Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Human Torches: The Genesis Of Self-Immolation In The Sociopolitical Context, Ryan Michael Nixon

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

In 2012 there was a record number of self-immolations globally. This phenomenon has been associated with the civil unrest and the collapse of regimes. Most recently, self-immolations in Tunisia sparked a revolution that led to the collapse of the Tunisian government. In the study of politics, self-immolations frequently appear merely as footnotes in the discussion of other phenomena. Where research has been previously conducted, focus has rested mainly on how it initially became a tool of contention and how it spreads. This paper seeks to understand the conditions that lead individuals to choose this method of protest. To do so, …

Learning To Live With Changing Climate And Rising Sea Levels, Mitigation & Adaption Research Institute (Mari), Old Dominion University

MARI Documents

In support of the development of the Mitigation and Adaptation Research Institute, MARI, the proposal writing team developed a survey to elicit stakeholder comment. The survey was conducted using the internet-­‐based survey tool, Qualtrics, hosted by Old Dominion University and was available from February 26 to March 21, 2014

The survey was distributed to approximately 550 stakeholders who were identified through their participation in previous climate change adaptation events, local government contacts and email lists. Recipients were asked to invite interested colleagues or other contacts to participate in the survey by forwarding the solicitation email. One hundred and eleven responses …

Section Abstracts: Psychology

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Psychology Section for the 92nd Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 13-15, 2014, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia

Balancing Parenthood: Men's Prenatal Expectations And The Family System, Ralitsa Stoyneva Maduro

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Positive coparenting expectations of new parents have been related to positive coparenting experiences for both mothers and fathers during the transition to parenthood. Furthermore, positive coparenting in the family system has been linked to better and more stable relationship satisfaction for couples, which in turn has resulted in lower postpartum depression and divorce rates. Despite evidence of the positive impact of coparenting balance on the couple's mmantic life, few investigators have examined the manner in which predictors of relationship satisfaction for one parent cross over to affect the other. Furthermore, less in known regarding which family-wise factors increase fathers'ulnerability to …

New Media And The Nfl Fan: Determining The Impact Of New Media On Team Identification In Displaced Nfl Fans, Dorothy R. Collins

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Sports team identification, when viewed through the lens of social identity theory (Tajfel, 1978), can be seen as a powerful means of maintaining one's sense of self and feelings of belonging as part of a group. In some cases, team identification has been found to be based on one's feelings of connection with the geographic location of that team (Uhlman & Trail, 2012). Furthermore, prior research has shown that bonds of team identification forged in one's youth are particularly strong (James, 2001). The surge of new media options that have appeared in the last decade are changing the way in …

Ethical And Legal Knowledge, Cognitive Complexity, And Moral Reasoning In Counseling Students, Matthew W. Bonner

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Accrediting, credentialing, and counseling association bodies require counselors to possess ethical and legal knowledge and an understanding of applying ethical and legal standards to effectively serve clients. Prior to the creation of an ethical and legal knowledge instrument, scholars had theorized a relationship among ethical and legal knowledge, cognitive development, and ethical decision-making in counseling. With the creation of a new instrument for ethical and legal knowledge, ethical and legal knowledge could be assessed with extensively used constructs such as moral reasoning for ethical decision-making and cognitive complexity for cognitive development. This study investigated ethical and legal knowledge and cognitive …

Gender Stereotypes In Leadership: How Threatening Are They?, Valerie N. Streets

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Women's persistent underrepresentation in management has prompted a considerable body of research to better understand how gender stereotyping contributes to this disparity. One possible explanation for the impact of stereotyping on women in management is stereotype threat (i.e., the risk of confirming negative stereotypes as true). Experimental research concerning stereotype threat as it affects women within the domain of leadership has been limited, with no published study specifically manipulating stereotype threat and testing effects on subsequent leadership performance. This thesis expands upon the current literature by replicating classic stereotype threat experimental designs and applying such a design to a leadership …

Degree Of Implementation Of The American School Counselor Association National Model And School Counselor Burnout, Katrina Marie Steele

