Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication Year
File Type

Articles 4501 - 4530 of 5480

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Facial Emotion Recognition In Children With Asperger's Disorder And In Children With Social Phobia, Nina Wong Jan 2010

Facial Emotion Recognition In Children With Asperger's Disorder And In Children With Social Phobia, Nina Wong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recognizing emotion from facial expressions is an essential skill for effective social functioning and establishing interpersonal relationships. Asperger's Disorder (AD) and Social Phobia (SP) are two clinical populations showing impairment in social skill and perhaps emotion recognition. Objectives: The primary objectives were to determine the uniqueness of facial emotion recognition abilities between children with AD and SP relative to typically developing children (TD) and to examine the role of expression intensity in determining recognition of facial affect. Method: Fifty-seven children (19 AD, 17 SP, and 21 TD) aged 7-13 years participated in the study. Reaction times and accuracy were measured …

Go to article

Understanding The Female Conceptualization Of Sexual Addiction And The Role Of Addiction Treatment, Megan Douglass Jan 2010

Understanding The Female Conceptualization Of Sexual Addiction And The Role Of Addiction Treatment, Megan Douglass

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Beginning with the diagnosis of nymphomania in the 19th Century, there has been widespread and continued interest across the mental health and bio-medical realm of what constitutes normality of female sexual behavior, and of the boundary at which sexual desire is deemed to be excessive, and thus abnormal. However, research questions that specifically investigate the subjective female voice and perspective in considerations of so-called hypersexuality or sex addiction remain understudied. This research project proposes to examine the cultural pathways and systemic foundations which have historically in the West problematized female sexuality by investigating women's own perceptions of sexual addiction and …

Go to article

Paleopathology In Ancient Eygpt: Evidence From The Sites Of Dayr Al-Barsha And Sheikh Said, Cindy Malnasi Jan 2010

Paleopathology In Ancient Eygpt: Evidence From The Sites Of Dayr Al-Barsha And Sheikh Said, Cindy Malnasi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For centuries, people have been fascinated with how the ancient Egyptians lived, and particularly how they died. Although Egyptologists in the past had a greater interest in the treasures that accompanied the dead, there has now been a shift in focus on the actual ancient Egyptians themselves and their ways of life. Recognizing the health and disease status of ancient Egyptians has become particularly important. The aim of this research project is to document the paleopathology of the individuals from the sites of Dayr al-Barsha and Sheikh Said encompassing the Old Kingdom (2686 - 2160 BC), the First Intermediate Period …

Go to article

Designing For Multicultural And International Audiences: Creating Culturally-Intelligent Visual Rhetoric And Overcoming Ethnocen, Bridget Moore Jan 2010

Designing For Multicultural And International Audiences: Creating Culturally-Intelligent Visual Rhetoric And Overcoming Ethnocen, Bridget Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Various cultures interpret visual rhetoric differently; therefore, technical communicators must adjust their rhetoric accordingly by creating effective visual rhetoric for their international and multicultural audiences. Although there is a great deal of research in the field regarding how to create effective visual rhetorical rhetoric, this research often fails to take into international and multicultural audiences into consideration. Many visual rhetoric solutions proposed in technical communication involve 'catch all' approaches that do little to communicate to people of non-Western cultures and can even serve to offend or confuse international and multicultural audiences. These solutions are generated by a globalization mindset, but …

Go to article

Engineering A New Form Of Enclosure: International Convergence In Gmo Regulation, Jessica Altif Jan 2010

Engineering A New Form Of Enclosure: International Convergence In Gmo Regulation, Jessica Altif

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As society begins to recognize its impact on ecological systems, the belief that modern political institutions can offer a sense of control and certainty, as well as protect the health of its citizens, is increasingly questioned. In an era of uncertainty, faith in science and technology to alleviate industrial impacts on the environment is often embraced by policymakers yet questioned by the public who see the authoritative role of the sciences in the political sphere as contributing to global risk. The development of biotechnology, specifically genetically modified food, places an anthropocentric focus on resolving and/or adapting to environmental degradation, further …

Go to article

Have Nominating Conventions Lost Power?, Tyler Branz Jan 2010

Have Nominating Conventions Lost Power?, Tyler Branz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Do conventions still have relevance in the modern political world? Some call them glorified television infomercials for presidential candidates while others refer to them as admired pillars of American political history. Whichever viewpoints one identifies with, presidential conventions are interesting to study historically, and can be studied analytically. The following case studies examine the institution of the nominating convention: what they do, how they form, what they have accomplished and how they affect the voters. This study finds that conventions are still meaningful in American politics, particularly for affecting party unity, candidate image and, to a lesser degree, party platform.

