Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Shared Features Dominate Semantic Richness Effects For Concrete Concepts, Ray Grondin, Stephen J. Lupker, Ken Mcrae

Psychology Publications

When asked to list semantic features for concrete concepts, participants list many features for some concepts and few for others. Concepts with many semantic features are processed faster in lexical and semantic decision tasks [Pexman, P. M., Lupker, S. J., & Hino, Y. (2002). The impact of feedback semantics in visual word recognition: Number-of-features effects in lexical decision and naming tasks. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review,9, 542–549; Pexman, P. M., Holyk, G. G., & MonFils, M.-H. (2003). Number-of-features effects and semantic processing. Memory & Cognition,31,842–855]. Using both lexical and concreteness decision tasks, we provided further insight into these number-of-features …

Face(Book)Ing The Facts: A Librarian’S Guide To Surviving Facebook, Bettina Peacemaker, John Glover

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Social networks are increasingly popular tools for personal communication. Large numbers of patrons use Facebook or similar websites daily, but can libraries use Facebook effectively? Our presentation will provide an overview of Facebook and its use in an academic library setting.

Les Paul The Legend And A New Book, Eric C. Shoaf

Publications

No abstract provided.

Immigration Controversies In Nebraska: Policies, Politics, And Public Perspectives, Alan J. Tomkins, Tarik Abdel-Monem, Angel Rivera-Colon

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

Immigration reform has been a part of the United States policy discussions since the 18^th century. As early as 1790, Congress was developing laws to allow immigrants to become United States citizens. By 1891, due to the amount of immigrants flowing into the country, the federal government assumed responsibility for immigration control and the Immigration Service was established. Over the past century, policies regulating immigration have transformed reflecting public concern over changing migrant flows into the country. During World War I, immigration levels were relatively low, but when the mass flow resumed post World War I, Congress enacted the …

Health Information Exchange: A Frontier Model, Nancy C. Shank, Kim Woods, Steve Lazarus, Elizabeth H. Willborn

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

This project laid the groundwork for the formation of a health information exchange within an established network of critical access hospitals, clinics, public health providers, and behavioral health providers across the rural, remote Nebraska Panhandle. The three goals were: (1) to develop an operational entity and incorporate a regional health information organization to support the development of a health information exchange; (2) to provide standardized training and user capacity development programs throughout the Panhandle; and (3) to implement electronic health records in critical access hospitals and rural health clinics through a shared process. The evaluation explored both the extent to …

Analysis Of Factors Influencing West Virginia Secondary Biology And Science Teacher Attrition Rates, Seth Perry

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The high rate of attrition for beginning teachers has been blamed on many factors. Nationally these include low pay, urban versus rural school settings, age, with younger teachers leaving sooner, and other variables making a complex problem with no clear component responsible for the loss of teachers. This study examined the self reported variables that contribute to high school teachers in West Virginia leaving their profession. An electronic survey instrument was distributed to current secondary teachers across the state. Teachers were asked to respond to questions related to professional satisfaction, perceived value from students and parents, administrative support, content versus …

Art And Literature: A Perfect Combination, Shirlene Call Law, Joyce Kennington

Human Development and Family Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Methods And Strategies For Creating A Culture Of Collections Assessment At Comprehensive Universities, Heath Martin, Kimberly Robles, Julie A. Garrison, Doug Way

Scholarly Papers and Articles

Differing from those of their Liberal Arts and ARL counterparts, today’s Comprehensive Universities face a variety of unique challenges and opportunities when it comes to assessing their collections. This paper looks at the different needs and interests of comprehensive universities and will focus on the challenges faced in evaluating collections in three distinct university library settings. Case studies from individual universities will be used to examine issues regarding different means of assessing electronic book collections, collection development policies, and library databases.

