Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Design Science In Human-Computer Interaction: A Model And Three Examples, Nathan Prestopnik

School of Information Studies - Dissertations

Humanity has entered an era where computing technology is virtually ubiquitous. From websites and mobile devices to computers embedded in appliances on our kitchen counters and automobiles parked in our driveways, information and communication technologies (ICTs) and IT artifacts are fundamentally changing the ways we interact with our world. Indeed, the world itself changing, becoming ever more artificial. It is a designed world that we have created for ourselves.

Human-computer interaction (HCI) scholars are concerned with the interactions that occur between people and technology in this new world: how do IT artifacts impact the human experience, and how can knowledge …

An Investigation Of Digital Reference Interviews: A Dialogue Act Approach, Keisuke Inoue

School of Information Studies - Dissertations

The rapid increase of computer-mediated communications (CMCs) in various forms such as micro-blogging (e.g. Twitter), online chatting (e.g. digital reference) and community- based question-answering services (e.g. Yahoo! Answers) characterizes a recent trend in web technologies, often referred to as the social web. This trend highlights the importance of supporting linguistic interactions in people's online information-seeking activities in daily life - something that the web search engines still lack because of the complexity of this hu- man behavior. The presented research consists of an investigation of the information-seeking behavior of digital reference services through analysis of discourse semantics, called dialogue acts, …

Social Technologies And Informal Knowledge Sharing Within And Across Organizations, Jarrahi Mohammad Hosein

School of Information Studies - Dissertations

This doctoral dissertation is focused on both empirical and conceptual contributions relative to the roles social technologies play in informal knowledge sharing practices, both within and across organizations. Social technologies include (a) traditional social technologies (e.g., email, phone and instant messengers), (b) emerging social networking technologies commonly known as social media, such as blogs, wikis, major public social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn), and (c) enterprise social networking technologies controlled by a host organization ( e.g., SocialText). The rapid uptake of social technologies, combined with growing interest in their broader social implications, raises pertinent questions about uses for …

The Public Library As Health Information Resource?, Mary Grace Flaherty

School of Information Studies - Dissertations

Public libraries have adapted a variety of services into their institutional missions, including: promoting early literacy, publicly available Internet access, children's summer reading programs, and the dissemination of tax forms. Libraries are disproportionately rural institutions, often serving people with limited health care access. Thus, by public demand they have evolved to become important resources for rural health consumers to acquire information. Some public libraries have approached this role by subscribing to health databases, or by providing a link on their homepage to a health resource such as MedlinePlus, but most have undertaken little organizational change to meet growing patron demand. …

Associative Processes In Statistical Learning: Paradoxical Predictions Of The Past, Jennifer Patricia Provyn

Psychology - Dissertations

The ability to process sequences of input and extract regularity across the distribution of input is fundamental for making predictions from the observed past to the future. Prediction is rooted in the extraction of both frequency- and conditional statistics from the distribution of inputs. For example, an animal hunting for food may consistently return to a particular area to hunt if relative to all other areas visited, that area has the highest frequency of prey. In contrast, humans asked to predict the next word in a sentence must make a prediction based upon higher-order regularities rather than simple frequency statistics …

Coping With College Stress: Does Sense Of Coherence Influence The Use Of Alcohol And Otc Medication?, Rebecca Silver

Psychology - Dissertations

The combination of stress and psychological symptoms (e.g., anxiety, depression) have been associated with alcohol consumption and the nonindicated use of over the counter (OTC) medications. However, some people have personal resources that contribute to a successful management of the stress response. Antonovsky's (1987) salutogenic theory proposes that a person's sense of coherence (SOC) buffers the relationship between stress appraisal and stressor-induced reactions. This study examined the SOC in relation to associations of stress-related indices with substance-related coping behaviors. One hundred and sixty-five college student participants completed questionnaires that assessed their demographics, stressors, perceived stress, SOC, psychological/physical symptoms, as well …

