Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Creating Community For Those Who Work With Wool, Susannah L.K White

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Creating Community for Those Who Work with Wool The purpose of this project was to create opportunities for reflection and to gather information from a diverse group of people (both geographical and occupational) who have an interest in working with wool. Using various thinking skills tools in small focus groups to identify needs, occupations, interests and themes of individuals, it attempts to create a common format suitable for connecting individual vocations to the wider community of woolworkers. The appropriateness of the use of a web site, and the form that it might take are examined. A great deal of useful …

Pack: Parents And Creative Kids: Developing An Organization For Fostering Creativity In The Family, Michaelene Dawson

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

purpose of the project is to develop and enhance my skills of creating a storyline and

The Wart Fairy: Adventures In Writing Children's Literature, Lynelle M. Broeker

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project is about developing a piece of children’s literature, from start to finish. The

Clearing The Clutter: Organizing And Decorating Using Creative Problem Solving, Lori M. Kiefer

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

A major component of the Masters program in Creative Studies is Creative Problem Solving (CPS). This project was conducted using CPS. I needed to organize and redecorate my house, but did not know where to start. There was so much clutter that it seemed like an overwhelming task. Using Creative Problem Solving gave me a process to use in order to complete the steps needed to organize and redecorate five rooms in our house. I used the components of CPS and incorporated appropriate tools to use throughout the stages. I have included my process as well as what I have …

Hope Over Experience?, Cath Collins

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Writing about US human rights policy from the outside is always a disconcerting experience. All bets are off, and all assumptions are turned on their head. Assumptions from the South looking North are that, rhetoric aside, US interests rarely if ever feature human rights protection and promotion in first place. What’s more, they have very frequently featured the opposite: dirty tricks, torture and rendition were sadly familiar to students of Latin American history long before Guantanamo. The Clinton years went some way towards reining in the more blatant contradictions of the 1980s, but they also set in train the easy …

From Inspiring Hope To Taking Action: Obama And Human Rights, Stephen James

Human Rights & Human Welfare

While President George H. Bush spoke of a new world order, and his “misunderestimated” son mangled the English language at countless press conferences, with Barack Obama the USA now has a talented orator as a president. There is a new word order. But does the new and skillful rhetoric match the reality when it comes to human rights?

The Statesman's Dilemma: Peace Or Justice? Or Neither?, Henry Krisch

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Just as I sat down to comment on President Obama and human rights, I glanced today's (November 19, 2009) The New York Times and found several opinion essays-careful in fact, thoughtful in tone, reasonable in argument-critical of Obama's approach during his recent visit to China toward Chinese human rights violations (mainly concerning Tibet but including also imprisoned lawyers, internet censorship, and persecution of Falun Gong.) The essayists considered various tactics for exerting American pressure on China regarding human rights. Common to all of them was a tone of rueful admiration for the political and diplomatic skill with which China fended …

From The Editor: You Might Find You Get What You Need, Julie Miller

Scholarship and Professional Work

When the O-Jays sang their hit song "Give the People What They Want" in 1975, they could have had no idea that thirty-three years later it would become one of the theme songs for Barack Obama's presidential campaign. The sentiment resonates as strongly now as it did then. As any political leader knows, the challenge is to determine just what the people want, and then to have the resources, means, and will to deliver it.

Nuclear Family Conflict And Cooperation Among Tsimane' Forager-Horticulturalists Of Bolivia, Jonathan Stieglitz

Anthropology ETDs

Household production is the result of inputs from a variety of members, each of whom contains overlapping but non-identical interests. This dissertation explores the conditions under which the division of labor and the allocation of household resources precipitates parent-offspring and spousal conflict. This broad goal is addressed through three specific goals: 1) to identify factors affecting variation in the likelihood of task delegation to children and resistance toward performing delegated tasks; 2) to understand how variation in household labor demand influences childrens time allocation, considering ways in which behavioral manipulation might compromise the child's future prospects; and 3) to understand …

A Meta-Analytic Review Of The Penn Resiliency Program's Effect On Depressive Symptoms, S. M. Brunwasser, Jane Gillham, E. S. Kim

