Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Exploring Our Region’S Prosperity, Sheila A. Martin, Emily Picha

Institute of Metropolitan Studies Publications

Prosperity refers to the economic success of the regional economy and can be measured using income data. In order to assess regional prosperity in the Portland Metropolitan region, we will consider two measures of income: aggregate regional income (Metropolitan GDP) and income for individuals and households. In addition, we will discuss poverty levels in the Portland Metropolitan region according to the federal poverty standard. To ascertain the significant income variations both within the region and between comparable regions, this paper will compare counties within the Portland Metropolitan region and discuss how Portland measures up to ten "comparator regions" in the …

A Pilgrimage Through English History And Culture, Gary P. Gillum, Susan Wheelwright O'Connor, Alexa Hysi

Faculty Publications

An Annotated Bibliography of Books Printed in England before 1700 and housed in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Harold B. Lee Library.

Payroll Taxes, Wealth And Employment In Neoclassical Theory: Neutrality Or Non-Neutrality?, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

The theoretical proposition that temporarily below-normal tax rates on labor this year, when merged with the prospect of reversion to normal rates next year, will encourage households to squeeze more work into this year and to work less in future years is well-founded. This proposition was recently tested anew on Icelandic data and performed well empirically (Bianchi, Gudmundsson and Zoega (2001)). But would a permanent cut in tax rates on labor encourage more work permanently—with no diminution of effectiveness? Conversely, does a permanent increase in tax rates on labor cause a permanent decline in hours worked?

A Paradox Of Inconsistent Parametric And Consistent Nonparametric Regression, Peter C. B. Phillips, Liangjun Su

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper explores a paradox discovered in recent work by Phillips and Su (2009). That paper gave an example in which nonparametric regression is consistent whereas parametric regression is inconsistent even when the true regression functional form is known and used in regression. This appears to be a paradox, as knowing the true functional form should not in general be detrimental in regression. In the present case, local regression methods turn out to have a distinct advantage because of endogeneity in the regressor. The paradox arises because additional correct information is not necessarily advantageous when information is incomplete. In the …

Congregation Activism In The Community: A Study Of Faith-Based Leadership, Jensen Harry Shirley Edd

Dissertations

Policymakers have acted as if the federal government was the prime mover in developing and supporting American communities with significant needs. That assumption is now being challenged not only by politicians who recommend funding faith-based initiatives, but also by scholars who make the case for giving the nation's churches a central role in tackling community problems, including problems associated with poverty (Boddie, 2003). These scholars point out that, with over 300,000 congregations in America, faith-based organizations are strategically located in the community to address community needs (Boddie, 2003). As government services devolve to the community level, these scholars argue, congregations …

Exploring Efforts On Two College Campuses To Cultivate A Culture Of Vocation, Mark Peters Phd

Dissertations

Young adults today experience an extended adolescence, a period of time now commonly referred to as emerging adulthood, in which they delay undertaking the roles traditionally associated with becoming an adult in contemporary society. College has the potential to become the mentoring environment needed for emerging adults to consider their future life choices grounded in the context of their deepest beliefs, shared values, and personal passions. Since 2000, the Lilly Endowment, Inc. has invested over $2 million in 88 select religiously affiliated colleges to fund Programs for the Theological Exploration of Vocation (PTEV). These Programs were designed to help students …

How Emerging Giants Are Rewriting The Rules Of M&A, Nirmalya Kumar

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

While Western companies struggle with mergers and acquisitions, emerging giants like Indian aluminum producer Hindalco are using M&A as their main globalization strategy. That's partly because developing economies grew at near double-digit rates in the past 15 years, enabling many enterprises to make acquisitions. It's also because, according to the author's research, those corporations create more value from takeovers. To compete, Western multinationals should change their mind-set and shift the locus of their M&A efforts to regional headquarters in developing countries.U.S. and European companies, inhibited by slow-growing home markets, acquire rivals primarily to become bigger and thus create economies of …

An Experimental Study Of Instructor Immediacy In The Wimba Virtual Classroom, Lorah Wood Bodie Edd

Dissertations

The social underpinnings of learning make it important to understand how people experience themselves and form relationships in web-based educational environments. Social presence is a critical factor of a communication medium that plays an important role in building community and improving the effectiveness of instruction. The components of social presence include words conveyed, verbal and nonverbal immediacy cues, and the context of the communication. The immediacy component of social presence is most often defined as perceived psychological closeness which is created in part by nonverbal cues (e.g., smiling and using gestures) and verbal cues (e.g., utilizing humor and inclusive pronouns). …

