Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Toward A Synthesis Of Conservation And Animal Welfare Science, David Fraser

Conservation Biology and Animal Welfare Collection

Conservation biology and animal welfare science are multidisciplinary fields of research that address social concerns about animals. Conservation biology focuses on wild animals, works at the level of populations, ecological systems and genetic types, and deals with threats to biodiversity and ecological integrity. Animal welfare science typically focuses on captive (often domestic) animals, works at the level of individuals and groups, and deals with threats to the animals’ health and quality of life. However, there are many areas of existing or potential overlap: (i) many real-life problems, such as environmental contamination, urban development and transportation, create problems for animals that …

Preaching, Prosperity, And Product Sales: A Profile Of On-Demand Digital Audio Offerings Of Christian Renewalist Ministries, Douglas J. Swanson

Journalism

In the United States alone, millions of listeners tune in to Internet-based audio-on-demand (commonly known as podcast programming). Religious programming is among the fastest-growing podcast areas. Since studies show that evangelicals are known to be quick to adopt new technology, this research involved a content analysis of 67 podcast episodes produced by five well-known renewalist evangelical ministries. The study found most podcasts were not original in content and were not consistently available for listeners to download. Also, the podcasts had poorer production values than would be expected from broadcast programming. A frame analysis identified ministries' justification of religious messages, listener …

A Means-End Analysis Of Special Olympics Volunteers, Breanne Long, Marni Goldenberg

Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration

Many non-profit recreation, parks and tourism organizations utilize volunteers. To attract and retain volunteers, these organizations must discover why volunteers donate time. This study used means-end theory to examine the attributes, consequences and values associated with volunteering for the San Luis Obispo (SLO) County Special Olympics as well as the volunteer demographics. Study participants included 55 volunteers who were asked demographic and open-ended questions during interviews at sporting and training events. Results showed most volunteers were parents of an athlete in the program and either had been involved in the program for less than a year and donated less than …

Potential Factors That Influence Team Identification: A Desire To Be Similar Or Different?, Courtney A. Clippert

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of the current study is to determine whether eliciting the need for assimilation or the need for differentiation influences individuals’ identification with a given team. Team identification is defined as a fan’s psychological connection to a team; that is, the extent to which the fan views the team as an extension of him or herself (Wann, Melnick, Russell, & Pease, 2001). It is important to understand potential factors that may motivate and potentially increase one’s identification with a particular team.

The sample consisted of 106 participants attending Western Kentucky University. The participants completed the Sport Fandom Questionnaire (SFQ) …

Resource Discoverability At The Crossroads, Cheryl D. Walters, Anne R. Diekama, Liz Woolcott

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

The Internet is changing how people find and use information. Users increasingly are discovering relevant resources outside traditional library systems and expect immediate access to resources at the point of discovery. These changes are challenging traditional thinking on how we should "catalog" and provide access to resources.

Panel discussion engaged the audience in a lively discussion of discoverability, trends in user information seeking behavior, the role of librarians in information seeking and finding, and implications for library system design.

Computer Energy Use: How Does Awareness Impact Behavior?, Kristina Disanto

Senior Honors Projects

As universities search for ways to cut costs in a tough economic climate, many are attempting to make their buildings more efficient in order to save energy and reduce expenditures. While implementing efficient technologies is an important first step to reducing consumption, encouraging energy conservation behavior is also a key component. A significant source of energy consumption that can be reduced with behavior change is computer usage.

Desktop computers consume an average of 60-500 watts when in active use, whereas in standby energy use drops to 2-6 watts. Translated into kilowatt hours, a computer using 60 watts for one hour …

Scientific Restraint: The Balance Between Progress And Safety, Richard Bell

Senior Honors Projects

Mankind’s collective scientific and technological knowledge has progressed, and is progressing, at such a rate that humanity is now well within its means to bring about widespread devastation by its own devices. The high stakes of many projects in diverse fields of study, including those in nuclear, genetic, and biotechnical sciences, necessitates an analysis of how to decide if risky experiments are worth pursuing. This is not a matter, so much, of what safeguards we put into place in dangerous experimental environments, but rather how to weigh potential loss versus potential gain. Even in the best laboratories, disaster can strike, …

