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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Planning Policy And Public Perception In Small-Town Utah, Greg M. Platt Jul 2010

Planning Policy And Public Perception In Small-Town Utah, Greg M. Platt

Theses and Dissertations

City growth policies codify community values and serve as the basis for enforcement of community standards. If these policies do not match resident preferences for growth, potential exists for communities to grow in ways which make the community undesirable. This thesis examines whether adopted city growth policies match resident preferences in small towns in Utah. Findings include a strong relationship between resident preferences and city leader preferences for growth. Also, city staffs are poor readers of public sentiment relative to growth and growth management. Some cities are more effective in enacting city policies to match resident attitudes towards growth than …

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Utilizing Human-Computer Interactions To Improve Text Annotation, Marc A. Carmen Jul 2010

Utilizing Human-Computer Interactions To Improve Text Annotation, Marc A. Carmen

Theses and Dissertations

The need for annotated corpora in a variety of different types of research grows constantly. Unfortunately creating annotated corpora is frequently cost-prohibitive due the number of person-hours required to create the corpus. This project investigates one solution that helps to reduce the cost of creating annotated corpora through the use of a new user interface which includes a specially built framework and component for annotating part-of-speech information and the implementation of a dictionary. This project reports on a user study performed to determine the effect of dictionaries with different levels of coverage on a part-of-speech annotation task. Based on a …

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Selecting Members For Group Therapy: A Continued Validation Study Of The Group Selection Questionnaire, Elizabeth Louise Baker Jul 2010

Selecting Members For Group Therapy: A Continued Validation Study Of The Group Selection Questionnaire, Elizabeth Louise Baker

Theses and Dissertations

Group therapy has been demonstrated to be effective through a number of factors. Group theorists and researchers have attempted to identify client characteristics that would enable the clinician to determine a client's appropriateness for group therapy. Reviews of research have identified client expectancies and positive and negative interpersonal skills as promising predictors of group process, outcome, and attrition. The Group Selection Questionnaire (GSQ) was created to provide clinicians with a short and useful tool to aid them in identifying potential members for therapy groups, and has shown positive preliminary results in the past. This study presents tentative support for the …

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Clinical Prediction In Group Psychotherapy, Christopher L. Chapman Jul 2010

Clinical Prediction In Group Psychotherapy, Christopher L. Chapman

Theses and Dissertations

Prior research in individual therapy has provided evidence that therapists are poor predictors of client outcome without the aid of objective measures and often misjudge clients' perceptions of the therapeutic relationship. The focus of the current research was to conduct a similar study in a group setting. Therapists from a university counseling center and a state psychiatric hospital were recruited to test their accuracy in predicting client outcome, quality of therapeutic relationship and their own use of empirically supported group interventions. Results indicated that therapists are poor predictors of all three, providing support for the implementation of measure-based feedback systems …

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An Assessment Of Stakeholder Response Of Collegiate Spots Marketing Across Three Western State Universities, Casey D. Stauffer Jul 2010

An Assessment Of Stakeholder Response Of Collegiate Spots Marketing Across Three Western State Universities, Casey D. Stauffer

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to explore stakeholder response to the increase in corporate involvement in college sports. As tough economic times have been steadily realized into a recession, the rise in educational costs and in amount of money required to run athletic programs have placed a tremendous need on athletic departments for money. As a result, a popular trend of outsourcing or selling, marketing rights to third party entities has been a quick way to raise needed revenues. In the selling of these marketing rights, athletic departments have essentially opened the door to allow for an increase in …

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The Relationship Between Attachment Related Family-Of-Origin Experiences And Sexual Satisfaction In Married Couples, James G. Strait Jul 2010

The Relationship Between Attachment Related Family-Of-Origin Experiences And Sexual Satisfaction In Married Couples, James G. Strait