Psychology Faculty Works

The purpose of this review was to evaluate whether the Penn Resiliency Program (PRP), a group cognitive–behavioral intervention, is effective in targeting depressive symptoms in youths. We identified 17 controlled evaluations of PRP (N = 2,498) in which depressive symptoms had been measured via an online search of PsycINFO, Medline, ERIC, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses and by requesting data from PRP researchers. We combined effect sizes (ESs; Glass’s d), using random effects models at postintervention and two follow-up assessments (6–8 and 12 months postintervention). PRP participants reported fewer depressive symptoms at postintervention and both follow-up assessments compared with youths …

Stress-Dependent Enhancement And Impairment Of Retention By Naloxone: Evidence For An Endogenous Opioid-Based Modulatory System Protective Of Memory, Allen M. Schneider, Peter E. Simson , '78, Krista Joan Spiller , '06, Jonathan Seth Adelstein , '06, Amanda Alice Vacharat , '06, K. R. Short, Lynn G. Kirby , '89

Psychology Faculty Works

The opiate-receptor antagonist naloxone was administered to rats after passive-avoidance training either alone or in combination with forced-swim stress. A retention test revealed that while naloxone enhanced retention when administered alone, it impaired retention when administered in combination with forced-swim stress. The findings provide evidence for a “protective” endogenous opioid-based system that, when not blocked pharmacologically, limits enhancement or impairment of retention under conditions of mild and intense stress, respectively.

Nonknowledge: The Bibliographical Organization Of Ignorance, Stupidity, Error, And Unreason: Part Two, Jay H. Bernstein

Publications and Research

Starting with the Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom paradigm in information science it is possible to derive a model of the opposite of knowledge having hierarchical qualities. A range of counterpoints to concepts in the knowledge hierarchy can be identified and ascribed the overall term “nonknowledge.” This model creates a conceptual framework for understanding the connections between topics such as error, ignorance, stupidity, folly, popular misconceptions, and unreason by locating them as levels or phases of nonknowledge. The concept of nonknowledge links heretofore disconnected discourses on these individual topics by philosophers, psychologists, historians, sociologists, satirists, and others. Subject headings provide access to the categories …

Coalition For Prisoners' Rights Newsletter, Vol 34-A, No. 12, Coalition For Prisoners' Rights

Coalition for Prisoners' Rights Newsletters

Where is the Room at the Inn For Us?

Short Takes

Voices From Inside

Calaveras

The Traits Of Colleges And Universities That Influence Crime, Rita Palermo

All Theses

Crime on college and university campuses has been a growing problem in recent years. Schools desire to decrease crime, but often do not understand the best and most efficient way to do so. In this paper, we will attempt to understand which attributes are most influential by looking at features and crime rates for 492 different schools for which the FBI had released relevant crime data in 2006.
The data showed that many of the variables such as campus size, number of student organizations, school setting, school size, and many other topics, had a noticeable relationship with the total crime. …

An Examination Of The Night Hiking Experience In Parks And Protected Areas, John Beeco

All Theses

Many protected areas offer night programs for visitors; however, night hours have not been fully recognized as a potential resource in these areas. Night hours in protected areas could provide visitors with experiences unique to these times of the day. Also, typically low levels of visitation during night hours could provide visitors with additional or better suited opportunities to fulfill motivations and benefits sought during daytime activities. Furthermore, night hours could be used by managers to increase or temporally disperse use. The National Park Service's Natural Sounds and Natural Lightscapes programs provide a direction for the protection of this resource; …

Improved Automotive Safety Through Instructional Modules And Automotive Driving Simulator Based Skills Training With Assessment, Dionne Norfleet

All Theses

Motor vehicle crashes involving novice drivers are significantly higher than matured drivers' incidents as reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System (NHTSA-FARS). There is ongoing research on how to decrease the number of crashes for this driver demographic group in the Unites States and Europe. Novice drivers usually complete driver education classes as a pre-requisite for full licensure to improve overall knowledge and safety. However, compiled statistics still indicate a need for more in-depth training after full licensure.
This thesis introduces classroom and virtual training modules to improve the driving skills, attitudes, knowledge, and behavior …

