Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Inequality And Opportunity At Themsa-Level: Investigating Place As A Structure Of Inequality Shaping Mobility And Earnings, Colby R. King

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how the new urban economy has transformed the structures that impact individual earnings opportunities across place. Using data from the 1990 and 2000 Census, this study is based on two multi-level data sets, each reporting characteristics for approximately 2 million individuals nested within more than 200 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). This study examines how inequality varies across MSAs in the US. Associations between MSA-level characteristics, including proportion of employment in new economy sectors, earnings, educational attainment, and inequality, are tested. Strong evidence is found demonstrating strong and statistically significant correlations between new economy indicators and MSA-level inequality, …

The Parasitic Oligarchy? The Elites In Trinidad And Tobago, Alison Mc Letchie

Theses and Dissertations

The existence of an elite class within societies is often a topic of research in the study of inequality of power and influence. Researchers, however, acknowledge that the nature and composition of the elite varies. Trinidad and Tobago, with its colonial history and diverse population has had to confront issues surrounding access to power by various groups within the society. One driving force of the 1970s Black Power Revolution was the practice of color discrimination in the banking industry. Informed by Mills' (1956) elite theory and rooted in Beckford's (1972) economic theory, this project surveys the elite of Trinidad and …

Assessing The Impact Of The Court Response To Domestic Violence In Two Neighboring Counties, Gillian Mira Pinchevsky

Theses and Dissertations

Since the 1970s, there has been a proliferation of research on domestic violence (DV). The majority of research, however, has focused on the correlates of DV and far fewer studies have examined the criminal justice system's approach to addressing DV. This is particularly concerning given that historically, the criminal justice system was rooted in English Common Law and tolerant of marital discipline to maintain household stability. Through the efforts of women's rights advocates, policy makers began devising innovative strategies for responding to DV, including provisions for mandatory arrests, no-drop policies, and the establishment of specialized DV courts. Although there has …

Economic Agreements And Interstate Conflict: A Policy Substitution Model Of Coercion, Matthew Daniel-Marion Shaffer

Theses and Dissertations

Economic integration agreements - also called preferential trade agreements or regional trade agreements - have dramatically expanded in scope since World War II. While the proximate goal of economic integration is to increase commercial exchange between member states, there are strong reasons to believe agreements affect security relations as well. In particular, by increasing interdependence between member states through trade and investment, economic agreements increase the opportunity cost of coercion. However, they simultaneously marginalize commercial ties between agreement members and the outside world and exacerbate relative gains concerns through trade diversion. Hence I argue that while conflict between agreement members …

The Impact Of Age And Executive Function On Susceptibility To Misinformation, Michelle Phillips-Meek

Theses and Dissertations

The current study examined the impact of age and executive function on susceptibility to misinformation. A total of 41 healthy young (19-31) and older (59-77) adults were presented with visual misinformation in a paradigm originally used by Okado and Stark (2005). Participants then completed a recognition memory task while undergoing a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan. Participants also completed a series of cognitive measures used to assess executive function. Results showed that age and executive function were both significant predictors of recognition memory accuracy. Activity in brain regions associated with conflict processing was greater for accurate versus false memory …

Making Stewardship Meaningful For Nonprofits: Stakeholder Motivations, Attitudes, Loyalty And Behaviors, Geah N. Pressgrove

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the ways in which stewardship motivates nonprofit stakeholder attitudes, behaviors and loyalty. Using an online survey of stakeholders from eight local United Ways in one southern state (N=660), this research has three major focuses. First, it seeks to validate a scale to measure perceptions of the relationship cultivation strategies of stewardship. Second, it investigates group differences between nonprofit stakeholder types (donor only versus both donor and volunteer). Third, the study explores opportunities to extend existing relationship management models beyond assessments of perceived relationship quality to include desirable behavioral outcomes.

Findings offer a new conceptualization of stewardship comprised …

Uncovering The Structures In Ecological Networks: Multiple Techniques For Multiple Purposes, Peng Gao

Theses and Dissertations

Ecosystem structure and function are the product of biological and ecological elements and their connections and interactions. Understanding structure and process in ecosystems is critical to ecological studies. Ecological networks, based on simple concepts in which biological and ecological elements are depicted as nodes with relationships between them described as links, have been recognized as a valuable means of clarifying the relationship between structures and process in ecosystems. Ecological network analysis has benefited from the advancement of techniques in social science, computer science, and mathematics, but attention must be paid to whether the designs of these techniques follow ecological principles …

Using Multivariate Pattern Analysis To Identify Conceptual Knowledge Representation In The Brain, Jing Wang

