Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Difference In Quality Of Life Between Group And Individual Exercise In A Faith-Based Sample, Everett Jackson Amburn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is limited data on the quality of life of individuals who exercise in a group versus individuals who exercise alone. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a difference in the quality life between adults who attend an exercise class and those who exercise alone. Using the WHOQOL-BREF, 27 adult females were surveyed in Central California at two Church of Latter Day Saints locations. Ten females were enrolled in a group exercise class while 17 were individual exercisers. The data was analyzed using a t-test for independent samples to determine if there is a …

A Most Violent Game: A Framing Study On The Media’S Coverage Of Concussions And Injuries In Sports, Theodore P. Schwartz Ii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following is a study on the effects of framing the topic of concussions in the sports media. The study examined the differences between “perceptions of seriousness” of concussions based on two article conditions and how men and women, athletes and non-athletes, sports fans and non-sports fans all viewed the seriousness of concussions. Other variables of analysis included testing participants for their emotional empathy and aggressiveness in relation to their views on concussions. The findings of the study did not confirm most of the hypotheses, but the major hypothesis was supported. For participants who read the “serious” article condition, they …

Client Experiences Of Mindfulness Meditation In The Counseling Setting: A Qualitative Study, Veronica L. O'Brien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mindfulness meditation is an emerging trend, and previous research conducted focused on benefits of mindfulness meditation as a training technique for beginning counselors, symptoms mindfulness meditation may alleviate, and specific types of mindfulness meditation (e.g., Feldman, Greeson, & Senville, 2010; Greason & Welfare, 2013; Khoury et al., 2013; Sedlmeier, et al., 2012). Little research exists on the client’s experiences when mindfulness meditation is used within the counseling session; therefore the primary goal of the present study was to explore experiences and potential benefits of mindfulness meditation and its clinical application in session. Because previous research done on mindfulness meditation used …

On Growing Up Finnish In The Midwest: A Family Oral History Project, Ingrid Ruth Nixon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores what oral history interviews with my mother reveal about the familial and community dynamics that influenced Finnish-American children growing up on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula between 1930 and 1950. Close to four hours of oral history interviews were conducted with Viola Nixon, who is second and third-generation Finnish-American on her father’s and mother’s sides, respectively. After conducting a narrative analysis of the interviews, five themes emerged as significant to community function: family, language, education, work and church. I grouped some of these themes together to create three stories informed by materials drawn from the interviews, a cookbook, and …

"Some Things Grew No Less With Time:" Tracing Atu 510b From The Thirteenth To The Twentieth Century, Rachel L. Maynard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides a comparative analysis of seven different variants of the fairy tale commonly known as “Donkeyskin,” classified in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther folktale motif index as ATU 510B. By comparing so many different iterations of one fairy tale, it is easier to recognize the inherent attitudes concerning women and their place in society contained in this tale. Additionally, reading multiple variants from different centuries lends a perspective on the way that these attitudes changed over the centuries. Each of the thirteenth century texts considered end with their heroines trapped in loveless marriages, much like the seventeenth-century fairy tale, “Donkeyskin,” their …

"To Share Or Not To Share:" A Study Of An Individual's Self-Representation On Instagram In Accordance With Impression Management Theory, Breyanna Marie Blackwell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research study examined what the motivations and consequences of self-disclosure on Instagram were as well as its correlation with Impression Management Theory. The research used a 37 question survey which was distributed on social media, through the Department of Media and Communication at ETSU as well as a public speaking class. There were 232 participants in this study who were 18 or older and used Instagram. Research found that individuals’ self disclose using levels of relationship management, showing off, information sharing and habitual behavior. Future research includes the opportunity to incorporate a sample of participants across different cultures to …

Symptoms Of Anxiety And Depression And Suicidal Behavior In College Students: Conditional Indirect Effects Of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury And Self-Compassion, Andrea R. Kaniuka

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Young adults of college age are at particular risk for psychopathology, non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and consequent suicidal behavior, perhaps in a continuum of increasing severity. However, not all persons who experience psychopathological symptoms, or who self-harm, go on to engage in suicidal behavior, perhaps due to protective factors such as self-compassion that buffer this progression. We examined the mediating effect of NSSI on the relation between anxiety/depressive symptoms and suicide risk, and the moderating role of self-compassion on these linkages. Our collegiate sample (N=338) completed: Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Self-Harm Inventory, Suicidal Behavior Questionnaire-Revised, and the Self-Compassion Scale. …

