Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Impact Of Cultural Competence Training On Rural Human Service Professionals, Tamikia Lott, Inglish Morgan-Gardner, Hope Comer, Narketta M. Sparkman Phd

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Cultural competence among human service professionals is imperative given the rapidly changing American demographics. Current inadequacy in the delivery of culturally responsive social services is due to insufficient cultural competence training for human service professionals. This research study investigated the extent to which constructivist based cultural competence training influenced rural human service professionals’ perceived level of cultural competence. In three regions of Tennessee, rural human service professionals (n = 44) completed an electronic survey which included the adapted California Brief Multicultural Scale (CBMCS). Using a correlational descriptive design by surveying participants, the researcher discovered rural human service professionals perceive themselves …

Appalachian Migrant Stances, Bridget L. Anderson

English Faculty Publications

The article explores the economic and industrial opportunities for Appalachian native speakers in the industrial Midwest countries after the World War I. Topics discussed include the characteristics of migration diaspora in Appalachian migrants, the Southern migrants metropolitan area lifestyle in Detroit, Michigan and the impacts of ethnographic factors to Appalachian migrants. Other topics include the social and identifiable factors for migrants.

Veronica Mars Kickstarter And Crowd Funding, Bertha Chin, Bethan Jones, Myles Mcnutt, Luke Pebler

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

This conversation among Bertha Chin, Bethan Jones, Myles McNutt, and Luke Pebler about the Veronica Mars (2004–7) Kickstarter campaign to fund a film assesses the implications of crowd sourcing and fan labor.

Learning Through Play, The Old School Way: Teaching Information Ethics To Millennials, Lucinda Rush

Libraries Faculty & Staff Publications

Incorporating gaming and active learning elements into library instruction in academic libraries has proven to be an effective way to engage Millennials and increase their retention of knowledge. This article ties research on the learning preferences of Millennials to elements of active and game-based learning. The author describes the process of creating an innovative game based on Candy Land to teach undergraduates about information ethics and makes recommendations for creating non-digital games for instructional purposes based on this experience.

#Nbcfail: A Qualitative Review Of The Shared Experience As A Social Movement, Brendan O'Hallarn, Stephen Shapiro

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

The XXX Olympic Games in London, England was the most-watched event in U.S. television history, with more than 219 million viewers tuning in during the Games. However, the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) elected to show a number of events to U.S. audiences in prime time via tape delay, rather than broadcasting them live. As a result NBC encountered a great deal of criticism about its coverage, particularly on the online microblogging site Twitter. This research surveyed a sample of Twitter users who participated in the Twitter protest via the #NBCFail hashtag, to understand how being part of a shared protest …

High-Intensity Tasks With External Load In Military Applications: A Review, Eric K. O'Neal, Jared H. Hornsby, Kyle J. Kelleran

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

This article provides a synopsis of the limited investigations examining the impact of external load (EL) on performance of high-intensity tasks under load (HITL), EL training intervention effects on HITL performance, and injuries from EL training. Repetitive lifting tasks and initiation of locomotion, such as rapidly moving from a prone position to sprinting appear to be more hindered by EL than maximal sprinting velocity and may explain why training with EL does not improve obstacle course or prolonged (200-300 yard shuttle) drills. EL training appears to offer very little if any benefit for HITL in lesser trained populations. This contrast …

How Can Professional Membership Associations Provide Meaningful Value For Their Members?: Creating Models Of Affiliation And Engagement, Lisa A. Dicke, Marina Saitgalina

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

What do individual association members think about their association membership? What do they value and what do they want to see associations provide in the future? This case study uses face-to-face interviews and focus groups with 12 international Ph.D. students enrolled in a Public Administration and Management program at a major university in Texas to provide answers to these questions. The research offers an understanding of how people from diverse cultures view professional associations. The Ph.D. students were also asked about the importance of their association as a means for building ties and making connections with others, and about volunteering. …

Crime And Natural Resource Booms: Evidence From Unconventional Natural Gas Production, Timothy M. Komarek

Economics Faculty Publications

The USA has experienced a sudden expansion of oil and natural gas production due to the combination of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. The energy extraction boom has had many localized impacts, most notably in areas with substantial shale gas reserves. This paper exploits a natural experiment in the Marcellus region to examine one channel of the so-called resource curse, the effect of resource extraction on local crime. The results show that areas experiencing a natural gas extraction boom suffer an increase in overall violent crimes, while property crimes remain similar to non-boom areas. Furthermore, the violent crime increase appears …