Differential Effectiveness Of Sitting Meditation Program And Movement Meditation Program In Reducing College Students' Cognitive And Somatic Trait Anxiety, Sanghyeon Cheon

Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation - Dissertations

A quasi-experiment was carried out to examine a possible aptitude-treatment interaction in eight-week meditation programs for college students' anxiety reduction. A total of 42 college students were assigned to either sitting meditation (21) or moving meditation conditions (21) and an additional 39 college students to a comparison group without treatment. Two outcome variables (cognitive trait anxiety and somatic trait anxiety) were measured four times by using on-line self-report questionnaires. It was hypothesized that moving meditation program would be more effective than sitting meditation program for those whose cognitive trait anxiety is dominant over somatic trait anxiety at the baseline and …

Conspiracy, Pragmatism And Style: An Analysis Of Richard Nixon's Antecedent Anti-Communist Conspiracy Rhetoric, Evan L. Johnson

Communication and Rhetorical Studies - Theses

This study is a rhetorical analysis of Richard Nixon's early-career anti-communist conspiracy rhetoric. In conspiracy scholarship, two tracks have emerged: the paranoid style and the political style of conspiracy. Nixon, though, as a tricky rhetor, does not fall neatly within either of those styles, instead he samples from both styles over time and even within single speeches. After synthesizing the two styles into a method, I analyze three early Nixon anti-communist conspiracy texts between 1946-1962 which span those years and cover various genres. Text one is Nixon's "Maiden Speech" to the House of Representatives in 1947. It is mostly in …

Water Politics: Governance, Conflict, And Vulnerability In Andean Peru, Flavia Rey De Castro Pastor

Geography and the Environment - Theses

Peru is facing serious social and environmental water challenges. Experts and policy makers are trying to better understand the social and economic impacts of an increasing rate of glacial melt and a consequential prospect of water scarcity. Currently there is a great deal of strain put on the water resources originating from Andean glacial melt because these sustain most economic and social growth taking place at the coastal desert. At the same time, the country's neoliberal development policies are changing the management of resources such as water. The gradual expansion of extractive industries along with the growing influence of non-state …

The Effect Of Public Policy On Health Service Providers, Marier Allison

Economics - Dissertations

Chapter 1

Low-income, publicly insured admissions historically cost more to treat than the average patient. To ensure that hospitals are reimbursed an adequate amount for care of indigent populations, Medicare reimburses hospitals an additional percentage amount according to federally set financial schedule. The reimbursement cutoff is discrete: at fifteen percent of a disproportionate patient percentage, a hospital is reimbursed an extra 2.5 percent of the standard prospective payment rate. I extend a simple model of hospital quality as a function of insurance reimbursement increases to determine that under certain circumstances there exists a positive relationship between quality and reimbursement. I …

Deepening Democracy At The Grassroots Level: Citizen Participation In State Devolved Funds (Cdf) In Kenya, Fredrick Omondi Otieno

Pan African Studies - Theses

That democracy is the most suitable form of government is no longer contested. However many questions shaking this global consensus continue to abound. Why is there a growing cynicism and apathy with the notion of democracy across the globe? Why has the concept of democracy had to attract adjectives that attempt to qualify or categorize it in different parts of the world? And perhaps most importantly, if in deed democracy is such a good "thing" how can it be made meaningful? This thesis looks at citizen participation in a state devolved fund (CDF) in Kenya as a space through which …

Parent Aggression And Youth Externalizing And Internalizing Behaviors: Stability And Mutual Influence, Ann L. Sheedy

Child and Family Studies - Dissertations

Parent aggression exists on a continuum with corporal punishment at one end and abuse at the other. There is still controversy as to whether any kind of parent aggression toward an adolescent contributes to externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Relative to what is known about parent aggression during childhood, much less is known about parent aggression toward adolescents from a systemic and developmental perspective. This study explored the stability and mutual influence of parent aggression and adolescent externalizing and internalizing behaviors. The study found that the constructs were stable over time, and that with this sample population, parental physical and emotional …

