Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Minimum Wage And National Culture, Zhongyu Cao

Theses and Dissertations

Minimum wage adjustment affects economic agent behaviors and leads to an unintended side effect s. The first chapter of the dissertation studies the impact of the minimum wage level on the college enrollment. Using institution-level data from IPEDS, the results show that the real minimum wage level has significant and diverse effects on different types of enrollment. The results are robust using several alternative specifications and individual level analysis. The second chapter of the dissertation addresses another side effect of the minimum wage law: crime. Using U.S. state-level arrest and offense data and agency-level offense data, this chapter provides empirical …

Associations Among Parenting Style And Parental Feeding Practices On Adolescent Self-Efficacy For Diet And Obesity In African American Adolescents, Haylee Loncar

Theses and Dissertations

Previous literature has demonstrated relationships between parenting factors and child health. However, few studies have investigated such associations in African American and adolescent samples. The proposed study aimed to investigate the relationships between parenting factors (parenting style and parental feeding practices), and adolescent self-efficacy for diet, and adolescent body mass index (BMI) in African American families. Baseline data were collected from 241 African American parent- adolescent dyads enrolled in the Families Improving Together (FIT) for Weight Loss trial. Adolescents self-reported their perceptions of their caregiver’s parenting style and feeding practices, as well as perceptions of their own self-efficacy for diet. …

Managing Negative Countertransference Utilizing An Integrated Counselor Mindfulness Training For Counselors Working With Children Exhibiting Externalized Behaviors, Jessie D. Guest

Theses and Dissertations

Using a multiple-probe, single case research design, this study investigated the effects of an integrated mindfulness intervention on counselors’ negative countertransference while working with children exhibiting externalized behaviors in session. More specifically, this study utilized a two-pronged intervention including mindfulness practices as well as the theoretical tenets of relating to children to assist counselors in managing negative countertransference as measured by the Countertransference Management Scale (Perez- Rojas, et al., 2017), reducing negative countertransference feelings as measured by Therapist Appraisal Questionnaire (Cooley & Klingler, 1989; Fauth et al., 1999), and improving the child’s perception of the counselor as measured by Young …

Social Support: Who And What Types Matter For Early Adolescents’ Life Satisfaction, Kimberly G. Sitter

Theses and Dissertations

Trends in current psychological research suggest an increasing interest in indicators of well-being in youth, such as life satisfaction (LS). Studies indicate a strong association between LS and social support from different sources within an early adolescent’s social network. However, the unique contributions of specific types of supportive behaviors (within sources of social support) as they relate to development of early adolescent global LS have been largely overlooked. The current study sought to examine the unique contributions of social support types (emotional, appraisal, informational, instrumental) within three sources of support (parent, teacher, peer) to global LS in a sample of …

“Philosophical Treatises On Life And Death”:Newspaper Coverage Of A Controversial Brain Death Case, Khadija Ejaz

Theses and Dissertations

The central concern of this multi-method research project was to investigate newspaper coverage of the controversial brain death case of Jahi McMath. This represents the first study of sense-making of the case in the news media, positioning it at the intersection of science communication and critical qualitative inquiry. First, framing theory was used to guide a textual analysis of 81 newspaper articles from high-circulation newspapers in California. This revealed four frames that first created uncertainty about brain death, thereby permitting two competing frames of Jahi being alive and also being dead to co-exist before merging into a frame that further …

Causes And Consequences Of Police Militarization, Edward Eugene Lawson, Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

After the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown, and many other incidents of police violence that followed, the militarization of policing and the use of violence by police became the subjects of contentious debate among the public, policymakers, and scholars. Research on these subjects necessary to inform the debate has been lacking. This work examines the causes and effects of police militarization in the United States. Specifically, I argue that militarization is a response to perceived threat from minority racial groups, but the rela- tionship between racial demographics and militarization is curvilinear. Militarized begin to see themselves as soldiers fighting on …

Ammani Youth- Paradoxical Citizens On The Margins, Holly L. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Cities are complex social environments representing a convergence of many physical and human processes which influence how young people form their identities and plan for their futures. The role of urban environments on social processes has received substantial attention. However, significantly less attention has been focused on how urban youth are impacted specifically as political actors. Youth are particularly exposed to feeling the impacts of historical and on-going geopolitical issues in and surrounding their urban environments. Amman, Jordan is a compelling location to examine urban impacts on young political actors because of the clear geopolitical changes taking place in and …

Examining Non-Targeted Effects Of The Connect Through Play Project: Implications For Addressing Mental Health Of Underserved Middle School Youth, Jessica Dandan

Theses and Dissertations

Early adolescence is a developmental phase accompanied by several changes occurring in various biopsychosocial domains, associated with an increased vulnerability to mental and physical health problems. Youth of minority status and/or low socio- economic status have been shown to be more susceptible, as they are more likely to incur greater exposure to stressors accordingly. Coincidently, as psychological problems emerge such as internalizing disorders, physical activity engagement declines; those trends seem to persist into adulthood and have been associated with numerous negative health outcomes. Evidence points to the direct impact of physical activity, as well as, social variables such as social …

Public Debt, High Inflation And Economic Depression: A Survival Analysis Approach, Minjie Guo

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the association between public debt, high inflation and economics depression by using the survival analysis approach.