The Impacts Of In-State Procurement Preference Policies On The Economy Of South Carolina, Sawsan A. Abutabenjeh

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

This research examined the impact of South Carolina's in-state preference policies on the economy of the state. To achieve this purpose, the research sought to answer the question: what are the impacts of implementing the in-state procurement preference policies on the economy of the state of South Carolina? The question was answered by using seven economic indicators: jobs, personal income, real disposable income, output (sales), Gross State Product (GSP), value added and state's population. The data related to the in-state preference policies were collected from the South Carolina Procurement Services Office. The data was then analyzed using the Regional Economic …

A Façade Of Normalcy: An Exploration Into The Serial Murderer's Duplicitous Lifestyle, Maryann Stone White

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The crime of serial murder both fascinates and repulses a myriad of academic disciplines, law enforcement agencies, news media, and popular culture. Despite the vast attention the phenomenon of serial murder has received, serial murderers are poorly understood. The current study used an interdisciplinary approach, combining insights from criminology and psychology to explore what mechanism(s) allow serial murderers to maintain a seemingly normal existence, frequently maintaining personal relationships, steady employment, and reputable social networks.

The data were analyzed using a deductive approach guided by a set of research questions as well as an inductive approach, which allowed emergent themes and …

Educational Policy Decisions Effect Upon Same-Gender Public Education, Richard Gerard Catoire

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, with emphasis on greater choice and flexibility for parents and students in public education, to include the provision for same-gender public schools and classrooms, led to a resurgence in same-gender public education in the United States. With the results of the research on same-gender education presenting conflicting evidence and mixed-perspectives on the outcomes of same-gender education in improving academic achievement or attainment, there are still questions to be answered, not only to the effectiveness of same-gender education, but also to policy decisions to establish same-gender public education programs. While proponents of …

Community College Students With Psychological Disorders And Their Perceptions Of Online Learning, Gretchen Winifred Langford Warren

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Research focusing on students with learning disabilities is abundant for secondary and higher education. Studies utilizing data on students with psychological disorders cover secondary and 4-year university education. However, community college students with psychological disorders and their perception of online classes is an area of educational research which lacks data. Students across a wide spectrum of psychological disorders tend to find learning challenging. The community college's learning environment may best fit their learning styles. With modem educational innovations, the online learning methods must take into consideration the unique psychosocial, cognitive, and academic needs of the community college student population.

The Darfur Name Game: Use Of Realpolitik By The United Nations In Decision-Making And Intervention, Angela Overton

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Violence has plagued the westernmost region of Sudan, known as Darfur, since 2003. The conflict contains elements of political and ethnic divisiveness, desertification, and resource scarcity. The violence there continues to date. Many have declared genocide in Darfur while others maintain that the conflict is instead a crime against humanity. The labeling of the conflict is critical because this process determines the interventions available. This paper focuses on the decision-making process of the United Nations and its Security Council to determine if the labeling of the conflict impacted the discourse and intervention decisions by those bodies. Discourse analysis results indicate …

Detection Of Ofdm Signals Using Pilot Tones And Applications To Spectrum Sensing For Cognitive Radio Systems, Ahmed Temtam

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Nowadays there are an increasing number of wireless devices which support wireless networking and the need for higher data rate communication is increasing rabidly. As more and more systems go wireless, approaching technologies will face spectral crowding and existence of wireless devices will be an important issue. Because of the limited bandwidth availability, accepting the request for higher capacity and data rates is a challenging task, demanding advanced technologies that can offers new methods of using the available radio spectrum. Cognitive radio introduces a key solution to the spectral increasing issue by presenting the opportunistic usage of spectrum that is …

Effects Of Vibrotactile Display Position And Shape On Extrapersonal Localization, Adam D. Sitz

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Vibrotactile displays are capable of conveying extrapersonal spatial information to users navigating or operating within a three-dimensional environment (e.g., aircraft pilots). Although vibrotactile displays can be applied to many parts of the body, recent applications have focused on torso-based displays that egocentrically reference distal targets. However, these displays may be poorly suited to convey elevation because of the generally cylindrical shape of the human torso. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the relative effectiveness of handheld vibrotactile displays configured either in a cylindrical or spherical-shape as compared to a torso-based display. Due to its shape, the spherical …

Effects Of Parental Alcoholism And Trauma Exposure On Depressive Symptoms: A Path Model With Resilience, Social Support, And Family Satisfaction, Erin Doty Kurtz