Theses and Dissertations

Representation of semantic knowledge is an important aspect of cognitive function. The processing of concrete (e.g., book) and abstract (e.g., freedom) semantic concepts show systematic differences on various behavioral measures in both healthy and clinical populations. However, previous studies examining the difference in the neural substrates correlating with abstract and concrete concept representations have reached inconsistent conclusions. This dissertation used multiple novel data analyses approaches on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, to investigate representational differences of abstract and concrete concepts and to provide converging evidence that the representations of abstract and concrete semantic knowledge in the brain rely on …

What Can Reader Comments To News Online Contribute To Engagement And Interactivity? A Quantitative Approach, Brett A. Borton

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the relationship between journalism and computer-mediated communication by exploring the degree to which newly empowered audience members are using the reader comment forum on newspaper websites to participate in democratic discourse - a key component of civic engagement. Twenty-first century journalism has evolved from the traditional asynchronous, 'one-to-many' model into a process involving producers, content and audiences. The interactive capabilities of Internet-based news products have enabled legacy media to connect with audiences in unprecedented fashion. Perhaps more than any other interactive platform, the reader comment forum on online news sites reflects the ideal of the 'public sphere,' …

Does Human Genetic Diversity Affect Net Productivity?, Breyon Jontae Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Quamrul Ashraf and Oded Galors' (2013) study, "The `Out of Africa' Hypothesis, Human Genetic Diversity, and Comparative Economic Development", seeks to explain cross-country variations in economic development, particularly per capita income, through variations in human genetic diversity. Their analysis depends on two fundamental assumptions; genetic diversity's positive effect upon technological productivity and its negative effect upon social capital. This study tests the validity of the results presented by Ashraf and Galor. Specifically, this study seeks to test whether or not the hump-shape relationship observed between income per capita and predicted genetic diversity is validated. Our empirical work supports their findings.

The Shadow Of Consumption - How The Anticipation Of Active Use Serves As A Solution To The Public Good Dilemma, Michael Hahn

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Holding International Public-Private Partnership Accountable: An Analysis Of Sensitivity And Vulnerability Dynamics In Ghana's Water Sector Reform And Its Impact On The Target Population, Xi Chen

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the interaction among stakeholders involved in global public-private partnerships, using and developing the theoretical framework provided by the interdependence theory's sensitivity and vulnerability analysis, which is further supplemented by the two-level game model. Citing the case of Ghana's water sector reform, it looks into the dynamics among four categories of stakeholders involved in the partnership, namely the public and private partners, the World Bank (as the broker), and Ghanaian civil societies representing a broad spectrum of the local population. It is charged with the task of investigating the negotiation dynamics of all the listed actors in relation …

Child Sexual Abuse In The Media: Is Institutional Failure To Blame?, Jane Long Weatherred

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a longitudinal content analysis study of child sexual abuse (CSA) in the United States national news media from 2002 through 2012. It finds that the U.S. national news media have shifted their focus from individual level causes to societal level causes for CSA. This shift has implications for changes in institutional policies and child protection laws throughout the country.

The Importance Of Counseling Self-Efficacy In School Mental Health, Bryn Elizabeth Schiele

Theses and Dissertations

Clinician or counseling self-efficacy (CSE), defined as beliefs about one's ability to effectively counsel a client in the near future (Larson & Daniels, 1998), is widely accepted as an important precursor of effective clinical practice (Kozina, Grabovari, De Stefano & Drapeau, 2010). While previous research has explored the association of CSE with variables such as counselor aptitude, achievement, and level of training and experience, little attention has been paid to the self-efficacy of school mental health practitioners. The current study examines the influence of quality training and supervision on the level of counseling self-efficacy amongst school mental health practitioners, as …

Gender And Programming: A Comparison Of Program Availability And Participation In U.S. Prisons For Men And Women, Courtney A. Crittenden

Theses and Dissertations

The current study examines the state of prison programming across the U.S. and whether availability of and participation in prison programs varies by gender and other key factors such as the interaction effects of race and gender, self-identified needs, and facility-level characteristics. Using Morash, Rucker, and Haarr's (1994) study, the last major study comparing prison programming for men and women in U.S. prisons, as a guide, I explore the current state of prison programming using national-level survey data. The results indicate that gender does indeed matter for both prison programming availability and participation with women having more programs available to …

Policing Alcohol And Related Crimes On Campus, Andrea Nicole Allen

Theses and Dissertations

Research shows that college students drink alcohol frequently and heavily. This can compromise their health and well-being. Student drinking is also tied to crime. While prior work explores the nature and extent of crimes involving alcohol on campus, to date no study has examined how police handle these incidents or crime generally. This study fills that gap in the literature. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected by observing and interviewing campus officers at a large Southeastern university as they navigated through encounters with citizens. Findings include the following. Officers handle a variety of crimes, and do not have a single-faceted …

