Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Virginia Standards Of Learning: An Analysis Of Sociodemographic Effects On Exam Passing Rates, Anne E. Foster

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This study proposed to analyze the effects that sociodemographic variables have on Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) exam passing rates. By analyzing Census data along with passing rates from the Virginia Department of Education, the researcher determined if the independent variables white, non-white, poverty, female-headed household and foreign born explained variance in the SOL passing rates. By using linear regressions for each independent variable as well as a regression for a combination of the independent variables, the researcher was able to show the amount of variance that was explained. The results confirm that variance was present in each test subject …

Predicting Attitude Toward Sex Education In Public Schools, Sarah A. Gibson

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the teen pregnancy rate rose by 3% between 2005 and 2006, presenting the first increase since 1991. These findings are troubling in light of the consequences of teen pregnancy to teen mothers, their children, and society in general. Many commentators suggest that one method of reducing the rate of teen pregnancies is through sex education programs, particularly in the public school system. However, despite the fact that discussions of sex education in public school have been present since the 1920s, polls indicate that there is still a portion of the public that …

Abuse Behind The Badge Intimate Partner Violence And Child Abuse In Police Families, Denicia M. Veroza

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This study analyzes the factors that may contribute to intimate partner violence and child abuse among police officers' families. Secondary data was obtained from the National Institute of Justice Data Resources Program, "Police Stress and Domestic Violence in Police Families in Baltimore, Maryland, 1997-1999u (Gershon 2000). Surveys were distributed to 1577 Baltimore Police officers. The sample size for this study was 886, which included only those officers who were married, had live-in partners, or were divorced/separated or widowed. From this sample, it was found that 7.9% of the Baltimore Police officers admitted to committing intimate partner violence and 8.4% admitted …

The Simpsons: A Reflection Of Violence, Theodore S. Huptich

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Violence in the media has always been a concern to many people. There have been numerous studies that have reviewed the effect that violent television programming has had on the people that have viewed; most of these studies have shown an increase in aggression in the people that viewed the violent programming. However, there have been very few, if any, studies that have examined the amount and type of violence that exists in television programs. This study uses the television program "The Simpsons", due to its popularity and longevity, to examine the amount and type of violence that exists. This …

College Students Concern Toward Public Intoxication, Ashley N. Mason

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

A survey of college students was administered in order to better understand why students choose to either walk after consuming alcoholic beverages or drive after consuming alcoholic beverages. Students were asked to answer demographic questions along with opinion questions as well. The main variables used in this study were perceived severity of offense, perceived certainty of offense (i.e. level of concern about getting stopped), moral condemnation and punishment avoidance.

Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses were examined to see what characteristics have an impact on students behavior regarding public intoxication. Although significant with one or both dependent variables, perceived severity, perceived …

Correlates Of Marital Success A Homogamy Model, Sarah A. Raper

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This paper examines the relationship between five demographic homogamy variables and marital success. Throughout this paper, several questions were examined that seek to give a better understanding of the factors that impact the stability and quality of American marriages. Is homogamy an important issue in modern society, or have cultural advancements in American society made homogamy irrelevant? Do both ascribed and achieved characteristics still impact marital success? Data from wave one of the National Survey of Families and Households was used for the analysis. First, correlations between the heterogamy variables and marital success were evaluated. Next, regression models were used …

Generals In Three-Piece Suits—Contractors In Camouflage: A Critical Assessment Of Contractors In Iraq, Wyman E. Shuler Iii

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Contractors compose part of the total force for U.S. warfare capability in Iraq.

Some augment U.S. warfare capability; others do not. Some of the contractors are controlled by the military; others are controlled by civilian (nonmilitary/political) government agencies. The problem: Who are the contractors and how has the nature of government oversight and control over contractors determined whether contractor contributions augment or diminish U.S. warfare capability in the Iraq War?