Go to article

Women, Work And Welfare: A Case Study Of Germany, The Uk, And Sweden, Meredith Legg Jan 2010

Women, Work And Welfare: A Case Study Of Germany, The Uk, And Sweden, Meredith Legg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how different welfare state regimes affect gender relations by examining variations in welfare regimes and outcomes for women between Western European countries. The research seeks to understand how the diverse systems of social provision affect women: particularly with regard to their position in the labor market and in their ability to balance occupational and domestic work. Using a comparative, qualitative approach, I compare three Western European welfare states (Germany, the United Kingdom, and Sweden) to evaluate gender-relevant welfare policy with female employment rates, unemployment rates, and wage differentials. Welfare states and labor market policies affect outcomes for …

Go to article

Understanding The Split-Ticket Voter, Janelle Middents Jan 2010

Understanding The Split-Ticket Voter, Janelle Middents

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will focus on split ticket voting. Split ticket voting refers to an aspect of voting behavior where the individual will cast votes for different political parties for different offices. Through the development of countless theories and utilizing data, political scientists have managed to shed some light as to why an individual may engage in split-ticket voting. However, many of these studies have been too narrow in their focus, for instance, relying on a specific election without taking into account some major variables that provide the foundation for voting behavior. The purpose of this study is to provide scholars …

Go to article

The Response Of Administrators And Instructors In The Orange County, Florida Public High School System To Dating Violence Preven, Denise Crisafi Jan 2010

The Response Of Administrators And Instructors In The Orange County, Florida Public High School System To Dating Violence Preven, Denise Crisafi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Adolescent dating violence occurs in high schools at an alarming rate. To educate adolescents about dating violence, some public high schools have incorporated prevention programs into their curriculum. These programs, which are predicated upon empiricism and behavioral theories, tend to produce limited results. In order to improve prevention programs, it has been suggested that schools should play a larger role in their development and implementation. However, dating violence studies have yet to examine how much school personnel know about adolescent dating violence and prevention strategies. The current study surveyed administrators and instructors at six public high schools in Orange County, …

Go to article

A Realist Interpretation Of U.S.Relations With China, Xiansheng Zhang Jan 2010

A Realist Interpretation Of U.S.Relations With China, Xiansheng Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Realism theory provides the most powerful explanation for the state of war and the rise and fall of great powers. It expounds the important concepts and themes like national sovereignty, security, survival, interests, balance of power, balance of terror, alliance, dominance, hegemony and polarity. Realism can be classified as classical realism, structural realism and neoclassical realism. In recent years, liberalism, globalism and constructivism also have greatly influenced academics and policy-makers under the new phenomena of globalization and terrorism. This paper explores how classical realism theory has been applied to and revealed in the issue of American policy towards China. The …

Go to article

A Content Analysis Of Elite U.S. Newspapers' Coverage Of Iran, 1979 And 2005, Melissa Kamal Jan 2010

A Content Analysis Of Elite U.S. Newspapers' Coverage Of Iran, 1979 And 2005, Melissa Kamal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study is a quantitative content analysis of the New York Times and Washington Post coverage of Iran during the period surrounding the Ayatollah Khomeini's ascension to power in 1979 as well as the period surrounding Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election in 2005. The results showed that coverage of Iran in the elite American print media as it related to terror was higher in the period after Khomeini came to power and also in the period after Ahmadinejad's election than it was in the period immediately preceding their respective ascensions. The results also showed that there was more coverage of Iran as …

Go to article

Source Representation And Framing In Childhood Immunization Communication, April Raneri Jan 2010

Source Representation And Framing In Childhood Immunization Communication, April Raneri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has indicated a strong interest in knowing who is being represented and how information is being represented in the communication about childhood immunization. This study uses a two-part analysis to look at source representation and framing in childhood immunization communication. A quantitative analysis of articles from the New York Times and USA Today were examined for their source representation, their use of fear appeals, through the Extended Parallel Processing Model (EPPM), and the use of frames, through the application of Prospect Theory. A qualitative semiotic analysis was conducted on 36 images that appeared on www.yahoo.com and www.google.com to find …

