Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Developing An Intranet Resource To Compile And Disseminate Animal Welfare Information For Library Liaisons, Frank Davis, Rick Brewer, Valerie Perry

Library Presentations

The project’s goal is to create and maintain a comprehensive database containing subject-specific information. The information is used to serve as a key resource for grant support and enhance the ethical treatment of animals.

A library Intranet allows librarian liaisons to conduct database searches and prepare customized reports for campus researchers. EndNote software is utilized, due to a campus site license.

Rationalizable Implementation, Dirk Bergemann, Stephen Morris

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

This note studies (full) implementation of social choice functions under complete information in (correlated) rationalizable strategies. The monotonicity condition shown by Maskin (1999) to be necessary for Nash implementation is also necessary under the more stringent solution concept. We show that it is also sufficient under a mild “no worst alternative” condition. In particular, no economic condition is required.

Rationalizable Implementation, Dirk Bergemann, Stephen Morris, Olivier Tercieux

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We consider the implementation of social choice functions under complete information in rationalizable strategies. A strict (and thus stronger) version of the monotonicity condition introduced by Maskin (1999) is necessary under the solution concept of rationalizability. Assuming the social choice function is responsive (i.e., it never selects the same outcome in two distinct states), we show that it is also sufficient under a mild “no worst alternative” condition. In particular, no economic condition is required. We also discuss how our results extend when the social choice function is not responsive.

Comm-Entary, Spring 2009 - Full Issue

Comm-entary

In this issue:

Zelig: The Faculty of Mockumentary by David Trefethen

Marriage and Gender Roles: The Reality of the 21st Century Woman by Ashley Bournival

Mutual Adoption Clubs: A Social Constructionist Approach to Family by Brian McKenney

Hollywood's Compliment: Hollywood and its "National" Cinema Counterpart by Katrina Ingrham

The Effect of E-mail on Student/Professor Relationships by Anna Bruning

When Even No News is News: An Analysis of the Media Coverage of the O.J. Simpson Trial and the Effects on the Media Today by Beth Reny

CONTRADICTORY GRAMMAR: The Influence of Production Variables on Audience Evaluation in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE by …

Trade Effect Of A Single Currency In East Africa, Rodgers Mukwaya

All Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a single currency policy for Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda on the volume, value and direction of trade and the distribution of welfare changes between these countries. A single-commodity (maize), multi-country spatial equilibrium model was used to evaluate the possible trade and welfare effects of the proposed single currency. Simulation results show higher levels of aggregate regional production with increased production in Uganda and decreased production in Kenya and Tanzania. The results also show increased aggregate trade in the region, the value of exports from Uganda to Kenya increased by …

Estimating The Private Consumption Benefits Derived From The College Football Game Experience, Anthony Dixon

All Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to estimate the private consumption benefits derived from the college football game experience and determine whether these benefits would justify the utilization of public subsidies for construction projects of university sports facilities. A systematic sampling strategy was used to collect email addresses from individuals visiting Clemson, South Carolina to participate in the Clemson University home football game experience. The study's response rate was 56.9% with a sample size of n=769. Results reveal South Carolina residents participating in the Clemson home football game experience derive $168.80 per person per game in private consumption benefits (i.e., …

Population Forecast For Lane County, Its Cities And Unincorporated Area 2008-2035, Portland State University. Population Research Center, Risa S. Proehl, George C. Hough Jr., Danan Ru, Kenneth Radin, Mark Gilbert

Oregon Population Estimates and Reports

This report presents the results of a study conducted by the Population Research Center (PRC) to address the long-range planning needs of Lane County and produce population forecasts at the county and sub-county level. This report considers recent and historical demographic changes experienced within the County and provides forecasts from 2008 to 2035 in 5-year intervals. Expected future populations that result from the most-likely demographic trends throughout Lane County are presented in this report.

Trade Liberalization And New Imported Inputs, Pinelopi Goldberg, Amit Khandelwal, Nina Pavcnik, Petia Topalova

Dartmouth Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Cap-And-Trade For Climate Change Policy: Lessons Learned From Emissions Trading In The Us And The Uk, Justine L. Kelly

Economics Honors Papers

Market-based instruments, particularly cap-and-trade programs, have been the focus of attention in environmental policy in recent years. The success of the US Acid Rain Program, dubbed the “grand policy experiment,” has inspired governments across the globe to turn to the market for the purpose of controlling pollution. This paper attempts to formulate a policy recommendation for a future domestic cap-and-trade program for climate change policy in the United States. The paper describes and evaluates the US Acid Rain Program and the UK Emissions Trading Scheme in detail in order to gain insight into two relatively successful experiences with cap-and-trade. The …

A Longitudinal Study Of Lmx And Stress: Is The In-Group Burning Out?, Brett Bloemer