Adolescent Personality, Confucian Values, Parenting Typologies And Adolescent Behavioral Outcomes: A Study In South Korea, Yo Ok Chang

Child and Family Studies - Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the associations among adolescent personality traits, Confucian values, parenting styles (and psychological control), and aggressive behaviors in South Korean families. Although the use of aggression by Korean adolescents has increased in contemporary Korean society, there is a lack of research on how adolescent personality traits and cultural values impact adolescent behavioral outcomes through parenting styles and psychological control. The sample included 361 parents (mothers and fathers) and their adolescents (7th and 8th grade) and the teachers of participating adolescents. Results indicated that adolescents' agreeableness, extraversion, and neuroticism were associated with adolescent overt, …

Socio-Cultural Influences On Adolescent Smoking In Mainland China: The Mediating Role Of Smoking-Related Cognitions, Yan Wang

Child and Family Studies - Dissertations

The etiology of smoking behaviors involves the interplay among multiple systems at the cultural, familial, and personal levels, but few investigations have explored the effects of multiple environments on adolescent smoking behaviors. Survey data were collected from 658 parent-child dyads of Chinese adolescents aged between 14 and 17 years from Jiande, Zhejiang province in mainland China. Using data from multiple informants, the direct and indirect roles of socio-cultural influences, parenting strategies, smoking-specific parenting behaviors, and smoking-related cognitions on adolescent smoking behaviors were examined. Results indicated that smoking-related cultural values, extended family members smoking, and parental psychological control had direct effects …

Financial Intermediation, Growth, And Microfinance In Turkey: A Quantitative Study, Selina Howe Carter

Economics - Theses

This paper uses pooled data from Turkey's largest microfinance organization to test if loans increase borrower income in the sample. Using savings deposits as a proxy for borrower income, the results show a statistically significant, positive correlation between loans and savings behavior, ceteris paribus. This suggests that microfinance is an effective tool for poverty reduction in Turkey. Since there is no prior quantitative study on microfinance in the country, this study is of interest to Turkish policymakers.

This paper first outlines existing literature on financial intermediation and growth. It then describes the development of Turkey's banking industry and its nascent …

Impairment And Executive Functioning Associated With Symptoms Of Sluggish Cognitive Tempo, Adhd, Anxiety, And Depression, Whitney Lee Muhlenkamp Wood

Psychology - Theses

This study examined the relationships among Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT), ADHD, anxiety, and depression symptom sets in a college sample, and the extent to which these symptom sets predicted executive functioning and functional impairment. Also, this study investigated (a) the extent to which functional impairment and executive functioning (EF) problems were uniquely accounted for by SCT symptoms when controlling for ADHD, anxiety, and depression symptoms, and (b) which high symptom group accounted for the greatest amount of impairment. College students (N = 458) completed a demographic questionnaire and self-report scales of ADHD, SCT symptoms, anxiety, and depression symptoms, as well …

Disrupting Discourses Of Failure: Counter Narratives Of Black Male Students And Academic Success, Brandi N. Williams

Pan African Studies - Theses

In the twenty-first century, African-American males continue to be significantly "left behind" academically in comparison with other ethnicities and even compared to their female counterparts. Nonetheless, there appears to be one school that has been situated to have the "antidote" for this gap. This working case study draws on an interview methodology to investigate the programming experiences of alumni, former faculty, current faculty, and administration from a predominantly all-Black male school with a reported 100 percent graduation rate that is situated in the nation's third largest school district. Through a critical race theoretical lens, the interviews present narratives that counter …

Bridging The Gap: An Invitational Approach To Confucianism And Daoism, David Munson