Go to article

The Effects Of Power Distance, And Gender On The Use Of Nonverbal Immediacy Behaviors In Symmetrical And Asymmetrical Power Cond, Vincent Santilli Jan 2010

The Effects Of Power Distance, And Gender On The Use Of Nonverbal Immediacy Behaviors In Symmetrical And Asymmetrical Power Cond, Vincent Santilli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous cross-cultural research in nonverbal immediacy indicates that nonverbal immediacy behavior varies across cultures, and some researchers have suggested that power distance might serve as a moderating variable, however no research has systematically set out to determine whether that is the case. This study assessed the perceived use of nonverbal immediacy under symmetric and asymmetric power conditions, as well as gender, in three cultures: Brazil, Kenya, and the United States. Quantitative data was collected from 527 participants who completed a nonverbal immediacy measure and an individual power distance measure under either a symmetric or an asymmetric power condition. Results related …

Go to article

Perceptions On The Social Status Of Papiamentu In Contrast To Its Offical Significance In Aruba And Curacao, Keisha Wiel Jan 2010

Perceptions On The Social Status Of Papiamentu In Contrast To Its Offical Significance In Aruba And Curacao, Keisha Wiel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many creole languages have been studied by linguists and anthropologists alike in order to gain a better understanding as to their formations and social status within their respective cultures. Theories such as the Language Bioprogram hypothesis created by Derek Bickerton researched explicitly the genesis of creoles, primarily the creoles in Guyana and Hawaii. Although many creole languages are the main vernaculars of many cultures, they are often seen as having a lower status than the official language, usually a European language. Papiamentu, a language spoken in Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire, has carried a prestige that many other creoles do not …

Go to article

Understanding Terrorism: Religious & Political Dimensions, Christopher Cusano Jan 2010

Understanding Terrorism: Religious & Political Dimensions, Christopher Cusano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Terrorism in the twenty-first century has had one of greatest effects on the status quo of international relations, peace and war. It has become the 'specter' of our era and in many instances, it has been referred to as the predominant threat of modern civilization. Furthermore, it has the potential to drastically change the world we live in. For these reasons it has rightfully earned our attention and focus. Many efforts to understand terrorism have fallen short of recognizing the underlying causes. In many cases, acts of terror have either been of purely political motivation or have had socioeconomic conditions …

Go to article

Evaluation Of An Expectancy Challenge Presentation In Reducing High-Risk Alcohol Use Among Greek Affiliated College Students, Abigail Fried Jan 2010

Evaluation Of An Expectancy Challenge Presentation In Reducing High-Risk Alcohol Use Among Greek Affiliated College Students, Abigail Fried

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol consumption and on college campuses has long been a significant problem. The severity of the situation and lack of effective alcohol programming on college campuses warranted the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to commission a Task Force on College Drinking in 2002, which has been vital in revealing drinking patterns and negative consequences which are specific to the college environment. The Task Force proposed three strategies that were empirically validated for prevention and intervention in the college setting. Of the three recommendations, implementing cognitive behavioral skills training and offering motivational enhancement interventions, while proven effective are costly …

Go to article

Muslims In The Media:The New York Times From 2000 - 2008, Autumn Bishop Jan 2010

Muslims In The Media:The New York Times From 2000 - 2008, Autumn Bishop

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although it is widely recognized that Muslims and Middle Easterners were negatively portrayed in the media after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, few scholars examine the long term media presentations of Islam in the United States. The studies that have explored the relationship of the portrayal of Islam by the media have used short term, limited sampling techniques, which may not properly reflect the popular media as a whole. The current research uses data from the New York Times from 2000-2008 in order to determine whether the popular media was portraying Islam in a disparaging manner. The analysis …

Go to article

Bullying: Out Of The School Halls And Into The Workplace, Lucretia Cooney Jan 2010

Bullying: Out Of The School Halls And Into The Workplace, Lucretia Cooney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study is to identify those people at most risk of being bullied at work. While much research is being conducted on school bullying, little has been conducted on workplace bullying. Using data gathered from a 2004 study conducted by the National Opinion Research Center for the General Social Survey, which included a Quality of Work Life (QWL) module for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), linear regressions indicated significant findings. As predicted, workers in lower level occupations, as ranked by prestige scoring developed at National Opinion Research, are more likely to be …

