Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Impact Of Adherence To Traditional Masculine Gender Role Norms On Anger And Depression, Matthew Charles Genuchi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Large scale studies of the incidence and prevalence of psychological disorders have consistently shown that women meet full DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder at twice the rate of men (Kessler et al., 1994; Kessler et al., 2003; NCS-R, 2007; Robins & Reiger, 1991). Some have proposed (Cochran & Rabinowitz, 2000; Kilmartin, 2005; Pollack, 1998) that the current DSM-IV diagnostic criteria do not adequately reflect the depressive symptoms of some men. Men tend to use more externalizing defenses and distracting coping styles to manage negative affect, and anger is hypothesized as an externalizing symptom of a masculine variation of major …

Impact Of Globalization On Central Appalachian Women: Social Capital And Social Support Networks, Jennifer Lanham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social networks and capital often sustain community and individual survival. This phenomenological study was designed to illuminate the experience of job loss within the context of globalization, describing the phenomenon from the perspective of rural women and its meaning for those participants. Using a phenomenological approach, this qualitative study explored eight rural women in Appalachian Kentucky who had experienced apparel factory layoffs as a result of global outsourcing. A modified form of van Kaam's method (Moustakas, 1994) was used for phenomenological analysis of the data. Data were analyzed using an eight-step technique to identify essential characteristics of rural women's lived …

Phonological Memory And Broader Language Development: Longitudinal And Etiologic Relations, Robin Leonhardt Peterson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current research investigated the relationship of phonological memory (PM) to vocabulary and syntax learning in school-age children with and without language disorders. Previous research has established that PM and broad oral language skills covary, but disagreement remains about the reason for this association. Opposing theoretical viewpoints emphasize the importance of either bottom-up (PM influences vocabulary and syntax acquisition) or top-down (vocabulary growth influences PM skill) factors. In three longitudinal studies, we tested competing bottom-up and top-down explanations of the PM-broad language link. Study 1 utilized a structural equation modeling approach to understand PM and broad language relations from age …

Climate Change And Indigenous Peoples In Latin America, Amy C. Rademacher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research focused on the detrimental effects of climate change on indigenous peoples in Latin America. Indigenous peoples throughout the region tend to live subsistence livelihoods, which tie them closely to their land and the surrounding environment. This close relationship often means that indigenous peoples acutely experience the effects of climate change and are more susceptible to its negative outcomes than other populations. Further, indigenous peoples in the region lack the mitigation and adaptation capacities to deal with damaging climatic effects.

This research was designed to view the impacts of climate change on indigenous peoples through a human rights framework, …

Avoiding Tough Policy Choices In An Influenza Pandemic: The Role Of Kettl's Rocket Science Model In Public Health, Danny Lambert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The security and social inequality approaches to public health present distinct answers to policy objectives relative to a pandemic. However, each approach leaves us with tough choices between the most valued objectives. I demonstrate how the networked approach, which Kettl's Rocket Science Model (RSM) exemplifies, does not leave us with such choices. Furthermore, I connect the epidemiological concepts public health practitioners apply toward communicable disease pandemics to RSM concepts. Finally, drawing on the disease parameters of a worst-case scenario influenza pandemic, I demonstrate how the networked approach helps public health practitioners expand capacity such that tough choices are unnecessary.

A Study Of The Effect Of Social Capital On The Recovery Of Persons With Mental Illness In Taiwan, Su-Fen Liu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The main purpose of this study is to explore the association between social capital and recovery from mental illness in community-based rehabilitation services within the Taiwanese social and cultural context. This study employed a cross-sectional survey design using a convenience sample of 310 mental health consumers who were members in community mental health agencies (the rehabilitation centers or the half-way houses) in Taiwan and 26 practitioners who were familiar with these participated consumers. A series of hierarchical multiple-regression models were used to identify whether access to social capital has an independent effect on the perceptions of recovery. As expected, access …

Effects Of Patient Trauma On Hospital Staff Functioning: An Exploratory Study Of Psychological Distress Resulting From Trauma Exposure, Randy Allen Braley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study attempted to determine the relationship between exposure to traumatic experiences of hospitalized children and adolescents and the development of secondary traumatic stress, also known as compassion fatigue, vicarious traumatization, or burnout in clinical staff working with such patients. Hierarchical regression was used to test the hypotheses that: clinical treatment staff will experience higher levels of psychological distress following exposure to patient trauma and previous lifetime trauma events; clinical treatment staff will experience quality of patient relationships associated with the degree of exposure to patient trauma, previous lifetime or work-related trauma history, and level of supervisor support; clinical …