The Effects Of Different Types Of Prompts On Achievement And Attitude In Mathematics, Barbara R. Greer Edd

Dissertations

This study examined the effects of three different types of writing prompts, procedural, summary, and self-monitoring, on achievement and self-concept of ability in mathematics. Participants included 81 eighth grade students taking a course designed to prepare students for algebra in the ninth grade in a large urban school district in Southern California. Data were gathered using a quasi-experimental design, teacher-researcher created pre-and post-tests, the Minnesota Mathematics Attitude Inventory, teacher field notes, student responses to prompts, and individual and group interviews. Controlling for demographic and other variables identified in the study, simultaneous regression analysis revealed that only summary writing had a …

Using High-Frequency Transaction Data To Estimate The Probability Of Informed Trading, Anthony S. Tay, Christopher Ting, Yiu Kuen Tse, Mitchell Warachka

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper applies the asymmetric autoregressive conditional duration (AACD) model of Bauwens and Giot (2003) to estimate the probability of informed trading (PIN) using irregularly spaced transaction data. We model trade direction (buy versus sell orders) and the duration between trades jointly. Unlike the Easley, Hvidkjaer, and O'Hara (2002) approach, which uses the aggregate numbers of daily buy and sell orders to estimate PIN, our methodology allows for interactions between consecutive buy-sell orders and accounts for the duration between trades and the volume of trade. We extend the Easley–Hvidkjaer–O'Hara framework by allowing the probabilities of good news and bad news …

Nonparametric Structural Estimation Via Continuous Location Shifts In An Endogenous Regressor, Peter C. B. Phillips, Liangjun Su

Research Collection School Of Economics

Recent work by Wang and Phillips (2009b, c) has shown that ill posed inverse problems do not arise in nonstationary nonparametric regression and there is no need for nonparametric instrumental variable estimation. Instead, simple Nadaraya Watson nonparametric estimation of a (possibly nonlinear) cointegrating regression equation is consistent with a limiting (mixed) normal distribution irrespective of the endogeneity in the regressor, near integration as well as integration in the regressor, and serial dependence in the regression equation. The present paper shows that some closely related results apply in the case of structural nonparametric regression with independent data when there are continuous …

Ninth Annual Garrett Morgan Sustainable Transportation Symposium, Mti Report S-08-04, Mineta Transportation Institute

Mineta Transportation Institute

On March 25, 2009, the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) continued its support of the U.S. Department of Transportations Garrett A. Morgan Technology and Transportation Futures Program by conducting the ninth National Garrett Morgan Symposium and Videoconference on Sustainable Transportation. The purpose of this national videoconference was to stimulate the minds of young people and encourage them to pursue the academic programs that will prepare them for professional careers in transportation engineering, planning, administration and technology.

2009 May, Office Of Communications & Marketing, Morehead State University.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for May of 2009.

Eaglespace Launched, Georgia Southern University, Zach S. Henderson Library

Library Publications (1999-2023)

• EagleSpace Launched

The Role Of Abortion In Explaining Ethnic Fertility Differentials In Vietnam, Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan, Sajeda Amin

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Until recently, Vietnam had the highest abortion rate in Asia. Abortion–mostly provided by the government—is believed to have contributed significantly to the country’s remarkable fertility decline over the last three decades. Despite the overall fertility decline, fertility rates vary across Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups. The majority Vietnamese and ethnic Chinese, who together account for 85% of Vietnam’s total population, have total fertility rates below the replacement level. Meanwhile, other ethnic minority groups such as Dao and Hmong, who are disproportionately poor and live in remote, isolated areas, have the total fertility of 3.6 and 7.1 respectively. Analyzing the 1999 Census …

Depressive Symptoms, Gender, And Growth In Cigarette Smoking Among Indigenous Adolescents, Les B. Whitbeck, Mansoo Yu, Dennis E. Mcchargue, Devan M. Crawford

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study reports findings from two-level growth curve modeling of cigarette smoking and depressive symptoms based on the first three waves of data from a longitudinal study of Indigenous adolescents and their parents/caretakers in the northern Midwest and Canada. The 743 adolescents were aged 10–13 years at Wave 1 and 12–15 years at Wave 3. Over the three years of the study the overall retention rate was 93%. By Wave 3, 39% of the adolescent girls and 25% of the boys had smoked cigarettes in the past 12 months. The growth curve results indicated that smoking increased for both adolescent …

The University Of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study: Methods For An Environmental Exposure Study Of Polychlorinated Dioxins, Furans, And Biphenyls, David H. Garabrant, Alfred Franzblau, James Lepkowski, Brenda W. Gillespie, Peter Adriaens, Avery Demond, Barbara Ward, Kathy Ladronka, Elizabeth Hedgeman, Kristine Knutson, Lynn Zwica, Kristen Olson, Timothy Towey, Qixuan Chen, Biling Hong

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background: The University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study (UMDES) was undertaken in response to concerns that the discharge of dioxin-like compounds from the Dow Chemical Company facilities in Midland, Michigan, resulted in contamination of soils in the Tittabawassee River floodplain and areas of the city of Midland, leading to an increase in residents’ body burdens of polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans.