Communication and Rhetorical Studies - Theses

The idea of cross or multiculturalism in today's rhetorical scholarship is essential because it allows scholars to apply a critical perspective to traditional modes of rhetorical scholarship. Many contemporary scholars, such as George Kennedy, Xing Lu, Roberta Blinkley and Carol Lipson have recently embraced a cross-cultural rhetorical perspective in their works. At the same time, other scholars have critiqued the traditional canon as too limiting and too reliant on notions of rationality, logic, antagonism and truth. Sonja Foss and Cindy Griffin provide one such critique of the Greco-Roman tradition by approaching the idea of rhetoric through an invitational lens that …

Constructing A World War Ii America: The Rhetorical Craftsmanship Of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Tiara Kay Foster

Communication and Rhetorical Studies - Theses

I add to existing scholarship an explanation of the rhetorical priming work that Franklin D. Roosevelt employed to overcome isolationism in the United States. Roosevelt asked the American people to trust him through the next great world crisis and used his prior two terms as well as strategic enemy construction as support. He framed the memory of his first two terms tightly and told them what to remember from their shared experiences to formulate an America ready for war. His leadership through the Banking Crisis and initiation of many domestic policies to keep America great were the basis upon which …

Essays On Health And Medical Care, Yin-Fang Yen

Economics - Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two essays that explain health outcomes and medical care in the United States. Health care has been a major concern of economists and policy makers. Policy intervention is one of the key factors that affect health outcomes, especially among low-income families. Welfare programs such as Medicaid and cash assistance are conventionally implemented to assist low-income families. The effectiveness of these efforts to improve health outcomes and medical utilization among low-income families is not entirely clear. As to the supply side of health care, the results of previous studies on how hospitals provide the services are mixed. …

Towards A Service-Oriented Enterprise: The Design Of A Cloud Business Integration Platform In A Medium-Sized Manufacturing Enterprise, Paul John Stamas

School of Information Studies - Dissertations

This case study research followed the two-year transition of a medium-sized manufacturing firm towards a service-oriented enterprise. A service-oriented enterprise is an emerging architecture of the firm that leverages the paradigm of services computing to integrate the capabilities of the firm with the complementary competencies of business partners to offer customers with value-added products and services. Design science research in information systems was employed to pursue the primary design of a cloud business integration platform to enable the secondary design of multi-enterprise business processes to enable the dynamic and effective integration of business partner capabilities with those of the enterprise. …

French In Madagascar: A Colonial Language After Independence, Christopher Roehrer-Macgregor

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The French first landed off the south-eastern coast of Madagascar in December of 1648. A little over two and a half centuries later they would land troops, marking the beginning of sixty years of colonization. The groundwork for government and education set during these years continues to the present day, including the use of the French language. In this study I look at the role of the French language in modern-day Madagascar. Using interviews from two major urban centers, I argue that French has a dualistic role, both as an opportunity for self-advancement for a select few, while also as …

A Tribute To William D. Duncombe, John Yinger

Center for Policy Research

It’s Elementary is a series of essays on topics in education and education policy. The main focus is on education finance in New York State, but general research findings in education and education policy issues in several other states are also discussed. John Yinger, Professor of Economics and Public Administration at the Maxwell School, Syracuse University is the author of most of these essays, although a few are written by or co-authored with other scholars.

The Economic Theory Of Deregulation, Samuel D. Gass

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

One of the consequences of the financial crisis of 2008 was a renewed focus on the issue of deregulation. The broadly recognized connection between the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression and the systematic deregulation of our financial markets dating back over three decades reinvigorated the economic and political debate around the appropriate balance between market freedom and government regulation. This paper explores this theme historically, analyzing several economic markets that were highly regulated prior to the late 20^th century. Through this analysis it establishes a foundational framework for the study of the widespread deregulation of the late …

A Matter Of Faith: U.S. Cable News Coverage And Definitions Of Terrorism, Adam Yehia Elrashidi

Media Studies - Theses

What makes an act of violence an act of terrorism? This qualitative study examines the ways in which three U.S.-based cable news networks--MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News--reported and contextualized four violent events within frameworks of terrorism: the mass shooting at Ft. Hood near Killeen, Texas (2009); the mass shooting near Tucson, Arizona (2011); a suicidal plane crash into an IRS building in Austin, Texas (2010); and the attempted bombing of the Federal Reserve in New York, New York (2012).