A Phenomenological Study Of Racialized Experiences Of Asian Adopt Adoptees, Cindi Kim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the nature and meaning of racial and ethnic identity as described by adult Asian adoptees who were transracially and internationally adopted. Particular focus of the study examined the racialization experiences and the relationships between racial and ethnic identity and socialization, and identified key influences on self-perception. The intent of this study was to gain insight into how this particular social group negotiated racial issues during different stages of development, while maintaining a sense of self. This study's approach took a narrative form, as participants described the essence of their experience contributing to their racial and ethnic identity …

A Grounded Theoretical Approach To Embodiment Among Homeless Youth, Felicia Washington Sy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using grounded theory methodology, this research explored, described and theorized about the ways youth, specifically homeless youth; make sense of their bodies within the context of living environments. It describes the relationship between body, space, and context for homeless youth in order to inform treatment options for this population. The importance of context, setting, and participant frame of reference was stressed, because embodiment is contextually and culturally influenced. The research addressed the questions: What is the process of becoming consciously embodied for homeless youth who have experienced multiple traumas? Do homeless youth who have experienced multiple traumas perceive a role …

The Role Of The Epistemic Community In Influencing Privacy Legislation: The United States And The European Union, George Edward Richie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Threats to individual privacy from computer information, database, and surveillance technologies of the mid-20th century prompted the formation of a privacy epistemic community that informed and influenced privacy policy and legislation in the United States and the European Union. Because the United States was more advanced in computer technology than the European nations, awareness of privacy issues, and the privacy epistemic community, emerged first in the United States---and migrated to Europe a generation later. The United States legislated the Privacy Act of 1974, which became the benchmark for individual privacy protection in the United States. While several European nations passed …

Terrorism Conflict: How The United States Responds To Al Qaeda Violence And Expressed Grievances, Richard Craig Rosthauser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes how the United States responds to Al Qaeda's messages and expressions of grievances and how America's responses escalate the conflict between the United States and Al Qaeda.

After its first two attacks against America, Al Qaeda devised a strategy to draw America into a guerrilla war in Afghanistan, stating its intentions in its "Declaration of War" in 1996. Before this declaration, Al Qaeda worked from the shadows and denied reports it was either funding terrorism or participating in terrorism. Bin Laden continued his denials but took responsibility for some terrorist acts in his messages. President Clinton did …

Deconstructing Collective Identities And Violence: Analytical Perspectives From Indonesia, Brandon Scott Sternquist

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study is to establish a more applied, analytical approach to analyses of collective identity and violence while providing insights into the dynamics of the regions of Indonesia considered. By focusing on two regions of Indonesia - Aceh and Kalimantan - which are populated by distinct peoples and have experienced violence in contemporary times, this study contributes to the expanding literature on the social dynamics of identity and violence. To ensure a more practical approach within the study, concepts and frameworks which have contributed to discussions of the nature of identity and acts of violence are utilized. …

Authenticating Người Mỹ Gốc Việt: Vietnamese Americans And The Struggle For Identity, Jennifer Huynh Thi Anh Morrison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a critical investigation of the politics of identity among the U.S. diasporic Vietnamese community, in particular, the discourse of authenticity that has been prevalent in the community and its (in)adequacy as a means of displacing racialization and othering as a minoritized community. Using a critical phenomenological approach, the study consisted of interviews with 14 Vietnamese subjects currently living in the U.S. whose family heritage(s) are traceable, in part or in whole, to Vietnam and/or who are racially marked as bearers of Vietnamese culture. A thematic analysis of the interviewees' personal stories uncovered three ideological challenges to authenticating …

Dancing Power: Examining Identity Through Native American Powwow, Kresta-Leigh Opperman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study considers how inter-tribal Indian identity formed though historic circumstances and how it is negotiated and maintained by contemporary Native Americans. Specifically, it considers identity formation and negotiation through the inter-tribal dance event, powwow. Further, it considers how and if men and women participate in this identity formation and negotiation differently. Finally, it considers how this identity is useful for urban Indian populations living outside of tribal lands and who, in some cases, have little involvement in more traditional, or tribal, settings.

