Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Shifting Personas: A Case Study Of Taylor Swift, Lela R. Lyon

Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics

This thesis analyzes how Taylor Swift has changed the way she expresses her Southern identity, specifically her dialectal features, over the course of her career and through her switch from country music to pop music. There were two processes to assess the change in Swift’s speech: the production of /ai/ tokens in interviewed speech and the perception of dialectal change by fans in the comment sections of the interviews on YouTube. Seven interviews on YouTube and their comment sections were used as the data source for this study. Production of /ai/ was measured through an auditory analysis to determine whether …

Poéticas Minimalistas De La Ciudad Contemporánea: Iribarren, Mínguez Y Del Val, David Delgado López

Theses and Dissertations--Hispanic Studies

Throughout the Spanish poetic production of the 20^th century, cities have developed a relevant role as a recurring space at the same time as society urbanized and an exodus took place from agricultural areas to the work centers offered by the cities. Since the second half of the 19^th century the city has been the meeting place for people from different backgrounds where the poet found, from his exclusive point of view, a new universe to develop in his work. However, the evolution of capitalist society sponsored the poet's transition from an artist to a worker in the …

Keepers Of Their Party: Happy Chandler, Alben Barkley And Franklin Roosevelt’S Fight For The Soul Of The Democratic Party, Christa Kieffer

Theses and Dissertations--History

This thesis argues that the 1938 Kentucky Democratic primary was a critical moment for the New Deal and the Democratic Party. Furthermore, it demonstrates the fractures forming within the southern wing of the party. Through this primary the paper examines peoples’ perceptions of a changing democracy. One that they believed included a much more powerful president and meddling bureaucracy. It details the major points of the campaign, including Franklin Roosevelt’s visit to the state the famous poisoning accusations, and the corruption within the Works Progress Administration.

Constraints And Opportunities In Community-Led Food Justice Models, Teya Cuellar

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

Non-profits that do community-led food justice work with lower income communities face particular constraints and opportunities. This study examined those constraints and opportunities through participant observation of one such organization and interviews with four other organizations. Findings include the diversity of definitions for “community-led,” assets that can help or constrain the organization, and diversity in defining “scaling up” their organization models and missions. The organizations that heavily focused on lower income consumers noted tensions with the board of the non- profit and lack of engagement of consumers. I conclude by critiquing using language such as “models,” “scaling up,” or “replicating” …

The Role Of Place In Community Cooperative Food Markets In Lexington, Kentucky, Emily Rodes Spencer

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

Food justice movements focus on providing communities with local, sustainable, culturally appropriate, healthy food while empowering local economic systems that allow for autonomy of both producers and consumers (Caruso, C., 2014; Cadieux, K., 2015; Hayes, C. & Carbone, E., 2015). However, current food justice movements often price out and leave behind large portions of the population. Research has shown that engagement with local food systems contribute to feelings of place attachment and a sense of place (Solin, J., 2017; Alkon, A., 2011). The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between volunteers at two alternative, cooperative community food …

Consumer Embarrassment – A Meta-Analytic Review And Experimental Examination, Alexander H. Ziegler

Theses and Dissertations--Marketing and Supply Chain

This dissertation consists of two essays that discuss the influence of embarrassment on consumers. In the first essay, I examine consumers’ coping responses to embarrassment in a meta-analytic review. In essay two, I utilize an experimental approach to investigate the impact of embarrassing encounters on unrelated consumers who merely observe the situation.

In the first essay, the meta-analysis is guided by findings in the literature that demonstrate embarrassment can both promote and detract from consumer well-being. However, despite being investigated for decades, little is known about how consumers cope with embarrassing situations, and when and why consumers respond in positive …

Essays On Price Discrimination And Demand Learning, Benjamin E. Wallace

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

This dissertation consists of three essays examining how and why firms set prices in markets. In particular, this dissertation shows how firms may utilize nonlinear pricing to price discriminate, how firms may experiment with the prices they set to learn about the demand function in the market they serve in later periods and the effects of these pricing strategies on consumer welfare.

In Essay 1, I show how firms in the milk market use nonlinear price schedules -- quantity discounts -- to price discriminate and increase profits. I find that firms have a greater ability to price discriminate on their …

Price Discrimination On Complementary Goods: Evidence From The Men's Shaving Razor Market, Zheng Yang

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

This dissertation analyzes the men's razor market to examine whether a monopolist can implement price discrimination for the complementary goods. I estimate a demand system for razors using the random coefficient logit model with market level sales data from the Nielsen Store Scanner dataset and individual demographic data from the March CPS. The estimated parameters are used to construct price-cost markups. By comparing the markups of different products, I find evidence that Gillette uses a two-part tariff strategy. This conclusion can be generalized as that of a monopolist setting the prices of tie-in products consistent with a two-part tariff.

