Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Experiences Of Gay Women Across Generations: Have Times Really Changed?, Kristen T. Nosti

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Society’s awareness of homosexuality has greatly increased over the past several decades. The current study sought to examine the experiences of lesbians in different age cohorts / generational groups utilizing an independent-measure research design. Survey data was used from 129 anonymous self identified adult lesbians who belonged in the Silent Generation, Baby Boomer, Generation X, or Millennial group. Significant generational differences (p < .05) were found regarding researched sexual minority milestones in relation to ages of self-identification, first same-sex sexual act, and self disclosure / coming out. Results showed that 50% of the women had tried to ignore or change their sexual orientation. Forty-one percent reported that they had felt discriminated against due to their sexual orientation and several women endorsed mental health and relational concerns related to their sexuality. As society’s position continues to evolve, it is important that research in this area reflects these changes.

Investigation Of Working Memory Across Behavioral And Executive Function Variables In Adolescents With Emotional Disturbance, Eleazar Cruz Eusebio

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Newer insights into working memory may have important implications for understanding varying cognitive abilities in adolescents and their corresponding degrees of success and efforts to accomplish real-world goals. It is important to investigate the construct of working memory in relation to academic, behavioral, and emotional success at school for students classified with an Emotionally Disturbance (ED). In the educational system, students are classified as ED, based upon IDEA regulations present within a multiplicity of these cognitive, behavioral, socio-emotional, and academic difficulties. The associated cognitive deficits often involve poor working memory skills thought to be related to frontal lobe processes. Considering …

School Accommodations To Support Psychosocial Functioning And Self-Esteem In Adolescents With Long Qt Syndrome, Betsy E. Feinberg

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The current manuscript, as part of a larger program of research, intended to examine whether long QT syndrome (LQTS), a chronic and life-threatening genetic cardiac illness, impacts adolescents' psychosocial functioning. After 2 1/2 years of involvement in the study and 13 months of attempted data collection, it was determined by the research team that the benefits of proceeding with an intervention plan outweighed the costs of waiting for data. Although the study was not able to be conducted within the anticipated time frame due to unforeseen logistical challenges, the study hypothesized that adolescents with higher ratings of self-reported social and …

Age At Kindergarten Entrance And Its Relationship To Early Academic Achievement, Joanne E. Perry

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study investigated whether age at kindergarten entrance has any effect on future language arts and literacy, using a sample of 340 students entering kindergarten in one largely white, middle-class, New Jersey, suburban school district. Students were grouped by age into two age categories: young (56-59 months) & on-time (60-72 months). Achievement was studied through archived measures of academic performance using correlations and chi square analyses to determine differences in literacy and language arts functioning related to age at school entrance. Results indicated young students were weaker in literacy and language arts achievement in first and second grade, but this …

Integrity Of Neuropsychological Processes In Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder And Comorbid Conditions, Julie N. Henzel

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study investigated the neuropsychological and behavioral profiles seen in children diagnosed with ADHD inattentive type (IA), inattentive type plus an internalizing disorder (IA + INT), combined type (CT), and combined type plus an externalizing disorder (CT + EXT). Subjects were 63 unmedicated children aged 6 to 16 who had been assessed with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fourth Edition (WISC–IV), Conners’ Continuous Performance Test-Second Edition (CPT–II), and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Group differences were found for the WISC–IV Digits Backward subtest (IA + INT IA and IA + INT), and externalizing behavior scales on the CBCL and TRF …

The Relationship Between Prenatal Alcohol Exposure And Special Education Eligibility For Children In New Jersey: Early Intervention Is Key, Jacquē L. Jones

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Depending upon the amount of alcohol consumed by the mother during pregnancy and when the consumption occurred during fetal development, a child may develop fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), alcohol-related birth defects, or alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder, all of which are under the umbrella category of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Children in whom a presumptive diagnosis has been made, such as FAS, are automatically eligible to receive early intervention services, regardless of whether the child demonstrates developmental delays. The purpose of the current study is to provide support for the notion that the Early Intervention System should broaden its FAS automatic …

Evaluation Of An Expectnacy Challenge Curriculum In Reducing High Risk Alcohol Use Among College Students When Modified For Larg, Amy Schreiner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol consumption has repeatedly been recognized as the primary public health concern impacting students on college campuses. In response to the prevalence of risky alcohol use and lack of effective response among colleges and universities, the National Advisory Council of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism created a task force to review the relevant research literature on alcohol interventions to advise college administrators on effective program implementation and evaluation as well as provide recommendations for future research directions. Only three strategies met criteria for Tier 1 designation (empirical support specifically with college students) and two of these strategies …

