Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Image Of Professional Wrestling: A Case Study Of The Chris Benoit Double Murder-Suicide, Neil Borenstein

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the media's role in influencing public perception of the professional wrestling industry following the Chris Benoit double murder-suicide. The researcher sought to understand the manner in which newspapers portrayed the professional wrestling industry and whether media coverage in general played a role in forming the public's opinion of the industry.

Through a content analysis of articles and headlines in The New York Times and The Miami Herald, the researcher evaluated the tone of the media coverage of the professional wrestling industry. Intercept studies conducted at two southern New Jersey sports bars revealed where people received their information …

School Library Web Sites As Public Relations Tools, Melissa Meserall

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze school library home pages for their use as public relations tools. Two target audiences were teachers and parents. Using a checklist, each selected home page was analyzed for its inclusion of information relating to teachers, information relating to parents, and design considerations. The research question investigated was "How~successful were school library Web sites as public relations tools"? A total of 22 school library Web sites linked from the New Jersey Association of School Librarians Web site were analyzed. It was found that 41% of Web sites (nine sites) met at least 50% …

Evolution Of Urban Design In Practice (Case Studies Of Chicago, Detroit And Cleveland Through Time), Sulabh Aryal

Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the twentieth century various urban design theories came into light. These theories were sometimes original and sometimes derivative of some previous theory.These theories can be broadly categorized in different urban design models. The chronological study of different urban design theories gives us the theoretical and generic evolution of urban design. The practical evolution of urban design in any city can be different from the generic evolution of urban design. This thesis examines the urban design of three Midwestern American cities from their origins to the present day. The urban design of these cities, related to different time periods is …

New Jersey Public Library Services For Homeschoolers, Beth Buchhofer

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if public libraries in New Jersey were effectively serving the needs of homeschoolers. This was done by researching the suggestions of experts in the field of homeschooling and public libraries. The researcher then created a survey using SurveyMonkey to evaluate the materials, programs, and services that public libraries were offering. The survey was completed by fifteen representatives from the New Jersey county public libraries. Many of the libraries reported having programs for homeschoolers, unfortunately many of the materials, programs, and services were not designed specifically for this population. In conclusion, a small …

Deception In Super Bowl Advertisements: An Analysis Of Deceptive Story Lines, Christopher R. Near

Theses and Dissertations

Many ethical studies have focused on advertising; however, they have yet to focus specifically on Super Bowl advertisements. This thesis examines the ethical issue of portraying deceptive acts within the storylines of Super Bowl advertisements from 1988-2008. Results indicate that 196 of the 2,172 advertisements studied, contain deceptive storylines. Most often the advertisements depicted white males, ages 30-64, using deception. Also, deception was usually done out of self interest at the expense of others. The deception often led to negative social, material, and emotional consequences for the person being deceived, with mostly positive outcomes being shown for the person doing …

Self-Censorship By Middle School Librarians, Candace V. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Middle school librarians are faced with difficult decisions when choosing books for the middle school library collection because of the students' ages, and involvement from the administration, staff, parents and special interest groups who want to protect children from certain material. Middle school librarians may willingly or unwillingly participate in self-censorship to avoid confrontation. Middle school librarians in New Jersey were surveyed to investigate self-censorship practices. They were asked to share information about their library collection, their library policies and procedures and their thought processes during book selection. Based on the results of the study it was concluded that middle …

Library Media Specialists Are Not Ready To "Radically Change:" The Use Of Radical Change Children's Books In New Jersey School Media Centers, Elena Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to (a) determine if LMSs were using titles from a suggested list of titles found in Radical Change with kindergarten to third grade students, (b) determine how LMSs were using books with Radical Change characteristics; and (c) determine if LMSs were not using books with Radical Change characteristics, what were the reasons why they were not using or did not own the books. From the results of the questionnaire, the majority of the respondents had not heard of Dr. Eliza Dresang and her theory of Radical Change. It was also determined that many of …

Swimming In The Shallows: Drowning The Standard Conventions Of Directing, Debra A. Berger

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the challenges I encountered while directing Adam Bock’s play Swimming in the Shallows. Specifically, this thesis addresses staging issues that stem from the problematic conventions required by Bock’s specific instructions regarding any mounting of the play. In particular, Bock suggests an abandonment of some traditional conventions in the fundamentals of directing, particularly the creation of three- dimensional picturization for the use of stage depth. In Bock’s staging notes, he proposes that contrary to fundamental principles: The action should be pressed flat. Like a screen. The actors’ physical work should be vertical and horizontal rather than three-dimensionally horizontal. …