The Influence Of Stages Of Change On The Effectiveness Of A Sleep Hygiene Education-Based Intervention, Pablo Soto Jr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sleep-related problems detrimental to sleep quality have been identified in millions of people across the United States. Studies have found that the subsection of the population labeled as college students, due to either the setting or other connected environmental factors, exhibit one the highest prevalence’s of these problems, roughly at 73% on college settings. Prior studies have utilized interventions focused around educational and behavior change components, the current study chose to also examine the role that motivation, specifically through motivational stages, may have on the outcomes of sleep hygiene and sleep quality variables following the conclusion of a sleep intervention …

The Effects Of Greek Life On Political Participation And Interaction Involvement, Philip Lamborn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Institutions of higher education are constantly trying to learn more about their own student population. Whether this means a student’s academic performance, social life, personality traits, or political involvement it is important to study the lives of university students so as to better understand and serve that population. Specifically, studying the relationship between communication and political participation among college students is important for those working in higher education, researching voting behaviors, and for the general public. Students in Greek Letter Societies (GLS), also known as fraternities/sororities or social clubs, are a perfect population to study the effects of communication on …

Attachment To God, Locus Of Control, And Outcomes In The Brief Alcohol Screening And Intervention For College Students, Misty Schoephoerster

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research shows that aspects of religion and spirituality can influence drinking behavior among university students. Some believe that an internalized commitment to God, or to another spiritual force, is an important component in explaining relationships between religion, spirituality, and drinking behavior. One way of understanding and measuring this internalized commitment to God is based on attachment theory. Another way of measuring and understanding internalized beliefs about the degree to which God shapes behavior is based on the social learning theory concept called locus of control. Conceptually, low God locus of control indicates that one believes God is passive and not …

Usefulness Of Collaborative Family Engagement At Casa Of Montgomery County, Chelsea Bankes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When children are in CPS care, there is a strong desire to ensure that their cases are executed so the children end up in safe, permanent environments as quickly as possible. To facilitate this goal, there is a partnership between CPS and an organization called CASA, which provides advocacy and support to ensure that the children have their rights represented in court proceedings. To help achieve this goal, Montgomery County has implemented the Collaborative Family Engagement (CFE) model. This model seeks to obtain better outcomes for children by engaging with the child’s family and the community around them. This study …

Gender, Population Type, And Coping As Predictors Of Ptsd Symptom Severity, Stacey A. Kerr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has demonstrated that a salient predictor of PTSD is experiencing a traumatic event. Additional research has indicated that there are other risk factors involved with predicting the development of PTSD including gender, population type, and emotion-focused coping. The purpose of the current study was to examine gender, population type, the interaction effect between gender and population type, and emotion-focused coping, specifically avoidant emotional coping and active emotional coping, as independent predictors of PTSD symptom severity. In total, 124 individuals participated in the current study. The sample consisted of 64 civilians and 60 military personnel. The results indicated that gender …

Evaluation Of The Impact Of Social Work Services In Rural School Districts, Breanna Heinrich

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Students in rural communities are often subject to unique barriers and challenges that impact their holistic emotional, cognitive, physical, and social success in school. Because these factors have a strong impact on school attendance, behavior, and overall success, educators have begun to implement social work programs within both rural and urban school districts across the nation. While existing research affirms the effectiveness of school social work, very little research has been conducted to determine the effect in rural school districts. This paper evaluates the impact of a newly developed social work pilot program in two West Texas school districts implemented …

English Proficiency Associated With The High School Grades Of Lep Students In Abilene Isd, Donald A. Dolton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, immigration into the U.S. has increased because of growing economic problems around the world. Economic globalization and technological developments (internet access and the ability to move massive amounts of information and people in a short amount of time) have influenced the number of those seeking asylum. Accordingly, the U.S. school system continues to see an increase in students who are culturally diverse with greater educational deficiencies and limited English proficiency (LEP). In Texas there has been a 90% increase in the number of immigrants from 1990 to 2010 (National CE). This means that currently immigrants make up …

Use Of Performance Information By Local Government Administrators: Evidence From Florida, Tamara Dimitrijevska-Markoski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the factors that facilitate and hinder the use of performance information by public administrators in local governments in Florida. Acknowledging the incompleteness of many theoretical and conceptual models in previous performance management studies and the absence of theory on the use of performance information; this study utilizes a grounded theory approach to develop and test a model analyzing the use of performance information. The research focuses on cities and counties, members of the Florida Benchmarking Consortium (FBC), and surveys public administrators whose tasks are related with the collection and/or reporting of performance information. The study examines three …