Residential Foreclosures' Impact On Nearby Single-Family Residential Properties;A New Approach To The Spatial And Temporal Dimensions, Timothy F. Kobie

ETD Archive

This dissertation analyzes the impact that foreclosures have on neighboring property values. It focuses on foreclosures' impact based upon face blocks, not straight-line distances and it also incorporates time and the use of spatial statistics. Findings from this study show that properties in the foreclosure process longer have a greater negative impact on nearby property values than properties with more recent foreclosure filings. The first negative impact is not seen until a year after the filing. Therefore, policy responses need to be as swift as possible in preventing any negative impact on neighboring property values and should not focus on …

The Influence Of Organizational Culture On Sustainable Competitive Advantage Of Small And Medium Sized Establishments, Best Business Practices For Achieving World-Class Status, The Link Between Business & Region, Wael H. Ramadan

ETD Archive

This is a three-essay dissertation that examines the effects of objective aspects of business organizational culture and the region on objective measures of the outcomes of sustainable competitive advantage. The first essay examines the association of objective aspects of business organizational culture on objective measures of sustainable competitive advantage. The first essay recommends that firms increase the number of training hours devoted annually to each employee and increase the percentage of production employees participating in empowered work teams. The second essay describes a conceptual model and provides recommendations for best business practices for manufacturing firms that realize the ultimate ability …

Who Cares About School Quality?; The Role Of School Quality In Household Preference, School District Choice, And Willingness To Pay, Youngme Seo

ETD Archive

School quality is considered a key factor affecting homebuyers' location choices and willingness to pay. Previously, many studies found that school quality plays a critical role in determining housing prices and location choice. School quality is positively capitalized into housing prices. Households are willing to pay for school quality, in particular, school outcomes such as test scores and performance index. However, there is a view that willingness to pay for school quality is different based on household demographics and socioeconomic status (SES). The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate heterogeneous preference for school quality, school district choice, and willingness …

A Benefit/Cost Analysis Of Three Student Enrollment Behaviors At A Community College;Dropout, Transfer And Completion Of An Associate's Degree/Certificate, G. Robert Stuart

ETD Archive

This dissertation seeks to increase our understanding of the factors that lead to student success at community colleges. Using data on a cohort of students enrolled at a two-year college, this dissertation presents the results of a longitudinal analysis. Citing the results of several persistence studies as well as the literature on sub-baccalaureate job markets, this dissertation constructs a hybrid model of student persistence. This model combines Tinto's theory of student dropout behavior with human capital theory to derive a benefit/cost model of student enrollment behavior. Several hypotheses are developed regarding the relationship between various benefits and costs and students' …

Residential Property Tax Abatement;Testing A Model Of Neighborhood Impact, Doreen Swetkis

ETD Archive

Using a quasi-experimental research design, this study examines the relationship between residential property tax abatement for new construction, and urban neighborhoods in four Ohio cities. Neighborhoods were defined as census tract. The purpose of this research is to determine if there is a statistically significant relationship at p < .05 between residential property tax abatement programs for new construction and several different measures of neighborhood outcomes. The neighborhood outcome measures can be grouped under the broad concepts of increased private investment, blight removal, decreased criminal activity, and property tax equity. Subsequent questions investigated are the direction of these relationships and the existence of a threshold level at which point relationships become significant. The utilization of a comparable comparison group addresses the counterfactual scenario. Independence of samples tests and multivariate cubic regression are employed to answer the research questions. Results indicate that there are no discernable effects between residential property tax abatement and the indicators of neighborhood change as defined in the study. Second, there appears to be no threshold at which the number of tax abated residential units becomes significantly associated with the indicators of neighborhood change. Third, there were no significant differences on the indicators of neighborhood change between subject and comparison groups. In essence, there are no effects from residential tax abatement policy seen at the neighborhood level

Combined Pharmacotherapy For The Treatment Of Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation And Recovery Of Function Following Prefrontal Cortex Controlled Cortical Impact In Rats, Abby Nicole Kyser

ETD Archive

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is common among military personnel, resulting from bomb blasts and explosions. The secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines following TBI has been linked to cerebral edema and neuronal loss. The use of lovastatin for TBI has been suggested to be neuroprotective by combating cytokines and inflammation. Fluoxetine has been suggested to aid in the prevention of edema during secondary injury processes, as well as having a relationship to neural plasticity. Seventy-six Long-Evans rats were randomly assigned to CCI (controlled cortical impact) or sham-operated as well as one of the following drug conditions: no treatment, vehicle, Fluoxetine only, Lovastatin …

Young Voters And The Power Of Political Internet Culture: An Exploration Of Political Websites And Political Engagement, Amanda H. Zima

ETD Archive

This thesis examines how far the use of online political information like political news websites, social networking sites, and online political humor websites relate to young adults' intention to vote, political knowledge, political efficacy, and having political discussions with parents and friends. To better understand these relationships the O-S-O-R model (e.g., Cho, Shah, Mcleod, McLeod, Scholl, Gotlieb, 2009 McLeod, Kosicki, and McLeod, 1994) will be used as the theoretical framework. The survey data for this study was collected during the exciting and noteworthy 2008 Presidential Primary elections. Young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 years of age were …

