Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Ua1b1/7 Groundbreaking Complex For Engineering & Biological Sciences, Western Kentucky University

WKU Administration Documents

Invitation to the Complex for Engineering & Biological Sciences groundbreaking.

Ua3/9/5 Faculty-Staff Convocation, Wku President's Office

WKU Administration Documents

Speech delivered by WKU president Gary Ransdell at fall convocation. He discusses the budget, enrollment, community college, College of Health & Human Services, faculty engagement, economic development, sponsored programs, donations, campus construction and parking.

Executive Council Meeting Minutes, Wku Student Government Association

Student Government Association

Meeting to discuss organizational aid, recruitment, office and open house.

Meeting Minutes, Wku Staff Council

Staff Council

Minutes of the August 7, 2002 meeting.

Ua12/2/1 View Of The Hill, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Special fall semester opening edition of the College Heights Herald:

• Campus Map
• Roberts, Amy. You Think You Know, But You Have No Idea
• University Services
• Ragan, Jason. Masters of Fate – MASTER Plan
• O’Connor, Molly. Pushing Buttons: Cell Phones Not Welcome Everywhere
• Significant Changes in Parking Regulations
• Student Groups

Agents Of Socialization: Effects On The Attitudes And Beliefs Of African Americans On Interracial Marriages, Jashard Justice

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Using the 2 000 General Social Survey I analyzed appropriate variables to assess the effects of agents of socialization in relation to the attitudes and beliefs of African Americans toward interracial marriages. Socialization theory was examined and used as a framework to guide this current study. Regression analyses indicated that neighborhood composition is the best predictor of facilitating positive attitudes for African Americans toward interracial marriages. In line with past research, African Americans, despite ongoing discrimination and prejudiced attitudes, still prefer to reside in neighborhoods that are mixed 50-50 (Farley, Schuman, Bianchi, Colasanto, and Hatchett 1978). Contrary to expectations, education, …

Three Factors That Contribute To College Students' Acceptance And Tolerance Of Diversity: Religiosity, Moral Reasoning And Attributional Complexity, Tara Clemons

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The responsibilities of teachers today include not only teaching academics but often include teaching about acceptance, diversity, and societal values as well. This study proposes that several factors, which may be involved in this teacher role of acceptance and tolerance of diversity, are connected—including the teacher's level of moral reasoning, attributional complexity, and religiosity. Subjects included 181 teacher education majors at Western Kentucky University. The subjects completed the Defining Issues Test, Attributional Complexity Scale, general diversity survey, and a measure of religiosity. Findings include a significant correlation between the level of attributional complexity and moral reasoning and attributional complexity as …

Social Intelligence: Social Skills Competence And Emotional Intelligence In Gifted Adolescents, Lisa Corso

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Two schools of thought diverge into an ongoing debate as regards to the social intelligence of gifted youth. One view holds that the gifted are often maladjusted (Chronbach, 1960; Hollingworth, 1942). The contrary view is that they are more likely to be well adjusted, with overall above average social and emotional intelligence (Allen, 2000; Chesser, 2001; Kihlstrom & Cantor, 2000; Neihart, 1999). The current research is consistent with views supporting enhanced overall social and emotional intelligence of gifted youth. Some researchers have argued that emotional intelligence and social skills competence are subsets of social intelligence (Chesser, 2000; Greenspan, 1979; Kihlstrom …

The Viability Of The Implicit Association Test Applied To Attitudes Toward Individuals With Disabilities And Measurement Of Coworker Attitudes Toward Individuals With A Disability, Andrea Doyle

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Attitudes toward individuals with disabilities were examined using two different methods: (a) the Implicit Association Test assessing general implicit attitudes and (b) a vignette study assessing coworker attitudes. The Implicit Association Test was used in an attempt to replicate Tringo's Hierarchy of Preference using five exemplar disabilities: (a) Cancer, (b) Paraplegic, (c) Mental Illness, (d) Alcoholic, and (e) HIV Positive. The results did not support a replication of the Hierarchy of Preference. Three dimensions of disabilities were manipulated for the vignette study. These dimensions were the overtness of the disability, the level of risk associated with the disability, and response …

Children's Understanding Of Racial Classifications As A Function Of Their Knowledge Of Inheritance, Jason Glerum

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Many studies have examined how children categorize various objects but few studies have looked at how children categorize race. Research shows that adults tend to essentialize race; that is, they treat race as a natural kind (Madole, Keleman, Glerum & Webb, 1999). Do children treat race in the same manner? This study examines how preschool children, second grade children, and fourth grade children treat race. Children were presented with stories and pictures describing a transformation to a person's racial characteristics (that is, a change in external appearance from white to black or black to white features) and asked to what …

Emotional Intelligence, Social Competence, And Success In High School Students, Amanda Crick