Argument: It is the degree of government control over contractors that determines whether the contractors' contributions have a positive or negative impact on warfare capability. Ultimately the findings support …

An Empirical Analysis Of Macroeconomic And Political Determinants Of Private Investment In Sub-Saharan Africa, Ralph Cann-Tamakloe

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

The general macroeconomic and political difficulties experienced by many Sub-Saharan African countries in the late 1980s has led to economic and political reforms to improve private investment performance. It has been estimated that Sub-Saharan African countries needed to boost private investment in gross domestic product some 25% in the 1990s to achieve sustainable growth and development (Pfefferman and Madarassy, 1989). However, private investment performance has fallen short of the estimated 25%, and remained stagnant between 12.4% and 14.1% per annum from 1993 to 2002.

The purpose of this study therefore is to examine the influence of macroeconomic factors and democracy, …

Alarm Relevance And Reliability: Factors Affecting Pilots' Alarm Prioritization, Elizabeth T. Newlin

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of alarm reliability and relevance on pilots' trust. perceived relevance, alarm response frequency and time. Twenty pilots flew a simulated aircraft roundtrip from Dulles to Boston Logan and responded to 20 pressurization alarms. Alarm system reliability using two levels (60%, 80% true alarms) and system relevance with two levels (high at altitudes above 25,000 feet (ft) mean sea level (MSL), low below 25,000 ft MSL) were manipulated within groups. Results indicated participants perceived alarms above 25,000 ft MSL as more relevant and responded faster and more often to them. Participants …

The Effect Of Ethanol And Pfiesteria Toxins On Anxiety And Spontaneous Motor Activity In Rats, Juan Carlos Constantine

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Pfiesteria is associated with major fish kills in the Chesapeake Bay and the Albermarle-Pamlico sound and has also been associated with cognitive deficits in humans. This study consisted of two separate experiments. The first experiment was a near-replication of a previous study on anxiety in the elevated plus maze. The second study investigated the effect of ethanol on SMA in rats exposed to Pfiesteria toxins. Thirty-two rats were injected with either nontoxic water or toxic water taken from an aquarium containing active Pfiesteria shumwayae cultures and tested in the elevated plus maze. In the second experiment, ethanol (0, 600, 1200 …

Revolutionary Industry And Digital Colonialism, Dylan E. Wittkower

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Copyright-based industries have become revolutionary. That is, the machinery of production of digital wares has itself taken on the role of the revolutionary class within the political economy of digital production. The progress of capitalist production in this industry has undermined the conditions of its own possibility, not because it has driven the proletariat to rise against an oppressive system, but because the means of production, through digital media, have simultaneously made communist production possible, and the continued separation of the means of production from the laborer impracticable.

Front Matter: The State Of The Region: Hampton Roads 2008, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Cover, front matter, table of contents, and other materials for the 2008 The State of the Region report authored by the Regional Studies Institute at Old Dominion University

Part 1: The Regional Economy Downshifts, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

The spectacular first half of this decade is fading into the background as our regional economic growth rate has fallen back to the Commonwealth and national averages. Defense spending continues to rise in importance and now is responsible for more than 40 percent of our regional income generation.

Part 2: Regional Housing Markets Adjust To Changing Circumstances, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads has not been immune to national housing problems, but our mortgage defaults and foreclosures have been well below the national average. Our housing prices have not yet declined significantly, except for new residential housing. We may be a year or more away from the “bottom.”

Part 3: Local Televsion Evening News, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Only one of every six television evening news stories relates to crime or violence, but almost 33 percent of the stories that lead broadcasts focus on crime and violence, while 45 percent focus on some type of crime. African Americans are frequently featured as alleged perpetrators, while Caucasians usually are the reported victims.

Part 4: Women Earn Less Than Men In Hampton Roads. Why?, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

As is true nationally, women in Hampton Roads earn less than men. Gender earnings differentials are particularly large in occupations characterized by “crowding” – where women constitute a sizable proportion of those employed. Economically speaking, women may be better off in the Richmond metro area than in Hampton Roads.