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

School counselors have undergone a job description evolution over the past 100 years. Changes have been made in the education that is required to be a school counselor. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) has developed a national model to define the role and job activities of school counselors. Most school counselors, counseling programs within individual schools, and school districts have incorporated parts of the ASCA National Model of school counseling to varying degrees. This study focused on the degree to which counselors perceived the ASCA National Model was adopted in their schools and whether the degree of adoption was …

Default Effects In The Endorsement Of Environmental Policies, Blake J. Bent

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

When making decisions, people are often presented with a default option. Across many different domains, individuals show an inflated preference for the default option, a phenomenon known as the default effect. The current research examined the default effect and the role of loss aversion and implied endorsement in the context of environmental policy. Two hundred nineteen undergraduate participants were asked to vote on an ostensible ballot question regarding the enactment of seven environmental policies. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions based on a manipulation of the default option: a default to enact the policy (the opt-out condition), …

Helicopter Parents Of Community College Students: How Community College Professionals Operationally Define And Address This Phenomenon, Helen C. Hightower

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This study examined whether the phenomenon of parental over-involvement occurred in the Virginia Community College System. Concern has been expressed in the popular and academic literature in recent years over the increased level of parental involvement at four year institutions whose student bodies consist almost exclusively of traditional-aged students. With a mix of traditional-aged and non-traditional students at community colleges, this study investigated whether or not community college employees expressed similar concerns as their counterparts at senior institutions.

The study was designed using a mixed methods approach and utilized a triangulation of results in order to answer four research questions. …

Transparent Spectrum Co-Access In Cognitive Radio Networks, Jonathan Daniel Backens

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The licensed wireless spectrum is currently under-utilized by as much as 85%. Cognitive radio networks have been proposed to employ dynamic spectrum access to share this under-utilized spectrum between licensed primary user transmissions and unlicensed secondary user transmissions. Current secondary user opportunistic spectrum access methods, however, remain limited in their ability to provide enough incentive to convince primary users to share the licensed spectrum, and they rely on primary user absence to guarantee secondary user performance. These challenges are addressed by developing a Dynamic Spectrum Co-Access Architecture (DSCA) that allows secondary user transmissions to co-access transparently and concurrently with primary …

The Relationship Among Hfacs Levels And Analysis Of Human Factors In Unmanned And Manned Air Vehicles, Veysel Yesilbas

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes the structural relationships among the Human Factors Accident Classification System levels for unmanned air vehicle and manned air vehicle accidents and the common relationships between unmanned air vehicle and manned air vehicle accident causes. The study acquired DOD HFACS accident classification data from 347 United States Air Force Class A accident reports for the years between 2000 and 2013.

The dissertation utilized a set of analysis that is considered to contribute substantially to the respective domain of the study. The correlations found among categorical levels were applied to HFACS taxonomy based on the Reason Model via path …

The Effects Of Religious Coping And Drinking To Cope On The Relationship Between Depressive Symptoms And Alcohol-Related Problems, Adrian J. Bravo

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present research examined the moderating effect of religious coping (positive or negative) on the relationship between depressive symptoms and alcohol-related problems. Furthermore, the current study examined the moderating effects of positive and negative religious coping in the context of the confirmed mediation of drinking to cope on depression and alcohol related problems (i.e., moderated-mediation). The study consisted of 294 religious undergraduate student drinkers from a large southeastern university. The majority of participants identified themselves as Christian (n = 257, 87.4%), were female (n = 218, 74.1%), and reported a mean age of 21.85 (SD = 5.57) …

Mutual Performance Monitoring In Virtual Teams, Nathan Haugejorde Bjornberg

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The use of virtual teams in organizations has become commonplace (SHRM, 2012). While a great deal of research on teamwork exists, much of it has focused on collocated teams. Spatial and temporal separations inherent in virtual teams make working together as a team more difficult. This research examined a teamwork process previously unexplored within virtual teams -- mutual performance monitoring. An experimental intervention was conducted and outcomes at both the individual and team levels of analysis were examined. A total of 161 participants were assigned to work together in 47 teams on a decision-making task. Participants communicated and worked together …