Securing Whose Peace? The Effects Of Peace-Agreement Provisions On Physical Integrity Rights After Civil War, Melvin R. Korsmo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When civil wars are resolved via negotiated settlement, peace-agreement provisions like power-sharing agreements and third-party security guarantees often are advocated for their purported benefits of ensuring a long-lasting and durable peace. Although scholars have explored the effects of peace-agreement provisions on enhancing the security of states, their influence on shaping individual security outcomes is largely unknown. The strong potential exists that these same provisions that improve a government's ability to deter future violence also increase that government's violation of its citizens' physical integrity rights as a means of coercion and governance. Also rare in the power-sharing literature is exploration of …

We Call It Pulling A Thread: Deconstructing Femininity At The Molly Brown House Museum, Emily J. Starck

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite making up around half of the global population, women are consistently underrepresented in museums. Where women's experiences are present in exhibitions and programming, they are often misrepresented within an entrenched heteronormative and patriarchal framework. Through this thesis, I show how Denver's Molly Brown House Museum works to upset traditional narratives through their dynamic interpretation of the life of their namesake, Margaret Tobin Brown. Using new museology, feminist anthropology, and performance theory, I analyze data from staff interviews and tour participant observation to explore how the museum deconstructs popular understandings of historical femininity. Through visitor surveys, I measure the extent …

The Potential Of Green Care Interventions To Promote Positive Youth Development With A One Health Lens, Hagit Brandes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The first part of this study is making a conceptual tie between three distinct bodies of knowledge: Green Care, Positive Youth Development (PYD), and One Health. Green Care is an organizing construct for various interventions that use nature as a framework. I suggest that a nature-based program which incorporates Animal-assisted and horticulture interventions have the potential to promote positive youth developmental outcomes. The two major tenets of the PYD model are the mutually influential and bi-directional relationship between an individual and their context, and this relationship characteristic of plasticity, the potential for change (Lerner, 2006). Plasticity is viewed as an …

The Responsible Project, Shannon N. Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this thesis is to create a public relations campaign consisting of a series of promotional videos filmed specifically for Patagonia, the outdoors sportswear company, emphasizing their corporate social responsibility for viewing on their social media and web-based platforms. The commercials will feature three Colorado non-profit organizations tied to Patagonia through Patagonia's Growing Grassroots Grant program.

A Mixed Methods Examination Of Pregnancy Attitudes And Hiv Risk Behaviors Among Homeless Youth: The Role Of Social Network Norms And Social Support, Stephanie J. Begun

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Homeless young women become pregnant at exceptionally high rates, and such pregnancies often pose serious emotional, social, and physical health concerns. Perhaps surprisingly, many homeless youth intentionally seek to become pregnant or involved in pregnancy, as pregnancy and parenthood are viewed as conduits toward accessing social services and meaningful social connections to others that this group often lacks. However, most prevention efforts focus solely on young females' pregnancy attitudes and behaviors at the individual level. Such approaches fail to acknowledge contextual factors, such as desired pregnancy and pregnancy ambivalence, the influence of youths' social networks and perceived social norms regarding …

Points Of Leverage: Interrupting The Intergenerational Transmission Of Adversity, Lisa Schlueter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Early life stressors, such as abuse and neglect, have been associated with poor physical and mental health outcomes in adulthood. Moreover, animal models suggest that caregivers' early life stress can have intergenerational effects that then impact the health and well-being of their offspring. Although animal models are compelling, and inter-generationally transmitted and co-occurring risks are well-documented, proximal mechanistic explanations for how caregiver's history of childhood adversity can result in changes to their child's stress physiology and outcomes have not yet been systematically tested in humans. Thus, among a sample of low-income, predominantly Latino families participating in Early Head Start (EHS), …

An Evaluation Of Critical Realignment Theory: Comparing Bayesian And Frequentist Approaches, Tara A. Rhodes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prior to this study, critical realignment theory, which presupposes eras of substantial and sustained swings in American political party dominance, had only been evaluated using the classical, frequentist approach to modeling. However, potential for more information concerning these electoral phenomena exists given a shift in the design and approach to realigning elections. This study sought to explore those options through one particular alternative to the classical approach to statistics--in this particular case, the Bayesian approach to statistics. Bayesian methods differ from the frequentist approach in three main ways: the treatment of probability, the treatment of parameters, and the treatment of …

Engaging The Brave And The Bold: Exploring The Discourses Of Disability Through Life Stories, Brian L. Grewe Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the meaning making of having an acquired physical disability still remains a mystery today. With more than 20 percent of our total population experiencing some form of disability, this study explores discourses of disability that emerge from participants' life stories. This study interviewed 20 participants using a modified version of McAdams' (1993) Life Story Interview Protocol. Utilizing Relational Dialectics Theory and a thematic discourse analysis, two primary discourses emerged from participant talk. (1) the biomedical discourse of disability and (2) the disability discourse of normalcy. The latter discourse can be broken down even further into (1) the sociolinguistic discourse …