Part 6: Wunderbar! German Firms In Hampton Roads, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Our region is home to 31 companies hailing from the Federal Republic of Germany and they represent the largest contingent (19 percent) of the area’s international firms. These firms “insource” rather than “outsource” jobs and pay above-average compensation to their workers.

Part 5: An Almost Invisible Corner: Care For The Mentally Ill In Hampton Roads, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

According to the U.S. Center for Mental Health Services, an estimated 64,972 people (5.4 percent) suffer from serious mental illness in Hampton Roads. Beginning in the 1970s, these individuals largely have been deinstitutionalized and now live within our communities, where they are served primarily by nine community services boards.

Part 7: Ranking Hampton Roads: Hot Or Not?, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

The two most respected rankings of the livability of metropolitan areas are David Savigeau’s Places Rated Almanac (PRA) and Bert Sperling’s and Peter Sander’s Cities Ranked and Rated (CRR). In their most recent editions, PRA ranked Hampton Roads 20th in the nation among 370-plus metro areas, while CRR ranked our region 137th. We analyze where these ratings come from and how we compare to other areas.

Differences In The Performance Of Knowledge Transfer Across Projects: A Study Of Gender And Role Of Key Project Stakeholders, Rafael E. Landaeta, Catherine Vergopia, Rey N. Diaz

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This investigation contributes empirical results of differences identified in key project stakeholders with respect to their use of knowledge transferred across projects. Gender and role were the two individual characteristics investigated. Project managers and members of project teams were the key stakeholders analyzed. Data was collected from 71 closed projects using a survey composed of closed-ended questions. The data collected was cross tabulated and statistically analyzed using Friedman's test and Spearman's correlation. The results provide evidence of the association of the performance of knowledge transfer across projects with (a) the individual factors of gender and role of key project stakeholders …

Exploring Interdisciplinary Prayer Research In A Health Context, E. James Baesler

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

Communication, Psychology, and Sociology are three leading academic disciplines engaged in the social scientific study of prayer, the spiritual communication between a believer(s) and God, but rarely do these disciplines collaborate in interdisciplinary prayer scholarship. Possibilities for interdisciplinary prayer research in a health context are explored through a review of the literature and academic interviews. Interdisciplinary linkages in the prayer-health context are organized in an integral "all-quadrant" theoretical model, and an assessment of the viability of interdisciplinary prayer-health research is considered.

A Study Of Counselor's Legal Challenges And Their Perceptions Of Their Ability To Respond, Mary A. Hermann, Debra Gail Legget, Theodore P. Remley Jr.

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

The authors explore the results of a study that assessed the types and frequency of legal issues encountered by counselors and counselors’ perceptions of their ability to respond to these issues. They also assessed whether the participants’ perceptions were related to practice setting, years of experience, completion of a course in ethics, recent completion of continuing education in ethics or legal issues, state licensure status, certification by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC), and highest degree earned. Results demonstrate that counselors feel most prepared to deal with situations encountered most often, but that school counselors do not feel as …

Blogging About Feminist Lnterdisciplinarity In The Study Of Communication, Language, And Gender, Cynthia Berryman-Fink, Janet Bing, Deborah Cameron, Amy Sheldon, Anita Taylor

English Faculty Publications

This article provides information about several blog posts discussed during a round-table discussion on feminist interdisciplinary studies in relation to communication, language, and gender. Topics under discussion include the nature of interdisciplinarity and its relevance to feminist studies, intercultural communication, and the study and teaching of gender in women's studies programs in higher education.