In the first chapter, I use non-parametric survival analysis to check the association between high debt episodes and high inflation episodes. Both the Kaplan-Meier estimate and the Nelson-Aelon analysis indicate that the existence of an overlapping high inflation episode is correlated with longer duration of high debt episodes. The reverse is also true: the existence of a high debt episode overlap is associated with longer duration of high inflation episodes. Whether or not the country is a member of the OECD …

Behavioral And Voltammetric Analysis Of Chronic Escitalopram Treatment To The Hiv-1 Transgenic Rat: Implications For Comorbid Hiv-1 And Clinical Depression, Adam R. Denton

Theses and Dissertations

HIV-1 infection is a serious condition affecting approximately 37 million individuals. Between 30% and 60% of seropositive individuals will develop symptoms of clinical depression. These individuals are five times more likely to commit suicide than non-seropositive clinically depressed patients. Dysfunction in serotonergic and dopaminergic transmission has consistently been implicated in the pathogenesis of depression. Specifically, dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex and in the nucleus accumbens core region have been shown to be underlying factors in the trajectory of depression. Given these underlying neurological features, the present research employed behavioral testing and electrochemical recording in an attempt to elucidate the therapeutic …

The Distribution Of [ʍ]: An Acoustic Analysis Of Sociophonetic Factors Governing The Wine-Whine Merger In Southern American English, Keiko Bridwell

Theses and Dissertations

In US English, the merging of the voiceless labiovelar glide [ʍ] and its voiced counterpart [w] has been an ongoing process over the past century, originating in central port cities on the Atlantic seaboard and gradually spreading to include the bulk of the continental US. While described by many sources as still present in Southern American English, the so-called wine-whine merger shows evidence of nearing its completion as its usage becomes increasingly rare even within the Southeast, even as the segment [ʍ] is interpreted as a feature of Southern speech. Despite this fact, very little research has been conducted on …

Essays In The Economics Of Education, Breyon J. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

I examine, separately, the impact of three education programs on student achievement, using difference-in-differences and difference-in-difference-in-differences designs. First, I examine whether spillover benefits on achievement exist from preschool. I estimate the effect of exposure to a South Carolina preschool program that targets disadvantaged four-year-olds on students’ test scores in grades 3 through 5, where exposure means residing in a school district once the program was made available and disadvantaged students are those eligible for free or reduced-price lunch or Medicaid. I find that exposure to the preschool program not only increases the math and reading scores of targeted students, but …

Assessing Readiness For A Physical Activity Intervention In Positive Youth Development Afterschool Programs, Brittany Skiles Cook

Theses and Dissertations

Physical inactivity has been identified as a primary health threat to youth, and existing afterschool programs (ASP) are a promising context for implementing physical activity (PA) interventions. However, few PA interventions have been effective and generalizability of programs has been poor. Assessing organizational readiness during the testing of a PA intervention can help inform generalizability and sustainability. The R=MC2 heuristic separates readiness into motivation, innovation-specific capacity, and general capacity, each of which are further divided into subcomponents. The current multiple-case study pilot tests the feasibility and effectiveness/efficacy of a readiness assessment tool based on R=MC2 developed for the Connect through …

Dynamic Environments And Judicial Power, Monica Lineberger

Theses and Dissertations

The study of judicial independence in comparative environments is an increasingly important endeavor for scholars and policy-makers. Scholars seek to understand how an institution without any degree of enforceable power can leverage its position into an influential member of country politics. Policy-makers assume that a high degree of judicial independence correlates with the rule of law, and consequently, a respect for the outcomes from judicial processes. While in recent history the United States Supreme Court has enjoyed a relatively stable degree of judicial autonomy, courts in other countries are plagued by institutional weakness, attacks from other institutions, or corruption from …

The Use Of Antecedent-Based Interventions To Increase Compliance Related To Physical Activity In Children With Down Syndrome, Kaylee Nicol Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

Children with Down syndrome often have high body mass index scores, brought on by hypothyroidism, poor mastication, decreased metabolic rates, and inconsistent physical fitness routines. Along with various genotypic characteristics, several behavioral tendencies accompany the diagnosis of Down syndrome. People with this condition often engage in noncompliant behaviors in an attempt to escape work-related tasks such as exercising. A lack of a consistent fitness regimen may result in additional health complications for this particular group of people, as well as ensuing concerns from the parents or guardians who care for them. Because of the propensities for poor physical health in …

