Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Social Isolation Predicting Problematic Alcohol Use In Emerging Adults: Examining The Unique Role Of Existential Isolation, Geneva Carolyn Yawger

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Current rates of excessive alcohol use and abuse among young adults are recognized as a major problem by scholars across a wide variety of fields. Here, I take a social psychological approach to understanding why individuals drink to excess, examining the unique role that a specific form of social isolation called existential isolation (feeling alone in one’s experiences of the world; Yalom, 1980; Pinel, Long, Murdoch, & Helm, 2017) may play in predicting alcohol use and abuse. The relationship between existential isolation and alcohol use is explored using both correlational and cross-lagged designs. Results indicate that existential isolation predicts alcohol …

Evaluating The Utility Of The Modified Cigarette Evaluation Questionnaire And The Cigarette Purchase Task For Predicting Acute Relative Reinforcing Efficacy In Cigarettes Which Vary In Nicotine Content, Cecilia L. Bergeria

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Rationale: Nicotine is the addictive component in cigarettes which maintains cigarette smoking that subsequently leads to morbidity and mortality. There are growing regulatory efforts to lower the nicotine content in cigarettes so that they are minimally addictive. Valid methods for assessing the abuse liability of cigarettes are essential to these efforts. While subjective effect measures and hypothetical purchase tasks are appealing because they are far easier to administer, it is unclear whether these methods can be used to evaluate acute relative reinforcing, a critical component of abuse liability. This secondary analysis sought to evaluate the utility of one subjective effects …

Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Universal Influenza Vaccination Programs: A Historical-Perspective Case Study Of Vermont, Bryan Charles O'Connor

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Since 2010 the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) have recommended annual influenza vaccinations for all persons aged six months and up (ACIP, 2017). In December of the same year, the Agency of Health and Human Services (AHHS) unveiled Healthy People 2020, a series of health indicators and corresponding 10-year objectives. This newest iteration of the Healthy People program set target influenza vaccination levels for healthy adults 18 and older at 80% (AHHS, 2010).

Aside from the inherent health benefits, multiple studies conducted over the past decade suggest there may be significant economic …

Students In Transition: Introducing English Language Learners From Asia, Africa, And The Middle East To U.S. History, Bill Clark

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

This two-year action research project discusses the transitions that English Language Learners (ELLs) experience in moving from remedial second language learning to content-area courses. Two cohorts of twenty-seven ELL students from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East—fifteen students in 2015-16 and twelve in 2016-17— participated in a U.S. History course while attending the pseudonymous West Ackerly High School.

Absent a pedagogical bridge connecting ELL instruction with social studies practice, I created a curriculum that emphasized the democratic principles embedded in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution—concepts that general education students have known almost from birth—as an entry point for …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of An Anti-Texting-While-Driving Training Program For Young Drivers: The Role Of Adhd Symptomatology, J.Quyen Vu Alexander Nichols

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

A long-standing challenge for public health and safety is that motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) are the leading cause of death for U.S. teenagers, a population with disproportionately high crash involvement relative to other road users. Quantitative and qualitative research has identified distracted driving as a significant contributor to young drivers’ overrepresentation in MVCs. This study was designed in the context of this notable public health concern, and the primary goal was to examine psychological factors that are hypothesized, via the Theory of Planned Behavior, to underlie teenage drivers’ decisions to text-while-driving (TWD) with a focus on the influence of ADHD …

A Novel Mhealth Application For Improving Hiv And Hepatitis C Knowledge In Individuals With Opioid Use Disorder, Taylor A. Ochalek

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Aims: Untreated opioid use disorder (OUD) is associated with overdose, premature death and infectious disease, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Hepatitis C (HCV). While prior studies have shown that educational interventions are associated with improvements in HIV and HCV knowledge and reductions in risk behaviors, those examined to date have typically been time- and resource-intensive. We recently developed an HIV+HCV Education intervention which aims to improve HIV and HCV knowledge in a single visit using an automated iPad platform. In this project, we examined its ability, using a within-subject evaluation, to improve knowledge of HIV and HCV transmission and …

Remote Sensing Methods And Applications For Detecting Change In Forest Ecosystems, David James Gudex-Cross

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Forest ecosystems are being altered by climate change, invasive species, and additional stressors. Our ability to detect these changes and quantify their impacts relies on detailed data across spatial and temporal scales. This dissertation expands the ecological utility of long-term satellite imagery by developing high quality forest mapping products and examining spatiotemporal changes in tree species abundance and phenology across the northeastern United States (US; the ‘Northeast’).