Cloned Meat, Voluntary Food Labeling, And Organic Oreos, Donna M. Byrne

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “In December 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it had reviewed all the available evidence and was poised to approve meat and milk from cloned animals and their progeny. I remember telling one of my colleagues, a patent law professor, who should be as comfortable with technology as anyone, about this development, and his response was, “Yuck. I’m not eating it!” To which of course I replied, “Humph. You won’t know the difference.” Meat or milk from a clone or its descendant is virtually identical to meat or milk from a non-clone, said the FDA, as …

L’Art De L’« Écrire » Chez Patrick Chamoiseau, Savrina Parevadee Chinien

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

In the works of Patrick Chamoiseau, the act of writing is a main, recurrent theme. The narrator, often, tries to define himself through his writings which have their own autonomy in the novel. This character questions his writing and is torn by the dissatisfaction he feels to get close to the “breath” of the creole storyteller : the chasm between orality and writing creates suffering. He, then, advocates l’“écrire”, closer, according to him, to the utterance of the storyteller and free of the “constraints” of an occidental writing, which he considers as stamped by the ideology of the Universal.

Csbs Kudos, December 2009, University Of Northern Iowa. College Of Social And Behavioral Sciences.

CSBS Kudos

Contents:

-- Kudos to:
-- Kudos to CSBS faculty awarded Professional Development Assignments for 2010-2011!

Empirical Essays On The Impact Of Health-Aid On Health Outcomes, Elsy Thomas Kizhakethalackal

Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three essays that empirically explore the impact of multilateral health-aid on health outcomes like infant mortality rate (IMR) and incidences of an infectious disease, Tuberculosis, in developing economies. The first essay uses parametric and semiparametric mean regressions (additive and non-additive specifications) to capture the impact of education and health-aid on the IMR, after controlling for other covariates. Both specifications confirm education as an important factor in reducing IMR. However, the effect of health-aid on IMR is not significant. In our additive model, we do see a threshold level of health-aid after which the impacts of health-aid …

Three Essays On Foreign Aid, Poverty And Growth., Aberra Senbeta

Dissertations

This dissertation studies how foreign aid impacts poverty and economic growth and addresses three interrelated issues: whether aid reduces poverty, how aid affects economic growth, and whether the poverty mitigating role of aid depends on the levels of poverty.

The first essay, "Does Foreign Aid Reduce Poverty?" examines the direct effects of foreign aid on poverty in developing countries using dynamic panel estimation techniques. The results suggest that aid has a significant poverty reducing effect even after controlling for average income. The findings are robust to model specification and estimation techniques. The policy implication is that poverty reduction can be …

An Evaluation Of A Sexual Assault Education Program, Angela P. Hatcher

Dissertations

Sexually aggressive behavior, especially on college campuses, is an issue of major concern. Previous research has found that 54% of college women report being sexually victimized (Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987). Given the scope of this problem, effective prevention strategies are necessary. Sexual assault prevention programs have included those targeting a mixed gender audience as well as gender specific programs. Research examining the effectiveness of these programs, at both post-intervention and follow-up, have provided mixed results.

The goal of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of a video-based sexual assault education program in decreasing rape myths, increasing victim …

The Ethnic Identity Of Returning Immigrants To A Pueblo In Yucatan, David Piacenti

Dissertations

This study seeks to understand: 1) motivations for leaving and, if applicable, racialized, segregated environment, which is represented by the returned cholo, whose "urban gangbanger" mentality confronts the traditional, rural ethnic identity. San Francisco also affects the overall perception of immigration and desire for permanent U.S. residence. Of the San Francisco cohort, 42% say immigration is "positive overall." Conversely, 62% of the Kalamazoo cohort says that immigration is "positive overall." Only 29% of the San Francisco cohort desire permanent residence in the U.S. while 54% of the Kalamazoo cohort desire permanent U.S. residence. Therefore, the suburban context of Kalamazoo may …

The Collective Voices Of Asian International Doctoral Students In Counseling Psychology In The U.S.: Recommendations For Faculty And Training Programs, Miki Koyama

Dissertations

There is growing interest among scholars to understand the training experiences of international students in applied psychology. Few empirical studies have specifically investigated international doctoral students in counseling psychology. The purpose of the present study was to create an opportunity for the voices of Asian international students in U.S. doctoral counseling psychology programs could be expressed, and to convey their collective voices.