Identity Distress Surrounding Retirement, Jennifer Colbert

ETD Archive

The purpose of this study was to examine identity distress surrounding retirement. From past literature I hypothesized that individuals would experience more psychological distress after retirement compared to before and those who earned a professional degree would experience more distress than others. I also hypothesized the longer time retired the less distress, and those who were forced to retire would experience more distress after retirement than those who retired voluntarily. Results of the study conducted with 40 retired people in the United States revealed only one significant result. Those who were forced to retire showed increased levels of identity distress …

Examining The Role Of Talker-Specific Details In The Perception Of Words Spoken By Famous Talkers, Alisa M. Maibauer

ETD Archive

Previous work demonstrates that talker-specific details tend to affect language perception relatively late in processing. One possible explanation for this time-course effect may be that the listeners in the previous study were presented with unfamiliar talkers. Under conditions where one has been repeatedly exposed to a talker, as is typically the case with famous people, talker-specific details may affect perceptual processing relatively early. The present research sought to explore the potential for relatively early talker effects in the perception of words spoken by famous talkers in a speeded-shadowing task. Words were presented using a long-term repetition priming paradigm where half …

The Examination Of Threat And Affiliative Tendencies Through Pronoun Usage In Relation To Consumer Evaluations, Sarah M. Digioia

ETD Archive

This study further examines the relationship between threat and affiliative tendencies. Under threat, there is a tendency to embrace others in efforts to reduce threat and uncertainty. This study explores whether product advertisements that use inclusive pronouns (e.g., we, our) lead products to be perceived as more attractive/valuable under threat (compared to low threat). Therefore, this study employs a 2 (threat: low vs. high) X 2 (ad reference frame: inclusive pronouns vs. 3rd person) between-subjects design. Data from 145 university student participants were collected. To manipulate threat, participants were told they would be taking part in a learning exercise and …

The Traumatic Events Inventory: Preliminary Investigation Of A New Ptsd Questionnaire, Kirk Robert Bryant

ETD Archive

The purpose of this study was to assess the preliminary psychometrics of the Traumatic Events Inventory (TEI), a new Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) scale designed to identify individuals who are malingering. Participants were students and members of the community who were instructed to feign PTSD or to perform normally. The internal consistencies of the TEI full-scale as well as the subscales were high. Construct validity was examined by comparing scores on TEI to participants' performance on malingering indices of the TMT, the Digit Span, the Digit Symbol, and the RAVLT. The TEI full-scale, as well as many of the …

Dependent Personality Inventory-Revised (Dpi-R): Incorporating A Dimensional Model In The Assessment Of Dependent Personality Disorder, Laura A. Gluszik

ETD Archive

the Present Study Was Designed to Assess the Reliability and Validity of the Dependent Personality Inventory-Revised (Dpi-R Poreh & Huber, 2007). One-Hundred and One Students at a Midwestern University Were Administered the Scale in Addition to the Dependent Personality Questionnaire (Dpq Hyler, 1994) and Interpersonal Dependence Inventory (Idi Hirschfeld, Klerman, Gouch, Barrett, Korchin, Chodoff, 1977). Following the Screening, 11 Students Who Scored the Highest on the Scale and 13 Students Who Scored in the Average Range Were Identified and Asked to Participate in the Second Phase of the Study. These Students Were Then Blindly Interviewed by the Co-Investigator Using the …

Preliminary Study Of The Narcissistic Personality Questionnaire, Ethan H. Motter

ETD Archive

This study was designed to create a new measure for narcissism. Furthermore, the NPQ will be based on the 9 DSM-IV-TR criteria for narcissism. The NPQ will be compared to the NPI with is a more established instrument of narcissism. The study examined 124 students from a certain midwestern university in north east Ohio. Results indicate that the NPQ has a higher reliability than the NPI. Additionally, the NPQ displays a high construct validity due the high correlations between the NPQ and the NPI. However, future studies should attempt to replicate the results as well as measure divergent validity in …

