Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Using Dlxs For Oral Histories, Kathryn Lybarger

Library Presentations

No abstract provided.

The Science And Art Of A Community Development Short Course: An Approach To Design, Teaching, And Evaluation, Michael Louis Geneve

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Community developers are often solicited to teach essential core concepts and strategies in the field but lack the consensus among their peers on which theories constitute the fundamentals. This study examines leading community development theories, concepts and approaches to establish the essential elements for a weeklong short course. In addition to content research, leading teaching theories were also explored to establish the core methods for teaching such a course. Active learning techniques were utilized to increase student participation in the learning process while building solidarity and capacity in the class. Finally, the short course was taught to a group in …

The Encore Experience: Using A Third Party Discovery Tool With Aleph And Voyager: Voyager, Tari Keller

Library Presentations

During 2007, the University of Kentucky worked with Innovative Interfaces as a development partner to make the Encore product a viable alternative search tool with Voyager. The project involved programming work to develop and automate extract scripts, as well as extensive testing for accuracy and functionality of the interface with the ILS data. This presentation will briefly describe the project and demonstrate Encore with Voyager. The audience will learn general concepts and considerations to keep in mind when working with third party products.

Response Style Differences In The Inattentive And Combined Subtypes Of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Karen J. Derefinko, Zachary W. Adams, Richard Milich, Mark T. Fillmore, Elizabeth P. Lorch, Donald R. Lynam

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study examined potential differences between the inattentive and combined ADHD subtypes using laboratory tasks assessing behavioral inhibitory processes. Seventy-five children completed two tasks of behavioral inhibition believed to isolate different processes: the cued reaction time task (CRT), a basic inhibition task, and the go/no-go task (GNG), a complex inhibition task that incorporates motivational contingencies. Three groups of participants were identified, including ADHD/Inattentive (n = 17), ADHD/Combined (n = 37), and comparison (n = 21). Results indicated that rather than showing behavioral inhibition deficits, the ADHD/I children appeared overly inhibited, as evidenced by slower reaction times across …

Organizational Learning In A High-Risk Environment: Responding To An Anthrax Outbreak, Shari R. Veil, Timothy L. Sellnow

Communication Faculty Publications

The National Center for Food Protection and Defense, a Department of Homeland Security-sponsored Center of Excellence, identified and endorses 10 best practices for risk and crisis communication. The best practices model is designed to aid organizations of all types in preparing for and learning from crisis events. This analysis applied the best practices model to a case study of an anthrax outbreak that fostered a full-blown crisis response. This study analyzes the learning experience of the crisis cohort group that responded to the crisis. The researchers contend that by evaluating a crisis situation using best practices as a benchmarking procedure, …

Obesity: A Lesson From The Venus Of Willendorf, Donald E. Greydanus, Dilip R. Patel, Hatim A. Omar, Joav Merrick

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Revenue Diversification And Economic Base On Revenue Stability: An Empirical Analysis Of County And State Governments, Wenli Yan

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

In recent decades, revenue diversification has become a prevalent practice in state and local government finance. The trend of revenue diversification, according to the portfolio theory, has far-reaching implication for public financial management as it may change revenue stability, which has been an important policy objective for state and local government administrators. This study explores how revenue diversification affects revenue stability from both empirical and theoretical perspectives. Drawing on portfolio theory and regional science literature, this study develops a theoretical framework to explain how the effect of revenue diversification on revenue volatility of sub-national governments varies in terms of its …

New Silks Roads: Promises And Perils Of The Internet In The Thai Silk Industry, Mark Graham

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The Internet is often touted as a panacea for perceived deficiencies in economic development. Its space-transcending abilities, which can instantly connect producers with consumers, have the potential to cut out intermediaries and to redistribute economic surplus in a more equitable manner. This dissertation asks whether the promises of the Internet are being realized in the Thai silk industry.