Essays On Child Well-Being And The Social Safety Net, Cody N. Vaughn

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

This dissertation consists of three essays examining the role of two particular social safety net programs, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), on the well-being of children from disadvantaged households. While the impact of these programs on the adults and parents of the household have been studied extensively, less is known about their effect on children. This is true for both their immediate impact on child well-being and any long-run impacts on children who grow up under these programs. Given the demonstrated importance of child well-being on later life adult outcomes, …

Essays On Institutions And Development, Andrew Jonelis

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

The essays in this dissertation examine how political institutions affect economic development. In the first essay, I examine how executive control of the legislature shapes the time horizon of governing politicians and its effect on economic growth. The second essay examines how border changes over the past two centuries have provided different areas within modern countries with different institutional histories and how this affects the geographic concentration of economic activity. For the final essay, I examine whether elections have an effect on macroeconomic volatility when controlling for the democratic nature of the regime.

Policy, Aggregate Productivity And Misallocation, Guowen Chen

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

This dissertation explores the effects of factors such as industrial policy and listing on the stock market on manufacturing firms’ profitability and productivity.

The second chapter investigates the effect of industrial policies on misallocation using a rich data-set of Chinese firms. Using a difference-in-difference approach, I provide evidence that government policies (i.e. the 10^th Five Year Plan) favoring particular industries lead to increased misallocation (i.e., an increase in the dispersion of revenue productivity across firms in four-digit industries). Moreover, the differential changes between industries supported and not supported by the 10^th Five Year Plan are quantitatively large and …

The Impact Of Medicare Part D On Mortality And Financial Stability, Katherine Toran

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

Using the Health and Retirement Study Panel core files from 1996 to 2014, I analyze how Medicare Part D impacted access to prescription drug coverage by various demographic factors such as race, gender, and income. In Chapter 1, I find the highest take-up rates for those who were white, female, and with higher incomes. However, increases in coverage were high across the board, such that Medicare Part D also improved drug insurance coverage for those who were black, male, and with lower income. Thus, although Medicare Part D did increase prescription drug insurance coverage for seniors across the board, I …

The Effects Of Destruction: A Macroeconomic Story, Kara Riesing

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

Destructive events such as natural disasters and terrorist attacks occur not only in developing economies but also developed economies. Consequently, the response of these economies has been observed in case of both type of events. This dissertation is a collection of essays regarding natural disasters, terrorist attacks and the macroeconomy. Specifically, I examine the response of local labor markets that reflect a wide spectrum of economies, but also have a safety-net in the form of being part of a developed country in the aftermath of a violent tornado. Further, I explore the heterogeneity in the economies response to natural disasters …

Winning The War: Sanction Effectiveness And Consequences, Kevin Allen

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

Chapter 1 shows that there is a negative relationship observed between sanctions and civil liberties in the target country, which is driven by how exposed the target country's trade was to the sanctioning countries. Using a fixed panel regression covering 160 countries from 1972-2005, it is found that import exposure to the sanctioning countries drives this negative relationship, with every percentage point of import exposure reducing the inverted FHI freedom score by 0.165 points. This implies that restricting imports to a country that promotes an oppressive response by the targeted government.

Chapter 2 examines whether countries change their trade patterns …

The Distributional And Countercyclical Effects Of Public Capital Investment In Transportation Infrastructure, Matthijs B. Schendstok

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

While the long run productivity of federal highway infrastructure spending has been well researched, their short run effects and effects on income inequality. This dissertation explores those under-researched unconventional effects.

In the first chapter, I investigate the effects of federal infrastructure grants on income inequality. I find that grants reduce inequality in both recipient and neighboring states. The reduction is driven by greater income among the bottom three income quintiles. I explore two mechanisms using person level data and find that the reduction in inequality is attributable to higher income for low-skilled workers and workers working in low-skilled industries.

In …

Perceptions Of Fairness And Political Support In The Face Of Economic Inequality, Gregory W. Saxton

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

In this dissertation, I investigate two key questions: 1) What are the specific conditions under which economic inequality undermines democratic legitimacy; and 2) How does inequality map onto individuals’ perceptions of fairness and subsequently affect satisfaction with democracy and trust in political institutions? I first argue that individuals’ perceptions of distributive unfairness are key factors whereby economic inequality undermines democratic legitimacy. Inequality - and subsequent perceptions that the economic distribution is unfair - undermine political support by signaling that the democratic process is not functioning properly and by challenging people’s normative expectations about what democracy should do in practice.

