Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Psychometric Functioning Of The Mmpi-A Restructured Form Vrin-R, Trin-R, Crin, And Cannot Say Scales With Varying Degrees Of Randomness, Acquiescence, Counter-Acquiescence, And Omitted Items, Amy C. Pitta

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The MMPI-A-RF (Archer, Handel, Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2016) is a new measure of adolescent personality and psychopathology derived from the MMPI-A (Butcher, Williams, Graham, Archer, Tellegen, Ben-Porath & Kaemmer, 1992) item pool. Similar to the MMPI-A, the MMPI-A-RF includes indexes designed to assess non-content-based responding and omitted items. Building on Handel, Ben-Porath, Tellegen & Archer’s study (2010) on adults, the current study utilized computer simulation of random, acquiescent, counteracquiescent, and omitted responses to examine how adolescent validity scale and RC scale scores are affected by increasing degrees of non-content-based responding. Further, RC scale validity coefficients were examined to see how …

Reconceptualizing Women's Stem Experiences: Building A Theory Of Positive Marginality, Valerie N. Streets

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Since the 1980s, disciplines such as psychology and sociology have discussed the construct of positive marginality. Positive marginality describes the perception that belonging to a non-dominant cultural or demographic group can be advantageous rather than oppressing. To date, research on positive marginality has explored the construct in a qualitative manner across a number of demographic groups (e.g., Jewish women in social sciences, African American women in predominantly Caucasian workplaces). Because women are largely underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, the current research examined positive marginality in a STEM context. This research advances the existing understanding of positive …

Body Image And Quality Of Life Among Postsurgical Bariatric Patients, Amy Leigh White

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

In recent decades, bariatric surgery has become an increasingly popular intervention for the treatment of morbid obesity. Bariatric surgery leads to substantial improvements in physical health (e.g., weight loss, increased life expectancy) and psychological health (e.g., body image, quality of life). After bariatric surgery, many patients undergo subsequent surgical procedures to remove excess skin (“body contouring”), which are also associated with positive medical and psychological outcomes.

The present study sought to expand upon existing research into the psychosocial outcomes of bariatric surgery, investigate correlates of patients’ desire for body contouring, and determine whether presurgical motivations were associated with postsurgical outcomes. …

Civic Crowdfunding And Local Government: An Examination Into Projects, Scope, And Implications For Local Government, Martin Mayer

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

Recently, through the development of online technology, civic crowdfunding has emerged as a way in which to connect citizens to community problems and projects. The growth and early success of the field underscores the importance of better understanding civic crowdfunding, how it works, and how it may impact local government. Through a mixed-methods design, this study investigates the growing field of civic crowdfunding in an effort to better understand what types of projects are proposed, where they are proposed, and why some civic crowdfunding proposals may be successful while others are not. Strengths and challenges of civic crowdfunding are discussed, …

No Witnesses: Protest Policing And The Media At The 2008 Republican National Convention, Robert David Frenzel

Institute for the Humanities Theses

The importance of First Amendment protections for assembly, speech, and the press is manifest during protest events in a way that is not seen in many other situations. Entrenched political and commercial powers, which benefit from the status quo and resist the change supported by the protesters, use many tactics to suppress the message and repress the messenger. One of the tools of repression is the policing of protests. Protest policing, where the government uses law enforcement personnel as a tool to impose its will on the protesters, has evolved over the years. Another of the power center’s tactics is …

Care, Control, Or Criminalization? Discourses On Homelessness And Social Responses, Lindsey L. Upton

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

There has been a resurgence of political and media interest in homelessness, particularly in major urban areas throughout the United States. This interest is credited to a number of cities that declared a State of Emergency (SOE) due to their homelessness crisis in 2015. The motivation to declare homelessness as an urgent priority of local politics assists cities in temporarily overcoming longstanding budget and bureaucratic barriers. Undoubtedly, the criminal justice system is part of social response following a declared SOE, and homelessness is not an exception. Little attention has explored the historical, social, and political processes of problematizing homelessness from …

The Essence Of The Library At A Public Research University As Seen Through Key Constituents’ Lived Experiences, George Joseph Fowler

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

“The library is the heart of the university” is an oft-repeated metaphor used to describe the role or centrality of the library. The implication is that the library is central to the university’s teaching, research, and service mission. This concept, though previously generally accepted without authoritative proof, is facing numerous challenges to its validity. There has been considerable research and talk about how to make the library central, again. Much has been focused on what to do, rather than why.