Objectives: The UMDES is a hypothesis-driven study designed to answer important questions about human exposure to dioxins in the environment of Midland, where the Dow Chemical Company has operated for > 100 years, and in neighboring Saginaw, Michigan. In addition, …

Private Warfare: History Of The Increasing Dependency On Private Military Corporations And Implications, Erika Morris

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

A history of the private military industry, how and why it emerged, and why nations around the globe are becoming increasingly dependent on them. Investigates limitations and implications of these corporations and possible policy prescriptions to correct many of the imperfections currently found in the system.

Stress Levels And Sources Of Occupational Stress Among Psi Ch Faculty Advisors, Tristan Q. Nelson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Psi Chi faculty advisors are the guiding force behind each functioning chapter nationwide. Unfortunately faculty members broadly are experiencing ever increasing levels of occupational stress due to teaching, research, and advising responsibilities (Tytherleigh, Webb, Cooper, & Ricketts, 2005). This stress often results in decreased productivity and an increase in absenteeism and disability (Pelletier & Lutz, 1988). As the Psi Chi mission statement is "to continue to encourage, stimulate, and maintain excellence in scholarship of the individual members" (Psi Chi, 2002), it is important that faculty advisors be active, involved, and healthy. The current study sought to assess general stress levels …

Convergence And Divergence In Attachment Style Across Male And Female College Students' Friendships And Romantic Relationships, Victoria Jean Van Uitert

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Attachment representations in friendship and romantic relationship contexts were examined in a sample of 398 college students. Analyses examined patterns of attachment style in both relationship contexts, divergence and convergence in attachment style, and links between attachment representations and negative peer and romantic relationship experiences (i.e., relational and physical victimization and betrayal). The majority of participants reported more secure attachment representations, relative to preoccupied or dismissing attachment. However, analysis of biological sex indicated that males reported more dismissing attachment styles with both friends and romantic partners, relative to females. Additionally, significant links were observed between negative peer and romantic relationship …

“Our Sweat, Our Struggle, Our Success”: The Women Of The Comamnuvi Cooperative, Tabitha Lazenby

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

On October 30, 1998 Hurricane Mitch swept across the shores of Nicaragua leaving countless Nicaraguans homeless, hungry, and unemployed. 14,000 of these refugees were relocated to a municipality in Cuidad Sandino called Nueva Vida (New Lift). In the year 2000 a small group of women began working with Jubilee House Community's Center for Development in Central America project and Maggie's Organics to initiate the industrial sewing project of the Cooperativa Maquiladora Mujeres de Nueva Vida Internacional (Comamnuvz). The project started with 50 women and men, but due to harsh economic conditions and the necessity for workers to find paying jobs, …

An Obscene Gesture: A Civil Approach To Interpreting Community Standards, Nathan B. Laursen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Since the 1970's, obscenity cases in the US legal system have long been detennined by the three-part Miller test. Criminal convictions for obscenity have frequently been disputed due to the ambiguous nature contained within the three-part test, especially having the trier of fact apply "contemporary community standards." Technological advances and increasing homogeneity has added to the dubious nature of the test and some feel obscenity laws need revised, ifnot eliminated. Numerous suggestions have been made to improve the "intractable problem" ofdetennining what is obscene speech. This paper considers some of those possibilities and suggests commentary on others. One way of …

An Empirical Investigation Of The Adaptive Nature Of Shame, Elizabeth Jacqueline Dansie

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Throughout the empirical psychological literature on emotion, the general consensus is that shame is maladaptive, while guilt is the adaptive moral emotion. Conversely, evolutionary psychology concludes that all emotions serve adaptive functions. Specifically, shame serves an appeasement function in social relationships. In order to investigate the true nature of shame, the current study used an experimental design. Specifically, a 2 (high shame, no shame) X 2 (high guilt, no guilt) design with a no-mistakes control group was implemented, and shame and guilt were operationalized through an evolutionary lens (i.e., shame as a nonverbal display, guilt as verbalizations of apology). Participants …