Text Me You Love Me. Mediated Communication In Dating Relationships, Anna Caruso

ETD Archive

The purpose of this study was to examine how text message communication creates a feeling of social presence, and how it affects self-disclosure, intimacy, and uncertainty. A total of 171 participants were surveyed who at the time were engaged in a dating relationship and used text messages. The findings indicated that a feeling of social presence can be achieved through text message communication. The results indicated a significant positive relationship between the amount of text messages sent to a dating partner and the feeling of social presence. Specifically, a relationship was found between the amount of text messages sent daily …

Communicating Forgiveness Within Adult Sibling Relationships, Sharon Apel

ETD Archive

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of communicating forgiveness within adult sibling relationships. Specifically, this study investigated the relationship between seeking forgiveness and attachment style, the relational outcomes of forgiveness, and forgiveness as a relational maintenance strategy. A total of 172 participants were surveyed in order to acquire as many participants as possible with adult siblings. Forgiveness seeking communication was represented by Kelley's (1998) typology of forgiveness tactics which included explicit acknowledgment, indirect tactics, and compensational-conditional tactics. In addition to Kelley's typology, a choice of "do nothing" was included to enable participants to express no forgiveness …

The Effects Of Practice And Load On Actual And Imagined Action, Christopher Stephen Bialko

ETD Archive

Research has shown similarities between actual movement durations (AMD) and imagined movement durations (IMD). These similarities are believed to reflect the extent to which an action is represented by an internal model or emulator in the brain. Differences in AMD and IMD could be due to the employment of online feedback processes during actual movement in addition to emulated feedback as suggested by emulation theory. The current study was framed by these basic components of emulation theory. Methodology similar to a study by Papaxanthis, Schieppati, Gentili, and Pozzo (2002) was used to examine AMD and IMD of the arm under …

Innovativeness And Online Shopping Adoption, Blake Edward Hodges

ETD Archive

This study was designed to examine the role of innovativeness in online shopping. Innovativeness is one of the more widely studied phenomena in the domain of consumer research and is said to play a prominent role in the adoption of new products (Im, Bayus & Mason, 2003, Midgley & Dowling, 1978). However, issues regarding the validity of the innovativeness construct as well as its scales still remain. Using responses from an online survey given in the United States regarding online shopping habits, the effectiveness and validity of two innovativeness scales were examined both alone as well as in larger models …

Domestic Violence Awareness, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Crime/Violence

Bibliography and photographs of a display of government documents from Minnesota State University.

A Correspondence-Theoretic Approach To Dynamic Optimization, C. D. Aliprantis, Gabriele Camera

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

This paper introduces a method of optimization in infinite-horizon economies based on the theory of correspondences. The proposed approach allow us to study time-separable and non-time-separable dynamic economic models without resorting to fixed point theorems or transversality conditions. When our technique is applied to the standard time-separable model it provides an alternative and straightforward way to derive the common recursive formulation of these models by means of Bellman equations.

Cooperation Among Strangers Under The Shadow Of The Future, Gabriele Camera, M. Casari

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

We study the emergence of norms of cooperation in experimental economies populated by strangers interacting indefinitely. Can these economies achieve full efficiency even without formal enforcement institutions? Which institutions for monitoring and enforcement facilitate cooperation? Finally, what classes of strategies do subjects employ? We find that, first, cooperation can be sustained even in anonymous settings; second, some type of monitoring and punishment institutions significantly promote cooperation; and, third, subjects mostly employ strategies that are selective in punishment.

Public Spending On Education And The Incentives For Student Achievement, William Blankenau, Gabriele Camera

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

We build a model where homogeneous workers can accumulate human capital by investing in education. Schools combine public resources and individual effort to generate productive skills. If skills are imperfectly compensated, then in equilibrium students may under-invest in effort. We examine the effect on human capital accumulation of three basic education finance policies. Increased tuition subsidies may not be beneficial because they increase enrollment but they may lower the incentives for student achievement, hence the skill level. Policies directed at enhancing the productivity of education or making degrees more informative are more successful at improving educational outcomes.

How Coupled Are Decoupled Farm Payments? A Review Of The Evidence, Arathi Bhaskar, John C. Beghin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This survey paper explores the literature on decoupling of farm programs that has emerged in the last 10 years. The paper identifies and assesses the various channels of potential coupling of decoupled farm payments and provides a taxonomy of coupling mechanisms found in theoretical and empirical papers. Coupling of decoupled payments is pervasive but effects when measurable are small, with the exception of the impact on land values. The paper points to unresolved issues on potential coupling mechanisms for further research.

Domestic subsidies to agriculture were brought under the discipline of global trade rules for the first time in the …