Go to article

Energy-Use Behavior Among College Students, Lillian O'Connell Jan 2010

Energy-Use Behavior Among College Students, Lillian O'Connell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the effects of global climate change become increasingly apparent, many concerned individuals are making efforts to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. One simple and effective method of reducing one's personal carbon footprint is through energy conservation behavior. Studies have shown that occupant behavior can control as much as 50% of residential energy use and that energy use varies widely between residences with the same number of occupants depending on consumption behavior. In light of this, energy conservation behavior is a valuable method of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and curbing the effects of climate change. Motivating people to conserve energy …

Go to article

A Qualitative Investigation Of Adolescent Females' Use Of Social Networking Websites, Janine Pate Jan 2010

A Qualitative Investigation Of Adolescent Females' Use Of Social Networking Websites, Janine Pate

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aim of the present study was to explore the ways adolescent females, age 14 through 17, utilized social networking websites such as MySpace and Facebook for communication, self-presentation and identity development purposes. Uses and gratifications theory served as a framework for identifying the participants' motivations for heavily using these websites, which allow users to post pictures, interests and updates for their friends to view and interact with online. Using a qualitative method, one preliminary focus group and ten in-depth interviews were conducted, totaling fifteen female participants between the ages of 14 and 17. Interview questions covered topics such as …

Go to article

Learning For The Next Generation: Predicting The Usage Of Synthetic Learning Environments, Arthur Evans Jan 2010

Learning For The Next Generation: Predicting The Usage Of Synthetic Learning Environments, Arthur Evans

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The push to further the use of technology in learning has broadened the attempts of many to find innovated ways to aid the new, technologically savvy generation of learners, in acquiring the knowledge needed for their education and training. A critical component to the success of these initiatives is the proper application of the science of learning (Cannon-Bowers and Bowers, 2009). One technological initiative that can benefit from this application is the use of synthetic learning environments (SLEs). SLEs are instructional systems embedded within virtual worlds. These worlds can be simulations of some task, for instance a simulation that may …

Go to article

Empirical Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of Eye Tracking-Based Search Performance Diagnosis And Feedback Methods, Meredith Carroll Jan 2010

Empirical Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of Eye Tracking-Based Search Performance Diagnosis And Feedback Methods, Meredith Carroll

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In today's complex combat environments, troops are often faced with increasingly challenging tasks different from those experienced in the past. Warfighters must be trained in adaptive perceptual skill sets, such as search strategies that enable them to detect threats across any number of environmental, cultural, and situational conditions. The goal of the present study was to explore how advanced technology, specifically eye tracking, can be used to increase understanding of perceptual processes such as search and detection and provide tools that can be used to train search skills. Experiment 1 examined a method of diagnosing perceptual performance in order to …

Go to article

Machinima And Video-Based Soft Skills Training, Curtis Conkey Jan 2010

Machinima And Video-Based Soft Skills Training, Curtis Conkey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Multimedia training methods have traditionally relied heavily on video based technologies and significant research has shown these to be very effective training tools. However production of video is time and resource intensive. Machinima (pronounced 'muh-sheen-eh-mah') technologies are based on video gaming technology. Machinima technology allows video game technology to be manipulated into unique scenarios based on entertainment or training and practice applications. Machinima is the converting of these unique scenarios into video vignettes that tell a story. These vignettes can be interconnected with branching points in much the same way that education videos are interconnected as vignettes between decision points. …

Go to article

Issues In Validity Generalization The Criterion Problem, Raquel Hodge Jan 2010

Issues In Validity Generalization The Criterion Problem, Raquel Hodge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Schmidt and Hunter‟s validity generalization model poses seven sources of error variance affecting validation studies. Of the seven sources of error variance, only four sources have been tested. This study looks at an additional source of error variance, the difference between studies in the amount and kind of criterion contamination and deficiency, as proposed by Schmidt and Hunter. The current study proposes a method of evaluating criterion contamination and deficiency in criterion measures in order to minimize their effects on the relationship between criterion and predictor measures. Two unique criteria are used including a traditional subjective measure of current performance …

Go to article

Sexual Dimorphism Of The Posterior Pelvis Of The Robert J. Terry Anatomical Collection And The William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection, Lauren M. Novak Jan 2010

Sexual Dimorphism Of The Posterior Pelvis Of The Robert J. Terry Anatomical Collection And The William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection, Lauren M. Novak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Studies of sexual dimorphism of the sacrum have generally been conducted as part of broader population research or on living persons and cadavers, making the anthropological literature sparse. The greater sciatic notch and the preauricular sulcus of the ilium have both been found to show sexual dimorphism, although studies of these traits often have ambiguous definitions of characteristics and lack the standardization of measurements. This research was designed to reexamine and test the accuracy of standard scoring systems and measurements of the posterior pelvis used to determine sex and to establish new formulae combining traits and measurements to accurately determine …