Theses and Dissertations

This study of married couples examined the relationship between perceptions of attachment related family-of-origin experiences and sexual satisfaction directly and when mediated by marital quality. The sample consisted of 3,953 married couples who responded to the RELATionship Evaluation (RELATE). The nested model showed that more positive overall family-of-origin experiences and parent-child relationships were related to higher sexual satisfaction. When adding marital quality as a mediator, overall family-of-origin experience and the parent-child relationship were predictive of higher sexual satisfaction when mediated by marital quality but removed most direct effects to sexual satisfaction. There was a strong positive relationship between marital quality …

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Humor As A Moderating Variable Of The Relationship Between Family Conflict And Self-Regulation In Children: A Two-Year Panel Study, Kristiane Madsen Jul 2010

Humor As A Moderating Variable Of The Relationship Between Family Conflict And Self-Regulation In Children: A Two-Year Panel Study, Kristiane Madsen

Theses and Dissertations

Conflict is a common problem among families, and children may be negatively affected by this family dynamic. Some family characteristics may protect children from negative effects, even in the midst of conflict. Though little research has been conducted addressing familial effects of humor, the current longitudinal study examined the moderating effect of humor on the relationship between family conflict and child self regulation. Two hundred ninety six two-parent families from the Seattle area were surveyed and observed as a party of Brigham Young University's Flourishing Family Project. Family conflict and coded humor from an observation task were assessed at time …

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Specifications For The Development Of Effective Academic Vocabulary Activities In Intensive English Programs, Jared Nathan Garrett Jul 2010

Specifications For The Development Of Effective Academic Vocabulary Activities In Intensive English Programs, Jared Nathan Garrett

Theses and Dissertations

With the new curriculum at the English Language Center (ELC) at Brigham Young University (BYU) including a program focused specifically on preparing students to succeed in academic institutions wherein the language of instruction is English, a need for a systematic approach to vocabulary instruction was identified. Specifically, the Academic Program focuses on the Academic Word List (AWL) in order to provide a broad base of words that can best prepare students for the academic world. This project followed the ADDIE model (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate) to craft a systematic approach to developing vocabulary learning activities. An analysis of existing …

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The Relationship Of Equal Division Of Labor And Satisfaction Of Division Of Labor To Positive Parenting As Mediated By Parents' Relationship Quality, Lauren Alyssa Bone Barnes Jul 2010

The Relationship Of Equal Division Of Labor And Satisfaction Of Division Of Labor To Positive Parenting As Mediated By Parents' Relationship Quality, Lauren Alyssa Bone Barnes

Theses and Dissertations

Couples learn to negotiate a complex intersection between household labor and family processes. Using both observational coding and questionnaire self report, this study examined the relationship between father and mothers' reported equality with their division-of-labor, their satisfaction with division-of-labor and their respective positive parenting as observed in taped interaction with a target child while controlling for quality of the relationship between the parents. Findings showed that egalitarian division of labor was positively related to satisfaction in division of labor and that egalitarian division of labor was a significant predictor of mothers' relationship quality, but not fathers' relationship quality. It also …

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Emotional Intimacy, Coparenting, And Family Work: A Latent Class Growth Analysis, Adam Michael Galovan Jul 2010

Emotional Intimacy, Coparenting, And Family Work: A Latent Class Growth Analysis, Adam Michael Galovan

Theses and Dissertations

From a family systems theoretical view, this paper uses both variable-oriented and person-oriented research approaches to examine parental marriage as a dynamic, interdependent system, and extends the literature by examining parental marriage across a 15 year time span. Employing latent growth curve analysis of 490 mother-father dyads from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, this study considers multiple aspects of the relationship husbands and wives have together as spouses (emotional intimacy), parents (ideas about discipline and a child-centered vs. adult-centered orientation to childrearing), coparents (agreement regarding parenting beliefs and discipline), and household managers (agreement on the …

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Childhood Physical And Sexual Abuse And Their Effects On Adult Romantic Relationship Quality: Gender Differences And Clinical Implications, Carly D. Lebaron Jul 2010

Childhood Physical And Sexual Abuse And Their Effects On Adult Romantic Relationship Quality: Gender Differences And Clinical Implications, Carly D. Lebaron

