Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Continuing Studies In Rio Grande Valley History, Milo Kearney, Anthony K. Knopp, Antonio Zavaleta

Studies in Rio Grande Valley Regional History Series

Coming to the Valley, a poem / Vivian Kearney -- The ghosts of historic Palmito Hill Ranch / Antonio N. Zavaleta -- Against the odds : Dr. Juliet V. García, border educator / Manuel F. Medrano -- Lucile Champion's Brownsville : remembrances of another time / Frank Champion Murphy -- The restored courthouse and Judge Oscar Dancy / Anthony Knopp -- Francesco Voltaggio and the Port Isabel shrimp industry / Virginia Voltaggio Wood -- Mario Barrera : a border success story / Milo Kearney -- Selected figures from the Sierra/Valerio family history / Luciano Valerio Sierra and Amy Sierra Frazier …

Cross-Sectional Analysis Of The Association Between Age And Corpus Callosum Size In Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), William D. Hopkins, Kimberley A. Phillips

Psychology Faculty Research

The CC is the major white matter tract connecting the cerebral hemispheres and provides for interhemispheric integration of sensory, motor and higher‐order cognitive information. The midsagittal area of the CC has been frequently used as a marker of brain development in humans. We report the first investigation into the development of the corpus callosum and its regional subdivisions in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Magnetic resonance images were collected from 104 chimpanzees (female n = 63, male n = 41) ranging in age from 6 years (pre‐pubescent period) to 54 years (old age). Sustained linear growth was observed in the …

A Beer Party And Watermelon: The Archaeology Of Community And Resistance At Ccc Camp Zigzag, Company 928, Zigzag, Oregon, 1933-1942, Janna Beth Tuck

Dissertations and Theses

In March 1933, the administration of United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated a national relief program aimed at alleviating the disastrous effects ofthe Great Depression. The Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) began as one of these programs designed to employ young men from all over the country and put them "back to work". The CCC provided these young men with training, a monthly stipend, and basic supplies such as food, clothing, and accommodations. After 1942, CCC camps were closed and many of these sites were abandoned or destroyed, leaving little historical documentation as to the experiences ofthe people involved. This …

Evaluating The Deterrent Effect Of Capital Punishment On Crime, Permiterio Leocadio

Dissertations and Theses

Many researchers, academics or philosophers see capital punishment as a deterrent to crime. Several states in the United States apply the death penalty to try to reduce crime. Other states do not agree with the application of this repressive law arguing that a crime should not be solved with another crime. From a theoretical view, the principal point of analysis about capital punishment in this present work is to state that capital punishment can reduce crime. Here also it will be examined some of the collateral consequences of the application of capital punishment, and its implications for the Criminal Justice …

2010 Piscataqua Region Comprehensive Conservation And Management Plan (Ccmp), Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership

PREP Reports & Publications

In the fall of 2010, the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP) completed an 18-month effort to understand current and future environmental issues affecting the Region’s estuaries, to establish realistic goals and objectives for the next 10 years, and to create effective action plans to systematically achieve the shared environmental goals of a broad base of Regional stakeholders.

With input from more than 150 individuals, representing 82 organizations, PREP compiled the 2010 Piscataqua Region Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) that lays the foundation for work over the next decade to protect and restore the Region’s estuaries and associated watersheds

Motivation Behind Volunteerism, Emmeline Widjaja

CMC Senior Theses

Volunteer service accounts for a substantial percentage of America’s workforce and GDP. Numerous organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and the American Red Cross have come to rely heavily on volunteer service. Due to the recent economic downturn and resulting budgetary cuts in the government sector, non-profit organizations have had to assume greater responsibility for providing services such as health care and education. Considering the importance of volunteer service to society, this literature review seeks to identify the key functional motives for volunteers. With a particular focus on the functional motivation theory and the six most prominent motives – values, …

Adolescent Sexual Behavior And Sexual Education In The United States, Therese B. Orbea

CMC Senior Theses

This review of sexual education in the United States broadly defines the two most common approaches in sexual education seen in this country today. I cover the status of certain sexual behaviors and risks amongst the teenage population in the U.S. and specifically cover reported sexual activity in high school students and overall data on teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This work specifically looks at Maine, California, Texas, Maryland, North Carolina, and New Mexico to highlight the variety of state policies concerning sexual education and the differences in teenage sexual behaviors that exist within each of those six …

Pricing Bond Yields In The European Bond Market, David Cook

CMC Senior Theses

This paper analyzes macroeconomic factors and their effect on 2-year government bonds of 11 countries in the European Monetary Union. I specifically looked at how a simultaneous budget and trade surplus effect a country's bond yield spread relative to Germany's bond yield. My model showed that double surplus countries have a larger yield spread than countries that do not have a double surplus.