Workload Transitions And Stress: Changes Over Time, Erik G. Prytz

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Workload transitions are situations where operators are suddenly confronted with levels of workload substantially different from previously established levels. Workload transitions may affect the operators' state of stress and coping behaviors but previous research has not conclusively demonstrated the nature of those. The first goal of the current work was to investigate the discrepant findings of the previous literature. Two experiments were conducted where participants were asked to perform a digit detection task that suddenly shifted between low and high event rates (i.e., low and high workload, respectively). The first experiment used a large magnitude transition that resulted in a …

The Effects Of Serial Position, Evaluation Format, And Behavioral Isolate On Verbal And Nonverbal Clinical Cue Recognition And Performance Ratings, Timothy Robert Turner Jr.

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Standardized patients are individuals trained to realistically portray specific physical and psychological symptoms and evaluate healthcare trainees on their patient interaction skills. Prior research suggests that individual differences among standardized patients often result in assessment variance. This study examined the effects of cue serial position and evaluation format on individuals' perceptual awareness and recognition accuracy of verbal and nonverbal clinical cues. It was predicted that implementing periodic evaluations would reduce participant working memory load and permit better awareness and recognition of relevant clinical cues than the traditional post-scenario evaluation format. The concurrent evaluation benefit was also expected to mitigate the …

An Investigation Of Business Transformation Disruptors At The Military Strategic Command Level, Thomas Bock

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation contributes an empirical research on business transformation disruption in the military. Specifically, this exploratory research seeks a better understanding of disruption of business transformation and some of the factors that are likely to impact the transformation process at the military strategic command level. A lack of empirical studies existing in the literature, coupled with the continuous transformation challenges faced by military organizations, make it necessary to conduct this empirical study of business transformation disruption in the military.

This research was carried out utilizing a two-phase mixed-methods approach. The first phase included qualitative data gathering through a series of …

Patriarchal Ideology And Violence Against Women: A Theoretical Contribution Using Longitudinal, Individual-Level Analyses, Jesse Robert Mckee

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Feminist researchers have recently highlighted the need to revive patriarchy as a theoretical tool in regards to violence against women. Patriarchy is typically considered to be a structural concept, but a theory of patriarchy for violence against women must also include an individual-level component of patriarchal ideology. Patriarchal ideology has not been clearly conceptualized and is rarely operationalized. Very little research has assessed patriarchal ideology as a dependent variable and almost none has done this longitudinally. This research aims to fills these gaps. The current study also seeks to identify significant predictors of change in patriarchal ideology, an issue of …

Digital Identity Formation: How Social Networking Sites Affect Real World Authenticity, Matthew Joseph Montoya

Institute for the Humanities Theses

The purpose of this paper is to explore the application of Heidegger's authenticity to online identity formation. This paper will attempt to determine if there is any way in which an authentic identity can be created, either online or offline, by using social networking sites. It will examine the positive and negative consequences of social networking sites to determine if these sites can help to contribute to our overall being, or determine if these sites serve only as a dangerous distraction to an authentic personal identity.

To do this, this paper will analyze Heidegger's philosophy to see if it is …

Oral Health Promotion: Knowledge, Confidence, And Practices In Preventing Early-Severe Childhood Caries Of Virginia Wic Program Personnel, Lorraine Ann Fuller, Sharon C. Stull, Michele L. Darby, Susan Lynn Tolle

Dental Hygiene Faculty Publications

Purpose: This study assessed the oral health knowledge, confidence and practices of Virginia personnel in the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).

Methods: In 2009, 257 WIC personnel were electronically emailed via an investigator-designed 22-item Survey Monkey® questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square and Fishers Exact tests compared personnel demographics and oral health knowledge, confidence and practices at the p≤0.01 and 0.05 significance level.