The project explores the following questions: (a) At which nodes in the commodity chain is the Internet being used?; (b) How has the introduction of the Internet altered production chains and the flows of capital in the Thai silk industry?; (c) How …

Irritability, Executive Functioning, And The Alcohol-Aggression Relation, Aaron John Godlaski

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The purpose of this investigation was twofold. First, to test the hypothesis that irritability and executive functioning (EF), two previously established risk factors for alcohol-related aggression, would interact to conjointly confer multiplicative risk for intoxicated violence that is not observed when testing either variable alone. Second, to test the hypothesis that irritability would mediate the relation between EF and alcohol-related aggression. EF was measured using seven well-established neuropsychological tests. Irritability was measured using the Caprara Irritability Scale-CIS. Participants were 310 male and female social drinkers between the ages of 21 – 35 years old. After consuming an …

An Analysis Of Textile-Impressed Ceramics From Slack Farm (15un28), Kentucky, Christina A. Pappas

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

This thesis represents a study of textile-impressed ceramics from Slack Farm, a Late Mississippian Caborn-Welborn phase site in Union County, Kentucky. The goal of this study was to use the textile impressions to provide additional insight into Caborn-Welborn social organization. The Caborn-Welborn phase represents the reconfiguration of communities in the Lower Ohio River Valley after the collapse of the Angel chiefdom and other nearby Mississippian polities. Results indicate that there was an increase in textile structural variation in the fabric used for the impressions at Slack Farm and other Caborn-Welborn sites from earlier Mississippian assemblages. Increased textile structural variation may …

Optimizing Learning Through Teacher-Student Relationships: A Test Of The Causal Process Student Understanding Model, Nicole Denise Dobransky

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

In many ways, higher educational systems in the United States are the most extraordinary in the world. Students come from all over to study in our institutes of higher learning. As our search for an explanation of how to facilitate student learning continues, the goal of this dissertation was to examine the heavily under-researched area of teacherstudent relationships as they relate to student understanding. Using the existing body of instructional communication research, the Student Understanding Model (SUM) is proposed and tested. Data collected from 302 undergraduate students was used to test the SUM. Results provide empirical support that relational messages …

Community Strategies In The Aztec Imperial Frontier: Perspectives From Totogal, Veracruz, Mexico, Marcie L. Venter

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Using archaeological and ethnohistorical data, this dissertation examines the character of the relationship between the Late Postclassic (ca. AD 1250-1520) frontier center of Totogal, located in the western Tuxtla Mountains (Toztlan) of southern Veracruz, Mexico, and the expanding Aztec Empire. Traditional models of imperialism examine frontiers from a core perspective that limits the autonomy and agency of groups in the path of expansion. Recent ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and archaeological studies of other boundaries, however, suggest that considerable room for negotiation exists within the space of interactions, whether asymmetrical amounts of power characterize the home bases of those groups.

I argue that …

Exploring A Multidimensional Model Of Victimization And Eating Disturbances For College Women, Malinda Martin Sudduth Isaacs

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Research demonstrates that sexual harassment, sexual assault, and eating disorders are pervasive gender-based social problems on college campuses. These phenomena can cause long- term psychological consequences, and negatively impact women’s ability to succeed in both academia and the workplace. Not only have the prevalence and effects of these issues been documented, a significant number of studies have found a relationship between various forms of victimization and eating disorders/symptoms. Research has shown that eating disorders may function as coping strategies for managing the psychological distress that often results from the trauma of sexual harassment and sexual assault. Although, this link has …

Second-Order Devolution, Bureaucratic Discretion And The Implementation Of The Temporary Assistance For Needy Families Program, Byungkyu Kim

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The passage of PRWORA in 1996 gave states the opportunity to engage in secondorder devolution (SOD), which allows local governments to exercise more discretionary power in the implementation of welfare policies. Currently 14 states have engaged in significant SOD, with a number of other states practicing SOD to a lesser degree. Given this trend in TANF administration, it is important to explore if and how SOD affects the implementation of TANF work sanctions and work-related policies.

Opponents of welfare decentralization insist SOD may lead to a ‘race to the bottom’ in welfare generosity to avoid the immigration of the poor, …

Agglomeration Economies And Geographic Concentration Of Manufacturing In Ukraine, Volodymyr Vakhitov

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

As a post-Soviet economy, Ukraine has inherited substantial production assets and qualified personnel. However, the economy was dominated by large-scale enterprises designed for much bigger markets. After the collapse of the Soviet Union Ukrainian firms faced lack of planning, breaks in contacts with their former suppliers and customers, and distortion of prices. There was a clear need in restructuring of the entire economy. Restructuring included splitting firms into smaller parts and privatization. The first phase of transition was completed by 2000 when the output grew for the first time after a long recession in nineties, and most firms became private …

Distress And Health Information Interests Of Women Following A Benign Breast Biopsy, Rachel Fancher Steffens