The Westernization Of Advertisements Published In Kuwaiti Newspapers From 1992 To 2012; A Content Analysis, Farah Taleb Alrefai

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the degree of Westernization in advertisements published in major Kuwaiti daily newspapers over the past 21 years (1992-2012). Utilizing a quantitative content analysis, the diffusion of Westernization into the content and form of the advertisements was analyzed. Specifically, a sample of 584 advertisements published on the front pages of AlQabas and AlWatan Kuwaiti dailies from 1992 to 2012 were examined. The advertisements were analyzed to detect the increase and/or decrease of the presence of 12 Westernization attributes. These attributes are: product/ brand origin (Western or local), Western models and or local models, …

Second Language Learnerhood Among Cross-Cultural Field Workers, Thor Andrew Sawin

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation studies second language learnerhood (ideologies about why and how to acquire a target language) among American field workers of a multinational, faith-based development organization, "Love the World". This organizational ethnography is longitudinal, tracking how learnerhood changes across the first years of field service. It is also multi-sited, tracing learnerhood across an assemblage of interconnected nodes. Field workers' learnerhoods are shaped by two larger ideologies of language learning which interact across the nodes of and individual trajectories through Love the World. One ideology, rooted in academic tradition, developmental second language acquisition and modernist missiological theory, valorizes the individual learner …

Geomorphic Variation Of A Transitional River: Blue Ridge To Piedmont, South Carolina, Tanner Arrington

Theses and Dissertations

Field data was collected systematically to characterize the geomorphic variations in a river transition from the southern Blue Ridge to the Piedmont physiographic regions in South Carolina. Ten study reaches were surveyed for cross-sections and longitudinal profiles. Surface grid samples of bed material collected. Downstream hydraulic geometry and downstream fining of bed material were analyzed using traditional power functions and exponential decay relationships. Reach-scale channel bed morphology (bedforms) was analyzed under the assumption that the transition in bedforms is related to changes in hydraulic geometry and sediment characteristics. Well-developed downstream trends of hydraulic geometry variables (width, depth and velocity) and …

A Geographic Modeling Framework For Assessing Critical Infrastructure Vulnerability: Energy Infrastructure Case Study, Leanne Sulewski

Theses and Dissertations

Vulnerability of critical infrastructure systems is of the utmost importance to a nation's national security interests, especially the electric grid. Despite the importance of these systems, disruptions continue to occur at an alarming rate, thus indicating that there is a fundamental flaw in the way critical infrastructure systems are analyzed for vulnerability.

Critical infrastructure systems are typically analyzed using mathematical approaches such as graph theory, which strip systems of their important geographic information, and only look at their connections to each other. While these relationships and metrics provide useful information, they cannot provide the entire picture. As such, this research …

One Too Many: An Exploration Of The Roots Of Literacy Of Older African Americans In South Carolina Before Brown Versus The Board Of Education, Barbara Johnson Montgomery

Theses and Dissertations

Drawing from 1992 data, The National Adult Literacy Survey recently indicated that a large portion of the US population lacks the literacy skills typically required to complete complex tasks and take advantage of a wide range of employment opportunities. This report also indicated that the reading proficiency of African Americans was substantially lower than that of the White population, particularly within the elder population. A similar picture emerges in the more recent report, Literacy in Everyday Life: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy. As a group, African American adults ages 65 and older had the lowest average …

Readiness For Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports (Pbis) And School Mental Health (Smh) Interconnection: Development Of A Stakeholder Survey, Vittoria Anello

Theses and Dissertations

Positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) and school mental health (SMH) are prominent initiatives in the United States to improve student behavior and promote mental health and wellness, led by education and mental health systems, respectively. Unfortunately, PBIS and SMH are often separate initiatives in districts and schools, which usually results in many missed opportunities from this failed interconnection. The current paper details a necessary first step in the process by describing the development of a measure of assessing readiness to interconnect PBIS and SMH within the schools. Relevant literature, pilot data, and methodology are discussed, in addition to psychometric …

The Corporation In The Marketplace Of Ideas: The Law And Economics Of Corporate Political Speech, Matthew W. Telleen

Theses and Dissertations

In 2010, the Supreme Court decided Citizens United v. FEC, and raised the ire of commentators around the country. The President even criticized the ruling during the State of the Union Address. But corporate political speech has existed at various levels throughout history, and the debate is often clouded by complex balancing tests and convoluted reasoning. In this dissertation, the methodology of law and economics is utilized to analyze the value of corporate political speech to the marketplace of ideas. Chapter 1 introduces Tracing the history of Supreme Court decisions dealing with corporate political speech, variables can be isolated that …