Skill Acquisition And Behavior Change Following An Exercise Bout In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Erika Jaci Richards

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to determine if antecedent bouts of exercise, through the means of a basketball practice, are beneficial to 5 children aged 8 to 11 with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in decreasing competing behaviors (e.g., stereotypy, disruptive behaviors). Additionally, basketball skill mastery was measured. Antecedent exercise was corroborated by measuring heart rate. The results of the study indicate that antecedent exercise decreased disruptive behaviors and had no effect on stereotypic behaviors. Of the 5 participants, 4 of them had heart rate levels that indicated they were engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity. All 5 participants …

Effect Of Goal-Setting And Visual Feedback On Rower Performance On A Rowing Machine, Taylor Donald Timmerman Hetherington

Theses and Dissertations

In the sport of rowing, the rowing machine is often used as training tool for exercise on land. This study seeks to assess how the commonly used rowing machine in the sport of rowing be used in the best way to mimic on-water visual stimuli in relation to performance (speed) for the rower. Twenty adolescent women from a youth rowing club in the Southeast, USA participated in a study meant to determine how the pace boat feature on Concept2 rowing machines affects their performance. Using a multiple baseline across-groups treatment design, participants were divided into two groups based on the …

“Picking My Battles ”: Examining The Experiences Of Gender Non-Binary Identities Within The U.S., Mika Raylen Richards

Theses and Dissertations

As there is limited research on non-binary individuals, researching the non-binary experience was essential to normalizing their existence. The qualitative research focuses on 12 non-binary individuals who were at different stages of being out. A thematic analysis helped in understanding multifaceted responses from the participants. The data showed that non-binary individuals experience invalidation each day. Heteronormative societies and individuals tend to only see a binary within gender identity and shape their language around it, whether it be from their refusal of learning or a lack of knowledge of the problem. This failure to acknowledge non-binary individuals influenced many of their …

"They Are Supposed To Be There For Me": Using Thematic Analysis To Understand Sexual Assault Disclosures In Hispanic Families, Alyssa M. Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

The majority of research available on family communication and sexual assault disclosure is almost exclusively focused on Caucasian women (e.g., Basinger, Wehrman, & McAninch, 2016; Fehler-Cabral & Campbell, 2013; Orchowski, Untied, & Gidycz, 2013; Taylor & Norma, 2012). This is problematic because, of all cultural groups on which studies have been conducted about sexual assault reporting, Hispanics are the least likely to disclose sexual assault, although they are at high risk to experience sexual assault (Castaneda, 2018). In this study, I aimed to understand how and why survivors of sexual assault chose to disclose their experiences to their Hispanic families. …

The Relationship Between College Health Professionals' Communicative Behaviors, Students' Satisfaction, And Students' Perceived Quality Of Healthcare, Prince Adu Gyamfi

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, a Pearson product-moment correlation was performed using SPSS to analyze the associations between college health professionals’ communicative behaviors (instrumental and affective), students’ satisfaction, and students’ perceived quality of healthcare. Results showed that college health professionals’ communicative behaviors positively associated with students’ satisfaction and students’ perceived quality of healthcare. The implication is that college health professionals need to pay careful attention to how they interact with students at student health service because their interactions can potentially cause either high or low patient satisfaction or perception of quality of healthcare among students. Additionally, this thesis used anxiety/uncertainty management (AUM) …

Redline Erased: U.S. Foreign Policy In Syria And The Criteria For Humanitarian Intervention, Caroline A. Kernan

Theses and Dissertations

The United States’ involvement in the Syrian conflict remains rather contentious and unclear. The world is currently experiencing the worst refugee crisis since World War II due to the ongoing Syrian conflict which has produced approximately 6 million refugees. The United States’ actions in the Syrian conflict may have prolonged this refugee crisis by refusing to take a more hardline stance in the conflict against Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime. While the United States has acted in Syria, it is much more limited in comparison to that of the recent Libyan intervention. The Libyan intervention serves as a basis for …

Nature, Identity, And Pastoralism: Changing Landscapes And Shifting Paradigms In The Mongolian Taiga, Jessica Vinson

Theses and Dissertations

The traditional environment of pastoralism is under assault from land degradation, rangeland conservation, and development paradigms that alter the everyday lives of Tsataan Dukha reindeer herders in the Mongolian taiga. This paper seeks to analyze the ways in which identity is shaped through experiences of or relationships with particular nonhuman places and beings, and how the Tsataan Dukha renegotiate their individual and collective identities with changing local landscapes that exert considerable pressures upon the social, political, and economic organization of Dukha life. Senses of place and of space are intimately tied to a sense of self, so disruption in environmental …