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between self-reported childhood physical and sexual abuse, relationship quality, possible gender differences, and clinical implications. Three hundred thirty eight women and 296 men who sought services at a university mental health clinic in the northeast region of the United States completed a 30-minute self-report assessment questionnaire before their first therapy session. Among the items in the questionnaire were measures of childhood physical abuse and sexual abuse, relationship stability, problems areas in the relationship, and other demographic information. Results from structural equation modeling indicated that childhood physical abuse influenced relationship quality for both men and women …

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What Are Physicians' Perceptions Of Proposed Federalized Healthcare And How Do They Feel It Will Impact The Quality Of Health Care?, Katrina Stier Jun 2010

What Are Physicians' Perceptions Of Proposed Federalized Healthcare And How Do They Feel It Will Impact The Quality Of Health Care?, Katrina Stier

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine physicians' opinions of a federalized health care system as well as the effect federalized health care will have on the quality of patient care provided by physicians. A survey was randomly administrated to physicians from across the United States. The survey was administered as an on-line instrument. Because physicians are difficult to gather together for a focus group, a survey, consisting of multiple choice questions and personal interviews, was used for data collection. The survey was comprised of matrix questions. Each physician was given the opportunity to write in additional comments or …

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A Patient-Focused Psychotherapy Quality Assurance System: Meta-Analytic And Multilevel Analytic Review, Kenichi Shimokawa Jun 2010

A Patient-Focused Psychotherapy Quality Assurance System: Meta-Analytic And Multilevel Analytic Review, Kenichi Shimokawa

Theses and Dissertations

Outcome research has documented worsening among a minority of the patient population (5 to 10%). In this study a psychotherapy quality assurance system intended to enhance outcomes in patients at risk of treatment failure was reviewed through the use of meta-analytic, mega-analytic, and multilevel analytic techniques. A pooled dataset from six major studies conducted at a large university counseling center and a hospital outpatient setting (N = 6151, mean age = 23.3 years, female = 63.2%, Caucasian = 85%) were re-analyzed to examine the effects of progress feedback on patient outcome. In this quality assurance system, the Outcome Questionnaire-45 was …

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Early Adolescents' Forgiveness Of Parents: An Analysis Of Determinants, Katherine Janet Christensen Jun 2010

Early Adolescents' Forgiveness Of Parents: An Analysis Of Determinants, Katherine Janet Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

The current study examined forgiveness within the parent-adolescent relationship. Theoretical foundations and definitions of forgiveness were examined, after which a relational approach to forgiveness was explored. The direct influences of the quality of mother- and father-child relationships (parent and observed reports) and modeled marital forgiveness on early adolescents' forgiveness toward both mothers and fathers (child report) were examined; the mediating roles of parent forgiveness of child and adolescent social-cognitive skills (empathy and emotional regulation) were also analyzed. Mother, father, and child self-reported questionnaires and in-home observational data were taken from Time 1 and Time 3 (two years later) of the …

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Malingering Detection Among Accommodation-Seeking University Students, Spencer Paul Clayton Jun 2010

Malingering Detection Among Accommodation-Seeking University Students, Spencer Paul Clayton

Theses and Dissertations

Universities have increasingly sought to provide accommodative services to students with learning disorders and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in recent decades thereby creating a need for diagnostic batteries designed to evaluate cognitive abilities relevant to academic performance. Given that accommodative services (extended time on tests, alternate test forms, etc.) provide incentive to distort impairment steps should be taken to estimate the rate at which students distort impairment and to evaluate the accuracy with which symptom distortion is identified. In order to address these concerns, the Word-Memory Test, Test of Memory Malingering, and Fake Bad Scale (of the MMPI-2) were compared in …

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The Public Relations Aspects Of Municipality Wind Energy Development: A Case Study Of Wind Energy In Ocean Gate, Nj, Gregory Richter Jun 2010

The Public Relations Aspects Of Municipality Wind Energy Development: A Case Study Of Wind Energy In Ocean Gate, Nj, Gregory Richter