Library Anxiety Of Law Students: A Study Utilizing The Multidimensional Library Anxiety Scale, Stacey L. Bowers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether law students experienced library anxiety and, if so, which components contributed to that anxiety. The Multidimensional Library Anxiety Scale (MLAS) developed by Dr. Doris Van Kampen was used to assess library anxiety levels of law students. The MLAS is a 53 question Likert scale instrument that measures the construct of library anxiety. Participants in the study were law students enrolled in a private Midwestern university during the 2009-2010 academic year who completed the survey instrument.

Law students are a unique graduate school population who undergo an extremely rigorous and competitive …

Constructing A Neuroscientific Pastoral Theology Of Fear And Hope, Jason C. Whitehead

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Contemporary therapeutic circles utilize the concept of anxiety to describe a variety of disorders. Emotional reductionism is a detriment to the therapeutic community and the persons seeking its help. This dissertation proposes that attention to the emotion of fear clarifies our categorization of particular disorders and challenges emotional reductionism. I propose that the emotion of fear, through its theological relationship to hope, is useful in therapeutic practice for persons who experience trauma and PTSD.

I explore the differences between fear and anxiety by deconstructing anxiety. Through this process, I develop four categories which help the emotion of fear stand independent …

Fostering Global Security: Nonviolent Resistance And Us Foreign Policy, Amentahru Wahlrab

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation comprehensively evaluates, for the first time, nonviolence and its relationship to International Relations (IR) theory and US foreign policy along the categories of principled, strategic, and regulative nonviolence. The current debate within nonviolence studies is between principled and strategic nonviolence as relevant categories for theorizing nonviolent resistance. Principled nonviolence, while retaining the primacy of ethics, is often not practical. Indeed, most nonviolent movements have not been principled, or solely principled. Strategic nonviolence is attractive because it does not require any individual or group to believe in a particular faith or ethical tradition. However, strategic nonviolence is problematic as …

Male-To-Female Transsexual Individuals' Experience Of Clinical Relationships: A Phenomological Study, Karen M. Scarpella

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study was designed to gain insight into male-to-female transsexual clients' experience of clinical relationships. Transsexual clients who enter into a clinical relationship have an experience that is unique due to their transsexual status in society. Their circumstances warrant attention in research due to the following factors: 1) the nature of being transsexual 2) the gate-keeping requirements necessary for transition 3) their experience in society as a vulnerable and oppressed population, and, 4) the importance of understanding the transsexual individuals' experience of clinical relationships from the perspective of transsexual clients themselves. Twelve transsexual women were interviewed using semi-structured format …

Modern Slavery: A Regional Focus, Amanda Gould

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Kevin Bales, through his study in Understanding Global Slavery: A Reader, provides an important quantitative analysis on the predictive factors of modern slavery. Upon examining his study though, several issues arise including too few observations for several of the variables and the lack of a regional variable. The author decided to rerun his study with replacements for the problematic variables used previously. Upon obtaining the results from this, the author examined development theory (development is believed to be closely liked to slavery), and began creating an alternative model, which eventually included the addition of a regional variable. This model differed …

Navigating Through U.S.-China Policy: An Investigation Of China National Off-Shore Oil Corporation's Proposed Acquisition Of Unocal Corporation And How Domestic Politics Plays A Role In Balancing U.S. Trade Policy With National Security Policy, Vicki Lynn Spencer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation, Ltd. ( CNOOC) attempted to buy American-owned Unocal Corporation, it unleashed a "perfect storm" in Washington. Members of Congress immediately called upon President Bush to invoke his Exon-Florio authority to prevent the transaction. After the president claimed action would be premature, Congress quickly coalesced to block the deal. The Chinese expressed surprise at the political backlash and ultimately CNOOC was forced to withdraw its bid.

The purpose of this study is to explain the fervor that arose over CNOOC's proposed acquisition of Unocal. The study builds upon the theoretical approach of new institutionalism which …

Item Order Effects On Attitude Measures, Pei-Hua Chen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the effects of altered item order on attitude measures for both computerized adaptive and conventional survey formats. Based on items modified from a dissertation/thesis completion survey (Green & Kluever, 1997) with three scales, three survey versions were generated with items ordered by difficulty as hard-to-easy (H-E), easy-to-hard (E-H), and five medium trait level items presented first followed by randomly ordered items (M-R) for conventional survey format. Significant differences in item difficulty and item discrimination were found for two of the three scales. Differences in scale reliability were detected for the procrastination and …

Parents As Change Agents In Their Schools And Communities: The Founding Of Families For Early Autism Treatment (Feat), Bethany Kristin Mickahail

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative research highlights how parent driven "communities of support" create lasting change in schools and communities, through the unique blend of the two methodologies, oral history and educational criticism and connoisseurship.