St. Dominic Deaf Center, May-June 2010

Saint Dominic Deaf Center

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Houston, TX

Saint Dominic Deaf Center Finding Aid

“Pilot Implementation Of An Interdisciplinary Course On Climate Solutions”, Lawrence Quill, Jinny Rhee, Eugene Cordero

Faculty Publications

A pilot implementation of an experimental interdisciplinary course on climate solutions was undertaken at San Jose´ State University in the fall semester of 2008. The course, co-taught by seven faculty members from six colleges, was approved for a general education requirement and was open to upperclass students campus-wide. A course with such a breadth of topics and range of student backgrounds was the first of its kind here. The lessons learned from the pilot effort were assessed from student, faculty, and administrative perspectives. The educational benefits to students from the interdisciplinary format were found to be substantial, in addition to …

Ua51/1 Collections & Connections, Jennifer Wilson

Collections & Connections

This is a biannual publication of the Western Kentucky University Libraries featuring its special events, new collections and services, and achievements of its employees. It is distributed to WKU alumni, Friends of the WKU Libraries & Museum, and the public.

Signs Of Faith, May-June 2010

Signs of Faith

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Paterson, NJ

Signs of Faith Finding Aid

Prologue, Michiko Nohara-Leclair

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Audio Distractions On Typing Speed, Ashley Silverberg

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

The purpose of this study was to find whether or not background music/other audio served as a distraction or a valuable tool to get work done faster. The hypothesis stated that hearing upbeat music or background conversations while typing will result in participants typing slower because it will act as a distraction. Furthermore, hearing soothing music (or no music at all) while typing will make the participant type faster because he/she will be more comfortable with the environment. To pursue the hypothesis, the present study required a within-participant design in order to compare both the control and experimental variables within …

Relationship Between Time And Test Anxiety, Heather Damper, Caludette Reed

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

They hypothesis for this study was that if a clock was placed in the classroom then students will suffer from more test anxiety due to increased heart rates measured by their pulse. Due to the fact that there are no clocks in any of the classrooms that the researchers visited the researchers concluded that the outcome of this study would be beneficial to the Lindenwood University Campus and other campuses that do not have clocks in the classrooms. The participants that were a part of this study were all recruited through the Lindenwood Participant Pool. The participants varied in gender …

Classroom Environment: An Analysis Of Researcher Dress And Academic Achievement, Ryan Holley

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

The world of academics is continually redefining its standards for beneficial teaching techniques and adequate forms of classroom environments for promulgating maximum achievement from students. This research expands on previous ideas pertaining to the effects of classroom environment and student achievement by including teacher dress/appearance as a possible variable. The researcher hypothesized that individual success of participants taking achievement- oriented examinations can be influenced by the physical appearance of the researcher (dress). Participants perform better in an environment in which the researcher is formally dressed (shirt and tie), while participants perform worse in an environment in which the research is …

See It! Hear It! Learn It!!, Mansi Brat

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

The purpose of the following study was to determine if quick and accurate learning can be accomplished by combining visual and auditory modalities amongst a group of participants. By using different modalities, the researcher aimed to demonstrate that helpful and effective learning study strategies can be generated. Thus such techniques involved the use of more than one sensory channel to impart learning. It was noted that the strategies could be very effective when a student had to learn words or paragraphs containing difficult words. Finally, the researcher wanted to determine whether the participants who were exposed to more than one …

Relationship Between Student Involvement And Gpa, Jennifer Ellen Burdick, Paige Martin

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

Data were collected regarding student involvement and grade point average in a way that could be beneficial to the students of Lindenwood University. Many students, whether actively involved in a sport, work, and/or other extracurricular activities, spend their college career engaging in time management. These people may have to sacrifice some schoolwork in order to accomplish everything they desire. In understanding this, the researchers wanted to see if the activities had a relationship with grade point average. The hypothesis stated that students who are actively involved outside of the classroom have less free time. These students may spend less times …