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The relationship between emotional intelligence, social competence, and success was investigated. Success was operationally defined as elected leadership within a school group, club, or organization. The study sample consisted of 31 males and 89 females ages fourteen to seventeen years (grades 9 through 11) from three counties in south-central Kentucky. Student participants were characterized as Leaders, Joiners, or Non-Joiners of school groups and were asked to complete the BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory: Youth Version (BarOn EQi:YV) (BarOn & Parker, 2000), which assessed emotional intelligence, and the Social Skills Rating System - Secondary Student Form (SSRS) (Gresham & Elliott, 1990), which …

Behaviorally Disruptive Children's Reasoning About The Emotional Consequences Of Victimization, Kim Van Zee

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A sample of 58, 6 to 12 year-old children drawn from admissions to a local psychiatric hospital were read stories depicting acts of victimization and questioned about how both victims and victimizers would be feeling. Participants were randomly assigned to either imagine themselves as victimizers in the stories, or victimizers were presented as hypothetical characters. Acts of both physical and psychological harm were portrayed in which the victimizer either obtained a tangible gain or no gain was received. Children in the self-as-victimizer condition attributed fewer positive emotions and gave more moral rationales than did children in the hypothetical condition who …

Analysis Of Zebrafish Optic Tectum Visual Processing Before And After Optic Nerve Crush, Angela Mcdowell

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The visual system processes information at various levels. Initial processing takes place in the retina, which then sends information to the optic tectum, the first visual brain center in lower vertebrates, for further processing. There were two main goals of this study. The first goal was to obtain tectal evoked responses (TER) from adult zebrafish and to compare them to previous electroretinogram (ERG) spectral sensitivity data (Bilotta & Harrison, 1999). The second purpose of this study was to examine neural regeneration in the adult zebrafish at various times post-crush and to compare visual processing of these subjects to the normal …

Alienation And Exploitation Among Restaurant Servers: A Qualitative Analysis, Zachary Brewster

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The primary purpose of this research was to examine a sample of fifteen restaurant servers regarding the degree to which they feel alienated and exploited within their working environment. From this information several interpretive findings regarding servers' self-reported job satisfaction are made. In order to explore any possible socioeconomic effects the sample of servers was selected from two different restaurants that varied according to check average and mean dinner price. Data were gathered via indepth, semistructured interviews and overt nonparticipant observations. Although no SES effect was found, the data did suggest that servers experience high levels of alienation in terms …

The Role Of Implicit Racial Attitudes And Universal Orientation In Cross-Racial Face Recognition, Gordon Campbell

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The "other-race" effect refers to the common observation that individuals are better at remembering faces of their own race than faces of another race. The relevance of the "other-race" effect to social interaction between people of different races and eyewitness identification of criminal suspects has spurred much research into uncovering the nature of the asymmetry between recognition of own- and otherrace faces. So far, however, many attempts to consistently demonstrate factors that contribute to the "other-race" effect have failed. One of the factors that may play a role in the "other-race" effect, but has yet to be shown to do …

Estimating Population Numbers Of Black Bears (Ursus Americanus) In Eastern Kentucky Using Microsatellite Analysis, Kelly Vowels

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Black bears (Ursus americanus) occur sporadically in eastern Kentucky, and there is some evidence that a breeding population exists. In order to establish management practices to enhance the black bear population in Kentucky, information about this population is needed. However, until recently, no population size estimate has been available. Gathering information on black bears is difficult because black bears are elusive animals. The development of new molecular methods has made it easier to track and gather information on black bear populations, including estimates of population size. Molecular markers are particularly useful in that they do not require physical contact with …

Reading Mastery Versus Word Study Instruction As It Pertains To Third Graders' Reading Achievement Scores, Mia Sullivan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study was conducted in order to compare two phonics-based approaches to teaching reading. The two approaches were Reading Mastery (SRA Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, 1995) and Word Study (Bear et al. 1996). While Reading Mastery has been compared to other reading methods to examine the effectiveness of instruction with reading achievement measures, there are no studies that compare Word Study to other methods of reading instruction. The purpose of the present study was to compare Reading Mastery and Word Study instruction groups in terms of reading achievement scores. This study included 36 third grade students, 18 in each group. All students were …

Retreat Agenda, Wku Student Government Association

Student Government Association

Agenda for July 2002 retreat.

Retreat Minutes, Wku Student Government Association

Student Government Association

Retreat to discuss fall semester activities.

Meeting Minutes, Wku Staff Council

Staff Council

Minutes of the July 17, 2002 meeting.

Executive Council Meeting Minutes, Wku Student Government Association

Student Government Association

Meeting regarding committee ideas, hiring a secretary, software and archives.