Ideological Voting On The Supreme Court: An Analysis Of Judicial Activism On The Burger And Rehnquist Courts, 1969-2004, Tiahna Larsen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The influence of ideology and attitudes on the decision-making process of Supreme Court justices has been well documented, such that the attitudinal model has emerged as the dominant paradigm for understanding judicial behavior. When ideology and personal preferences seem to eclipse legal factors, such as adherence to precedent and deference to the democratically-elected branches, outcries of 'judicial activism' have occurred. Previous studies (Lindquist and Cross 2009) have operationalized judicial activism and have provided measures for studying behavior that may be considered activist (as opposed to restrainist), further supporting the premise that ideology trumps other extra-attitudinal and legal factors in the …

Projective Techniques In Us Marketing And Management Research: The Influence Of The Achievement Motive, Lawrence Soley

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the use of projective techniques for published marketing and management research in the USA. The paper emphasizes the influence that McClelland, Atkinson, Clark and Lowell’s study, The Achievement Motive (1953), has had on subsequent research. That work applied quantitative analysis to responses obtained using projective techniques.

Design/methodology/approach – The approaches used in this paper consist of descriptive historical methods and a literature review. The historical analysis was conducted using Kuhn’s 1967 conception of paradigms, showing that the paradigm from which projective techniques emerged – psychoanalysis – failed to gather many adherents outside the …

Eliciting User Requirements Using Appreciative Inquiry, Carol Kernitzki Gonzales

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Many software development projects fail because they do not meet the needs of users, are over-budget, and abandoned. To address this problem, the user requirements elicitation process was modified based on principles of Appreciative Inquiry. Appreciative Inquiry, commonly used in organizational development, aims to build organizations, processes, or systems based on success stories using a hopeful vision for an ideal future. Spanning five studies, Appreciative Inquiry was evaluated for its effectiveness with eliciting user requirements. In the first two cases, it was compared with traditional approaches with end-users and proxy-users. The third study was a quasi-experiment comparing the use of …

Dietary Resistant Starch Improved Maternal Glycemic Control In Goto-Kakizaki Rat, Li Shen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Treatment for maternal hyperglycemia is limited on account of safety concerns for fetus. Our previous work has shown that inclusion of resistant starch in the diet decreases body fat accumulation in rodents, increases GLP-1 at both the gene expression level and plasma levels, and improves glucose tolerance in STZ-induced diabetic mice. However, studies concerning dietary resistant starch and maternal hyperglycemia are scarce. In this project, we examined the effects of dietary resistant starch in pregnant Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats to improve glycemic control. Animal experiments were conducted to test the hypotheses. In study 1, the female GK rats were randomly grouped …

An Analysis Of Predictors Of Exclusionary Discipline Practices And The Relationship With Student Achievement Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling, Amanda Dahir

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

School discipline plays an important role in maintaining a safe and orderly learning environment for students. Disruptive behavior in the classroom interferes with classroom learning time making it difficult to accomplish academic goals. A common method of handling discipline problems within schools is removing the disruptive student from their classroom (e.g. suspension or expulsion). There is a great need to study and understand the differences between school disciplinary practices and to allow research findings to guide the way in which discipline is administered. The current study examined a large database for the entire state of Louisiana to determine the relationship …

"It's Not Just About The Buildings, It's About The People": Architecture Practice, And Preservation In Post-Katrina New Orleans, Bethany W. Rogers

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Drawing on the legacy of architectural studies in cultural geography, this dissertation integrates traditional approaches to built environments that take seriously the physical form and presence of buildings with more recent scholarship that employs performance and practice theory to address the embodied, contingent, and ongoing practices through which buildings are endowed with meaning by those who use, inhabit, or identify with them. Using ethnographic and architectural-documentation methods to carefully apprehend the interrelationships between architecture and embodied practices, this dissertation presents a set of ethno-material case studies – four buildings and their community of users that were central to New Orleans’ …

A Study Of Communication In Baby Boomers' Romantic Relationships And The Effects Of Their Children's Communication About The Relationships, Lois B. Nemetz

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study contributes to our knowledge of life-span communication by examining the communication of the Baby Boomer generation (born 1946-1964) as they re-enter the dating scene. Although Baby Boomers' early years of dating (the 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's) occurred in a time of new-found freedom, especially in sexual relationships, the experience of dating several decades later brings many complications due to aging and children. The intent of this study was not to generalize that all Baby Boomers would express the views stated in this study, but to show the complexity of this generation, and to present a theoretical framework for …

Person Or Place? A Contextual Event-History Analysis Of Homicide Victimization Risk, Emily R. Berthelot