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Benign breast biopsy (BBB) can be a stressful experience for many women. Few studies have examined the specific aspects of the BBB more and less distressing. However, no research studies have examined demographic and clinical variables as they relate to distress associated with specific aspects of the BBB or the informational interests of women following a BBB. This study evaluated the magnitude of distress associated with each aspect of the BBB (additional mammography, waiting for the results of the mammography, being informed of needing a biopsy, etc.) as well as the clinical (family history of BC in first degree relative, …

Effects Of Mindfulness And Experiential Avoidance In Responding To Emotional Film Clips, Erin Celine Walsh

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

This study examined if levels of self-reported mindfulness and experiential avoidance were associated with subjective and physiological outcomes following exposure to distressing film clips. Participants consisted of 108 college-aged young adults who completed self-report measures assessing levels of mindfulness, experiential avoidance, and negative affect. Several devices designed to monitor physiological activity, specifically sympathetic nervous activation, were also attached to participants. Participants were shown four brief film clips of neutral and unpleasant stimuli while these devices were attached. After each film, subjective distress ratings were gathered every 20 seconds for a period of two minutes to determine extent of emotional recovery. …

The Alternative? Alternative School Calendars’ Effects On Nonacademic Data In Independent Districts, Nick Grinstead

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This study measures the effect of alternative school calendars, otherwise known as year-round calendars, on “nonacademic data”, which includes average daily attendance rates, retention rates (where retention rate is defined as percentage of students held back a grade level), and dropout rates. This measurement will be done on Kentucky’s Independent School districts, which have a unique advantage of never having a problem with overcrowding (which will be explained as an important consideration for measurements of effects of alternative school calendars) and in whose districts the majority of alternative school calendars in Kentucky have been implemented. The study will be performed …

Property Tax Revenue Decline In The State Of California And The Implications: An Examination Of Selected Local Governments In The State Of California, Ryan M. Mauldin

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The Center for Responsible Lending projects California local governments to experience a $107 billion dollar decrease in home values and taxable property rolls as a result of subprime mortgage related foreclosures [Lending, 2008]. Due to Proposition 13, property taxes do not account for a substantial portion of local government revenue. They do, however, constitute 53% of statewide K-14 funding, as stipulated by Proposition 98 (Education Revenue Augmentation Fund or ERAF). As a result of ERAF, local governments (defined as counties, cities, schools, and special districts) receive less money through a complex fund shifting process that offsets statewide general fund spending. …

A Formative Evaluation Of Kentucky’S Environmental Compliance Assistance Program, Bonnie Wathen

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Kentucky’s Department for Environmental Protection’s Division of Compliance Assistance has the Environmental Compliance Assistance Program (CAP). CAP is a relatively new program that has had little to no evaluation and measurement. However, with limited state resources to be distributed to departments, it is imperative that programs be able to justify their existence. Due to this fact, I chose to evaluate the CAP for my capstone project.

Because inadequate data on outcomes is available at this time, I was unable to conduct a traditional summative evaluation or include any statistical analysis. Instead I chose to conduct a formative, or process, evaluation …

'We Are Obligated To Think That The State Is Just:' The Akp's Geographies Of Islam And The State In Turkey, W. Jefferson West Ii

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

In the 2002 national elections in Turkey, the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP) won a majority of parliamentary seats and the leadership of all government ministries. Viewed by many voters as an alternative to both Turkey’s Kemalist establishment and the country’s Islamist political movement, this self described ‘conservative democratic’ party composed of former Islamist politicians and political neophytes sought to establish a Muslim political identity that was neither Islamist nor secular. This dissertation explores the discourse used by AKP politicians as they navigated several highly charged issues involving the religion-state relationship in Turkey. By examining what geographies AKP politicians articulated …

Business Improvement Districts: Should Lexington Establish One?, Melissa A. Hagan

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Downtown districts are falling victim to surges of new development increasingly taking place outside the city as people seek to escape fast‐paced city life for a more peaceful life in the suburbs. As people move to the suburbs, they either take the businesses with them or the businesses fail to maintain profitability in empty downtowns. Downtown Lexington has been no exception. The recent developments of Hamburg Place and, more recent the developments around Fayette Mall have attracted even more business owners away from downtown.