The Theories Of Deindividuation, Brian Li

CMC Senior Theses

Has it ever occurred to you to wonder why a soldier would sacrifice his life by jumping on a bomb to save the rest of his brigade? Or why an individual in a gang might display respectable behavior when alone but swear and vandalize when in the group? The phenomenon of people getting pulled into crowds and adopting the group’s mentalities and behaviors has been recognized but not fully researched. However, it has been recorded in early literature and research that it is human nature to want to fit into a group, for example in Abraham Maslow’s (1943) paper, A …

Moving Away From Regulation And Legislation: Solving The Network Neutrality Debate During Obama’S Presidency, Cara J. Daley

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the Net neutrality, or argument that the Internet should remain and open and equal platform, debate in the United States up to November 2010. After critically examining the past regulatory and legislative efforts, the feasibility of alternate solutions invested in protecting citizens' interests is examined.

Adhd: Culture, Treatment Strategies And Their Relevance To Preschool Children, Nelson M. Bean

CMC Senior Theses

In recent decades a growing number of individuals in preschool, middle childhood and adolescence have been diagnosed with ADHD. Accompanying increasing rates of diagnoses is an increase in the use of stimulant medication in preschool populations, a practice not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. This paper reviews the current literature pertaining the social and developmental consequences of ADHD, its effect on the child and family, treatment strategies with and without the use of stimulants, and cultural and diagnostic trends which may be contributing to the rising number of diagnoses. A review of the literature suggests that there is …

The Principles Of Persuasion In Executive Leadership, Sonia Y. Bao

CMC Senior Theses

Persuasion is becoming increasingly prevalent and important for executives in the business world, especially in light of the current economic situation and the shifting dynamic in organizational management. As a result, it is worth examining the scientific process behind persuasion and how applying these findings will produce more effective executive leaders. This paper will dive into the realm of persuasion in the work place by first drawing upon the history between persuasion and rhetoric, how these historical thought processes have influenced the persuasion we know and understand today, as well as examine how certain techniques can make persuasion most effective, …

Ethics And Leadership: How Personal Ethics Produce Effective Leaders, Jessica Waggoner

CMC Senior Theses

With over 200 definitions of leadership, the question has evolved from ‘what is leadership?’ to ‘what is good leadership?” This paper analyzes the importance of personal ethics in leadership and how ethics produce effective leaders. The importance of understanding ethics, motivation to act as a role model and developing a plan of action for an organization are discussed because of their importance regarding development of good leadership. These key aspects suggest personal ethics positively affect leadership and when made a priority for leaders will produce ethical and effective leadership.

The Untold Story Behind California's Scapegoat: An Analysis Of Proposition 13, Corinne Williams

CMC Senior Theses

The California experience previous to the passage of Proposition 13 taught the citizens of California that even with representation, the freedoms of individuals could be threatened. This lesson is especially true when we see the assessment scandals, a rapidly increasing real estate market and the failure of California’s representative officials to respond to the threat to individual liberty. In addition to watching corrupt tax assessors take advantage of the system, individuals were tired of paying inflated property taxes that were changing drastically from year to year. People’s homes were literally being taken from them by the power of the tax …

Some Professionals Play Minimax: A Reexamination Of The Minimax Theory In Major League Baseball, Jeffrey Park

CMC Senior Theses

This paper explores the behavior of Major League Baseball pitchers. We analyze the pitching data from 2007-2010 in order to determine whether their actions follow minimax play. We also examine what the OPS statistic tells us about a pitcher's value.