Social-Cognitive Biases In Simulated Airline Luggage Screening, Jeremy R. Brown

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The study examined the role that social-cognitive biases play in decision making processes during airline luggage screening, Participants (n = 96) performed a computer simulated task where they tried to detect hidden weapons in 200 x-ray images of passenger luggage. Participants saw each luggage image for either two seconds (high time pressure) or six seconds (low time pressure). In addition, on each trial, participants observed the pictures of the "passenger" to whom the luggage purportedly belongs. The "pre-anchor group" answered questions about the passenger before the luggage image appears, the "post-anchor" group answered questions after the luggage appears, and the …

The Politicization Of Everyday Life In Cleave's Weekly Police Gazette (1834-36), Edward Jacobs

English Faculty Publications

With circulation as high as 40,000, Cleave's Weekly Police Gazette, published 1834–36, was one of the first and most popular unstamped newspapers to mix political news with coverage of non-political events like sensational crimes, strange occurrences, and excerpts from popular fiction. Scholars have differed widely in their interpretations of the fact that the paper's mixture of radical politics and "entertainment" outsold unstamped papers that offered undiluted political news, such as Hetherington's Poor Man's Guardian (1831–35), whose circulation peaked at around 16,000. Some, like Louis James and Virginia Berridge, argue that Cleave's helped to co-opt legitimate working-class political discourse by …

Public Recreation And Neighborhood Sense Of Community: An Exploration Of A Hypothesized Relationship, Svetoslav D. Gueorguiev, Edwin Gómez, Eddie Hill

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

This study explores the relationship between park attributes (perceived safety and perceived benefits) and their relationship to sense of community in urban neighborhoods. The study finds that the perception of benefits derived from park use has a direct relationship with sense of community, and that park safety is indirectly related to sense of community, with the perception of park benefits mediating the relationship between park safety and sense of community. Theoretical and practical considerations are discussed.

Fourth Year Evaluation Of Tennessee Charter Schools, 2006-2007, Steven M. Ross, Aaron J. Mcdonald, Linda Bol

STEMPS Faculty Publications

In 2002, Tennessee passed its first Public Charter School legislation. Four schools were successful in gaining approval to begin operating in the 2003-2004 academic year. The second cohort of three charter schools began operation during the 2004-2005 academic year, with the third cohort of five schools starting up during the 2005-2006 academic year. No new schools were added during the 2006-2007 academic year. According to the charter school law, these charter schools were granted "maximum flexibility" to achieve alternative ways for public schools to educate school children. Though the flexibility granted to these schools is considered an advantage, previous research …

Reactive Attachment Disorder: Challenges For Early Identification And Intervention Within The Schools, Kimberly K. Floyd, Peggy Hester, Harold C. Griffin, Jeannie Golden, Lora Lee Smith Canter

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

Attachment is of key importance in childhood development. The quality of attachment relationship between the child and parent/primary caregiver may have an effect on the child and future relationships and social success (Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 1998). When a child fails to bond with a caring adult, attachment becomes disordered and children may not be able to bond appropriately or at all with other people. This inability to relate and connect with others may disrupt or arrest not only children's social development, but also their overall development. The purpose of this review is to synthesize information and research on characteristics, …

Warning: Sex Offenders Need To Be Supervised In The Community, Brian K. Payne, Matthew Demichele

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

The article explains the need for the training of officers so that they may properly supervise sex offenders returning to a community. It is suggested that officers need to be objective, be informed of laws against sexual offending and aware of common characteristics of sex offenders. It is inferred that a combined effort from different government agencies is needed to be able to effectively supervise sex offenders. Several steps to ensure the safety of the supervisors are also discussed.

Rap Music: Gender Difference In Derogatory Word Use, Elizabeth Monk-Turner, D'Ontae Sylvertooth

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Much of the literature relating to rap assumes such music contains violent and misogynic lyrics. Before exploring the possible deleterious effects of rap lyrics, it is critical to go back to the source and listen to the music. Our work examines the frequency of six profane words in randomly drawn rap music and how this differs between female and male artists. A content analysis of 180 randomly drawn songs from 18 randomly drawn artists was conducted. We expected that male artists would use more profane words compared to female artists. We also expected more profanity, by both male and female …