I …

Gay Men And Satisfaction With Health Care Interactions, Michael Huggins

Theses and Dissertations--Nursing

The purpose of this research was to determine relationships among depression, anxiety, self-rated physical and mental health, self-advocacy, internalized homophobia, and quality of patient-provider communication to satisfaction with health care interactions. These were measured while controlling for select demographic variables: age; ethnicity; urban or rural domicile; relationship status; household income; highest educational attainment; health insurance; disclosure to health care provider as a gay man; reason for last healthcare visit; and, general health self-rating. The specific aims of this study were to: 1) identify general characteristics of gay men in this sample; 2) examine how levels of satisfaction with health care …

Social Workers’ And Teachers’ Feelings Of Self-Efficacy In Dealing With School Bullying, Sharon Lynn Simmons

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Bullying continues to be a serious problem in schools. School social workers and teachers face challenges daily to deal with bullying. This author examined school social workers’ and teachers’ perceptions about their feelings of efficacy to deal with bullying and what may account for those feelings in a population of 71 teachers and 26 social workers employed in Kentucky schools. Research was gathered using a self-report, electronic survey consisting of subscales of the Teachers’ Attitudes about Bullying Questionnaire (Beran, 2005), the School Bullying Questionnaire (Nicolaides, Toda & Smith, 2002), the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (Spreng, McKinnon, Mar & Levine, 2009) and …

Veterans' Treatment Courts In Kentucky: Examining How Personal Characteristics And During-Program Occurrences Influence Program Completion And Criminal Recidivism, Monica Lynn Himes

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Military veterans are disproportionately represented in United States (U.S.) jails and prisons, with nearly 10% of current inmates being veterans. Veterans’ criminal justice involvement is often precipitated by underlying mental health and substance abuse that are connected to their military service. Veterans’ treatment courts are the judicial response to a need for more coordinated provision of mental health and substance abuse services to veterans involved in the criminal justice system. Modeled after drug courts and mental health courts, veterans treatment courts are a judicial innovation that aim to honor the service of veterans by providing them an alternative to incarceration. …

Suicide Attitudes And Terror Management Theory, Athena Kheibari

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Virtually every mental health problem carries stigma, but suicide appears to run so counter to our accumulative, achievement-oriented society, that it poses even greater threat of stigma. While suicide is inherently troubling in that it opposes the fundamental human instinct for self-preservation, the tendency to stigmatize and reject individuals affected by suicide appears to be counterproductive and excessive. Hence, the purpose of this three-manuscript dissertation is to gain a more nuanced understanding of suicide attitudes from an exploratory and terror management theory perspective. More specifically, this dissertation attempts to answer three general questions: (1) how do suicide attitudes differ from …

Mortgage Loans And Financial Security Among Middle-Aged And Older Americans, Qun Zhang

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Mortgage loan debt is prevalent among middle-aged and older Americans. With higher average outstanding balances, many people are unlikely to pay off their mortgage debt by retirement. Meanwhile, as people age, health shocks are more likely to occur. Medical expenses may compete with mortgage payments and relate to financial insecurity in later years. In order to alleviate financial strain during times of financial hardship, senior homeowners may find reverse mortgage the solution they are looking for. Targeting American adults age 50 and older, this dissertation investigates mortgage loan debt and financial security using panel data from the Health and Retirement …

Maternal Relationships, Bullying, And Deviance: A Comparison Of Adolescents With And Without Medical Conditions, Kristina M. Hayes

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The purpose of the current study was to examine and compare the quality of the mother-adolescent relationship, the prevalence of bullying and cyberbullying perpetration and victimization, and the prevalence of externalizing behaviors, as well as the relationship among these constructs, in a clinical and a nonclinical sample of adolescents. It tested a series of hypotheses focused on group differences in the mother-adolescent relationship, peer victimization, and externalizing behaviors (i.e. deviant behaviors and bullying perpetration) for the clinical and nonclinical samples. It also tested the relationships between the mother-adolescent relationship and peer victimization, deviant behaviors, and bullying perpetration, and whether these …

How Does He Do It?: A Phenomenological Study Of Men’S Experience As Teaching-Family Model Providers, Dallin Douglas Parkinson

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

About half a million children live in out-of-home care, generally due to state intervention (Children’s Bureau, 2016). The outcomes of youth in treatment are improved when they have stable relationships with caregiving adults. Group homes based on the Teaching-Family Model utilize a married couple who live in the home and are the primary care treatment providers. The present study employed a phenomenological approach to explore the lived experience of eight men who have worked in this role for at least a year. Intrapersonal and interpersonal processes and motivations were identified as common themes among respondents for how and why they …

A Closer Look At Internet Addiction, Jakub Mikuška

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Based on a sample of 1,012 late adolescents and young adults (ages 18-26), the current three interrelated studies tested a series of specific questions and hypotheses focused on understanding Internet Addiction.