Biliteracy And Skills Transfer: Literacy Skills Transfer From Arabic To English Focusing On Lexical Access, Henry J. Hauser

Theses and Dissertations

This research was designed to gain understanding of literacy skills transfer from a first language involving a particular writing system to a second language which uses another, divergent writing system. The author has worked in adult literacy in an area of the Sahara desert where the people's first language is Arabic and the majority of adults were illiterate. The present research utilized this setting to study literacy skills transfer from Arabic to English. Specific questions addressed in the research were: what skills transfer from L1 to L2, at what point should instruction in L2 begin, and can lexical access be …

Public Prekindergarten: An Implementation Model For Public Schools In States That Do Not Fund Prekindergarten, Sharon A. Hansen

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this comparative case study was to develop a prekindergarten implementation model for public school districts located in states without state-funded prekindergarten. The two public school districts selected for the study were located in a rural Midwestern state and differed on the presence or absence of a prekindergarten program within their school settings. This study utilized qualitative case study methods to identify (a) factors that supported and impeded voluntary initiation, implementation, and continuation of a prekindergarten within two public school settings; (b) the role of key stakeholders; and (c) the effects resulting from the implementation or lack of …

Causative Factors Of Crashes Between A Motor Vehicle And The Amish And Old Order Mennonite Horse And Buggy, Cory Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

Horse and buggy transportation is spreading as rapidly as its Amish and Old Order Mennonite users are, as are buggy crashes with motor vehicles. This study examines the primary causes of 76 reported horse and buggy crashes in Pennsylvania in 2006. The main crash types identified include a motorist rear-ending a forward-moving buggy, motorist failing to pass a buggy, buggy struck while crossing an intersection, and buggy struck while making a left turn. While causative factors varied for each crash type, major factors include the motorist or buggy driver incorrectly comprehending speed differentials, the motorist acting carelessly around the buggy, …

The Effects That A One-To-One Laptop Initiative Has On Student Academic Performance And Achievement, Allen Aloys Burgad

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine how a one-to-one laptop initiative in a small, rural North Dakota school effected student academic performance based on the perceptions of participating students, teachers, and parents. Existing Northwest Evaluation Association Measure of Academic Progress student test results also were used to determine if the laptop initiative had any significant impact on student achievement in reading, language arts, and math. The primary focus of the study was based on pre-existing data regarding students', teachers', and parents' perceptions of academic performance versus academic achievement. Perceptions of academic performance were utilized by the researcher primarily …

Childless Women In The Plays Of William Inge, Tennessee Williams, And Edward Albee, Suzanne Macdonald Winkel

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an examination of three major twentieth-century American playwrights—William Inge, Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee—and their dramatic use of childless women characters in Come Back, Little Sheba (1950), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962) respectively. Although the plays of Inge, Williams, and Albee have been analyzed individually by numerous scholars, they have not been studied together as works about procreation and childlessness. The study's historical focus is the post World War II era during which time the three plays proposed for analysis were written and produced. Commonly called the baby boom …

An Investigation Of The Ecology Of Nesting Golden Eagles In North Dakota, Anne Marguerite Coyle

Theses and Dissertations

Few studies have focused on golden eagles nesting in North Dakota. This project investigates the ecology of, and the potential effects from energy development on, nesting golden eagles in North Dakota, by collecting historical data, conducting nest checks and surveys (2002-2006).

Historical information was not sufficient for population estimates. Nest checks/surveys indicated that nest densities, occupied nest sites and territories was greatest near the riparian river bottoms. There were 176 potential extant territories. The average minimum distance between occupied nest sites was 6.32km (7.20km to 3.85km). The mean territory area was 8.95 km2 (SD = 4.25 km2, min = 3.09 …

A Study Of Asian Dust Events Using Surface, Satellite, And Aircraft Measurements During Intex-B, Rebecca L. Obrecht

Theses and Dissertations

Asian dust events occur frequently during the northern hemisphere spring season. Some of these events can transport dust downwind to North America within 7 days’ time and turn a regional impact into one of a much larger scale. To further quantify the transpacific transport and evolution of Asian dust to North America and assess the impact on regional climate, NASA led a field experiment called the Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment - Phase B (INTEX-B) during April-May 2006 over the eastern Pacific Ocean. This study documents the physical and optical properties of Asian dust, as well as its strength and evolution …