Species/genus-level forest composition maps were developed by integrating field data and Landsat images to model abundance at a sub-pixel scale. These abundance maps were then used to 1) produce a more detailed, accurate …

Do Labels Make A Difference: Estimating The Impacts Of Vermont’S Gmo Labeling Law On Perceptions And Prices, Orest V. Pazuniak

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Vermont is the first and only state in the US to establish mandatory labels for food containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This thesis investigates the impact of the mandatory labeling law as it relates to changes in prices, quantities sold, and opinions of GMOs. First, grocery store scanner data from Vermont and Oregon are compared using triple difference (difference-in-difference-in-difference) models. Next, Vermont, Oregon, and Colorado survey response data are compared using difference-in-difference models. The findings reveal that there is a general price premium for non-GMO goods of $0.05/oz across all states and times, that mandatory labeling laws do not result …

Promoting Competence In College Students: The Role Of Psychological Flexibility, Elyse Rubin Rosenberg

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Psychological flexibility (PF), the core process of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT; a third-wave cognitive-behavioral therapy), is the ability to stay focused on the present moment and intentionally engage in value-driven behavior despite experiencing difficult thoughts or feelings. This multifaceted construct includes components that target processes occurring both internally (e.g., cognitive processes) and behaviorally (e.g., value-consistent actions). Psychological flexibility has been applied to studies of adjustment in non-clinical samples and may be beneficial for college students as individuals navigate novel developmental stressors. Despite evidence suggesting the benefits of PF for psychological distress, additional work is needed to examine the potential …

The Influence Of Television Pacing On Attention And Executive Functioning, Timothy Lavigne

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Television shows, especially cartoons, are one of the most common types of media in children’s lives. Although there is a well-established connection between television exposure and difficulties with attention, it is unclear if all types of television are equally impactful. Given the amount of time children are exposed to television, there is a need to better understand which components of shows may or may not impact one’s attentional and executive functioning abilities. One such factor is the pace of the content. The current study expands on this limited area of the literature by utilizing a 9-minute 30-second long cartoon video, …

Comparing Website Presentations Of "Nature" Across Vermont Ski Areas And Adjacent Rural Communities, Margaux Anna-Elizabeth Reckard

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Ski areas attract and cater to tourists and are often powerful symbols of cultural identity and place-based meaning. Within contexts of mountain tourism development, ski areas also communicate messages to orient visitors and residents to special features and qualities of the natural environment. This research specifically focuses on how Vermont ski areas and their neighboring rural communities use language, symbolism and imagery, within the context of website communications, to shape cultural meanings of nature and place.

A sample of small, medium, and large ski areas, representing a range of development sizes, locations, and recreational offerings, were paired with their adjacent …

Who Really Controls Haiti's Destiny? An Examination Of Haiti's Historical Underdevelopment, Endless Poverty, And The Role Played By Non-Governmental Organizations (Ngos), Patrick Scheld

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The presence of NGOs and development agencies is often considered an apolitical phenomenon, and that the very presence of NGOs within a country is a symbol of a global humanity in action; in short, NGOs equal charity which equals good work. Unfortunately, the reality is often much more complicated as NGOs can also be found to be self-serving, anti-democratic and strictly in pursuit of their next funding source. In this thesis I advance the central hypothesis that the international community’s continued pursuit of an NGO-led neoliberal economic development model has systematically failed to contribute to the sustainable development of Haiti …

War In The Nursery: The Impact Of Transgenerational Trauma On Refugee Infant Development, Anne Brassell