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study is a contextual event history analysis of the risk of homicide victimization in the United States from 1986 to 2002. Although the majority of research on homicide deals with how community factors influence homicide rates, a much less studied aspect of homicide victimization deals with the influence of individual factors on homicide victimization risk. This study examines the influence of contextual-level measures of social disorganization on the risk of homicide victimization and focuses specifically on how the effects of these measures change once individual-level characteristics are considered in the models. Grounded in social disorganization theory, this study includes …

Evaluating Information: Introduction To College Research For A Developmental Writing Course, Maura A. Smale

Publications and Research

The ability to evaluate information successfully in all formats is highly relevant to students both in their coursework and their everyday lives. This lesson plan aims to encourage students to think critically about this important component of information literacy, and provides a foundation for beginning college students to build upon as they progress through college and on to their careers.

Electronic Supervision And The Importance Of Evidence Based Practices, Matthew De Michele, Brian Payne

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

This article proves readers with a brief introduction to evidence-based practices and the integrated model developed by NIC and CJI. Evidence-based principles provide some direction for agencies considering using electronic monitoring or other electronic supervision tools in their jurisdictions. Deciding to place any offender on electronic supervision requires an adequate risk assessment to determine the individual's risk and criminogenic need factors. The assessment is a foundation for the rest of the supervision period. Forgoing adequate assessment would be like building a building on a faulty foundation. The building will ultimately collapse and fail to provide safety.

Commodifying Scarcity: Society, Struggle, And Spectacle In World Of Warcraft, Kevin Moberly

English Faculty Publications

Overrun by monsters and tyrants, and ravaged by fanaticism, excess, and greed, World of Warcraft offers players a chance to struggle metaphorically against that which oppresses them: the excesses of late capitalism as they are represented by the game’s spectacular antagonisms. In order to take advantage of this opportunity, however, players must employ the very thing through which their oppression is manifested. Interpellated into the game as fetishized images, players must construct themselves and function in accordance with the limitations imposed upon them by the race and class of their characters. Players, as such, are incorporated into World of Warcraft’s …

Removing The Checks And Balances That Hamper Democracy: Play And The Counter-Hegemonic Contradictions Of Grand Theft Auto Iv, Marc A. Ouellette

English Faculty Publications

Grand Theft Auto IV provides an unparalleled opportunity to consider the outcomes when textual play and game play not only intersect, but operate in concert. Indeed, the two are inextricably linked to each other and to the social commentary which contributes to the game's story, humor, and thematic unity. This article considers the modes of textual play in Grand Theft Auto IV, as well as the locations and situations when players encounter them while playing the game. It also explores the subversive of potential of textual play as it relies on and departs from game play, and attempts to …

Costs Of Defending Against Rising Sea Levels And Flooding In Mid-Atlantic Metropolitan Coastal Areas: The Basic Issues, James V. Koch

Economics Faculty Publications

Rising ocean levels have resulted in increasingly severe flooding in numerous metropolitan coastal areas. What would it cost to minimize or eliminate such damage? Relatively little economic work has been done to provide an answer, at least partially because some authorities believe attempts to deal with flooding ultimately are futile. Further, discussions of funding always involve massive welfare transfers from the non-flooded to the flooded. The cost of erecting a single mile of new sea wall exceeds $35 million in 2009 dollars and annual maintenance costs range between 5 and 10 percent.

Empire, Horses And Trade: An Examination Of Sixteenth Century Portuguese Efforts To Control Trade In Arab And Persian Horses Across The Arabian Sea, Chandra R. De Silva

History Faculty Publications

[First paragraph] Portuguese dominance over the trade in horses across the Arabian Sea from West Asia to the western littoral of India lasted approximately from the Portuguese capture of Goa in 1510 to their loss of Ormuz to the Persians in 1622. As will be evident from the subsequent discussion, Portuguese control was incomplete and its significance varied from area to area and also from time to time. Nevertheless, a study of their attempts to control this trade is useful for three major reasons.

The Role Of Probation And Parole Officers In The Collaborative Response To Sex Offenders, Brian K. Payne, Matthew Demichele

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

The article presents the curriculum for training community corrections professionals on how to deal with low-level/low-risk sex offenders, with emphasis on the role of various agencies in the collaborative response system. The role of probation and parole officers as the sex offender's external conscience is explained as well as the duties of law enforcement officers in responding to sex offenses. Jail staff may become involved by being court staff, prison staff and treatment staff.