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The goal of this study was to explore the different effects of parental alcoholism and history of trauma exposure on depressive symptoms in an emerging adult, college population. In particular, mediating effects of resilience, social support, and family satisfaction were evaluated for both parental alcoholism and previous interpersonal trauma exposure using structural equation modeling (SEM). Participants were 708 students (217 male, 491 female) attending a large mid-Atlantic state university. It was . anticipated that social support and family satisfaction would be key mediators between parental alcoholism and depressive symptoms, while resilience and social support would be significant mediators between interpersonal …

Effects Of Simultaneous Alarms On Resolution Heuristics, Amanda C. Allen

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Automated signaling systems are frequently used to direct operator attention to potential hazards. Although these automated systems can lead to enhanced human performance, factors such as degraded alarm signal reliability and lack of trust can undermine the potential benefits of automation (Breznitz, 1984; Rice, 2009, Wickens & 2007). Additionally, work by Gilson, Mouloua, Graft, and McDonald (2001), as well as Keller and Rice (2009), suggest that an alarm contained within a larger array of alarms should not be evaluated individually. Due to the increasing use of multiple alarms in complex environments such as operating rooms and cockpits (Konkani, Oakley, & …

Health Promotion In Multiple Domains: Capitalizing On The Spillover Effect, Gabrielle Maria D'Lima

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Lifestyle behaviors, such as physical activity and food consumption choices, play a critical role in the development of chronic diseases and ultimately mortality. Optimally, multiple health-related behaviors are changed to reduce risk rather than targeting only one risk behavior. The purpose of the current research was to examine the potential utility of the spillover effect in the application of a multiple health behavior intervention. The online intervention developed in this study aimed primarily to foster self-regulation, bolstered by impulsivity control and self-efficacy, in one health-related behavior (i.e., physical activity) in order to potentially affect change in other health-related behaviors (e.g., …

Two Essays On Attracting Foreign Direct Investment: From Both A National And Firm Level Perspective, Ryan Lawrence Mason

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Countless studies with a wide variety of financial and economic indicators have been conducted over the years within the context of international business research, all searching for hints or signals as to what makes the never ending process of globalization progress. Our research follows these efforts while focusing specifically on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Our first study sets out to empirically test if nations adopting the inflation targeting (IT) monetary policy are more successful in attracting inbound and outbound FDI cash flows than those nations utilizing alternative monetary policies. IT is a relatively new policy which was first put into …

Development Of The Profession Of Counseling In Kenya, Uganda, And Tanzania: A Grounded Theory Study, Mueni Joy Maweu Mwendwa

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

The positive mental health of a country's population has a direct correlation to that country's economic and social advancement. As a result, the development of the counseling profession is critical. Even though fewer than half of African member states have an existing mental health policy in place, initiatives to establish mental health policies and develop the counseling profession are underway across the African continent. In general, there is a significant deficit of counseling literature, and specifically, research on the development of the counseling profession in Africa. This grounded theory study sought to explore the experiences of counseling leaders related to …

School Counseling Program Models Utilized By School Districts, Tracy L. Jackson

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

School counseling district supervisors find themselves at the center of selecting and implementing comprehensive school counseling program models for their school districts. It is important to examine the selection of models to determine if proper services are being extended to students. The purpose of this study was to explore district supervisors' selection of comprehensive school counseling program models. Model selection was assessed by examining district supervisors' ratings of the degree to which their school district's comprehensive school counseling program was associated with traits of the most popular models, and if school district and personal characteristics influenced the selection process. The …

Reducing Intrinsic Cognitive Load In Complex Learning Such As Flight Training That Involves Both Cognitive And Psychomotor Tasks, Adil Aslan

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Flying an aircraft requires processing or considering great number of inputs and an ability to link these data to a massive amount of information in order to interpret them. As a result, flight training imposes a high intrinsic cognitive load. The focus of this research was to investigate the effect of decreasing intrinsic cognitive load for complex tasks such as flight training that involves both cognitive and psychomotor tasks. Participants ( n = 38) completed an instruction unit on how to conduct a simulated Ground Controlled Approach (GCA) and were asked to report perceived cognitive load in addition to tests …

From Heresy To Policy: My Prescription For China's Population Policy 25 Years Ago, Shaomin Li

Management Faculty Publications

Recently scholars have been calling for the loosening up of China's one-child policy, and even the Chinese government has begun to show some willingness to do so. The call is not new. In my doctoral dissertation 25 years ago I first showed that China should allow couples to have two children and could still achieve the same population control goal as the one-child policy. I am glad to see that what I proposed 25 years ago is repeated by many scholars and even acceptable to the Chinese government.