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Parental trauma symptomatology can profoundly impact a child’s social/emotional and cognitive development, a phenomenon known as transgenerational trauma. Thus far, the majority of research examining transgenerational trauma has studied the concept within mothers from Westernized cultures and their children and adolescents. Very little attention has been given to families from diverse sociocultural contexts, and few studies have examined the effects of transgenerational trauma in infancy, a period of time marked by numerous developmental considerations. The current study addresses the limitations of past work by examining transgenerational trauma in refugee/infant dyads. Building upon existing models from previous studies, this research utilizes …

Writing Gets Personal: Listening At The Intersections Of Creative Writing And Writing Tutoring, Zoe Nicole Mcdonald

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

In this thesis, I investigate the extent to which creative writing impacts the ways writing tutors work with student writers on their academic writing. In doing so, I interview five writing tutors with creative writing experiences for their personal definitions of creative writing, and the extent to which drawing on, or ignoring, creative writing impacts their writing tutoring.

Through combining the interviews with reflections into my writer identities, I find creative writing focuses on self-expression and narrative features which strengthen disciplinarity and conventions. Additionally, focusing on creative writing’s influence in the writing center allows tutors to engage as fellow writers …

Cityscape Connections: National Park Service Relevance And Resilience In Urban Areas, Elizabeth Eleanor Perry

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The National Park Service (NPS) strives to embody U.S. democratic ideals, conserving our collective stories and scenery for their intrinsic value and the enjoyment of current and future generations. However, although these places are conserved for all, they are not enjoyed by all. As with other conservation agencies, the NPS finds itself increasingly concerned with building relevance with diverse potential stewards. In cities, where 80% of the U.S. population and 40% of the NPS portfolio is based, there is a prime opportunity to build relevance with large, diverse, and proximate audiences. Recognizing this opportunity, the NPS initiated its Urban Agenda …

Resource Control Strategies: Associations With Autonomic Nervous System Reactivity, Leigh Ann Holterman

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Social dominance is an inherent component of human social organization (Hawley, 1999, Ryff & Singer, 2000; Uchino, Cacioppo, & Kiecolt-Glaser, 1996). Some behaviors typically associated with gaining dominance (e.g., bullying, aggression), have been linked with maladaptive outcomes (Hawley, 2016). However, Resource Control Theory (RCT) highlights the adaptive role of the prosocial (e.g., sharing, cooperating) and the coercive (e.g., taking, threatening) strategies that youth use to gain resources within their peer group (Hawley, 2003a). These behaviors may have important implications for individuals’ physiological stress reactivity, particularly during middle childhood when youth are undergoing rapid cognitive and social development (Parker et al., …

Consumer Engagement With Efficient And Renewable Energy Technology: Case Studies On Smart Meter Utilization And Support For A Community Anaerobic Biodigester System In Vermont, Samantha Whitney Lewandowski

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Residential electricity consumption in the United States has many adverse impacts, such as greenhouse gas emissions, dependence on fossil fuels, and costs. Efficient and renewable energy technologies have the potential to help mitigate some of these impacts, but appear to be under-utilized in the United States. One major barrier to expanding the deployment of these kinds of technologies and maximizing the benefits they can provide is a lack of consumer engagement. The overall purpose of this thesis is to better understand the extent to which efficient and renewable energy technologies are being engaged with and what factors may influence such …

A Social Identity Threat To Merit: The Effects Of Similar Experience On Empathic Concern, Asia Mccleary-Gaddy

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Past research indicates that having a similar life experience as another person leads to greater empathic concern towards that person. Two studies empirically investigated if similar experiences of race-based social identity threat can increase the empathic concern of White Americans toward African Americans. Study 1 revealed that White Americans randomly assigned to think about White privilege and then randomly assigned to read a passage about an African American whose accomplishments are attributed to Affirmative Action policies (versus an African American whose accomplishments are attributed to his hard work and merit) felt greater empathic concern toward the African American described in …

Examining The Roles Of Sex, Methamphetamine, And Degree Of Training In Habit Formation In Rats, Hannah Schoenberg

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Addiction is characterized by a progressive loss of executive control over drug-seeking and consumption, and may be associated with a behavioral shift from instrumental goal-directed actions to stimulus-response habits. Sex differences in drug addiction have been linked to changing hormone levels across the estrous cycle, and females exhibit a particular vulnerability to psychostimulants such as cocaine and amphetamines. Psychostimulants and estrogen both influence dopaminergic activity in the dorsal striatum, a region of the brain in which dopamine activity is thought to mediate the shift from action to habit. In the present set of experiments, we examined the roles of sex, …

Becoming Eco-Logical With Second-Order Systems Theory: Sustainability In Re-Organization Of Economies And Food Systems, Skyler Knox Perkins

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Ecological Economics has emerged across disciplines, and has begun to disentangle, not only the relationship between biophysical earth systems and economic activity, but also, fundamental relationships between objectivity, power, value, ethics, perspective and purpose.

