Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Mind Over Matter: The Role Of Resilience, Crime Victimization, And Age At The Time Of Victimization On Psychological Health, Alana Compton

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between crime victimization, age at the time of victimization, psychological health, and resilience. Past research has shown that crime victimization has been linked to higher levels of depression and suicidal ideation, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and eating disorders, and that those who experience a traumatic event as a child are influenced more negatively than those who experience trauma as an adult. Additionally, resilience has been shown to mediate the influence that trauma has on an individual. Undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty and staff were surveyed to determine their …

Mind Over Matter: The Role Of Resilience, Crime Victimization, And Age At The Time Of Victimization On Psychological Health, Alana Compton

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between crime victimization, age at the time of victimization, psychological health, and resilience. Past research has shown that crime victimization has been linked to higher levels of depression and suicidal ideation, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and eating disorders, and that those who experience a traumatic event as a child are influenced more negatively than those who experience trauma as an adult. Additionally, resilience has been shown to mediate the influence that trauma has on an individual. Undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty and staff were surveyed to determine their …

Use Of Eeg-Based Machine Learning To Predict Music-Related Brain Activity, Charles Skutt

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Music has many awe-inspiring characteristics. Some may refer to it as a “universal language” with the ability to transcend the barriers of speech, while others may describe its ability to evoke intense emotional experiences for the listener. Regardless of the description, it is a commonly held view that music can have many profound effects. Studies of music’s effects have found these beliefs to be more than pure conjecture, finding that music interacts with and changes our brains in physical and emotional ways. Music can even have clinical applications, such as music therapy. This type of therapy has been shown to …

Perceived Effectiveness Of Mental Health Rehabilitation On Recidivism, Sydni Spradlin

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

As the American criminal justice system moves towards rehabilitation over punishment it is important to see if rehabilitation of mental illness reduces recidivism rates on a large scale. As established by previous research (Gonzalez & Connell, 2014; see also, Osher, et al, 2003), people with mental health issues are notoriously ignored or not provided the proper treatment during incarceration and it is necessary to examine this connection so new policies can be implemented to help incarcerated Americans. By reducing recidivism the amount of people incarcerated is lowered, because most people incarcerated are repeat offenders (Bureau of Justice Statistics), saving America …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Gender Inequality On Efforts To Reduce Human Trafficking In Countries, Amelia Simmons

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

The phenomenon of human trafficking is a growing problem that affects millions worldwide. Literature on the subject suggests that inequality between men and women can be a crucial factor in determining national efforts to combat trafficking in persons. This research studies the association between a country’s efforts to reduce trafficking with the measure of inequality being the literacy rate difference and unemployment rate difference between men and women in each country. An analysis of variance yielded statistically significant results that national efforts to combat human trafficking were associated with inequality between men and women in those nations. Discussion on how …

The Effect Of Social Influence, Patient Type, And Treatment Type On Ethical Medical Decision Making, Kessa Romero

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Laws are set into place in order to guarantee proper rights for U.S. citizens in need of medical care. Previous research suggests that public opinion of mental health influences the treatment of vulnerable populations diagnosed with mental illness. This study explored the ways in which social pressure to conform influences policies regarding prison inmates, children, and adults. It concludes with suggesting changes to existing policy. The present study was a 3x3 factorial design. The independent variables were public opinion (pro-issue, anti-issue, and no opinion) and type of ethical dilemma (forced medication on children, forced medication on prison inmate adults, involuntary …

As Seen On Tv: An Exploration Of How Sexual Assault Is Portrayed In Young Adult Television, Alyson Haslet

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Sexual assault has affected countless people, whether that be directly or indirectly. The view and narrative around sexual assault is greatly influenced by television and popular culture, including shows with subliminal messaging such as young adult television. The significance of this project is examining the degree of influence of how sexual assault is portrayed in young adult television. By examining how potentially harmful or helpful the discourse on the matter can be in respective shows, conclusions can be drawn about how these narratives affect how individuals, as well as a collective society view sexual assault. In this explorative study, the …

As Seen On Tv: An Exploration Of How Sexual Assault Is Portrayed In Young Adult Television, Alyson Haslet

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Sexual assault has affected countless people, whether that be directly or indirectly. The view and narrative around sexual assault is greatly influenced by television and popular culture, including shows with subliminal messaging such as young adult television. The significance of this project is examining the degree of influence of how sexual assault is portrayed in young adult television. By examining how potentially harmful or helpful the discourse on the matter can be in respective shows, conclusions can be drawn about how these narratives affect how individuals, as well as a collective society view sexual assault. In this explorative study, the …