Conflict Of Interest?: Executive-Auditor Relationship And The Likelihood Of A Sec-Prompted Restatement, Henry Lyford

CMC Senior Theses

This study examines the relationship between executives and their independent auditor to see if there is a conflict of interest in their interaction. This study was motivated by the meltdowns, partially caused by fraudulent accounting, of many public companies in the late 1990s and early 2000s and the consequent passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This study examines the variables of audit fees, fees for other services, and auditor tenure to see if they are connected with the occurrence of an SEC-prompted restatement. The results show no significant correlation between amount of fees and the likelihood of an SEC-prompted restatement but …

Explaining The Continuities And Changes In United States Policy In Relation To Taiwan For The Past Three Presidents, Alexander G. Chanock

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis attempts to explain the continuities and changes in United States policy in relation to the Taiwan-China conflict. The paper examines this in the context of the presidential administrations of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. This explanation is done by applying the three level-analysis approach of international relations to the policies of each president. The paper examines how individual-level, state-level, and systemic variances between the presidents affect the changes in policy towards Taiwan and China. After looking at all the different factors, the state-level factors mostly influence the continuities in policy while the individual and systemic …

The Effects On A State When They Lose Their Senior Senator, Adam J. Morris

CMC Senior Theses

The Primary purpose of this paper is to examine the role and importance of Senior Senators in the US Senate. Many states rely on Senators to bring in federal spending in the form of pork. When states lose their Senior Senator and the power they accumulated through increased tenure, they risk losing certain benefits in terms of pork. We use federal expenditures per dollar of tax and analyze how it is affected by Seniority in the Senate. Population, Income, and unemployment rates in each state were controlled for in our regression analysis. It is concluded that increased tenure significantly increases …

Moving To The Beat Of Djembe Drums: African Dance And Reported Feelings Of Depression, Jacquilyn D. Anderson

CMC Senior Theses

Depression is a disabling mental disorder that has huge impacts on one’s life and is therefore considered a global health concern. Efforts to find the most effective treatments have led to the development of antidepressants and cognitive therapy treatments. However, exercise as a form of treatment for depression has been growing in popularity. Recently, Dance Movement Therapy has gained exposure as a possible form of exercise treatment. Therefore, in the current study, West African dance was studied in order to determine its effects on depression. It was hypothesized that West African dance would target and alleviate symptoms of depression as …

How Are Inflation Expectations Formed By Consumers, Economists And The Financial Market?, Shaun Khubchandani

CMC Senior Theses

Inflation expectations have been of great interest to economists because they predict how agents in an economy set prices and react to changes in various macroeconomic variables. The existence of Keynesian liquidity traps in Japan and the United States have helped emphasize the importance of inflation expectations, especially when monetary policy is rendered ineffective and there is almost perfect substitutability between money and bonds due to the zero bound condition of interest rates. Given the canonical theories of rational and adaptive expectations, this paper will use a simple model of the economy to measure the effect of various macroeconomic variables …

El Sistema De Pensiones Español: ¿Puede La Inmigración Prevenir Una Crisis Futura?, Gregory J. Sanford

CMC Senior Theses

El envejecimiento de la población, una baja tasa de natalidad y la inminente jubilación de la generación “baby-boom” han aumentado preocupación para la estabilidad del sistema de pensiones en España. Según muchos estudios, el sistema de pensiones va a sufrir un déficit en el año 2030. Esta tesis investiga si la inmigración puede ayudar a evitar una futura crisis de pensiones y ofrece otras soluciones que en combinación con la inmigración pueden asegurar la estabilidad del sistema de pensiones en el largo plazo.

Population aging, a low birthrate, and the impending retirement of the Baby Boom generation has increased concern …

The Reality Of Child Sexual Abuse: A Critique Of The Arguments Used By Adult-Child Sex Advoates, Kacey Klein

CMC Senior Theses

In the United States, there are advocacy groups that support sexual relationships between adults and children. These groups use justifications that make pedophile behaviors seem normal and appropriate. This thesis describes the physical, emotional, and psychological harms that result from child sexual abuse. The reader will understand how prominent child sexual abuse is and how it takes a lot of effort for abusers to take advantage of children. There are many psychological resources available to children and their families, but it does not make sexual abuse okay for society to ignore. The justifications used by pedophile advocates are irrational and …

Selling Its Future Short: Armenia's Economic And Security Relations With Russia, Ian J. Mcginnity