Comparison Of Legal Standards In Sexual Harassment Hostile Work Environment, Jeanne M. O'Brien Rice

Theses and Dissertations

This research compares the previously studied reasonable person and reasonable woman legal standards with a new reasonable employee standard on hostile work environment sexual harassment. Participants included 115 college students from a mid-Atlantic university. Measures were taken across genuine legal cases based on explicit, ambiguous, and non-traditional occupation fact patterns. No statistically significant difference was found among legal standards on measures of severity, hostile work environment, because of sex or conduct unwelcome. There was however a statistically significant difference between fact patterns on liability. Age, employment experience, and being a victim of sexual harassment produced statistically significant interactions with legal …

Sexual Harassment Jury Instructions' Effects On Jury Decisions, Karen Leigh Matsinger

Theses and Dissertations

This study compares the effect of reasonable standards on the jury's verdict in a sexual harassment lawsuit. One hundred and fifty seven participants (82 males, 74 females and 1 unidentified), ages ranging from 16 to 90, (M= 22.74) were randomly divided into juries (7 reasonable woman, 8 reasonable person, and 9 reasonable worker). Participants were given a written sexual harassment case, judge's instructions, and a survey to complete before and after the group had reached a unanimous verdict.

It was hypothesized that participants who applied the reasonable woman standard would be more likely to take the complainant's perspective. This hypothesis …

Expert Witness Testimony In Jury Verdicts When Battered Women Kill, Asma Sheikh

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this investigation were to (a) explore the relationship between jury verdicts when traumatic brain injury expert testimony is provided and (b) examine the relationship between the verdicts when battered women syndrome expert witness testimony is provided, in Rowan University undergraduate students (N = 100). Students were provided with experimental packets, read a mock legal case, answered four questionnaires, and conducted a mock jury deliberation. Students indicated their verdicts were of lesser severity when there was traumatic brain injury expert witness testimony when compared to battered women syndrome expert witness testimony. Analysis of variance statistics indicated that expert …

Internet Addiction And Social Satisfaction, Michael Attanasio

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Internet addiction on a participant's level of satisfaction with their social life. Participants were gathered from both Rowan University and the Internet at large (n = 122) and asked to complete an online survey. The survey contained criteria questions for Internet addiction and social satisfaction as well as numerous questions that determined the effects of the participant's Internet usage on various aspects of their life (social, academic, job performance, etc). Results show that knowing a participant's level of Internet addiction allows researchers to weakly predict their level of satisfaction …

Identifying Factors That Produce Blame For Sexually Harassing Behavior, Colin W. Key

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated how individual differences impact ratings of blame for sexual harassers and their victims and whether or not any relationships could be explained by defensive attribution theory. This theory claims that blame is a product of the relevance of the situation and the actors within that situation. Participants completed an online questionnaire in which they read hypothetical cases of sexual harassment. They rated the relevance of the situation and the individuals in the scenarios, attributed blame to hypothetical harassers and victims, as well as other information expected to predict ratings of blame. Results suggested that 1) defensive attribution …

A Longitudinal Examination Of The Influences Of Family Processes And Demographic Variables On Adolescent Weight, Jessica Lee Price

Theses and Dissertations

Nationally representative studies estimate that almost one in five adolescents in the United States is overweight. This is a major concern for individuals' physical and psychological health and the overall economy in terms of health care costs and loss of productivity. The approach of this study was to understand adolescent overweight as influenced by family processes including: parent-adolescent relationship, monitoring or parental knowledge, control, family meals, and parenting styles. Race, sex, family structure, income, and mother Body Mass Index (BMI) were also included. A sub-sample of 4,688 adolescents from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 was used to address …

Palestinian Women's Roles After The First Intifada, 1987-1992, Bader Seetan Almadi

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a study of Palestinian women’s roles following the First Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, which began in 1987. This study considers whether Palestinian women found greater participation in their social life outside of the home during the challenges of the Intifada. In Palestinian society, traditional family roles and the various interpretations of Islamic teachings about to the family have severely restricted the role of women in society, and these limitations have served to increase the desire of these women for greater participation outside of the home.