Reparations For The Wrongly Convicted, Gillian Trost

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Wrongly convicted persons should be offered reparations in instances where they have suffered or faced harm as a result of their wrong conviction. Harms can include, but are not limited to, losing physical time, mental health damages, monetary harm, and damages to the person’s reputation. Harms are anything that has diminished a person's quality of life throughout the conviction process and even after exoneration. Failure to offer reparations to these persons is unethical and reparations are a necessary consequence when the judicial system convicts the wrong person. Failure to offer reparations also lessens the judicial system’s accuracy and reliability when …

Prevalence Of Postpartum Depression In Occupied Palestine, Amneh Amro

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

In a world where everything has been modernized and progressively accepted, has modern medicine kept up? With a growing population, is the accessibility to healthcare service meeting the demand and without bias? More importantly, has the growing population broken down the stigmas associated with medical conditions, like postpartum depression? There has been a notable disparity in mental health treatment worldwide, and even more so in Palestine and other third world countries of similar nature.

Identity In The Late Woodland Northeast: Interpreting Communities Of Practice From Paste Composition At The Thomas/Luckey And The Losey 3 Sites, Douglas S. Riethmuller

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Thomas/Luckey’s 13th -15th and Losey 3’s 14th-17th century occupations in the Late Woodland Northeast contain assemblages with incongruous regional pottery types; Kelso Corded and an assumed non-local Shenks Ferry. I argue the presence of Shenks Ferry vessels at these two sites indicates the movement of people who reproduced their natal designs upon arrival, rather than trade. The question of whether identity and communities of practice can be discerned from pottery decorations and paste was answered by analyzing sherds with pXRF. While pottery types are based on visual attributes, pXRF looks at elemental composition. Decoration is mimicable, but paste is not; …

Air Pollution & Asthma Prevalence: Hotspot Analysis On Environmental Injustice In Buffalo, New York, Zuveria Shaguphta

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

This research aims to focus on the historical impacts of segregation in these communities (with Census Bureau data) and whether we see that these are the areas with continued segregation and a disproportionate number of TRI facilities. The third part of this research will be to investigate the presence of asthma in these neighborhoods as documented by the New York State Health Department. Asthma is a chronic disease in which the airways are inflamed due to some kind of external factor causing this reaction. Literature shows that there is a relationship between outdoor air pollution from combustion of fossil fuels …

Becoming Chacoan: The Archaeology Of The Aztec North Great House, Michelle I. Turner

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Between 900 and 1140 CE, people at Chaco Canyon and throughout its region built multistory monumental structures with hundreds of rooms, known as great houses. This dissertation reports on recent archaeological testing on one such great house, the Aztec North great house at Aztec Ruins National Monument.

I argue that Aztec North’s occupation represents an early, transitional period, as people previously not involved in the Chaco world made choices that increasingly brought them into Chaco’s orbit and changed their way of life forever. The structure represents a remarkable architectural experiment in large-scale adobe construction, one that likely was not terribly …

The Examination Of Discrimination And Social Bias Toward Interracial Relationships, Tarah Midy

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Although rates of approval toward interracial couples are increasing (Carroll, 2007), interracial couples report facing prejudice and discrimination including disapproval and ostracism from family, friends, and the general public (Carbone-Lopez, 2013; Martin, Campbell, Ueno, Fincham, 2013; Potter & Thomas, 2012; Troy, Lewis-Smith, Laurenceau, 2006). However, there is growing evidence as acceptance rates and challenges faced by couples vary (Pew Research Center, 2012, Golebiowska, 2007), that experiences are different for couples depending on the racial group and gender of both partners involved.

To better understand the experience of different interracial couples, I conducted two studies to examine the particular stressors they …

Association Between The Magnitude Of The Immune Response And Recurrent Major Depression Disorder In Humans And Depression-Like Behavior In Animals, Anastacia Kudinova

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

There is a growing body of evidence supporting the association between inflammation and major depressive disorder (MDD). One plausible mechanism for this association is sensitization of the immune response, possibly due to prior exposure to stressors. To investigate the validity of this hypothesis, a series of three complimentary cross-species studies was conducted. Study 1 examined the associations between circulating levels of inflammatory markers and in vitro immune reactivity with women’s history of recurrent MDD (rMDD) and their current symptoms of anhedonia. The potential moderating role of women’s history of childhood abuse was also examined. Study 2 and 3 focused on …

5-Httlpr, Drd4 Gene, College Students’ Psychological Characters And Academic Performance, Weiyi Guo

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study, “Genetic basis of Academic Performance,” is to evaluate associations between the 5-HTTLPR, the DRD4 gene, psychological characteristics including metacognition and depression, and academic performance as reflected in SAT scores. We discovered that participants with 2-repeat or 7-repeat alleles of the DRD4 gene have significantly lower scores on the Metacognition tests (P = 0.022) and two subclades of metacognition, “Cognitive Self-Consciousness” (P = 0.021) and “Need to Control Thoughts” (P = 0.040), as compared to those without 2-repeat or 7-repeat alleles. 7-repeat allele DRD4 gene carriers have significantly higher scores for alcohol use disorders than those …