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

On The Development Of Democracy In Japan: From Samurai To Civil Society, Hamilton Tyler D’Aquilla

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

A Political Construct Of Empathy: From Evolutionary Origins To Political Manifestations, John Westly Risher

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Personality And Leader Emergence In Groups, Rhett M. Smith

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Trait-based approaches to leadership have been around for a long time. Starting out as one of the original theories of leadership, research in the area of trait- based perspectives began to slow and give way to other, different domains of predicting leadership in the 1950s. Only recently has there been a revived interest in the trait approaches to leadership. Building on this resurgence, the present study examined the relationship between leader emergence and the Five Factor Model of personality (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Openness to Experience, Neuroticism, and Conscientiousness).

The Effects Of Foster Care Residence And Age Of Child On Credibility Of Child Sexual Abuse Allegations, Patricia D. Hartman

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Research demonstrates that children who have been sexually abused are at increased risk for further abuse. Children placed into foster care are also at heightened risk for abuse in their foster homes. While much research has been conducted concerning the credibility of children’s sexual abuse allegations, none has examined the believability of allegations of abuse within the foster care system. In the present study, 223 undergraduate psychology students were randomly assigned to read one of six scenarios. Each scenario described a girl (age 6, 11, or 15 years of age) who either resided with her mother and stepfather or foster …

An Investigation Of Sexual Narcissism As A Predictor Of Sexual Assault, Rachel Johnson

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

While narcissism has been linked to aggression, studies directly examining the relationship of narcissism with sexual aggression have yielded inconsistent results. This is likely due to the global measures of narcissism used. These measures are not sensitive to whether the components of narcissism are activated in sexual versus non-sexual domains. This study examined sexual narcissism as a predictor of rape myth acceptance, which has been consistently related to sexual aggression. In addition, the researcher attempted to show that sexual narcissism is a unique predictor of sexual aggression. This was done in three phases. Phase 1 demonstrated that sexual narcissism is …

Patient Initiation Of Information: Exploring Its Role During The Mental Health Intake Visit, Ora Nakash, Sarah Dargouth, Vanessa Oddo, Shan Gao, Margarita Alegría

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

Objective: Describe the role of patients' initiation of information in patient-provider communication during mental health intake visits. Methods: One hundred and twenty-nine mental health intake visits of diverse racial/ethnic patients were videotaped. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients and providers following each intake visit. We qualitatively analyzed the interviews to identify themes related to patients' initiation of information. We quantitatively analyzed the videos of the intake visits utilizing a checklist that identified whether the patient or the provider initiated the information exchanged. Results: Patient initiation of information affected providers' evaluation of the credence of the information, assessment of rapport and …

The Comparison Of Model Selection Criteria When Selecting Among Competing Hierarchical Linear Models, Tiffany A. Whittaker, Carolyn F. Furlow

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Little is known about the use and accuracy of model selection criteria when selecting among a set of competing multilevel models. The practices of applied researchers and the performance of five model selection criteria are examined when selecting the correct multilevel model using simulation techniques.

Bias In Stabilized Sieve Sampling, Liming Guan, John P. Wendell

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

The stabilized sieve sample selection method (SSM) is considered to be a probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling method with an unbiased estimator (Horgan 1997, 1998). This article demonstrates that SSM does not select items with PPS and that the point estimator is biased.

A New Approximate Bayesian Approach For Decision Making About The Variance Of A Gaussian Distribution Versus The Classical Approach, Vincent A. R. Camara

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Rules of decision-making about the variance of a Gaussian distribution are obtained and compared. Considering the square error loss function, an approximate Bayesian decision rule for the variance of a normal population is derived. Using normal data and SAS software, the obtained approximate Bayesian test results were compared to their counterparts obtained with the well-known classical decision rule. It is shown that the proposed approximate Bayesian decision rule relies only on observations. The classical decision rule, which uses the Chi-square statistic, does not always yield the best results: the proposed approach often performs better.

Which Is The Best Parametric Statistical Method For Analyzing Delphi Data?, Hiral A. Shah, Sema A. Kalaian

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

This study compares the three parametric statistical methods: coefficient of variation, Pearson correlation coefficient, and F-test to obtain reliability in a Delphi study that involved more than 100 participants. The results of this study indicated that coefficient of variation was the best procedure to obtain reliability in such a study.

When A Parent Has A Mental Illness, Susan E. Murray

Lake Union Herald

No abstract provided.

