Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Kent County School Districts, Grand Rapids, Mi, 2006, Community Research Institute-Johnson Center

Community-Level Maps and Fact-Sheets

No abstract provided.

Grand Rapids Neighborhood Associations, Grand Rapids, Mi, 2006, Community Research Institute-Johnson Center

Community-Level Maps and Fact-Sheets

No abstract provided.

Female Headed Households Below The Poverty Line Within Kent County, Mi In 2000, Community Research Institute-Johnson Center

Community-Level Maps and Fact-Sheets

No abstract provided.

African American Population Within Kent County, Mi In 2000 (%), Community Research Institute-Johnson Center

Community-Level Maps and Fact-Sheets

No abstract provided.

Human Error And Commercial Aviation Accidents: A Comprehensive, Fine-Grained Analysis Using Hfacs, Scott Shappell, Cristy Detwiler, Kali Holcomb, Carla Hackworth, Albert Boquet, Douglas Wiegmann

Publications

The Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) is a theoretically based tool for investigating and analyzing human error associated with accidents and incidents. Previous research has shown that HFACS can be reliably used to identify general trends in the human factors associated with military and general aviation accidents. The aim of this study was to extend previous examinations of aviation accidents to include specific aircrew, environmental, supervisory, and organizational factors associated with 14 CFR Part 121 (Air Carrier) and 14 CFR Part 135 (Commuter) accidents using HFACS. The majority of causal factors were attributed to the aircrew and the …

Audio Narration And Reading Ability In Programmed Instruction, Wendy Jaehnig

Dissertations

This study compared the effects of audio, textual, and audio-textual narration in a programmed instructional module on the performance of individuals with different reading abilities. One hundred eighty-four college students were randomly assigned to audio, textual, or audio-narration. Dependent variables were posttest score and instruction completion time. An ANCOVA was used to analyze the results, with ACT reading test scores as the covariate. No differences were found between the groups on posttest scores (p = .56) or completion time (p = .90), and there was no interaction between narration type and reading score for either dependent variable. Audio …

The Masquerade Of Abu Ghraib: State Crime, Torture, And International Law, Dawn Rothe

Dissertations

On April 28, 2004, pictures of abuse and torture of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison by U.S. military personnel shocked many Americans. In the wake of the images, it became clear that several military personnel were involved in the acts of torture and abuse. This dissertation explores the interconnections of larger structural factors, state policies, and individual actors in an attempt to understand how and why torture and abuse occurred at Abu Ghraib. It builds upon an integrated theoretical model of state and corporate crime. The dissertation revises this model so that it can better address the complexities o …

The Representation Of Race And Ethnic Relations In Japanese Junior High School English Language Textbooks From 1987 To 2002, Mieko Yamada

Dissertations

This dissertation explores how cultural attitudes about race/ethnicity are taught and how international power relations are expressed in Japanese junior high school textbooks. In a content analysis of Japanese junior high school textbooks in English as a foreign language, I examine how race and ethnic relationswere expressed and what types of interracial communication took place in the textbooks. Applying the racial formation theory developed by Omi and Winant (1994) and the concept of color-blind racism by Bonilla-Silva (2001, 2003), I explain how cultural ideology towards racial and ethnic relations were guided in the Japanese English language textbooks.

Fifteen English language …

Providing Uninsured Adults With Free Or Low-Cost Primary Care: Does It Influence Their Use Of Hospital Emergency Departments?, Anne G. Zahradnik

Dissertations

This study analyzes one component of the health care safety net to determine whether or not being enrolled in a free or low-cost primary care physician access program subsequently affects emergency room utilization by uninsured adults ages 18 through 64. Those individual decisions are analyzed from both public goods and rational choice schemas. Additionally, physician access programs of different formats (a low-cost physician referral program and a freewalk-in clinic) are analyzed and compared for relative effectiveness. The study is a quantitative analysis of more than 40,000 individual patient records rather than relying on qualitative patient recall or on analyzing broad …

Policy Analysis Of The Victim Offender Restitution Program, Veronica Damon, Marie Bostick, Lamont Mcgary

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Both the criminal justice and the juvenile justice systems have experienced increased strain due to criminal acts committed by juveniles. Many experts suggest that one way to ease the burden of the courts can be found in the theory of restorative justice. Most often the juvenile justice system is most concerned with the risk and needs of youthful offenders without significant consideration for the victims. A key component in the restorative justice theory is victim offender mediation which seeks to reduce the impact of crime on victims and the community. Clark County, Nevada has one such program, the Victim Offender …

Electronic Government Accessibility For People With Blindness Or Low Vision Who Utilize Assistive Computer Technology, Robert J. Sobie

Dissertations

Citizen access to electronic government information and services continues to enjoy an expansionary phase in local government. This expansionary phase holds a prominent place in service delivery strategic planning as governments address on-going operational challenges caused by increased fiscal pressures and greater accountability to the citizenry for their actions. Since the advent of the World Wide Web, in the mid 1990s, static information and interactive applications are available on government websites to facilitate information dissemination and citizen interaction.