Uncovering Hidden Fronts Of Africa’S Liberation Struggle: Black Power, Black Consciousness, And South Africa’S Armed Struggle, 1967-1985, Toivo Tukongeni Paul Wilson Asheeke

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Many scholars have argued the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM)’s principal contribution was as an intellectual/student movement, and its main shortcoming the limited degree of active political and military opposition it was able to offer the apartheid regime. My dissertation, ‘Uncovering Hidden Fronts of Africa’s Liberation Struggle: Black Power, Black Consciousness, and South Africa’s Armed Struggle, 1967–1985’, broadens our understanding of this movement and moment in South African history by unearthing the little known history of BCM’s unrelenting engagement with armed struggle as a form of resistance to apartheid rule during the 1970s and 1980s.

The first part of my dissertation …

The Role Of Criticality Of Gene Regulatory Networks On Emergent Properties Of Biological Systems, Hyobin Kim

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

The relationship between criticality of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) and dynamics of GRNs at a single cell level has been vigorously studied. However, the relationship between the criticality of GRNs and properties of multicellular organisms at a higher level has not been fully explored. Here we aim at revealing potential roles of the criticality of GRNs at a multicellular and hierarchical level, using a random Boolean network as a GRN. We perform three studies. Firstly, we propose a GRN-based morphogenetic model, and delve into the role of the criticality of GRNs in morphogenesis at a multicellular level. Secondly, we include …

Changing Car Culture: A Case Study At Binghamton University, Daniella Madubuike

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Binghamton University has a parking problem fostered by the car culture of today. A change in car culture through the shift from single occupancy driving towards higher occupancy transit was identified as a possible solution. An online survey was used to acquire students' opinions and thoughts on the issue. Its 824 responses highlighted variables that were grouped into five overarching themes: Convenience, Quality of Transportation System, Satisfaction with Parking, Comfort with Carpooling, and Perceived Benefits and Drawbacks, which were analyzed under different qualitative and quantitative methods to test for their effect on car culture. Qualitative analysis was conducted using R …

Agricultural Revolutions In America’S Heartland: The Corn Belt And The Making Of American Capitalism, Benjamin J. Marley

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

The family farm has been the foundation of America’s cheap food model. This research examines how cheap food from the Corn Belt was produced from 1840s to the late twentieth century. It investigates how the interrelationships between family farming, proletarianization-housewifization, and national and world markets configured and reconfigured. Utilizing a world-ecological framework, I argue that Illinois and Iowa, the heart of the Corn Belt, were the epicenter of two successive agricultural revolutions that fundamentally transformed world accumulation and world nature. The analysis is centered on the development of successive agricultural revolutions over the longue durée of capitalism, with the greatest …

Nowhere To Run: Measuring How Refugee Flows And Rights Shape Civil Conflict, Katherine Emma Felt

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

In civil wars, innocent civilians live in the shadow of violence and destruction. This can range from low-level violence to aggressive campaigns of shelling of urban areas and massacres of entire villages in rural settings. In some cases, civilians respond to this violence by fleeing from the conflict to find refuge in neighboring states; however, in other civil wars, civilians remain trapped in the conflict zone, creating humanitarian disasters. This dissertation argues that civilians will flee when they have a reasonable, safe place to seek refuge, but in the absence of a safe place to seek sanctuary, civilians have no …

Investigating The Effects And Mechanisms Of A Brief Savoring-Based Intervention In Partnered Individuals, Binghuang A. Wang

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Due to numerous barriers to mental health care access, there exists an extensive need for brief cost-effective interventions for couples. Savoring, which invites individuals to prolong and extend the positive aspect of their experiences, is a promising intervention candidate. Research on savoring has established savoring-based interventions to be efficacious at producing positive intra and interpersonal outcomes. The current investigation expands upon existing savoring research by examining the effects of savoring on an adult population in committed romantic relationships. We expect savoring to be better than control at improving intra and interpersonal outcomes. Furthermore, we aim to investigate intrapersonal factors as …

The Apotheosis Of The Green Revolution And The Throes Of Landless Peasant Women In Two Aegean Villages Of Turkey In The 1960s, Bengu Kurtege Sefer

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

The debates on the historical processes of agrarian transition and the experiences of rural women in these processes have never lost their appeal for sociological study, although the studies have focused on the political economy of development and rural women in development in the 1960s and 1970s and have then shifted to microeconomics, power relations, and the formations ofsubjectivities since the 1980s. This thesis develops a framework, which helps analysis of the global and local processes of agrarian transition across gender and class lines in Turkey in the 1960s. In the existing literature, it was generally assumed that petty commodity …