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this exploratory investigation were to (a) determine if the local government of Ocean Gate, NJ, would use communication techniques to achieve compliance, or sufficient approval, of government and citizens for wind turbine development and (b) determine if some citizens will express strong views against wind energy while the majority of Ocean Gate's citizens will favor wind turbine power generation in their municipality. This researcher used interviews with important figures surrounding the wind project. This researcher also conducted pen and paper survey research of 106 local residents of Ocean Gate and surrounding areas through a convenience sample found …

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Students' Perceptions Of Their Esl Training In Preparation For University Reading Tasks, Olha Kondiyenko Jun 2010

Students' Perceptions Of Their Esl Training In Preparation For University Reading Tasks, Olha Kondiyenko

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to determine perceptions of former English Language Center (ELC) students of their readiness for university reading tasks after completing their ESL training. Former ELC students who now study or have studied at 10 different American post-secondary institutions provided insights for the study. Through questionnaires and face-to-face interviews, the study collected and analyzed many interesting and revealing comments from participants. Their comments demonstrated that even though the majority of students overall were satisfied with their learning experiences at the ELC, some significant changes still have to be made to be able to fully meet students' educational needs. Participants …

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An Assessment Of The Methods That Are Used To Recruit College Students Into The Turkish Hezbollah., Tuncay Unal Jun 2010

An Assessment Of The Methods That Are Used To Recruit College Students Into The Turkish Hezbollah., Tuncay Unal

Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to identify tactics used by the Turkish Hezbollah to recruit college students into joining their terrorist organization. This study based on the assumptions that social networks and institutional structures are two main tools that are used effectively by the Turkish Hezbollah to recruit college educated students. In this sense, the researcher claims that Social Learning theory and Social Control Theories can be used to provide theoretical explanation to the Hezbollah’s recruitment strategy. Parallel to these theories assumptions, while having militants within social networks increases the likelihood of being recruited through social learning theory assumptions, college students who …

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Contract Over Target Baseline (Otb) Effect On Earned Value Management's Cost Performance Index (Cpi), Dennis E. Jack Jun 2010

Contract Over Target Baseline (Otb) Effect On Earned Value Management's Cost Performance Index (Cpi), Dennis E. Jack

Theses and Dissertations

Cost growth is a problem in U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) acquisitions. A particular component of cost growth is a cost overrun or Over Target Baseline (OTB). In 2009, Trahan found that the Gompertz growth curve better predicted program Estimates at Completion (EAC) for OTB contracts. In 2010, Thickstun studied “the relationships between overruns and a variety of factors,” but found OTB occurrences “random” and questioned the benefit of the OTB process (Thickstun, 2010). In this research, we study OTB‟s ability to effect improved program cost performance; we examine OTB‟s effect on the cumulative Cost Performance Index (CPI) slope after …

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Hostility In Marital Interaction, Depressive Symptoms And Physical Health Of Husbands And Wives, Stanley D. Hall Jun 2010

Hostility In Marital Interaction, Depressive Symptoms And Physical Health Of Husbands And Wives, Stanley D. Hall

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine how hostility from either partner in a marital interaction affected marital partners' perceived general physical health, while investigating for indirect effects of partners' depression. A total of 296 married couples who participated in Waves 1 and 2 of the Flourishing Families Project were videotaped while completing a marital discussion task. Their interaction was coded for hostile behaviors using the Iowa Family Interaction Rating Scales, IFIRS. Structural equation modeling was used to examine how hostility in marital interactions at Wave 1 was related to partners' self-reports of physical health as measured by the …

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Natural Fibers And Fiberglass: A Technical And Economic Comparison, Justin Andrew Zsiros Jun 2010

Natural Fibers And Fiberglass: A Technical And Economic Comparison, Justin Andrew Zsiros