Results: Response rate was 68%. WIC personnel were knowledgeable about basic oral health concepts. More than half of those reporting were not confident assessing for visual signs of dental decay and do not routinely …

Democratic Counterinsurgents: How Democracies Can Prevail In Irregular Warfare, William Roland Patterson

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation answers the question of whether or not democracies can win counterinsurgency conflicts. This is done first through an analysis of the arguments made by those who claim that democracies are uniquely incapable of doing so due to various limitations imposed by public opinion as well as the arguments of those who argue that democracies can win such conflicts given the correct strategy. Secondly, the question is investigated through an examination of three case studies: Malaysia, Vietnam, and Iraq. This analysis demonstrates that the arguments against the ability of democracies to win counterinsurgencies is not as strong as many …

The World Of Goods In Pre-Revolutionary Virginia, Ronald C. Merritt Jr.

History Theses & Dissertations

This paper will study the effects that the expansion of consumerism and nonimportation had in the colony of Virginia. It will analyze the validity of the arguments made by T. H. Breen's The Marketplace of Revolution. Breen's first contention was that a world of goods had been formed in the American colonies and that this consumer culture helped unite the colonists. This second contention was that the non-importation and non-consumption associations were successful in unifying the colonies and quelling opposition to the Continental cause.

Evidence of the growth of consumerism in mid-eighteenth century America will be analyzed and a …

Ritualized Rhetoric And Historical Memory In German Foreign And Security Policy, Sara A. Hoff

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Recent changes in German foreign policy behavior have led to questions about Germany's European vocation. At the center of this inquiry is Germany's struggle to resolve the intersection between historical memory and present day international responsibility, especially in cases involving the use of force. This dissertation examines how and when historical memory has influenced, shaped, and informed contemporary German foreign and security policy and rhetoric by examining cases within two policy areas: out of area operations and nuclear nonproliferation. Focusing on the case of Libya, this dissertation also considers the cases of Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Nuclear nonproliferation, a global …

Role Ambiguity Of Counseling Supervisors, Aaron Gabriel Shames

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Supervisors often find themselves in the midst of ambiguity seeking clarity of their role and professional identity within the counseling field. Supervisors wear many hats, the most prominent ones being educator, counselor, and gatekeeper for the profession. Counseling supervisors are expected to establish and maintain a complex blend of professional, educational, and therapeutic relationships with their supervisees. This process involving multiple roles often presents conflicts. One such conflict experienced by supervisors has been termed role ambiguity. The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry was to explore what experiences counseling supervisors have with role ambiguity and how they experience role ambiguity. Themes …

Perspectives Of International Students Performing Service-Learning In The United States: A Case Study With Amizade, Suzanne Beth Unger

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Past research has demonstrated consequences of service-learning and impacts of service-learning experiences on students and community members in domestic and international settings. Researchers have this topic in developing countries; however, few have studied international students' perspectives on doing service-learning in a developed country. This qualitative study aims to determine how students recognize their lives, and lives of community members in need are impacted as a result of their Amizade Global Service-Learning program in the United States. The investigation employs Cone and Harris' (1996) conceptual framework of service-learning to examine interpersonal, sociocultural, and psychological components of the experience. Data were collected …

Neglecting The 'Right On Which All Other Rights Depend': Press Freedom In The International Human Rights Discourse, Wiebke Lamer

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Historically and philosophically, press freedom has closely been linked to the fight against tyranny and the advancement of human rights. But coverage of press freedom as a distinct human right is surprisingly absent from scholarship and the human rights agenda. This dissertation fills this gap in the academic literature by examining why press freedom has not become part of the established international human rights debate, despite its centrality to democratic theory.

It does so in three steps: First, it outlines the distinction between press freedom and other human rights to which it is usually subjugated, like free speech and freedom …

Fema Region Iii Coastal Flood Study - Hampton Roads Adaptation Forum, Robin Danforth

March 28, 2014: Addressing Current and Future Vulnerability through Floodplain Management

No abstract provided.

The Community Rating System And Sea Level Rise Adaptation, Shannon Hulst

March 28, 2014: Addressing Current and Future Vulnerability through Floodplain Management

No abstract provided.

Agenda, Hr Adaptation Forum

March 28, 2014: Addressing Current and Future Vulnerability through Floodplain Management

No abstract provided.

Floodplain Management Ordinance: Virginia Beach, Whitney Mcnamara

March 28, 2014: Addressing Current and Future Vulnerability through Floodplain Management

No abstract provided.