This dissertation will focus on how religious forces, in addition …

Using The Zmet Method To Understand Individual Meanings Created By Video Game Players Through The Player-Super Mario Avatar Relationship, Bradley R. Clark

Theses and Dissertations

Video game researchers have recently begun to explore qualitative techniques to understand video games and their audiences. Yet many questions remain concerning the significance of gaming media and how video game research should be conducted. This research addresses the changing focus of video game researchers from the "producers," or sender of the video game, to the "audience" or receiver. This is accomplished in the following ways: by exploring meanings created by individuals while "role-playing" in an electronic world as an on-screen video game avatar; by using the Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique (ZMET), to gather a deeper understanding of how players …

Effects Of Positive Behavior Support Training On Maladaptive Behavior, Parenting Skills, And Parental Support Of Families With Children With Disabilities, Alla Sergeyevna Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Family stress is affected by a child's challenging behavior and by the disruption of family routines as a result of the child's disability. Therefore, families with children with disabilities need professional support as they work with their children to decrease their children's behavior problems and to reduce the level of parental stress. This study examines in-home training in Positive Behavior Support using the model of parent-professional collaboration. Parents of 35 children with disabilities and challenging behaviors participated in this research. All participants were on the state of Utah's Family Support waiting list. Graduate students provided behavioral education to families by …

An Analysis Of Second-Tier Arms Producing Country Offset Policies: Technology Transfer And Defense Industrial Base Establishment, Brian S. Confer

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to determine if offsets are an effective means of second-tier countries acquiring technology and if offsets enhance their ability to establish and maintain an industrial base capable of producing high-technology weapons for use indigenously and for export. Included in the research was an analysis of factors that lead to successful or unsuccessful technology transfer through the utilization of offsets. Additionally, the research analyzed the factors that lead to the successful or unsuccessful establishment and maintenance of an indigenous defense industrial base through the utilization of offsets. The author concludes that the utilization of offsets …

An Exploratory Examination Of Social Website Quality, Joseph B. Werling

Theses and Dissertations

With websites becoming the frontend for numerous systems, the system's benefits require customers to have a favorable evaluation of the site and an intention to re-use it. It must be considered to be of high quality. With websites increasing adding collaborative technologies (such as tools for social networking, forums, and blogging) a new instrument to evaluate the quality of these types of sites is needed. Before such an instrument is developed, an understanding of the applicable theories is needed. This study offers that background. First the potential benefits of this research and its guiding questions are presented. Next is a …

A System Dynamic Model Of Leader Emergence, Paul S. Wever

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to develop a system dynamics model of leader emergence. Longitudinal social network and personality data were collected in a class of enlisted military professionals attending a 6-week leadership development course. Findings support known relationships in existing leadership research. The thesis demonstrates the applicability of system dynamics toward the complex social phenomena of leader emergence.

An Empirical Investigation Of Factors Influencing Knowledge Management System Success, John F. Whitfield Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge has been viewed as a critical component for organizations. Consequently, organizations implement Knowledge Management Systems (KMSs) to seek competitive advantages, but they may encounter mixed results. This research draws on previous information system and knowledge management system success-related literature and selects eight factors that are believed to be critical for the successful implementation of a KMS. These factors were derived through a literature search of current KMS success-related literature. The purpose of this study is to identify factors that could have a clear influence on the development and implementation of KMSs. The study presents the empirical examination of a …

The Development And Validation Of The Ares: A Measure Of A Person's Proclivity To Attribute Responsibility To Others For Their Emotions, Michael Kenneth Lauritzen

Theses and Dissertations

Research involving attribution theories typically surrounds attributions of responsibility for actions in general. However, people also regularly attribute responsibility to themselves, others, or environmental circumstances for emotions. This research aims to develop a measure of a person's proclivity to attribute responsibility to others for their emotions—the Attributions of Responsibility for Emotions Scale (ARES). The research involves two studies, the first designed to develop items for inclusion in the ARES, and the second designed to validate and determine the reliability of the ARES. Participants in Study 1 included 71 (30 male and 41 female) undergraduate students from Brigham Young University. These …

Hidden Village (42sa2112): A Basket Maker Iii Community In Montezuma Canyon, Utah, Donald G. Montoya

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT This thesis focuses on the Basketmaker III period of the Ancestral Puebloan culture commonly known as the Anasazi, which means ‘ancient stranger’ or ‘ancient enemy’ in the Navajo language, or as preferred by the Hopi; "Hisatsinom" for "The Ones Who Came Before." I use the terms Anasazi and Ancestral Puebloan interchangeably in this study. My particular focus concentrates on a Basketmaker III settlement (42Sa2112 – Hidden Village) in Montezuma Canyon in southeastern Utah. My thesis presents data and an interpretive hypothesis that village formation and complex social organization emerged earlier than most standard texts (Plog 1997) assume. Analysis of …