Intra- And Inter-Personal Predictors Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder And Sexual Risk-Taking Behaviors, Seigie L. Kennedy

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Sexual risk-taking, while common in college culture, can increase the risk of sexual victimization. Nearly 20% of college women have been sexually assaulted (Krebs et al., 2009). Moreover, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been associated with sexual risk-taking (Johnson & Johnson, 2013). Self-esteem and social support are known to be related to PTSD and sexual risk-taking (Gullette & Lyons, 2006; Johnson & Johnson, 2013). This study aims to examine sexual victimization history, self-esteem, and social support as relative predictors of PTSD and sexual risk-taking using a sample of 229 female undergraduates. Results suggest that enhancing self-esteem, as opposed to bolstering …

Public Private Partnerships For Economic Development: Impacts On Shrinking Cities, Brenden M. Geraghty

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Over the last few decades in the United States, Public Private Partnerships have become essential devices to city development and redevelopment. This study examines the uses of Public Private Partnerships within the discipline of Economic Development. The cities researched are located in the Rust Belt region of the United States and their economies have experienced a drastic decline over the last half-century. This research reveals the economic impacts on these shrinking cities that have had programs and projects implemented through the agreements and workings of the public and private sectors. Several factors are analyzed to determine what constitutes the (un)successful …

The Art Of The Spearthrower: Understanding The Andean Estólica Through Iconography, Zachary R. Critchley

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Spearthrower devices held a role around the world as a primary weapon and tool before slowly falling out of favor in certain areas for other projectile weapons. While it is widely accepted that spearthrowers were used by the people of the ancient central Andes, comparatively little research has gone into the role that they had as weapons of war, hunting tools, and objects of ceremonial reverence. In addition, the Andes developed a unique style of spearthrower and have produced many examples of spearthrowers with exceptional craftsmanship, leading me to believe that these tools were given special reverence.

This thesis compiles …

Dangerous Delegation: Explaining The Rationales And Outcomes Of State Sponsorship Of Terrorism Through The Principal-Agent Framework, Jeremy M. Berkowitz

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

State sponsorship of terrorism, where a government deliberately provides resources and material support to a terrorist organization, is common in the international system. By conceptualizing state sponsorship as a relationship between a principal and agent, I develop a consistent theoretical model that explains why states pursue this foreign policy strategy, as well as how they rationally attempt to minimize the inherent risks of delegating to violent non-state actors. I test my model by using a novel dataset on sponsorship behaviors that improves on the range, detail, and temporality of previously used measurements. My dissertation is organized into three distinct papers, …

Indigenous Pottery From Sonora, Mexico: Examining Typologies And Spatial Distribution, Hunter M. Claypatch

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

A wealth of archaeological surveys and excavations has been conducted in Sonora, Mexico within the past century. Despite the establishment of Centro INAH Sonora, and numerous binational projects, little attempt has been made to synthesize the state’s growing literature. This thesis provides the first detailed study of indigenous ceramics from Sonora, Mexico. Archaeological projects within Sonora have been bifurcated by nation-state boundaries and divergent academic schooling—both possessing their own distinct research goals and methodologies. On a pragmatic level, a synthesis of prehistoric and protohistoric Sonoran pottery is necessary to establish a methodological consensus for classifications and typologies. On a broader …

Utilitarian And Community Values In Mainstream And Alternative Health Care On Martha's Vineyard, Sandra D. Polleys-Bunch

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Problems endemic to Martha’s Vineyard’s health care system and community efforts to resolve them led to the this community study on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Such problems included Martha’s Vineyard’s sole hospital and nursing home’s declarations of bankruptcy in 1996, the fluctuation of quality of Vineyard health care organization relations with the community overall, the rate of uninsured that was two times that of Massachusetts overall, the Island’s isolation from mainland medical services, and its health care service scarcities. This ethnography focuses on utilitarian values to explain difficulties that Vineyarders experienced during their efforts to obtain health care and to improve …

Heritable Variation In Reward Sensitivity And Impulsive Cction And Choice In A Genetically Diverse Inbred Mouse Panel, Lauren S. Bailey

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Research in animal models and human subjects points towards reward sensitivity and impulsivity as being characteristics that predict greater positive subjective responses to stimulant drugs. The Collaborative Cross (CC) recombinant inbred mouse strains and their inbred founders are a powerful genetic reference panel that has potential as a tool for revealing genetic correlations. The CC/DO founder strains were used to examine the heritability of reward sensitivity and impulsivity traits. Founder strains were tested for activity in an open field, reward sensitivity, and reversal learning (impulsive action) or delay discounting (impulsive choice). Significant heritability for anticipatory responding within the reversal task, …