What Fits The Crime: Does Factors Influence In A Person’S Judgment?, Amanda Vance

Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal

The purpose and rationale for this experiment is to distinguish if factors such as race, prior offences, type of crime, level of seriousness of the crimes plays a role in a person’s judgment based on the type and severity of punishment. For this study participants were to state the type of punishment that the criminal were to be given for committing a certain crime. There were two independent variables used for the study, the independent variables were the race of the criminal was changed and if the criminal had prior offenses or were a first time offender. The hypothesis was …

Curiosity, Demand Characteristics, And The Tip-Of-The-Tongue State, Chelsea Voskuilen

Psychology Honors Projects

The tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) state is generally described as the feeling that one knows a target word and recall of this word is imminent, although the word is currently unrecallable. Research suggests participants’ beliefs about their own knowledge affect the level and type of curiosity experienced while in a TOT state. This study examined the interaction between demand characteristics and specific types of curiosity experienced while in a TOT state. Demand characteristics were expected to affect the type of curiosity experienced, with participants in the high-demand group experiencing more negative forms of curiosity and the low-demand group experiencing more positive forms …

Nonlinear Politics Perceptions–Work Outcomes Relationships: A Three-Study, Five-Sample Investigation, Vickie C. Gallagher, Wayne A. Hochwarter, Gerald R. Ferris, Mary D. Laird

Business Faculty Publications

This research reports the findings of three studies (involving a total of five samples) developed to explore the nonlinear relationships of organizational politics perceptions with practically and theoretically relevant work outcomes. Study 1 hypothesized a nonlinear relationship between organizational politics perceptions and job satisfaction. In Sample 1 of this study, a nonlinear relationship was identified, best depicted as an inverted-U form, and Sample 2 replicated this finding. Study 2 hypothesized a U-shaped relationship between politics perceptions and job tension, which was identified in Sample 3 and corroborated in Sample 4. In a single-sample investigation (i.e., Sample 5), Study 3 extended …

Introduction: Peacebuilding, Reconciliation, And Transformation, Jessica Senehi, Stephen Ryan, Sean Byrne

Peace and Conflict Studies

This introductory article in the special issue on Peacebuilding, Reconciliation, and Transformation highlights some of the central themes within the emergent field of Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS). The article discusses how this transdisciplinary field contributes to our understanding of some of the key issues that confront the PACS field in terms of analysis, theory building, and praxis. The contributors to this special issue provide a broad array of perspectives that explores conflicts and its transformation from a multidimensional perspective.

The Effects Of Picture Presentation On Male Body Shame And Muscle Dysmorphia, Samantha A. Wilson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether picture presentation influenced men’s experienced body shame or Muscle Dysmorphia symptomatology, and whether there was a relationship between body shame and Muscle Dysmorphia. Participants were 112 men attending Western Kentucky University. Participants completed the Body Shame Questionnaire and Muscle Dysmorphia Inventory. Participants were randomly assigned to either view eight photographs of average men or eight photographs of muscular men. After viewing the photographs, the participants completed the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale and the Muscle Appearance Satisfaction Scale. Although there was a trend, results indicate that men who view photographs of muscular …

The Content Validation Of An Employment Selection Process For Vehicle Mechanics, Michael Heighway

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study is a significant portion of a content validation study conducted to evaluate new selection tools developed by an organization. In it I assessed the content validity of a structured interview through the following steps: conducting a literature review to establish best practices, reviewing the data gathering process, conducting data analyses, recommending item weights, evaluating the validity of the interview, suggesting standardized materials, creating a plan for training for interview use, and ensuring documentation is kept as required by law.

The data were collected internally by the organization and were provided for analyses. Analyses included one-way ANOVAs, and …

Labels For Anchors: The Good, The Bad, And The Endpoints, James Lee Hellrung Ii

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study was designed to determine if any differences in internal consistency existed between different designs of scale anchors. The three different designs explored were properly designed scales, improperly designed scales, and endpoint only scales. Two-Hundred and thirty-five participants rated the frequency of which they performed various computer activities on a survey using one of the three different designs. Contrary to expectations, internal consistency did not differ across the three designs.