The Role Of Situational And Dispositional Factors On Sub-Optimal Performance, Shannon Walker

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Pressure is known to decrease performance for well-practiced tasks. Research has found that pressure decreases performance for those with high self-consciousness when distracted, but the effects of pressure and distraction are not known for those with low self-consciousness. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess whether a distraction would improve the performance of those with low self-consciousness. A 2 (self-consciousness) x 2 (distraction) analysis of covariance (covariates emotional control, performance distance) factorial design was used to assess putting performance for 125 undergraduate participants. Results revealed that distraction negatively affected performance for both self-consciousness groups, but results indicated that …

The Effectiveness Of Listening Previewing On Oral Reading Performance, Latisha Smith

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

To successfully function in today's society, a skill that is arguably necessary is that of reading. Educators are constantly in search of effective reading interventions to use with students. This study examined the effects of listening previewing on the oral reading fluency of third grade students from regular education classrooms. Twelve participants were assigned to one of two groups: Experimental Group or Control Group. Results indicated that the listening previewing procedure was superior to reading practice only when the progress monitoring data was collected on previewed probes. The findings imply that improvements in oral reading fluency due to the listening …

African-American Women And Welfare: A Qualitative Study Of African-American Women Receiving Public Assistance, Michelle Randolph

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Using information obtained from interviews of a sample of fifteen African-American women from two counties in a border state, the overall perceptions of women receiving public assistance and the labels and stigmas (i.e., welfare checks, food stamps, and medical cards) associated with receiving public assistance were examined. Research findings indicate that there is stress associated with receiving public assistance, and the stigmas associated with public assistance influence people in the public domain to brand recipients socially. The findings from the interviews produced results indicating that the perceived differences and mistreatment felt by welfare recipients were, in part, the result of …

Effects Of Restricted Spectral Rearing On The Development Of Zebrafish Retinal Physiology, Lee Dixon

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Research has shown that rearing in abnormal lighting environments affects both visual behavior and retinal physiology in zebrafish larvae. These studies, however, used only darkness and constant white light as the experimental rearing conditions. The purpose of the present study was to assess the effects on the development of zebrafish retinal physiology of rearing larvae in restricted spectral lighting environments. Larvae were reared in one of seven different lighting environments: cyclic white light (the control group), constant blue light, constant green light, constant orange light, cyclic blue light, cyclic green light, and cyclic orange light. Assessment of retinal physiology was …

Perceptions Of Fairness Of Discipline Events In The Work Place, Debra Phillips

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Employees are concerned with the fairness of organizational outcomes they receive and the fairness of the decision-making processes used to determine how these outcomes are allocated in accordance with organizational policies. The present study focused on the distributive justice and procedural justice outcomes of disciplinary actions in work place settings. This study assessed the effects of three levels of the severity of rule violation, severity of punishment, and decision-making processes utilized. The results indicated that conditions allowing participation in the decision-making process resulted in perceptions of greater procedural fairness to employees, but did not influence perceptions of distributive fairness. The …

2002-2003 Proposed Budget, Wku Student Government Association

Student Government Association

Proposed budget prepared by Ross Pruitt.

The Evolution Of A Commercial Landscape: A Case Study Of The Motels Along U.S. Highway 31-W, Jill Brown

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The cultural landscape is shaped by human imprints on the natural environment. Many decisions are made that have rippling effects over time. One type of development that changes the landscape is transportation innovation. As improved transportation links are introduced, people change their movement to include the quicker, more efficient route. As movement changes due to increased accessibility, roads that were once traveled by all now have fewer travelers. The rippling effects of the decision to add new infrastructure start at the opening of the innovation. New businesses will spring up at crossroads and common stopping areas. The long established businesses …

Ua68/13/4 Limited Edition, Wku Journalism

WKU Administration Documents

Newspaper created by students participating in the Minority Journalism Workshop hosted by the WKU Journalism Department.

• Sebastian, Kandace. Shake Rag Preparing for Revival
• Clark, Ashlee. Concerts in Park Sizzling
• Byrd, Candice. Actor Relives Washington's Brave Legacy - Josephy Bundy
• Clark, Ashlee. Multi-faceted Clemette Haskins Returning to Start Foundation
• Davis, AnCharlene. Uncle Merv Aubespin Tells Students To Make a Difference
• Relerford, Patrice. Sullivans Share Success to Support Scholarships
• Long, Michelle. Teacher Trying to Draw Minorities into Profession - Leislie Godo-Solo
• Tucker, Harold. Army Sets Up Quarters on Hill
• Belcher, Tammy. Shake Rag Deserves Support
• Clark, Ashlee. Teach Black History Year Round …

Ua94/6/1 Cook Twins Oral History, Sue Lynn Mcdaniel

Student/Alumni Personal Papers

An interview with Anna Jo Cook Pickens and Betty Jo Cook Gibson, Class of 1948 conducted by Sue Lynn McDaniel. The Cook Twins were recruited by E.A. Diddle as WKU cheerleaders in 1941.