Finding A Lost Pension, Pension Action Center, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

Pension Action Center Publications

Workers may be tempted to shrug their shoulders and write off the pensions as “lost.” Indeed, some pensions may in fact be gone forever. In many cases, though, the pension money is sitting safely in a fund, waiting only for the worker (or a surviving spouse or beneficiary) to come forward to collect it. If you think you may be entitled to money in a pension fund, either as a participant or as a spouse or beneficiary of a participant, it makes sense to try to track it down. This booklet, which is based on the experience of pension counselors, …

Persuasion In Contemporary Presidential Campaigns, Dylan Moore

Senior Honors Projects

Persuasion has been the foundation and objective of political campaigns since the first contested presidential election in 1796. While this foundation has not changed, the methods of persuading have undergone many changes over the years. Persuasion tactics of past presidential campaigns have used mediums such as print and television but it was not until the last two presidential elections that voters had the internet to supplement their decision-making process.

It is with the rise of the internet that we can see the greatest shift in contemporary campaigns tactics. Candidates’ websites serve as a “one stop shop” for voters to attain …

Rural Outreach Of Little Compton, Jessica Doyle

Senior Honors Projects

This idea for this project came from a semester long internship at the Women’s Resource Center of Newport and Bristol Counties. It was through this internship that I found my passion for promoting awareness about domestic violence. My interest in rural intimate partner violence began when I started preliminary investigation on the barriers rural women face because of their geographic placement. Rural women face many more obstacles when suffering intimate partner violence than their urban counterparts. Isolation and distance are the major issues that plague rural women. The only rural community in Newport and Bristol counties is Little Compton, which …

Reel Life Lessons: Using Film To Engage Adolescents In Valuable Discussions About Life, Catherine Collazzo

Senior Honors Projects

Films provide profound reflections and interpretations of the people and the times in which they are made. Because of this, we often feel emotionally connected to certain films. We root for a teen who pursues his talent against his family’s wishes, because we have also been misunderstood by family and friends. We cry with a young girl whose best friend has passed away, because we remember the first time we lost someone we loved. We applaud the couple whom manages to stay together despite their differences, because we still believe in happy endings. Film has had a tremendous social impact …

Exploring The Scientist-Practitioner Model In Clinical Psychology, Jami Halpern

Senior Honors Projects

The Scientist-Practitioner Model is a system of education used by many graduate programs in applied fields of psychology. The goal of this educational model is to help clinicians and other practitioners to learn to use empirical research as a basis for the applied work that they do and also for them to learn to use the experience of applied clinical practice to guide research questions and to advance scientific thinking in the discipline of Psychology. As a student who plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, I felt that it would be beneficial for me to experience the Scientist-Practitioner …

Time To Die?, Josh Dunn

Senior Honors Projects

The issue of when life begins has inspired heated debate in this country for nearly half of a century. The importance of this issue cannot be overstated; it has played a pivotal role in elections of public officials and in confirmation hearings of federal judges and justices and has dominated legal, political, economic, religious and ethical discussions. While the issue is far from resolved, it will be joined by another contentious issue in the near future. With our society rapidly getting older, and with the rapidly rising cost of health care, including the extremely high cost of end-of-life care, Americans …

The Green Bean Coffee House: An Exploration Of The Specialty Coffee Industry And Sustainable Business Practices, Evan Hunt

Senior Honors Projects

Many Americans are getting sick of the way things have become and the way things are, from the government to the quality of food we put into our bodies. We are upon a new frontier, people are changing the way they live and consume. The days of quantity over quality are fading. Many consumers are making purchases and consumption decisions based on more than a simple cost analysis. How and where a given product was produced, whether or not the trade involved of a given product was truly ethical, and what are the environmental implications of getting that product to …

Images Of Girls And Women In The Media: A Media Literacy Project To Mitigate The Influence Of Beauty Product Advertising For Girl Scouts, Christine Marie Anthony

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This project is intended to mitigate the influence of beauty product advertising on tween and teenage girls by teaching media literacy skills that allow a critical look at ads and the perfect women featured in them. Research has shown that repeated and frequent exposure to unrealistic beauty ideals through various media can render these images achievable and real, while having a negative impact on women’s self-esteem and body image. Achieving beauty has become a continuous and all-encompassing project for tween and teenage girls, and the media continually portrays and promotes it as not only a possibility, but also a necessity …

The Undermining Of International Human Rights Law : The Clash Of Western And Non-Western Human Rights Ideologies, Anahita Agha-Ghassem

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The notion of human rights is an undeniable, undisputable concept that has received universal validity. However, the history of human rights has shown the difficulty that exists in protecting and guaranteeing these rights, which in turn illustrates the difficulty in enforcing international human rights laws. In recent years, the legitimacy of international human rights law has become a highly debated topic. Events in the West and the East have cast a spotlight on its authority. The question of its universality has also surfaced as more human rights violations are taking place worldwide. Several human rights issues, in both Western and …