Mental Health On Youtube: Exploring The Potential Of Interactive Media To Change Knowledge, Attitudes And Behaviors About Mental Health, Caroline Belser Foster

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation first examines the mental health content on the video-sharing site YouTube as a foundation for exploring the ways the mental health community (members and associates of the National Alliance on Mental Illness) have used, and may use, YouTube in the future for information seeking, social support seeking, information providing, and social support providing. Using a content analysis of a systematic sample of YouTube videos produced by the YouTube search engine for the terms 'mental health' and 'mental illness,' this study highlights types, topics and formats of mental health related content, including types of mental illnesses, as well as …

That's News To Me: An Exploratory Study Of The Uses And Gratifications Of Current Events On Social Media Of 18-24 Year-Olds, John Vincent Karlis

Theses and Dissertations

Social media is a dominant news source among the college-age demographic (18-24). Inherent in news consumption on social media is current events, that is, news that has individual relevance, societal relevance and is time constrained. This study adds to the existing body of uses and gratification literature. This one-shot exploratory study is the first of its kind, examining the "what" or different dimensions of news and the "why" or uses and gratifications that 18-24 year-olds use current events on social media. It also looked at the factors predicting recall of current events on social media.

Using a survey of 896 …

`Open' For Collective Business: The Governance Of Contemporary Economic Cooperatives In A Corporate Q'Eqchi' Maya Town, Michael Frederic Young

Theses and Dissertations

This article examines the governance of a Q'eqchi' Maya community located on multiple margins who are cooperatively managing several businesses. I do so by first situating this study within the context of Guatemalan history wherein cooperatives were first promoted in various economic and environmental zones only to be subsequently viewed as subversive and targeted by the military. The community within this study is located in the Izabal Department, a region far less affected by Guatemala's genocidal past. I argue that the cooperative businesses created by this community have allowed for a selective incorporation of market-based relations that mitigate the commonly …

Investigating The Predictive Validity Of A Domain-Specific Versus Global Measure Of Life Satisfaction In The Context Of School, Rachel Long

Theses and Dissertations

This study compared the utility of a global versus a domain-specific measure of life satisfaction in predicting behavioral and achievement outcome variables among a sample of adolescents in the context of school. The sample included 694 middle school students (7th and 8th grade) from a suburban school district located in the Southeastern United States who completed self-report measures of life satisfaction, engagement, behavior, and grades. Actual grade point average (GPA) and standardized MAP test scores were reported by the school. Based on previous research and the guiding principal, specificity matching, this study hypothesized that a measure of school satisfaction would …

Longitudinal Effects Of Depression And Sexual Dysfunction On Glycemic Control In Veterans With Diabetes, Adrian Laseter

Theses and Dissertations

Diabetes rates are on the rise, particularly among members of racial and ethnic minority groups. Individuals with diabetes are more vulnerable to developing depressive symptoms when compared to those without diabetes. While there appear to be no racial and ethnic differences in depression prevalence estimates among individuals with diabetes, members of racial and ethnic minority groups are less likely to achieve glycemic control over time, and may be at greater risk for diabetes related health issues. One such health issue is sexual dysfunction, with individuals with diabetes being more vulnerable to sexual dysfunction than those without diabetes. Sexual dysfunction may …

Motivational Interviewing And School-Based Mentoring To Improve Middle School Students' Academic Performance, John Terry

Theses and Dissertations

The development of effective and feasible interventions that are deliverable within schools are badly needed in order to address high levels of unmet academic and social/emotional need in children and adolescents. In order to address these needs, two interventions were developed, delivered, and tested in this study. One was an eight-session School-based Mentoring (SBM) program based on evidence-based academic enabling activities. The other was a one-session report card coaching program based on Motivational Interviewing (MI). Previous studies of these SBM and MI interventions found mostly small or statistically non-significant effects on academic performance. The current study tests the hypothesis that …

Environmental Footprints Of Violent Conflict, Swapna Pathak

Theses and Dissertations

The effects of militarized conflict pervade countless aspects of society, yet scholars have focussed very little attention on the consequences of conflict. My dissertation assesses the cost of war by examining the relationship between violent conflict and the environment. I argue that the effect of conflict on the environment is an im- portant consequence of war that is often overlooked in favor of other repercussions such as economy and health that are more politically expedient . I study this effect in the light of components of national environmental capacity and hypothesize that conflicts result in short-term and long-term impact on …