Hong Kong’S New Creative Industries: The Example Of The Video Games Sector, F. Ted Tschang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Hong Kong has considerable creative and entrepreneurial resources, and the opportunity to build a vibrant set of creative industries, including in the new sectors such as video games, animation, and computer graphics. However, as it stands, some of these industries, especially that of the games industry, are fledgling in nature. Strong supporting institutions already exist, but it is essential to discover how industry can be better supported with existing and new resources — financial and otherwise. The opportunities are immense, but so is the competition. The new entertainment media sectors are growing at a faster pace than most economic sectors …

Trust Differences Across National-Societal Cultures: Much To Do, Or Much Ado About Nothing?, Don Ferrin, Nicole Gillespie

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Does trust and its development, functions and meaning, differ between people from different national–societal cultures? There is considerable anecdotal evidence and some theoretical argumentation to suggest it does, but are these supported by empirical research? This chapter reviews the available empirical evidence on the effects of national–societal culture on interpersonal trust. It focuses largely on quantitative empirical evidence to consider the extent to which, and the ways in which, interpersonal trust differs across national–societal cultures. In every category of our review we found evidence of cross-cultural differences, particularly on generalized trust, and also evidence of trust universals across cultures. In …

Participation In Positive Youth Development Programs And 4-H: Assessing The Impact On Self-Image In Young People, Karen Bloomquist

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to identify relationships between youth involvement in 4-H and self-image. The study also explored whether there were relations between self-image and development of the 5 C’s (confidence, competence, caring, connection and character) of Positive Youth Development. The study focused specifically on the differences in self-image between youth who participate in 4-H and youth who do not.

Participants included 180 youth from grades eight through twelve in the state of Nebraska. Demographic responses indicated that 47% of respondents were male and 53% were female. Approximately 72% of the respondents were not participants in a 4-H …

The Caring Teacher: A Multiple Case Study That Looks At What Teachers Do And Believe About Their Work With At-Risk Students, Sarah Whitney Thompson

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Caring teachers have been identified as a critical component of successful interventions with at-risk students, however just what constitutes a caring teacher is less well understood. Specifically, what are the behaviors, characteristics, and beliefs of caring teachers, and how are they impacted by the contexts within which they work? The purpose of this multiple case study was to understand more about caring teachers who work with at-risk students in secondary schools located in a Midwestern city and thereby to add complexity to the literature. Two middle school teachers and two high school teachers were recruited to participate. They were observed …

Discovering The Leadership Skills Of Alumni Who Participated In An Adult Agricultural Leadership Development Program: A Case Study, Terence A. Hejny

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative instrumental case study identified the leadership skills and concepts learned by participants of an adult agricultural leadership development program. Structured interviews were conducted with 15 men and women who were past participants of the Nebraska LEAD Program. Triangulation was used to verify the findings.

The interview transcripts were coded and analyzed for possible themes. Five themes emerged: (a) Personal Understanding of Leadership—definitions of leadership, skills of successful leaders, and thoughts on identifying leaders; (b) Leadership Lessons Learned—experiences in the Nebraska LEAD Program; (c) Leadership Encounters—experiences in leadership before and after their participation in the program, as well as …

An Experimental Study Of The Impact Of Psychological Capital On Performance, Engagement, And The Contagion Effect, Timothy Daniel Hodges

College of Business: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Psychological Capital, or PsyCap, is a core construct consisting of the positive psychological resources of efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience. Previous research has consistently linked PsyCap to workplace outcomes including employee attitudes, behaviors, and performance. Further research has explored the ways in which PsyCap can be developed through relatively brief workplace interventions. The present study focuses on PsyCap development and the relationship to employee engagement and performance. In an experimental design with random assignment of subjects to control group (n = 52 managers and 152 associates) and treatment group (n = 58 managers and 239 employees), a field sample of …

Reflecting On Experience For Leadership Development, Adrian Chan

College of Business: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study proposes that being reflective or ruminative about one's leadership experience can have differential effects on one's leadership efficacy, implicit leadership theories and psychological capital. Specifically, through the aid of an event history calendar, conscript military trainees of high and low military experience from a SE Asian military organization were randomly assigned to recall and reflect or ruminate on his past leadership experience. Results show that type of reflection interacts with level of military leadership experience to differentially affect one's leadership efficacy, implicit leadership theories and leadership self-awareness. Reflection triggers produced significantly higher levels of implicit leadership theories under …

Connection To Nature In Park Visitors: A Look At Structured And Unstructured Recreational Activities, Chelsea D. West

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

There is evidence that park visitation is on the decline (Pergams & Zaradic, 2008) and if this is the case, and budgets decrease proportionately, there is a chance park land will be lost. Definitive explanations of the decline in park visits and time spent in nature are not available. In addition, there has been some discussion and research pertaining to the possible effects on people of not going into the natural environment and experiencing a connection with nature.

This study represents the first research known to focus on connectedness to nature and its relationship to structured and unstructured recreational activities. …