Twelve Asian international students, predominately women from East Asia, participated in two phone interviews. Participants were asked to illustrate their overall training experiences, share helpful and unhelpful aspects of their training, and identify recommendations for faculty and training …

The Heterosexual Mother-Lesbian Daughter Relationship: Using Consensual Qualitative Research (Cqr) To Understand Perceptions Among Predominately White, Formally Educated Mothers, Julie Meredith Davis

Dissertations

Little research specifically addresses the heterosexual mother-lesbian daughter relationship. Given this, a core research team of six utilized a Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) approach to gain insight into two broad ideas. The first broad idea was about how heterosexual mothers perceive that their relationship with their lesbian daughters unfolds after the mothers accepted their daughters' minority sexual orientation. The second broad idea was how changes in the heterosexual mothers' values, beliefs, and attitudes (from the mothers' perspectives) influenced their postacceptance relationship with their daughters. The 10 women who agreed to participate in the study were predominately white, formally well-educated, psychologically …

Measuring Graduating M.S.W. Students' Knowledge Of The Steps Of Evidence-Based Practice, Kellie D. Cody Jr.

Dissertations

Knowledge of evidence-based practice (EBP) is essential to social workers entering the workforce. The literature review revealed no studies that have measured the knowledge students have of the steps of EBP in the final semester of their master's of social work (M.S.W.) degree programs.

The purpose of this study was to administer a newly validated instrument to graduating M.S.W. students to measure their knowledge of the steps of EBP. Eighty-six students in four schools in Michigan completed the instrument and scored a mean of 6.23 out of a possible score of 15. An ANOVA showed no statistically significant difference in …

The Politics And Consequences Of Stakeholder Participation In International Development Evaluation, Anne Cullen

Dissertations

Participatory approaches to evaluation have long been vogue in the international development evaluation community. However, despite their widespread use, there is a dearth of research on the impact of stakeholder participation in international development evaluations. Although proponents of participatory approaches to international development evaluation assert many advantages of their use, the evidence to support these claims is largely anecdotal. Similarly, critics of participatory approaches do not have empirical data on which to base their assertions. Further confusing the matter are multiple and conflicting definitions of stakeholder and participation. Some interpret stakeholders to mean funders while others view stakeholders as those …

Adolescents' Experience Of The Factors Influencing Their Diabetes Treatment Regimen, Roger W. Apple

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to better understand and provide a description of the factors that influence adolescents' adherence to the diabetic treatment regimen from the adolescents' experience. The sample consisted of nine adolescents diagnosed with Type I diabetes. A qualitative phenomenological methodology is used to look for significant statements, meanings, and themes that resulted in an exhaustive description of the adolescents' experience.

In-depth interviews are the primary method of data collection. Data analysis includes: transcribing the interviews and reading the transcripts, extracting significant statements, developing formulated meanings, organizing the formulated meanings into clusters of themes, and developing an …

Improving Reading Fluency And Comprehension In Elementary Students Using Read Naturally, Rebecca Arvans

Dissertations

Difficulty learning how to read is a risk factor for school failure, low grades, behavior problems, juvenile delinquency, truancy, unemployment, jail time, and substance abuse. Reading difficulties are common in the educational setting, afflicting anywhere from 20-40 percent of students. Read Naturally is a computer-based reading program which targets the third "big idea" (i.e„ accuracy and fluency with reading). The current study assessed the efficacy of the Read Naturally program in second through fourth grade elementary students in a public elementary school. Additionally, this study assessed whether improving reading abilities resulted in changes in classroom behavior problems or self-esteem. Eighty-two …

Recursive Methods In Discounted Stochastic Games: An Algorithm For Delta Approaching 1 And A Folk Theorem, Johannes Hörner, Takuo Sugaya, Satoru Takahashi, Nicolas Vieille

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We present an algorithm to compute the set of perfect public equilibrium payoffs as the discount factor tends to one for stochastic games with observable states and public (but not necessarily perfect) monitoring when the limiting set of (long-run players’) equilibrium payoffs is independent of the state. This is the case, for instance, if the Markov chain induced by any Markov strategy profile is irreducible. We then provide conditions under which a folk theorem obtains: if in each state the joint distribution over the public signal and next period’s state satisfies some rank condition, every feasible payoff vector above the …