As John Budd stated in 1995, “grounded study of the use of libraries, say, or of the transmission of information …

Innovation Adoption And Diffusion In Synchronous Tutoring Owls: A Cross-Contextual Case Study Using Diffusion Of Innovations Theory, Cynthia Marie Pengilly

English Theses & Dissertations

Synchronous online tutoring shares many attributes with face-to-face tutoring such as real-time, document collaboration, and conversational cues provided by audio and video, yet writing center professionals know seemingly little about synchronous tutoring OWLs due to the lack of formal publications about synchronous online tutoring coupled with the prevailing paradigm that seeks to transfer face-to-face tutoring practices to online synchronous tutoring, which overshadows the innovation processes taking place in synchronous OWLs. The purpose of this study was to document emergent practices in the use of two different synchronous tutoring technologies and the processes by which those practices were adopted and implemented …

Gender Awareness Training: A Comparison Of U.S. Military Units To Nato/Pfp Military Units, Elizabeth Owens Lape

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 (UN, 2000), initially adopted on 31 October 2000 and updated with a resolution in 2009 (UN, 2009), proclaimed all peacekeeping personnel – military, police and civilian, will receive training on the protection of women. The purpose of this research was to review and compare how the U.S. military and forces of NATO/Partnership for Peace countries educate and train their military on the overall use of gender as a planning factor in support of this resolution. The researcher conducted a phenomenological qualitative study that consisted of interviewing 12 personnel regarding their country’s National Action …

Prejudice Toward Atheists In The United States As Related To Perceived Prevalence, Wanda D. Brooks

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

By manipulating mortality salience (MS) in place of life-threatening events to stimulate death-related thoughts, the current research contributes to the body of research supporting Terror Management Theory. It was hypothesized that religious participants should exhibit cultural worldview defense by scoring higher in anti-atheist prejudice following the MS manipulation than would those in the control condition. Further, this research extends the current research into Terror Management Theory as a cause for conflict among out-groups and explores its effects on cultural worldviews in the area of prejudice toward atheists. This includes examining how the perception of an increasing prevalence of atheists contributes …

Association Between Combat, Morally Injurious Experiences, Spiritual Injury, And Alcohol Use Among Active Duty Military Personnel And Veterans, Allison T. Robbins

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Literature has supported that, along with physical and psychological injuries, combat profoundly impacts veterans’ moral and spiritual belief systems and may contribute to negative health behaviors. Moral injury is a developing construct related to negative consequences associated with war-zone stressors that transgress military veterans’ deeply held values and belief systems. Additionally, spiritual injury addresses negative responses to an event that damages their relationship with God, self, and others, and alienates an individual from that which gives meaning to their lives. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between combat exposure, morally injurious experiences (MIEs), spiritual injury, …

School Policy, Food And Physical Activity Environment, And Childhood Obesity, Ruicui Liu

Health Services Research Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of school food and physical activity environments on energy balance-related behaviors and Body Mass Index (BMI) and to simulate the effect of school-based nutrition and physical activity policies on childhood obesity prevention. Four models based on the Social Ecological Framework of childhood obesity were developed. Parameters of these models were calibrated and validated with empirical data derived from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 and the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Study. The correlation between observed and simulated BMI was 0.85 for 5th grade children …

Multiple Imputation Of Missing Data In Structural Equation Models With Mediators And Moderators Using Gradient Boosted Machine Learning, Robert J. Milletich Ii

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Mediation and moderated mediation models are two commonly used models for indirect effects analysis. In practice, missing data is a pervasive problem in structural equation modeling with psychological data. Multiple imputation (MI) is one method used to estimate model parameters in the presence of missing data, while accounting for uncertainty due to the missing data. Unfortunately, commonly used MI methods are not equipped to handle categorical variables or nonlinear variables such as interactions. In this study, we introduce a general MI framework that uses the Bayesian bootstrap (BB) method to generate posterior inferences for indirect effects and gradient boosted machine …

Cartographic Potential Of New Technologies: Hu:Care, William B. Moore

September 29, 2016: Adaptive Structures and Innovative Solutions

No abstract provided.

Cartographic Potential Of New Technologies: Aerial Data Collection, Todd Broward

September 29, 2016: Adaptive Structures and Innovative Solutions

No abstract provided.

Friends Of The Libraries Newsletter, September 2016, Carrie Anderson (Editor)

Friends of the Libraries Newsletters

September 2016 Newsletter of the Friends of the Old Dominion University Libraries

A Predictor For Ple Management: Impacts Of Self-Regulated Online Learning On Student's Learning Skills, Cherng-Jyh Yen, Chih-Hsiung Tu, Laura Sujo-Montes, Karen Sealander

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Web 2.0 integration requires a high level of learner-centered skills to create a personal learning environment (PLE). The pedagogical capability of Web 2.0 could support and promote self-regulated learning (SRL) by enabling the constructions of PLEs. This study investigated how will each of the six aspects of self-regulated online learning (i.e., environment structuring, goal setting, time management, task strategies, help seeking, & self-evaluation) respectively predict the level of initiative, the sense of control, and the level of self-reflection in personal learning environment (PLE) management. The study concluded that all six aspects of SRL could predict three types of PLE management …

Climate Change Is The Reason We Need For Resiliency, Michael Allen

News Items

Guest editorial by Michael Allen concerning the draft of the Norfolk Vision 2100 by the Norfolk Planning Department.