Diagnostic Decision-Making: How Much Do Behavior Rating Scales Influence School Psychologists?, Lesley Ann Higgins

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Behavior rating scales are commonly used as part of the evaluation process throughout the field of psychology. Behavior rating scales help assess social, emotional, and/or behavioral problems in children, adolescents, and teens. Behavior rating scales indicate the severity of problem behaviors compared to a normative sample. Four scenarios were developed that varied scores on a behavior rating scale and the amount of other information that supported a specific diagnosis. A rating of the likelihood of a diagnosis was requested to see how much influence behavior rating scale scores have on diagnostic decision-making. Each of the four scenarios was sent to …

An Evaluation Of The Convergent Validity Of Multi-Source Feedback With Situational Assessment Of Leadership - Student Assessment (Salsa©), Heather Stroupe

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study assessed the convergent validity of the Situational Assessment of Leadership – Student Assessment (SALSA©), a situational judgment test (SJT), with multi-source ratings. The SALSA© was administered to ROTC cadets via Blackboard; multi-source ratings, which paralleled the leadership dimensions of the SALSA©, were administered via paper. Each cadet completed the SALSA© and was rated by 10 peers, his/herself, and at least one cadre (superior). SALSA© scores were not correlated with any of the corresponding dimensions on multi-source ratings, with one exception. Cadre ratings of Consideration/Team Skills were positively correlated with SALSA© scores on the same dimension. This finding …

Portrayals Of Power: A Content Analysis Of Gender Dominance In Magazine Advertisements, John Nicholas Holladay

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Advertisers use sexual imagery to attract attention to their messages and to demonstrate the "outcomes" of buying and using the brand. In addition to receiving information about a product, we subconsciously process the entire advertisement. Vicarious learning emphasizes that individuals not only learn from their own experiences but also from observing others. However, vicarious learning also influences the judgment and values of an individual. This study focuses on the portrayal of gender dominance in such advertisements. The magazines chosen for the study are three predominantly female magazines and three predominantly male magazines. Six issues from each magazine were sampled and …

A Content Validity Study Of The Water Training Institute Curriculum, Alicia Turner

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Content validity methods, such as matching matrices, have been used to assist in the design and evaluation of training programs. In the present study, the Water Training Institute (WTI) curriculum was evaluated using a content validation approach. The purpose of the study was to identify topics that were being under-emphasized, over-emphasized, or receiving the correct amount of emphasis in the curriculum. A Job Knowledge Survey was developed and administered to subject matter experts to determine the importance of topics to the jobs that WTI graduates would most likely enter after graduation; the importance ratings were used as the criterion for …

Benevolent Vs. Hostile Sexism Impact On Work Performance For Women In Turkey, Crystal M. Bonneau-Kaya

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

All studies to date that have assessed the direct impact of benevolent vs. hostile sexism on performance outcomes have done so in the context of a Western society. Because of this void in the literature, it remained unknown how living in a low egalitarian and/or non-Western society may impact women's experiences of sexism. The purpose of this study is to address this gap in the literature. This study investigates the impact of benevolent vs. hostile sexism on women in four Turkish textile factories. 210 Turkish female textile factory workers were randomly assigned to the benevolent sexism, hostile sexism, or control …

An Evaluation Of The Impact Of A Thesis Colloquium On Self-Regulated Motivation Toward Thesis Completion, Frank Nicholas Reding

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

What motivates one to write a thesis? This study assessed whether presenting one’s master’s thesis proposal at a thesis colloquium increased the probability of Industrial/Organizational I/O) Psychology graduate students completing their thesis on time (i.e., finishing their thesis as they finished their graduate coursework). This study also examined the relationship between presenting one’s thesis proposal at a thesis colloquium and different forms of motivated regulation and three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness).

Participants included 94 master’s level I/O Psychology alumni from four universities. As expected, students who presented at a thesis colloquium had a higher rate of on-time …