In part, this thesis represents an effort to illustrate basic transdisciplinary concepts necessary for understanding the project of Ecological Economics. At present, Ecological Economics is challenged by a seemingly infinite number of available considerations, with a relatively narrow repertoire of impactful mechanisms of control. Given this, it is apparent that the application of Cybernetics to Ecological Economics might provide insights. Cybernetics can help to lend concise …

Some Results On A Class Of Functional Optimization Problems, David Rushing Dewhurst

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

We first describe a general class of optimization problems that describe many natu- ral, economic, and statistical phenomena. After noting the existence of a conserved quantity in a transformed coordinate system, we outline several instances of these problems in statistical physics, facility allocation, and machine learning. A dynamic description and statement of a partial inverse problem follow. When attempting to optimize the state of a system governed by the generalized equipartitioning princi- ple, it is vital to understand the nature of the governing probability distribution. We show that optimiziation for the incorrect probability distribution can have catas- trophic results, e.g., …

A Study Of Food Hub Buyers In Vermont: Motivation, Marketing, And Strategy, Hannah Harrington

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Food hubs have been discussed as a promising option for scaling-up the local food system while maintaining close relationships and shared responsibility amongst producers and consumers. Food hubs have the capacity to share important messages about food safety, origin, and production methods with consumers, however little is known about if, and how, food hubs communicate the value of local food to their buyers. This is crucial when assuring value to the consumer, which is necessary for the long-term sustainability of the food hub model. It is important to know more about these methods and practices because these messages can impact …

Intra-Cellular Mechanisms By Which Pac1 Receptor Activation Mediates Stress-Induced Reinstatement To Drug-Seeking, Olivia Miles

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The abuse of and addiction to drugs of abuse, such as tobacco, alcohol, opioids, and illicit drugs, are growing global problems that affect the welfare of individuals and societies worldwide. The National Institute of Drug Abuse estimates the annual cost of substance abuse to be over $740 billion in costs related to drug intoxication, withdrawal and relapse. A primary challenge in the treatment of substance abuse is the tendency of users to relapse following acute or extended periods of abstinence; on average over 60% of substance abusers will return to drug use within a year of receiving treatment, many relapsing …

Market Efficiency In U.S. Stock Markets: A Study Of The Dow 30 And The S&P 30, Colin Michael Van Oort

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The U.S. National Market System (NMS), the largest marketplace in the world for securities and exchange traded funds, suffers from geographic market fragmentation which leads to reduced market efficiency.

Communication lines transmit price updates and other information between geographically isolated exchanges at varying speeds, bounded above by the speed of light.

Market participants have access to federally mandated information provided by the Securities Information Processor (SIP) and privately offered information provided by the exchanges, often called direct feeds.

These feeds are quantitatively and qualitatively distinct, with the direct feeds tending to provide more information at a faster rate than the …

A Human Side Of The Smart Grid: Behavior-Based Energy Efficiency From Renters Using Real-Time Feedback And Competitive Performance-Based Incentives, Daniel Fredman

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Our energy system is rapidly transforming, partially due to advances in internet and communications technologies that leverage an unprecedented amount of data. Industry proponents of the so-called “smart grid” suggest these technologies facilitate deeper engagement with end-users of energy (utility customers) that can in turn drive behavior-based changes and accelerate a renewable energy transition. While there has been progress in understanding how these technologies change consumer behavior using, for example, real-time feedback, it’s unclear how specific segments (e.g., renters) respond to these interventions; it’s also unclear why feedback is, or is not, producing changes in energy consumption. The literature suggests …