Anchoring In Financial Decision-Making: Evidence From The Field, Michael Jetter, Jay K. Walker

Economics Faculty Publications

This paper analyzes 12,596 wagering decisions of 6,064 contestants in the US game show Jeopardy!, focusing on the anchoring phenomenon in financial decision-making. We find that contestants anchor heavily on the initial dollar value of a clue in their wagering decision, even though there exists no rational reason to do so. More than half of all wagers occur within $500 of the initial dollar value, although the maximum possible wagering value averages $5,914. This anchoring phenomenon remains statistically significant on the one percent level, even after controlling for scores, clue category, time trends, and player-fixed effects.When exploiting within-player variation …

A Study Of Old Dominion Student Opinions On Crimes Committed With Firearms By Convicted Felons, William Domebnick Euefueno

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

The problem of this study was to determine college student’s opinions regarding crimes committed by convicted felons with the use of firearms. This study was undertaken to determine if students support more aggressive legislation regarding the purchasing of firearms, specifically targeting convicted felons, to further prevent them obtaining weapons.

In identifying the methods to be used to obtain data for the study, the researcher reviewed the current laws pertaining to owning and possessing firearms, as well as national gun violence statistics for the past decade. This was broken down further by looking at criminal activity, and gun violence reported from …

Student Attitudes Toward The Transgender Community Following Restroom Reassignment, Kelly L. Duggins

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

The problem of this study was to investigate the effect recent changes to gender specific restrooms had on students’ attitudes toward the transgender community at a public research university in the southeastern United States. To determine if further education and/or inclusion actions should be implemented by university communities, an invitation to complete an electronic survey was sent by email to students at Old Dominion University’s main campus in Norfolk, VA. Participants responded to seventeen statements, each designed to collect data relating to one of the four research objectives of this study. The findings of this study may be used to …

A Taxonomy Of Effective Leader Behaviors In The Construction Industry, Enrique Leonardo Cabrera-Caban

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The construction industry is a major part of the United States economy, but it is also one of the most dangerous and high-risk industries. The industry is currently facing a shortage of effective leadership, and leaders face unique challenges in coordinating multiple teams of subcontractors on projects. The first step in remedying this shortage is to identify the behaviors of an effective construction leader. To address this need, a taxonomy of effective leader behaviors in construction was developed using grounded theory methodology and rated by construction industry subject matter experts. Archival focus group data from 10 focus groups in three …

Profit Based Simulation Model For The Rail Transportation Industry, Mark Patrick Doran

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Schedules often conflict in the rail transportation industry. Operations managers assign resources and make scheduling decisions with no visibility of the revenue, cost, and profitability characteristics of the route they are manipulating. Transit speed decisions focus on ensuring trains safely reach their destination on time with little regard given to the actual service needs of the customer. Although all customers want on-time deliveries, few actually pay a premium to garner this level of preferential treatment. Operating in this type of environment results in decisions that severely erode profits.

In this dissertation, a simulation model referred to as the Rail Profit …

Elevation Data And Mapping Updates, Doug Marcy

July 29, 2016: The Latest in Sea Level Rise Science

No abstract provided.

Street Level Predictive Modeling Of Nuisance Flooding In Norfolk, Va, Jon Derek Loftis, Harry V. Wang, David R. Forrest, William 'Skip' A. Stiles

July 29, 2016: The Latest in Sea Level Rise Science

No abstract provided.

Agenda, Hr Adaptation Forum

July 29, 2016: The Latest in Sea Level Rise Science

No abstract provided.

Department Of Psychology Newsletter, Department Of Psychology, Old Dominion University

Department of Psychology Newsletters

Summer/Fall 2016 issue of Old Dominion University's Department of Psychology Newsletter.

An Etiological Model Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder In Female Oef/Oif/Ond Veterans: Adding Military Sexual Trauma As A Risk Factor, Erin Doty Kurtz

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Studies on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have involved limited focus on the specific risk and protective factors for female veterans and how these may differ from factors identified for male veterans. Additionally, models incorporating risk and protective factors for PTSD in female veterans have yet to include military sexual trauma (MST) as a risk factor. Given the prevalence of MST among female service members, this study examined whether MST predicts PTSD diagnosis in addition to other frequently examined variables (premilitary trauma exposure, combat exposure, postmilitary trauma, and perceived social support). In addition, the degree …

What Can State Talk Tell Us About Punitiveness? A Comparison Of Responses To Political Mass Shootings In The United States And Norway, Kimberlee G. Waggoner

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Highlighting the culturally contingent nature of state reactions to crime, the present work focuses on state talk issued by the U.S. and Norwegian governments in the aftermath of politically motivated mass shootings. The research is guided by the question: how does state talk—conditioned by economic, political, and cultural forces—facilitate or constrain punitive responses to political mass shootings? Here, the focus is on the January 8th 2011 shooting of U.S. representative Gabrielle Giffords and her constituents and the July 22nd 2011 bombing of a government building and shooting of a youth political camp in Norway. These two cases illustrate how state …

Executive Dysfunction As A Trait Marker For Depression In Children And Adolescents, Emily Oettinger

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Perinatal depression has been recognized as a public health problem in the United States, which is important because of the demonstrated wide-reaching negative effects of maternal depression on child outcomes. Some evidence suggests that maternal depression is a risk factor for executive dysfunction in children. By contrast, there is abundant evidence that maternal depression is a risk factor for later child depression. Therefore, this study focuses on executive dysfunction in children as a potential trait marker for later depression in childhood and adolescence, utilizing data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Participants were from 10 …