The presence of electronically delivered information and services may not address the accessibility needs of people with blindness or low vision who …

Development Of A Theoretical Framework Of Distributed Cognition Phenomena In Control Centers During Crisis Conditions, Christopher J. West

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to develop and partially validate a theoretical framework describing distributed cognition phenomena occurring in organizational control centers functioning in crisis environments. Using a systems approach, the work synthesizes existing constructs relating to distributed cognition then supplements this knowledge with review of crisis management literature. The goal of this effort is the development of a framework for understanding the impact of crisis conditions on such phenomena occurring within the specified setting. An exploratory case study approach was used to partially validate and refine the framework by gauging its ability to interpret the impact of crisis …

Teacher Factors That Influence Student Achievement: A Study Of Third And Fifth Grade Teachers, Jewelle L. Harmon

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Student achievement is of the highest concern for the government, educational administrators and parents. Researchers have looked at several possible student factors that affect student achievement. However, very little research has been done on teacher factors and their relationship with student achievement. The current study looked at the relationships among teacher absence, teacher job satisfaction, work-family conflict, family/work conflict, teachers' attitudes towards achievement measures, and their correlation with Virginia's standardized measure of student achievement; the Standards of Learning (SOLs). District differences in student achievement were also examined. Three school districts in southeastern Virginia accepted the invitation to participate. …

Mother–Child Bookreading In Low-Income Families: Correlates And Outcomes During The First Three Years Of Life, Helen Raikes, Barbara Alexander Pan, Gayle Luze, Catherine S. Tamis-Lemonda, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Jill Constantine, Louisa Banks Tarullo, H. Abigail Raikes, Eileen T. Rodriguez

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

About half of 2,581 low-income mothers reported reading daily to their children. At 14 months, the odds of reading daily increased by the child being fi rstborn or female. At 24 and 36 months, these odds increased by maternal verbal ability or education and by the child being fi rstborn or of Early Head Start status. White mothers read more than did Hispanic or African American mothers. For English-speaking children, concurrent reading was associated with vocabulary and comprehension at 14 months, and with vocabulary and cognitive development at 24 months. A pattern of daily reading over the 3 data points …

“It’S A Balancing Act!”: Exploring School/Work/Family Interface Issues Among Bilingual, Rural Nebraska, Paraprofessional Educators, Rochelle L. Dalla, Pallabi Moulikgupta, Wiliam E. Lopez, Vicky Jones

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Nebraska’s rural school districts have a rapidly growing Spanish-speaking student body and few qualified instructors to meet their educational needs. This investigation examined factors that promote and challenge the ability of rural Nebraska paraprofessional educators to complete an online B.S. program in elementary education, with a K-12 English as a second language endorsement. Interviews focused on the interface between school, work, and family, with special attention on family system change and adaptation. Twenty-six bilingual paraprofessional educators enrolled (or formerly enrolled) in the education program were interviewed. Twenty were first- (n = 15) or second-generation (n = 5) immigrant Latino/as. Influences …

Teamwork In Chinese Organizations: A New Concept And Framework, Ying Liu

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Teamwork has always been a challenge in China, and the importance of teamwork has not been well recognized. This study was designed to explore the underlying definition of teamwork that Chinese people use to describe their teams, to identify variables related to teamwork, to develop a new framework and measure of teamwork in Chinese organizations, and to test the psychometric properties of the measure as well as the structural relationships of the new framework of teamwork in Chinese teams. This study also examines the influence of guanxi---an important Chinese cultural value that emphasizes exchange and reciprocity in relationships---on teamwork in …

The Law Of International Commercial Arbitration In Singapore, Warren B. Chik

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The Singapore dispute resolution landscape entered the new millennium with the reconstruction of the dual carriageway for arbitration. In 2002, the old road to arbitral resolution of disputes ( i.e. , the old Arbitration Act and the old International Arbitration Act ) were reconstructed and what emerged were two updated legislations: the Arbitration Act and the International Arbitration Act . At about the same time, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) also diversified with the introduction of a new set of Domestic Arbitration Rules.

Contract Law, Chee Ho Tham, Pearlie Koh, Pey Woan Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.

Temporal Dynamics Of The Urban Heat Island Of Singapore, Winston T. L. Chow, Matthias Roth

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The temporal variability of the canopy‐level urban heat island (UHI) of Singapore is examined for different temporal scales on the basis of observations during a 1‐year period. Temperature data obtained from different urban areas (commercial, Central Business District (CBD), high‐rise and low‐rise housing) are compared with ‘rural’ reference data and analysed with respect to meteorological variables and differences in land use. The results indicate that the peak UHI magnitude occurs 3–4 h (>6 h) after sunset in the commercial area, (at other urban sites). Higher UHI intensities generally occur during the southwest monsoon period of May–August, with a maximum …

Testing Social Disorganization As It Pertains To Prostitution, Wynter Leighanne Edwards

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The impact of crime on the community has gained notoriety within the sociological field over the last twenty years. With growing citizen concern it is important to understand the impact of crimes rates on communities. Social disorganization theory focuses on the relationship between crime and the community, however, little research has been done on social disorganization theory as it relates to victimless crimes such as prostitution. It is important to understand how variables derived from social disorganization theory explain levels of prostitution across neighborhoods. This is important because victimless crimes such as prostitution often act as precursors to greater crime …