Although details between these four events seem analogous, the three networks appeared to contextualize only the Ft. Hood rampage and the …

"Thaai Thathaiyai Ngai Thaai": Narratives Of Rituals, Agency, And Resistance In The Klfa (Mau Mau) Struggle For Kenya's Independence, Henry Muoki Mbunga

Pan African Studies - Theses

The purpose of this project is to examine the role of rituals in the Mau Mau struggle for Kenya's independence. Traditionally, research on the Mau Mau has focused on the political and socio-economic aspects of Kenya's anti-colonial struggle. As a result, the place of spirituality and, in particular, the role of rituals in the Mau Mau struggle has largely been ignored in existing literature. Initially, when KLFA rituals were studied at the height of the Mau Mau struggle, the task was undertaken by colonial anthropologists and psychologists who were often unable to escape the snare of racist and Eurocentric prejudices …

Power, Likeability, And Perception: Evaluating Men And Women In High And Low Power Positions, Daria A. Bakina

Psychology - Dissertations

When asked, it is relatively easy to come up with an example of a position of high power (e.g., president) or low power (e.g., intern). One can imagine the types of tasks or behaviors each of those positions entails. The theories of social power detail how power is attained, the behaviors of individuals in power, and the consequences of those behaviors (e.g., French & Raven, 1959; Fiske & Depret, 1996; Keltner, Gruenfeld, & Anderson, 2003). Most of the studies on behaviors of high power individuals have found that no differences exist between the behaviors of high power men and women. …

The Territorialization Of The 'Republican Law': Judicial Presence In Seine-Saint-Denis, France, Joaquin Villanueva

Geography and the Environment - Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the presence of the courts in the spaces of everyday life in social housing estates located in Seine-Saint-Denis (northeast of Paris). Since the 1990s the judiciary has actively sponsored the territorialization of the courts (la territorialisation de la Justice) as the most adept measure to respond to a series of problems often understood as essentially "local": crime, revolts, "incivilities," and insecurity. The dissertation examines the proliferation of new judicial structures in crime-prone areas, and the increasing involvement of judges in local partnerships to more efficiently fight crime and prevent collective violence among youths from immigrant origins. More …

A Gis-Based Analysis Of The Environmental Predictors Of Dispersal Of The Emerald Ash Borer In New York, Renee Huset

Geography and the Environment - Theses

After going undetected for roughly a decade, the emerald ash borer (EAB; Agrilus planipennis)--an invasive beetle native to Asia--was first detected in North America near Detroit, MI, in the summer of 2002 where it has continued to decimate native ash trees (Fraxinus species) and increase its footprint ever since. The beetle's ability to disperse via human-facilitated mechanisms as well as biological means has resulted in an alarming pace of infestation, with the first positive EAB identification in the state of New York taking place in 2009. Using geographic information systems technology, logistic regression, and maximum entropy modeling (Maxent), this project …

A Constructivist Approach To Post-Reunification German Military Interventions: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, And Afghanistan, Nicholas Iaquinto

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Scholars and journalists have periodically referred to Germany and its military, the Bundeswehr, as normalizing. The trend, which is defined here as the increasing frequency and intensity of out-of-area military operations, is contested among international relations scholars, and this debate reaches the core of the three main theories outlining drivers of state behavior. This paper analyzes the underlying causation of normalization from these schools of thought by considering the decision-making process leading to Germany’s participation in multilateral military operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Afghanistan.

Including neorealism, neoliberalism, and constructivism, these theories are first divided into rationalist and constructivist classifications. …