In recent years, schools and communities are unusually impacted by an escalating wave in the diagnosis and treatment of persons with Autism. In 2010, the Center for Disease Control's Report stated 1 in 110 U.S. children are diagnosed with Autism. Yet long before this official report, parents and professionals affected by Autism and other disabilities were busy during the last half of the 20th century, seeking out ways …

Book Review: The Coolie Speaks: Chinese Indentured Laborers And African Slaves In Cuba, Donna Chollett

Anthropology Publications

Lisa Yun's book The Coolie Speaks: Chinese Indentured Laborers and African Slaves in Cuba is an extraordinary exemplar of scholarship that examines the under-investigated and often misunderstood phenomenon of Chinese coolie servitude in Cuba. The book interrogates liberal philosophies and modernist epistemologies, and offers new theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches that shatter long-held notions of the labor "contract." Yun's analysis explores a unique body of 2,841 testimonies and petitions by Chinese coolies compiled in the 1876 Report of the Commission Sent by China to Ascertain the Condition of Chinese Coolies in Cuba.

Images Of Sub-Saharan Africa And Africans In Western Media, Cherice Joyann Estes

Theses Digitization Project

This study will show that news coverage of Africa is very limited and not proportional to either the continent's population or the number of African countries. Popular culture tends to portray Africa and Africans as primitive and uncivilized. This thesis will show how these representations have severe political consequences in a case study of the Rwandan Genocide. The Western media's portrayal of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide was mischaracterized by the use of old colonial tropes that facilitated western countries' failure to act.

The Impact Of Body Dissatisfaction On Depression And Sexual Attitudes Among College Age Women, Alesha Ianthe Marshall, Liliana Enriquetta. Llamas

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of the study was to assess the correlations between a young female's body image, the corresponding levels of depression, and the impact on her feelings about the experiences of intimate relationships. This research study examined the link between body image dissatisfaction, depression, and sexual attitudes among college women. This study hypothesized that various factors such as age, religion, and ethnicity may affect body image dissatisfaction. College women are a vulnerable population. This study utilized quantitative research methods through surveys that were administered to 120 college women between 18 and 30, with 83 women actually responding.

Children Affected By Mental Illness And Parental Involvement, Lisa Louise Pirtle

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to determine if parents are involved in services provided for children with mental illnesses or Severely Emotionally Disturbed (SED). Mental health issues are becoming more and more prevalent in youth and adolescents. The study was conducted at Bilingual Family Counseling which provides individual counseling, family counseling, couple/marital counseling, school-based counseling, anger management groups, and support groups for girls.

Domestic Violence: Treatment Barriers In The Gay And Lesbian Community, Susan Crane

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to investigate barriers to seeking services pertaining to domestic violence among the gay and lesbian population. The treatment barriers to seeking support and services for Same Sex Domestic Violence (SSDV) is related to fear, not feeling safe, judgmental attitudes, lack of education, and law enforcement discrimination.

Parenting Attitudes Among Teenage Mothers, Sandra Rivas CastañEda

Theses Digitization Project

This study focused on learning more about parenting among teenage parents, specifically their attitudes and beliefs toward parenting. By studying adolescent mothers attitudes toward parenting, social work professionals can better understand the role of teen mothers and consequently develop and revise programs to help teens develop better attitudes toward parenting.

Quality Of Life Of The Severely Mentally Ill As Described By Social Workers, Simonetta Fosci

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to investigate the levels of the quality of life among severely mentally ill offenders residing at a psychiatric hospital in the United States as perceived by their social workers.

Case Management Services In The Community: Benefits And Outcomes, Esmeralda Alcantar Plascencia

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to advance knowledge in the area of case management services by investigating "what characteristics are most frequent in clients who complete the case management program and in clients who did not complete the case management provided through the Montclair Community Collaborative (MCC)." This research addresses case management services and centers on obtaining client data pertaining to case management services, focusing on the family's outcome. The general research methodology consisted of a qualitative review (content analysis) of an existing data set (case records). This study examined a random sample of 130 MCC case management studies.