An Evaluation Of The Allocation Of Funding For Assistive Technology: A Case Study, Cindy L. Ollis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Although benefits of assistive technology (AT) to people with disabilities are widely apparent, barriers, primarily funding, still inhibit access to needed AT. All agencies receiving federal funding are required to show no discrimination with regard to age, race, disability, and gender. This case study of a state run agency providing funding for AT to enable independent living among people with disabilities involved analyzing spending data from 2003 2008 to determine who used the fund, what was purchased, and whether it was equitably distributed according to age, ethnicity, gender, and population density. Additionally variables predictive of amount spent per person were …

Effects Of Targeted Grazing And Prescribed Burning On Fire Behavior And Community Dynamics Of A Cheatgrass (Bromus Tectorum)-Dominated Landscape, Joel M. Diamond

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Studies were conducted to determine the effectiveness of using targeted grazing and prescribed burning as tools to reduce fire hazards and cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) dominance on rangelands in the northern Great Basin. A field study, with four grazing-burning treatments (graze and no-burn, graze and burn, no-graze and burn, and no-graze and no-burn), was conducted on a B. tectorum-dominated site near McDermitt, Nevada from 2005-2007. Cattle removed 80-90% of standing biomass in grazed plots in May 2005 and 2006 when B. tectorum was in the boot (phenological) stage. Grazed and ungrazed plots were burned in October 2005 and …

Brief Application Of Contingent Reversals: Treatment Utility In Increasing Appropriate Classroom Behaviors, Jaclyn King Knapp

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Identifying positive behavioral interventions for students who display disruptive behavior in the classroom has become a critical issue for schools due to the high frequency of these behaviors and recent changes in legislative requirements. To address this issue, the present study investigated the utility of brief experimental analysis approach as a means to identify the most efficient and effective interventions for three students displaying problem behaviors in the classroom. By using a multi-element design, the brief experimental analysis was conducted by randomly applying interventions for three common functions of problem behavior in the classroom: teacher attention, peer attention, and escape …

Probing The Mechanics Of Environmental Kuznets Curve Theory, Jeremy Lynn Kidd

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The theory of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) proposes to answer important questions regarding the connections between economic growth (development) and the environment. The theory postulates the environment need not always suffer as the economy develops, and it has generated strong support and opposition. Rather than attempting to defend or debunk EKC theory, this research challenges a practice engaged in by proponents and opponents alike. Simplifying assumptions are a necessary part of economic analysis, but this research shows that any assumptions may not be universally applicable. Utilizing, in turn, a simple one-good model and then a more complicated two-good model, …

The Interpersonal Lives Of Young Adult Women: A Study Of Passionate Friendship, Jenna Ann Glover

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was designed to further understand passionate friendships in a sample of heterosexual and lesbian, bisexual, and questioning (LBQ) women. Previous research has established that LBQ women engage in same-sex passionate friendships (unusually intense friendships that are similar to romantic relationships but devoid of sexual intimacy), but no systematic classification system has been established to identify these relationships in a general sample of women. A new quantitative measure, the Passionate Friendship Survey, was developed to measure passionate friendship experiences in women across adolescence and young adulthood. Qualitative interviews were also conducted to understand the subjective experience of passionate friendships …

Use Of Brief Experimental Assessment For Selecting Interventions To Increase Positive Social Interaction, Michelle S. Cox

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Different reasons for social withdrawal include a performance deficit, a social skill deficit, lack of peer support, and avoidance of anxiety or aversive interactions. Each of these reasons for social withdrawal may require a different intervention. This study investigated the utility of brief experimental analysis for identifying the most functional intervention to increase positive peer interactions for three socially withdrawn students. Using a multiple baseline and multi-element single subject design, three treatments were administered to compare differences in peer interactions during recess. Interventions were contingent reward, a social skills training with peer mediation, and a brief cognitive-behavioral strategy. Although students …

Structural Shifts In Agricultural Markets Caused By Government Mandates: Ethanol And The Renewable Fuels Standard, John Christian Olson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

For many decades, demand for agricultural commodities has remained stagnant and its growth has been limited. In contrast, agricultural production continues to become ever more efficient by increasing output for stable or decreased inputs. Long-run profits have historically been near zero due to an ongoing relative equilibrium. But recent U.S. energy policy has changed to include a Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), the goal of which is to boost domestic energy independence in an environmentally sound way. Most of the RFS in the near-term relies on the production of 15 billion gallons of ethanol made from corn. This has the effect …