Gender And Persistence In Stem Careers: Predictors And Barriers, Margaret Rose Christie

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, a great deal of emphasis has been placed on increasing students’ interest in math and science. Specifically, interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) has been low among students in the United States, and interest seems to be lower among girls than boys. Additionally, increased emphasis has been placed on increasing female representation in STEM careers, as numbers of women in these fields remains disproportionately low compared to men. A variety of factors have been found to increase young people’s interest in STEM, including parent and teacher factors, informal STEM experiences, self-efficacy in math and science, …

Impact Of Selected Financial Measures On The Term Debt Repayment Ability Of Illinois Grain Farms, Samuel Awortwe Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

A clear and accurate assessment of the financial performance of a farm business is an important component of financial management at any time but becomes even more crucial in periods of economic downturn in the farm sector. Farmers continue to increase their debt even though the prices of commodities are low, and the prices of inputs are high (Krapf, Raab, & Zwilling, 2017). In addition, high family living expenses can also place financial pressure on farms (Scott, 2016). This study focused on identifying and estimating the impact of key factors which included financial measures and family living expenses on the …

Chilled To The Bone: An Analysis On The Effects Of Cold Temperatures And Weather Conditions Altering The Decomposition Process In Pig ( Sus Scrofa ) Remains, Katharine C. Woollen

Theses and Dissertations

Temperature is one of the most crucial variables affecting the decomposition process, significantly increasing or decreasing the rate at which decomposition occurs. Few studies have been conducted to show how the effects of cold temperatures and weather conditions influence the postmortem interval (PMI). The PMI is defined as the amount of time that has passed since death. The purpose of this study was to evaluate estimations for the PMI when remains are exposed to cold temperatures and weather conditions. Secondly, this study seeks to explain whether variables (i.e., coverings, burial depth, soil pH) can affect the decomposition process during colder …

Multi-Sensor Data Fusion Between Radio Tomographic Imaging And Noise Radar, Christopher Vergara

Theses and Dissertations

The lack of situational awareness within an operational environment is a problem that carries high risk and expensive consequences. Radio Tomographic Imaging (RTI) and noise radar are two proven technologies capable of through-wall imaging and foliage penetration. The intent of this thesis is to provide a proof of concept for the fusion of data from RTI and noise radar. The output of this thesis will consist of a performance comparison between the two technologies followed by the derivation of a fusion technique to produce a single image. Proposals have been made for the integration of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar with …

Measuring Human Systems Integration In Directed Energy Weapon Acquisition Programs, Zachary A. Novitske

Theses and Dissertations

Directed energy weapons (DEW) are of interest to the armed forces as they search for more effective ways to deal with evolving threats. The development of these weapons has been ongoing for almost 40 years, despite only one operational fielding by the U.S. Navy in 2014. Some reasons for DEW’s lack of adoption by the services include cost overruns and unclear requirements. Early adoption of human systems integration (HSI) in the military’s acquisition process is shown to provide substantial cost savings over the life of the system. Quantifying the application of HSI within a DEW acquisition program is addressed through …

Women And Stability: A Topological View Of The Relationship Between Women And Armed Conflict In West Africa, Michaela A. Pendergrass

Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between women and stability, if any, is a topic of much debate and research. Several large and influential organizations have all researched women's effect on stability. Furthermore, several of these world organizations, the United Nations, in particular, have declared gender equality to be a driving force in promoting stability and conflict prevention. Due to the United States active involvement in conflict prevention in such regions as West Africa, research concerning the relationship between women and stability is of particular interest to the United States Africa Command. As such, this research applied Topological Data Analysis, combined with other machine …

Text Analysis Of Air Force References In Twitter, Seth A. Kline

Theses and Dissertations

Social media has grown to become a rich source for opinions, authored by individuals who volunteer them, unedited and in real-time. Armed with this information, an organization like the Air Force can understand the perceptions of consumers and learn to better serve the American taxpayer. To accomplish this goal, this research takes a qualitative approach, utilizing social media analytics in combination with various Text Mining methodologies (word frequency, word relationships, sentiment analysis, topic modeling) to provide insight on Air Force related content shared on Twitter. To provide a well-rounded analysis of the overall perception of the Air Force enterprise, the …

Social Network Threat Detection, Nathanael R. Beveridge

Theses and Dissertations

Various government agencies have a stake in knowing when bad actors cross the United States' borders, or how bad actors may be involved in the ow of people across borders. Interviews conducted at border checkpoints with individuals who intend to cross the border can contain valuable information. The quantity of interviews is such that intelligence analysts could benefit greatly from an automation system that extracts the information they are looking for from within the interviews. This would allow them to focus more of their time on analyzing what is extracted as opposed to inspecting all interviews themselves. The information extracted …