Theses and Dissertations

Natural fibers have received attention in recent years because of their minimal environmental impact, reasonably good properties, and low cost. There is a wide variety of natural fibers suitable for composite applications, the most common of which is flax. Flax has advantages in tensile strength, light weight, and low cost over other natural fibers. As with other natural and synthetic fibers, flax is used to reinforce both thermoset and thermoplastic matrices. When flax is used in thermoplastic matrices, polypropylene and polyethylene are the main resins used. Although at first glance flax may seem to be a cheaper alternative to fiberglass, …

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Investigating Executive Functions In Men Seeking Help For Hypersexual Behavior Using Neuropsychological Testing, Rory C. Reid Jun 2010

Investigating Executive Functions In Men Seeking Help For Hypersexual Behavior Using Neuropsychological Testing, Rory C. Reid

Theses and Dissertations

Patients seeking help for hypersexual behavior often exhibit features of impulsivity, cognitive rigidity, poor judgment, deficits in emotion regulation, and excessive preoccupation with sex. Some of these characteristics are also common among patients presenting with neurological pathology associated with executive dysfunction. These observations led to the current investigation in which differences across scores on objective neuropsychological tests of executive functioning were explored in a group of hypersexual male patients (n = 30) compared with a non-hypersexual community sample (n = 30) of men. Using multivariate statistics, differences between the groups were examined yielding significant differences on measures of hypersexuality. However, …

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The Relationship Between Childhood Adversity And Depression: The Influence Of Schemas And Coping Style On Depression Course, Jessica Childress Jun 2010

The Relationship Between Childhood Adversity And Depression: The Influence Of Schemas And Coping Style On Depression Course, Jessica Childress

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explored the relationship between childhood adversity and depression course, and the influence of Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMS) and coping on this relationship. A sample of participants in a small-scale university study (n=100) provided information through retrospective assessment of adverse childhood experiences. Information through self-report assessment of coping style, Early Maladaptive Schema (EMS), and depressive symptoms was also obtained. Seventy-three percent of the sample reported experiencing at least one of the adversities assessed. Childhood adversity was a predictor of acute symptoms of depression, and general negative affect, indicating that experiencing childhood adversity leads to acute and chronic symptoms of …

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Prediction Of Cognitive Sequelae And Ecological Validity In Critically-Ill Adult Patients, Fu Lye Woon Jun 2010

Prediction Of Cognitive Sequelae And Ecological Validity In Critically-Ill Adult Patients, Fu Lye Woon

Theses and Dissertations

Survivors of critical illness have a high prevalence of long-term cognitive and psychiatric morbidity and poor quality of life years after hospital discharge. Data are lacking regarding whether cognitive screening tests predict which critically ill patients may be at risk to develop long-term cognitive sequelae and whether cognitive sequelae predict the patients everyday functioning. This study sought to determine whether cognitive screening tests, including the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Mini-Cog, predict long-term cognitive sequelae and everyday functioning in survivors of critical illness 6-month post-hospital discharge. A second purpose was to investigate whether cognitive sequelae are associated with poor everyday …

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Patterns Of Presenting Problems And Symptom Severity Related To Family Trauma In A Robust Sample Of College Students, Gerilynn Price Vorkink May 2010

Patterns Of Presenting Problems And Symptom Severity Related To Family Trauma In A Robust Sample Of College Students, Gerilynn Price Vorkink

Theses and Dissertations

Because of the lasting impact that traumatic family events can have on psychological well-being, students who present for services at college counseling centers may be experiencing problems and symptoms associated with earlier trauma. Many college counseling centers utilize the Counseling Concerns Survey developed by the Research Consortium of Counseling and Psychological Services in Higher Education (1991) and the Outcome Questionnaire-45 (OQ-45; Lambert et al., 1996) as intake instruments to assess students who present for counseling. The major components of the Counseling Concerns Survey are the 18-item Family Experiences Questionnaire, which identifies history of family trauma, and the 42-item Presenting Problems …

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The Development Of Two Units For Basic Training And Resources For Teaching English To Speakers Of Other Languages: "Developing A Successful Teaching Personality" And "Managing Classes Of English Language Learners", Iva Crookston May 2010