Retiree Health Benefits And Retirement, James Marton, Stephen A. Woodbury

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Employer-provided health benefit coverage for workers who retire before age 65 has fallen over the last decade. We examine a cohort of male workers from the Health and Retirement Survey to examine questions about the dynamics of retiree health benefits and the relationship between retiree health benefits and retirement behavior, which is important for the debate over increasing health coverage for older Americans without reducing work incentives. On dynamics, we find that between 1992 and 1996, 24 percent of full-time workers who had retiree health benefits lost their coverage, while 15 percent of full-time workers who lacked coverage gained it. …

Complementarity And Custom In Wage Contract Violation, John S. Earle, Klara Sabirianova Peter

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

We analyze a model of wage delay in which strategic complementarity arises because each employer's costs of violating its contracts decrease with the arrears in its labor market. The model is estimated on panel data for workers and firms in Russia, facilitating identification through fixed effects for employees, employers, and local labor markets, and instrumental variables based on policy interventions. The estimated reaction function displays strongly positive neighborhood effects, and the estimated feedback loops - worker quits, effort, strikes, and legal penalties - imply that costs of wage delays are attenuated by neighborhood arrears. We also study a nonlinear case …

From Financial Literacy To Financial Capability Among Youth, Elizabeth Johnson, Margaret S. Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Youth in the United States are facing an increasingly complex and perilous financial world. Economically disadvantaged youth, in particular, lack financial knowledge and access to mainstream financial institutions. Despite growing interest in youth financial literacy, we have not seen comparable efforts to improve institutional access to financial institutions and services. Instead of aiming for financial literacy, we suggest aiming for financial capability, a concept that builds on the writing of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. The paper proposes that financial capability results when individuals develop financial knowledge and skills, but also gain access to financial instruments and institutions. The paper …

A Modified Family Of Power Transformations, Zhenlin Yang

Research Collection School Of Economics

A modified family of power transformation, called the dual power transformation, is proposed. The new transformation is shown to possess properties similar to those of the well-known Box-Cox power transformation, but overcomes the long-standing truncation problem of the latter. It generates a rich family of distributions that is seen to be very useful in modeling and analysis of durations and event-times.

Exchange-Rate Systems And Interest-Rate Behaviour: The Experience Of Hong Kong And Singapore, Yiu Kuen Tse, Paul S. L. Yip

Research Collection School Of Economics

The Currency Board System in Hong Kong and the monitoring band system in Singapore are important benchmarks for two different exchange-rate systems. In this paper we consider the implications of the two exchange-rate systems on the interest-rate behaviour of the two economies. We examine the domestic–US interest differentials under the two exchange-rate regimes during the Asian Financial Crisis as well as the pre-and post-crisis periods. Using a bivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity model, we also investigate whether there is any change in the correlation between the domestic and US interest rates due to the Asian Financial Crisis.

Hispanic Population Within Kent County, Mi In 2000 (%), Community Research Institute-Johnson Center

Community-Level Maps and Fact-Sheets

No abstract provided.

Learning In Minimalism-Based Language Modeling, Deryle W. Lonsdale

Faculty Publications

The natural language version of the Soar cognitive modeling system (Newell, 1990) has enabled a number of language modeling applications from on-line parsing behavior (Lewis, 1993) to simultaneous interpretation (Lonsdale, 1997, 1998) to robotic control (Benjamin, Lonsdale, & Lyons, 2004). The system supports an integrated approach to incremental comprehension and generation. Learning mechanisms account for processes in language performance from deliberate, explicit reasoning to automatic, recognitional expertise.

Syntactic processing in prior versions of the system followed the Principles and Parameters approach to syntax.

Freedom Of The City: Canadian Cities And The Quest For Governmental Status, Ron Levi, Mariana Valverde

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

Until recently, Canadian cities were limited to the legal powers explicitly prescribed by provinces (the U.S.-based Dillon's Rule). Despite much talk about a "new deal for cities," recent changes to municipal legislation do little to empower municipalities to define and govern local problems, although courts appear somewhat willing to expand the scope of cities' authority. Through two case studies involving the City of Toronto, we demonstrate that even after the overhaul of provincial municipal acts, cities still lack the necessary legal tools and the legal flexibility to respond to pressing urban needs.

Cities, Townships, And Villages Within Kent County, Mi In 2005, Community Research Institute-Johnson Center

Community-Level Maps and Fact-Sheets

No abstract provided.

Direct And Indirect Effects Of Third-Party Relationships On Interpersonal Trust, Donald L. Ferrin, Kurt T. Dirks, Pri P. Shah

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Past studies of the determinants of interpersonal trust have focused primarily on how trust forms in isolated dyads. Yet within organizations, trust typically develops between individuals who are embedded in a complex web of existing and potential relationships. In this article, the authors identify 3 alternative ways in which a trustor and trustee may be linked to each other via third parties: network closure (linked via social interactions with third parties), trust transferability (linked via trusted third parties), and structural equivalence (linked via the similarity of their relationships with all potential third parties within the organization). Each of these is …