Go to article

Social Comparison, Self-Objectification, And Objectification Of Others Investigating The Vicious Cycle That Leads To Body Dissatisfaction And Disordered Eating, Danielle M. Lindner Jan 2010

Social Comparison, Self-Objectification, And Objectification Of Others Investigating The Vicious Cycle That Leads To Body Dissatisfaction And Disordered Eating, Danielle M. Lindner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to test a new theoretical model that integrates self-objectification, objectification of others, and social comparison as contributors to the development and maintenance of body image disturbance and disordered eating behavior. Within the new theoretical model, self-objectification, objectification of others, and social comparison are conceptualized as a self-perpetuating cycle, rather than as processes that occur independently of one another. Four hundred fifty-nine female college students between the ages of 18 and 32 completed measures of self-objectification, objectification of others, social comparison, body shame, body dissatisfaction, and eating disorder symptomatology. Structural equation modeling with nested model …

Go to article

Increasing Self Reported Argumentativeness In College Level Public Speaking Students, Kim E. Long Jan 2010

Increasing Self Reported Argumentativeness In College Level Public Speaking Students, Kim E. Long

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Argumentativeness, or the predisposition “to advocate positions on controversial issues and to attack verbally the positions which other people take on these issues” (Infante & Rancer, 1982, p.72), has been associated with a number of positive outcomes. Research among student populations indicates that compared to people who are low in argumentativeness, people high in argumentativeness display higher ability to learn, higher self esteem, greater ability to creatively manage conflict, and higher ability to see both sides of a situation (Barden & Petty, 2008; McPherson Frantz & Seburn, 2003; Rancer, Whitecap, Kosberg, & Avtgis, 1997). Promoting argumentativeness among college students should …

Go to article

Dialectical Tensions Between Glocalization And Grobalization For Wal-Mart In The United States, Laura Lord Jan 2010

Dialectical Tensions Between Glocalization And Grobalization For Wal-Mart In The United States, Laura Lord

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative analysis examines Wal-Mart managers‟ perspectives of the strategies that the U.S. corporation has implemented in order to increase its sales and profits at more than 4,000 stores in local U.S. communities. Two theoretical paradigms are specifically used: glocalization and grobalization. The former refers to cultural adaptation; the latter means standardization. The ultimate goal of the researcher is to identify the dialectical tensions between those two current forms of globalization. In-depth, face-to-face, qualitative interviewing of ten Wal-Mart managers in Central Florida allowed the researcher to actually comprehend managers‟ perspectives, gather fresh data, and construct a final product to enlighten …

Go to article

The Communication Implications And Related Experiences Associated With Transracially Adopting A Child From Vietnam, Lan Marie Malin Jan 2010

The Communication Implications And Related Experiences Associated With Transracially Adopting A Child From Vietnam, Lan Marie Malin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the communication experiences of adoptive parents of children transracially adopted from Vietnam. Though adoption has been extensively studied in communication research, transracial adoptions involving children from Vietnam has not. Thus, this study examined adoptive parent communication experiences using dialectic theory and relational dialectics. By examining adoptive parents’ communication with their adopted child and others, we can determine tensions that occur in different communication experiences. Data were collected through eight qualitative in-depth interviews conducted with adoptive parents of children from Vietnam. Openness with both strangers and the adopted child(ren) and preservation of key aspects of the adopted children’s …

Go to article

A Model Of Flow And Play In Game-Based Learning The Impact Of Game Characteristics, Player Traits, And Player States, Davin Pavlas Jan 2010

A Model Of Flow And Play In Game-Based Learning The Impact Of Game Characteristics, Player Traits, And Player States, Davin Pavlas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, the relationship between flow state, serious games, and learning was examined. Serious games, which are games that convey something other than enjoyment (e.g., learning), are increasingly popular platforms for research, training, and advertisement. The elements that make serious games useful to researchers, trainers, and practitioners are closely linked to those that make up the positive psychology construct of flow state. Flow state describes an optimum experience that is encountered when a variety of factors are met, and is characterized by high focus, engagement, motivation, and immersion. While flow state is often discussed in the serious games literature, …

Go to article

First Prev Next Last