Development Of The Ableist Microaggression Scale And Assessing The Relationship Of Ableist Microaggressions With The Mental Health Of Disabled Adults, Shanna Katz Kattari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 20% of U.S. residents are currently living with a disability. Ableism values a specific type of physical, mental and/or emotional capital as well as supports socially constructed expectations of ability, valuing these expectations over different types of ability and disability. One way in which ableism is perpetuated is through microaggressions, at the more interpersonal, or micro level. Microaggressions are everyday interactions that perpetuate inequalities and stereotypes against people who belong to marginalized communities. Experiencing multiple microaggressions has been referred to as death by a thousand paper cuts, indicating the severity of the sum total of these casual types of …

Employment Discrimination Of Chinese Unmarried Women, Jifan Huang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Employment discrimination has been existed through the history and gender discrimination is one of the most common one. The discrimination against women is the most discussed one but the discrimination against unmarried women is easily ignored. While comparing women and men, marital status is considered as one of the factors that decreases women's competitiveness. However, the marital status, as some people complain, turns into a potential advantage while comparing two equally qualified women. This study focuses on main questions: 1) Does the discrimination against unmarried women while comparing with married women really exist, or is it just reasonable selection? 2) …

Resilience And Struggle: Exploring The Experiences Of Undocumented College Students Through Chicana Feminist Theory And Dialogical Performance, Sergio Fernando Juarez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In an increasingly hostile political and social climate undocumented students in the United States continue to struggle to find space for themselves within universities. This research project undertakes a goal of illuminating how undocumented students make sense of their experiences on university campuses despite facing difficult climates at their respective universities. A goal of this project is to better understand how the experiences of undocumented students are shaped in contrast to institutional policies. Universities with inclusive excellence policies, a new iteration of multicultural diversity policies, intended to create practices that make college campuses more inclusive spaces.

The perspectives of undocumented …

Protest Beyond Representation: The Vitalism Of Digital Protest Art's Political Aesthetics, Kate Drazner Hoyt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The complexities of post-modernity tend to dissolve any facile model of direct cause-and-effect in politics, and yet as a democratic polity, we look for the comfort in knowing that political expression can enact change. Protest art, or acts of creative expression intended to resist dominant powers, forces, and structures, models the potential for political expression to create change that is not immediate, direct, or obvious, but rather "moves the social" through expressivity and aesthetics. While these features lend themselves to an analysis guided by affect theory, this sub-discipline within communication studies has tended to lack the methodological specificity to reproduce …

Beyond The Legalization Of Marijuana: Economics Of Marijuana As A Drug And Herbal Supplement, Ryan T. Freer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Normative studies misunderstand a crucial aspect of cannabis legalization: they have not critically analyzed how the pharmaceutical industry might react when synthetic cannabinoid compounds could be incorporated into new products. I argue that when marijuana is federally legal, there will be two independent market developments in: i) the cannabis market, which includes botanic cannabis and herbal supplements sold in retail nutrition stores; and ii) the FDA-approved ethical drug market. How does the drug industry's monopolistic pricing structure lend itself to strategic pricing for these new synthetic cannabinoids? How much competition can we expect between dispensaries and nutrition shops selling herbal …

Terracing, Land Management And Agricultural Soils In The Andagua Valley Of The Southern Peruvian Andes, Blaise Murphy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Demographic, socio-political and climatic changes can drastically alter agricultural land management practices, affecting the availability of agriculturally relevant nutrients in the soil. This project investigates the use, reconstruction and abandonment of agricultural terraces and the implications these conditions have on agricultural soil properties of the Andagua Valley in the Western Cordillera of the Southern Peruvian Andes. During the 2016 summer field season, topsoil samples were collected from cultivated and abandoned agricultural terraces between 3229m and 3688m a. s. l. with a range of aspects and ages. Collaboration with a team of archaeologists and anthropologists gave insight into the local and …

When Rhinos Are Sacred: Why Some Countries Control Poaching, Paul F. Tanghe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Why are some countries more effective than others at controlling rhino poaching? Rhinos are being poached to extinction throughout much of the world, yet some weak and poor countries have successfully controlled rhino poaching. This dissertation presents a theory accounting for divergent patterns in the control of rhino poaching, explaining why rhino poaching has been controlled in some countries yet increases exponentially in others. It does so by examining the relational models predominant in each country with wild rhino populations, including institutional analysis of all rhino range states, detailed analysis of social constructions used by nearly two hundred conservationists in …