haidt, 2012; Westen, 2007) suggested that this is potentially because U.S. Americans tend to craft persuasive messages that they themselves would find logically and morally impactful, rather than critically analyzing the positionality and belief system of their intended audience. Research on Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) suggested that, for a contemporary rhetor, understanding the moral, ontological, and ethical precepts that support their …

(In)Visibility And Meaning In Food Labor: A Feminist Autoethnography, Kathryn Shedden

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

My graduate thesis project entitled “(In)visibility and Meaning in Food Labor: A Feminist Autoethnography” illuminates the gendered experiences of female food laborers and how women make meaning through their labor in this context. Gendered experiences do not stand apart from classed and raced identities, which I also reflexively analyze throughout this thesis. Women working within the food chain have been historically marginalized and made invisible, though they make up an increasingly significant portion of this workforce, a trend known as the “feminization of agriculture.” The discussion of the work that women do when discussing food in the academic literature also …

An Alternative To Escape Extinction: The Effects Of The Wait Out Procedure On Noncompliance, Rachel Rolando

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The purpose of this research was to replicate a study by Ward, Parker, and Perdikaris (2017), which focused on a reactive substitute to conventional forms of escape extinction for primarily escape-maintained noncompliance behavior through using a wait out procedure, as well as to add to the literature for reactive procedures aimed to decrease noncompliant behaviors for students with disabilities in a school setting. This experiment included a multielement graphical design that contained partial-interval data of noncompliance behavior in baseline, and in two interventions to determine if there was a change in noncompliance behavior following the introduction of each intervention; the …

“We Make Death Look Pretty”: A Qualitative Study Analyzing Reported Effects Of Compassion Fatigue On Hospice Nurse-Patient Communication, Katherine Harville

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Rationale: Compassion fatigue is present in multiple nursing fields, but hospice poses a significant threat to nurses working within that specific environment. This is due to their consistent proximity with patient suffering, death and dying, and constant communication with patients regarding their death. The hospice nurse-patient relationship requires a deeper connection between nurse and patient which often results in consistent emotional labor for hospice nurses, further amplifying the threat of compassion fatigue. While the effects of compassion fatigue can manifest in many forms, it is typically characterized by a nurses’ decline in job satisfaction, which they do not tend to …

“Taking The Power Away”: An Autoethnographic Exploration Of Intimate Partner Violence, Social Support, And Survivorship, Darrian Pickett

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

This thesis is an autoethnographic exploration of my experience with same-sex intimate partner violence, the development of the abusive relationship itself, my journey to escape the abusive relationship, and the comfort that I found among my social networks after the abusive relationship ended. First, I provide a brief overview of intimate partner violence. Second, I describe autoethnographic methodology and my rationale for using narrative inquiry as a way to make sense of my experiences and to offer a concrete portrait into the lived experience of interpersonal violence and survivorship. In the narratives, I describe my experiences as a pastor’s kid, …

Staying With And Telling Different Stories: Toward A Theory Of Environmental Advocacy That Bridges The Scholarly And Political Selves, Michael Clay

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

As human agents, narratives allow us to make sense of the world. They weave together lived experiences into meaningful webs of understanding. One such web of understanding is the way we narratively make sense of our relationship with the environment in which we find ourselves. The aim of this project is take a closer look at how many current environmental narratives establish an understanding that places the human agent as superior to, and thus master of, the environment within that relationship. This project works to articulate different ways of changing those narratives so that the agency of non-human actants is …

Examining The Impact Of Transformational And Transactional Leadership Style On Work Attitudes, Motivation, And Work Outcomes In Nonprofit Organizations, Kim Hartzler-Weakley

Dissertations, 2014-2019

In an effort to better understand leadership and turnover in the nonprofit sector, this study investigated the impact of transactional and transformational leadership style on work attitudes, motivation, and work outcomes in nonprofit organizations. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses were conducted. Neither transactional leadership nor transformational leadership were significant predictors of turnover. Only transactional leadership was found to be a significant predictor of organizational citizenship behaviors. Transactional leadership was a significant predictor of perceived organizational support, affective commitment, procedural justice, and continuance commitment. Transformational leadership was a significant predictor of job satisfaction, perceived organizational support, and procedural justice. Finally, mediation …