The Role Of Politics And Proximity In Sea Level Rise Policy Salience: A Study Of Virginia Legislators’ Perceptions, Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf, Burton St. John Iii, Ivan K. Ash

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

The acceleration of sea level rise (SLR) has become a threat to the stability of nation-states worldwide and associated with risks to environmental sustainability, economic infrastructure, and public health. However, from both an international and U.S. perspective, there is a lack of research examining legislative decision makers’ perceptions about policies regarding SLR. This study addresses that gap by examining how politics and proximity affects Virginia state legislators’ perceptions of the saliency of SLR. A survey of these legislators reveals their perceptions of credible sources of information, SLR-related risk, and who should take the lead to address SLR. While this study …

Outsourcing Expert Services By State Transportation Departments: A Look At Effects On Cost, Quality, And Changing Employment Levels, Juita-Elena Yusuf, Lenahan O'Connell

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

Privatization has increasingly become a policy option for government agencies struggling to meet rising demands for services but with fewer resources. In the transportation arena, many state departments of transportation (DOTs) have privatized by outsourcing highway functions to the private sector. But the outsourcing of technical and expert services such as those related to the design and construction of highway infrastructure may result in a smaller or less knowledgeable DOT workforce that is unable to perform the necessary contract management to ensure the quality of the work done by contractors. We posit an outsourcing process in which DOTs respond to …

Human System Engineering Applications From Distracted Driving Simulations, Holly A.H. Handley, Cansu Kandemir, S. Long (Ed.), E.-H. Ng (Ed.), C. Downing (Ed.)

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Most of the studies to explore the impact of distracted driving have been descriptive in nature; i.e. the research is conducted in naturalistic settings to evaluate the performance of the driver with and without distracters. However simulation models can also be used that predict the workload for driving tasks. Using concepts from process modeling, baseline models of driving tasks can be created for different driving sequences that include the associated fine motor, visual and cognitive human resources. These models can then be used to evaluate incidents of workload overload caused by different distracters, from both the internal and external vehicle …

Industrial Wireless Sensor Networks, Shancang Li, Hongjian Sun, Arumugam Nallanathan, Li Xu, Shanshan Zhao, Qindong Sun

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

(First Paragraph) Industrial wireless sensor networks (IWSNs) incorporate wireless sensor networks with intelligent industrial systems providing many advantages over existing industrial applications, such as wireless communication, low cost, rapid deployment, self-organization, intelligent controlling, and processing capability. With the proliferation of wireless sensor networks in industrial applications, IWSNs technologies promise to play a significant role in developing more reliable, efficient, stable, flexible, and application-centric industrial systems.

"The Realities Of Their World": Engaging Pre-Service School Librarians With International Literature, Kasey L. Garrison, Danielle E. Forest, Sue Kimmel

STEMPS Faculty Publications

As the idea of global citizenship grows stronger in a world with blurring borders, issues of social justice and international human rights should be available in the school library collection and alive in the curriculum. This paper reports findings on a study exploring the perceptions of preservice educators in using international literature to teach youth about international human rights. The 2013 Batchelder Honor title Son of a Gun (de Graaf, 2012), translated from the Dutch into English, tells the story of a young brother and sister forced to become child soldiers during the Liberian civil war of the 1990s. Study …

Practitioner Strategies For Effective Advocacy Engagement In The Usa, Elizabeth Ann Burns

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Increased defunding and destaffing of school libraries in public schools in the United States makes advocating for school library programs increasingly important. Practicing school librarians must develop an understanding of advocacy so they will know how and when to act for their program. Additionally, it is important to identify advocacy strategies so that strong advocacy plans may be developed. This study identifies the activities and practices of advocacy within the library programs of a group of practicing librarians. Findings suggest successful strategies of advocacy follow three themes: building awareness for the school library program, engagement of the librarian in the …

For Whom The Tunnel Be Tolled: A Four-Factor Model For Explaining Willingness-To-Pay Tolls, Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf, Lenahan O'Connell, Khairul A. Anuar

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

This research examines citizen acceptance of tolls and road pricing, and specifically focuses on determinants of the individual’s expressed willingness-to-pay tolls to use a tunnel express lane that would be free of traffic delays. We answer the research question “What factors influence citizens’ willingness-to-pay tolls” by empirically estimating a four factor model of willingness-to-pay: (a) direct benefit to the respondent; (b) relative cost over time; (c) community concern; and (d) political and environmental liberalism. We use data about citizen perceptions from the Life in Hampton Roads Survey, a survey of residents of Hampton Roads, Virginia. We find that willingness-to-pay is …