CMC Senior Theses

It is necessary and desirable for Armenia to retain close relations with Russia in both the short and long term. However, recent concessions to Russia for good relations in the short term may have potentially harmful repercussions for Armenia in the future. These concessions have in part resulted in the Russian dominance in the economic sector, over-dependence on Russia for Armenia’s energy needs, and the perpetuation of Armenian submissiveness to Russian interests. Armenia should, therefore, maintain good relations with Russia while simultaneously securing long-term paths that focus on actual strategic partnership and not dependence. In short, Armenia should return to …

An Economic Impact Study Of The "Boom" Period Of Baseball Stadium Redevelopment, Emily Mcnab

CMC Senior Theses

The intention of this study is to analyze the economic impact of redeveloped Major League Baseball stadiums opened between 1991 and 2004. Using two empirical models, including an event study, this impact analysis captures the economic conditions of the cities during the opening year of the stadium, as well as the prior conditions leading up to the opening of the stadium, along with any lingering effects or gradual changes in conditions. The impact was measured in relation to the Metropolitan Statistical Areas corresponding to the 18 ballparks included, specifically looking at the impact on employment rates and per capita personal …

Inequities Of Contemporary French Women, Olivia Kuhlman

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis is an analysis of the current situation of women in contemporary France. It analyzes the current situation of French women in education, the work force, politics, and French society, with the intent of uncovering the gender inequalities French women encounter in contemporary France.

A False Sense Of Security: The Social Security Debate, Chris Shipman-Sercu

CMC Senior Theses

My motivation to write this thesis is based on the controversy surrounding the Social Security system that has recently infiltrated the media. Through my research, I have discovered the debate concerning Social Security is not a recent development but has existed since the 1930’s. Many sources are warning citizens to no longer count on Social Security as they most likely will not receive benefits until a extremely old age if they receive benefits at all. Current retirees are fearful of either a decrease in benefits or not receiving the money they contributed to the system through the years of employment …

The Development And Long-Term Influences Of Attachments As Seen Through Attachment Theory: The Influence Of Attachment On Homosexual Males, Christian Alvarez

CMC Senior Theses

This paper seeks to explore the development of attachments in humans as seen through Bowlby's (1980) attachment theory. Components of the theory which focus on how attachments are formed and how they influence future behavior are explored. These are used to then examine how attachment theory applies to the attachment patterns seen in homosexual males.

Latino Teens At Risk: The Effectiveness Of Dating Violence Prevention Programs, Ruth N. Calvillo

CMC Senior Theses

Teen dating violence is a serious problem that does not receive the attention it should. This paper examines the factors that contribute to teen dating violence and more specifically the factors that contribute to dating violence among Latino youth. After determining the factors that contribute to this problem, prevention programs are examined to assess how well they address those issues. Currently, multiple dating violence prevention programs are used across the country; however, most of them do not address the needs of Latino youth. Suggestions on how to make these programs more appropriate for Latinos are provided.

The Consequences Of Increasing Ocean Acidification On Local And Global Fishing Industries, Alyson N. Stark

CMC Senior Theses

As human activities continue to generate accelerating levels of carbon dioxide emissions, the world’s oceanic resources are threatened by variability in seawater chemistry, known as ocean acidification. Recent increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide have resulted in decreased carbonate ion concentrations and ocean pH levels, leading to increasingly acidic waters. The exact consequences of these chemical changes on ecosystems and individual species are difficult to predict; however, research has shown that economically valuable calcifying species will experience reduced reproductive fitness and population declines. Ocean acidification, therefore, poses an immediate risk to both fish stocks and fishery industries. From a local perspective, …

The Role Of The Socio-Cultural And Developmental Context On Special Education, Amanda Lam

CMC Senior Theses

Existing research on inclusive education deals primarily with the effectiveness of inclusion programs and the theoretical frameworks behind their limitation. However, no extensive research has been conducted that explores the role of the socio-cultural context and the development level in determining the best way in which the educational needs of children with special needs can be met. Recognizing that the effectiveness of different special education services may depend on the socio-cultural context as well as the development level, this literature review seeks to identify the ideal method of treating children with disabilities in developed and developing countries. By assessing the …