The Development Of Two Units For Basic Training And Resources For Teaching English To Speakers Of Other Languages: "Developing A Successful Teaching Personality" And "Managing Classes Of English Language Learners", Iva Crookston

Theses and Dissertations

A team of graduate students from Brigham Young University under the supervision of the main author, Dr. Henrichsen, collaborated on creating a book as well as a website, Basic Training and Resources for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (BTR-TESOL). The entire project consists of ten main sections with nearly fifty units addressing topics that novice teachers should know before teaching English to non-native speakers. The BTR-TESOL project answers the need for material for untrained novice teachers that will help them to be better prepared in a very minimalistic way to face the challenges and responsibilities that teaching of …

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Perceptions Of Social Acceptance And Peer And Romantic Relationship Self-Efficacy As Pediatric Cancer Survivors Approach Adulthood, Rebecca Foster May 2010

Perceptions Of Social Acceptance And Peer And Romantic Relationship Self-Efficacy As Pediatric Cancer Survivors Approach Adulthood, Rebecca Foster

Theses and Dissertations

Social acceptance and peer and romantic relationship self-efficacy were examined as salient factors related to social development among emerging adult (ages 18 to 25) survivors of pediatric cancers. Using a cross-sectional, within-groups methodology, relationships between cancer treatment intensity and peer and romantic relationship self-efficacy and social acceptance were assessed. Perceived health vulnerability, situational coping style, parent and peer attachment, and perceived physical attractiveness were explored as moderators of peer and romantic relationship self-efficacy and social acceptance. Additionally, social acceptance was examined within a cancer stereotyping framework. Fifty-two emerging adult survivors of pediatric cancers (54% male; mean (M) age = 21.38 …

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Social Skills And Attributions Of Asperger's Syndrome, Louis Fair May 2010

Social Skills And Attributions Of Asperger's Syndrome, Louis Fair

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was a single subject design (a) measuring where in social skills ability, a male high school student diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, is deficient based off of 5 subscales of social skills and then (b) creating an intervention focused on improving the areas of weakness to help the student function socially. The five subscales that the skills were grouped under with social awareness, social cognition, social communication, social motivation and autistic mannerisms. A within-subject design was run for t-scores and the student measured to have the biggest area of weakness in the areas of social awareness, …

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The Nexus Between The Ballot And Bullet: Popular Support For The Pkk And Post-Election Violence In Turkey, Nadir Gergin May 2010

The Nexus Between The Ballot And Bullet: Popular Support For The Pkk And Post-Election Violence In Turkey, Nadir Gergin

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between popular support for the Kurdish Worker’s Party (PKK), which is an ethnic insurgent and terrorist organization mainly operating in Turkey, and its terrorist activities during the pre-and post-election periods in Turkey . Popular support has been measured through popular votes for the political party affiliated with the PKK in 1999 general, 2004 local and 2007 general elections. Two leading theories of social movements, Resource Mobilization Theory (RMT) and Relative Deprivation Theory (RD), were used as theoretical approach. The study uses secondary data and constructs a longitudinal design. An advanced statistical analysis technique, a generalized …

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Creating An Expected Profile For Affinity 2.5 From A Sample Of Non-Pedophilic, Exculsively Heterosexual, College-Age Females, Marie Worsham May 2010

Creating An Expected Profile For Affinity 2.5 From A Sample Of Non-Pedophilic, Exculsively Heterosexual, College-Age Females, Marie Worsham

Theses and Dissertations

The Affinity, an instrument designed to measure sexual interest using viewing time, has recently been upgraded from version 2.0 to version 2.5. The Affinity presents slides depicting non-pornographic images of people varying by age and gender. The expected Chi square weights established for Affinity 2.0 for non-pedophilic, exclusively heterosexual females may have been impacted by Affinity 2.5's 42.9% increase in the number of slides. There were two purposes to this study. The first was to establish new expected Chi square weights for non-pedophilic, exclusively heterosexual females using Affinity 2.5. The second purpose was to employ a Chi square procedure (in …

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