Study 1 sought to directly compare psychometric properties of four of the most widely used Internet addiction scales based on citation metrics (Internet Addiction Test, Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire, Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale 2 and Chen Internet Addiction Scale), and to aggregate the best items across all scales into a new measure using bifactor IRT analyses. The resulting 10-item Aggregated Internet Addiction Scale (AIAS) consists of the best …

Caregivers Of Parents With Alzheimer’S Disease: Quality Of Life For Caregivers: Perspectives & Family Dynamics, Matthew Cornu

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

This study furthers Alzheimer’s family literature regarding the impact of caregiver attachment, readiness to provide care, and caregiver quality of life. A sample of 33 participants caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s disease in the state of Kentucky was recruited to complete a questionnaire for the study. The questionnaire consisted of an online survey about participants’ experiences and attachments growing up with their parents, their experiences becoming caregivers to their parents with Alzheimer’s disease, and participants’ current perspectives of their own quality of life. Positive perspectives in regards to quality of life among caregivers seem to be a predictor of …

Beyond Telling: A Phenomenology Of Adoptive Parents' Adoption Communication Openness With Early Adolescents, Jane D. Samuel

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Despite calls for increased Adoption Communication Openness (ACO) within the adoptive family, research indicates that families still struggle to accomplish the recommended elements and levels of openness. What could be holding families back from this key process? Three focus groups comprised of 17 adoptive parents of early adolescents (aged 10-14) who were age 0-2 at the time of placement were thematically coded. This inductive analysis revealed the complexity rooted in being —sometimes successfully and sometimes not—communicatively open. Four key themes emerged painting a vivid and rich picture of: a) the breadth and depth of this experience; b) the work entailed; …

Developmental Sequelae In Language, Empathy, Self-Control, And Psychopathy From Infancy To Middle Adolescence, Magda Javakhishvili

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The present empirical work aims to discern the underlying mechanisms of purported developmental links among several key human characteristics including language skills, self-control, empathy, and psychopathic traits. Accordingly, three interrelated studies are carried out testing the longitudinal associations of various kinds (e.g., direct, indirect, bidirectional) among these constructs. All three studies are conceptually framed in consideration of the extant research and relevant theories. They employ the data set provided by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of Early Child Care and Youth Development Study of N = 1,364 children followed from infancy through middle adolescence.

Study 1 …

The Interactive Effect Of A Text Message Intervention And Connectivity Among Rural Adolescents, Kara Coldiron

Theses and Dissertations--Nutrition and Food Systems

Social cohesion among peers profoundly influences decision making during adolescence. Despite this, the current research is very limited concerning the association of social cohesion and intimacy among rural adolescent peers with dietary intake and weight outcomes. This is problematic because social cohesion could be an unknown contributing factor in obesity among rural adolescents. The purpose of this study was to investigate how social cohesion and intimacy among rural adolescents in Kentucky and North Carolina affects the outcomes of a text message intervention aimed at improving fruit, vegetable, fast food and sugar sweetened beverage intake. Additionally, to determine if social cohesion …

Evaluating Kentucky State Pension Plans In The 2000s And Best Practices Moving Forward, Sarah Alegria

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The Commonwealth of Kentucky sponsors three different pension retirement systems. This includes Kentucky Employee Retirement System, Teacher’s Retirement System, and Kentucky’s Judicial Form of Retirement System. Kentucky has one of the worst funded pension retirement plans and is currently facing shortfalls of about $43 billion (PEW, 2013). Between 1998-2008, Commonwealth of Kentucky’s legislators made many detrimental policy decisions that negatively affected its Pension Retirement System. The most impacting includes:

• Enhancements of Benefits in the Nineties
• Changing Final Compensation from the average of five-years to the average of three-years
• Mandated Yearly Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA)
• Not requiring the State to …

Two Cultures, One Identity: Biculturalism Of Young Mexican Americans, Janela Aida Salazar

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

The purpose of this study was to explore the daily life of the younger generation of Mexican Americans through a phenomenology design. Specifically, in regard to how the culture-sharing pattern of biculturalism is reflected in their lives and the way they construct their bicultural identity. The study utilized rich qualitative data to paint a clear and descriptive picture of the internal process of biculturalism within eight Mexican American college students. Ultimately, the data analysis aimed to collect and reflect their voices and the stories. This was done through three distinct data methods that complemented each other: interviews (oral), photo elicitation …