A new implementation approach for revitalization is gaining momentum, as downtowns are introducing policies that enable …

Redevelopment, Property Values And The Neighborhood Life Cycle: An Impact Analysis Of Downtown Lexington Redevelopment, Brett Anthony Rudy

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Over the past century, downtown regions have seen a great deal of transition, from powerhouse city centers to dilapidated slums. Downtown can be the hub of a city’s entire economic and cultural life, but it can also be the stigma of a city’s problems. It is easily one of the most dynamic regions of a city. But why do these regions fail? I contend there are forces at work, which lead to the failure of a downtown region, but there are also equal, if not more powerful forces that can lead a bring a city center back from the brink. …

State Corporate Tax Policy: Is Tax Competition The Main Determinant?, Gabriel Ramón Serna

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

In the past few decades state corporate income tax policy and coordination/harmonization of corporate income taxes have been regularly discussed in the tax policy literature. The reason for this level of attention is that capital is assumed to be highly mobile across nations or unions with multiple jurisdictions with differential corporate tax rates (Bucovetsky, 1991; Cnossen, 2003; Frey & Eichenberger, 1996; Gordon, 1983; Isard, 1990; Keen & Marchand, 1997). Further, much of the literature focuses on states’ “race to the bottom” in terms of corporate income taxation or incentives to base capital in their jurisdictions, and the tendency for this …

Evaluating The Healthy States Initiative Policy Forums, Jessica Harmon

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Since 2005, The Council of State Governments (CSG) has participated in a cooperative agreement funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) called the Healthy States Initiative. The initiative promotes public health by providing information resources to state legislators through publications and public health forums. CSG is interested in information about the impact of the public health forums on state legislators. More specifically, they would like to know if the forums have encouraged the participants to produce public health legislation, to support funding for public health projects, and to work closely with colleagues and various groups to improve …

Benchmarking The Board-Executive Director Relationship Of The Fayette Foundation, Jodie Butler Markey

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The Fayette Foundation is a young, nonprofit organization in Lexington. Although it has only been incorporated for four years, it has already raised over one million dollars to fulfill the organization’s mission. The executive director has been with the organization for two years and believes that a strong relationship with the board is important for the success of the organization. As a result, the executive director would like to find out how to maximize the effectiveness of the board-executive director relationship.

The research question asks what makes an effective board-executive director relationship, as well as which elements of the organization …

Developing An Outcome Evaluation Instrument For The Bluegrass Domestic Violence Program: The Use Of Cognitive Interviews In Questionnaire Development, Andrea Walden

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Questionnaires can be useful tools for evaluating program outcomes in human services programs, in that they provide quick, easy-, and inexpensive-to-gather information about the program's success in meeting its objectives. Questionnaires may be easy to use, but they are not necessarily easy to design. If developed using sound methodology, the data gathered from questionnaires can be valid and of use to administrators, board members, direct-service staff, and funders in improving a program's services without a more resource-intensive program evaluation.

An exit questionnaire was developed to evaluate the Bluegrass Domestic Violence Program's (BDVP) achievement of short-term outcomes. Short-term outcomes for the …

The Influence Of Veterinary Schools On The Veterinary Labor Market, Kyle Bosh

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Problem Statement:

Does the presence of a veterinary school in a state influence the supply of veterinarians practicing in that state? Citizens and animals in states without a veterinary school are at a disadvantage if the presence of a veterinary school significantly improves public health and access to medical services in those states that have a veterinary school.

Research Strategy:

The unit of analysis in this study is 50 states and the District of Columbia. The study is designed as a cross-sectional analysis of 2006 pet, 2002 livestock, 2006 human, labor, and economic data. The study uses simultaneous equations to …

The Missing Link: Marital Virtues And Their Relationship To Individual Functioning, Communication, And Relationship Adjustment, Amanda Veldorale-Brogan

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Relationship adjustment research is being expanded beyond established connections with communication and individual functioning. In recent years, researchers have looked to positive psychology and virtues. That research shifts the focus from psychopathology and communication to more core values and ways of being. The present study seeks to expand this knowledge base using Blaine Fowers (2000) framework of marital virtues. His framework views what a person puts into an intimate relationship as an important predictor of relationship adjustment. The present study uses this framework in conjunction with previous research to examine the direct and indirect links amongst individual functioning, marital virtues, …

Introduction: Economies And The Transformation Of Landscapes, Christopher A. Pool, Lisa Cliggett

Anthropology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.