Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

No Adult Left Behind: An Examination Of The Perception Of Parolees Toward The Ged And Its Possible Impact On Recidivism, Elisa Louise Bircher

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

The purpose of this study is to examine the perception of offenders toward a general education degree. The data is compiled using a 27-question survey of offenders currently on parole and reporting to the Fort Worth II District Parole Office in Fort Worth, Texas. The research found that there are statistically significant differences between offenders who are on parole for the first time and those who have been on parole more than once. In general, offenders who have been on parole more than once perceive that acquiring a general education degree while they are incarcerated is more important than those …

Changes In Tests Of Patentability And The Effects On Return To Patenting Of Business Method Patents, Darren Sheets

Economics Theses - Archive

In the past decade there has been a surge of business method patents granted, due in large part to court cases that have redefined the tests for determining patentability of these inventions. This is of interest for several reasons such as the legality of these patents and their role in promoting innovation. Rather than promoting innovation as desired, they may be used to block rival firms from competing or used as bargaining chips in negotiations. This research focuses on the relationship between firm value and the importance of a firm's patent portfolio. To measure the strength of a patent portfolio …

Tuberculosis And Stigma: Impacts On Health-Seeking Behaviors And Access In Ciudad Juarez, Mexico And El Paso, Texas., Eva Margarita Moya

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This exploratory research is a study of tuberculosis (TB) and health-related stigma which examines the experiences and perspectives on the disease from the vantage point of the Persons Affected by Tuberculosis (PATB). Research on the causes and sustainability of stigma will be useful to guide health and social interventions that reduce its effects. Also of importance is research that focuses on the behavioral and psychological as well as in the social context and dimensions of TB-related stigma. The personal experience of tuberculosis illustrates that an infectious disease entails much more than treatment involving medications, microbes and risk categories. Stigma associated …

Incorporation Or Symbiosis: Haitians And African Americans In Mattapan, Alix Cantave

Trotter Review

As Haitians continue to move to the United States in large numbers seeking economic opportunities and refuge from political repression and environmental degradation, their relationship with African Americans has also become more obvious. Haitians are settling in larger numbers in predominantly African American neighborhoods, and their U.S.-born children identify with African Americans and face many of the same issues as black youth in urban America. As Zéphir observed, Haitians remain an isolated group. This group centripetality greatly influences the relationship between Haitians and African Americans as well as how African Americans perceive Haitians as a group. This article examines the …

Commentary, Kenneth J. Cooper

Trotter Review

It’s an explanation often heard around Boston. Why hasn’t the city ever elected a black mayor? Because the black community is “too small.” Why can’t the community sustain an FM radio station? And why does it have difficulty keeping afloat a weekly newspaper, even a soul food restaurant? Again, the answer comes: the community is too small. The irreconcilable flaw of this line of reasoning is exposed when it is expanded to the whole country. Black mayors have been elected in any number of cities with smaller black populations, proportionally, than the 25 percent in Boston—Los Angeles, San Francisco, and …

Heavy Metal: An Anthropological Approach To A Religious Phenomenon, Alexandra Durazo

Whittier Scholars Program

This essay will consider whether the experience of heavy metal music can be understood as a religious phenomenon. Through field research and an exploration of ways to understand religion, I will show that the culture of heavy metal music parallels that of a religious phenomenon while considering whether heavy metal culture qualifies as a legitimate religion. From first-hand experience as well as observation and analysis and using anthropological methods of field research, I have gathered data in a journal to provide evidence of my experiences and analysis at heavy metal concerts from May 2, 2009 to April 8, 2010. I …

The State Of Black Boston: A Select Demographic And Community Profile, James Jennings

William Monroe Trotter Institute Publications

This research report provides an overview of select social, demographic, and economic characteristics and trends associated with Boston’s Black population. It presents a snapshot of population characteristics associated with Blacks residing in Boston. While policy or programmatic recommendations does not represent the intent of this report, it is hoped that the information and data included can serve as a basis for such dialogues.

The racial categories used in this report include Black, Latino/a, White, and Asian persons. It should be emphasized, however, that these racial categories can include a range of ethnicity and ancestry. There may be differences among ethnic …

Editor's Overview, Benjamin J. Goss

Journal of Applied Sport Management

Editor's Overview.

Attachment To God: Its Impact On The Psychological Wellbeing Of Persons With Religious Vocation, Innocent F. Okozi

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Adaptable Ideology And Policymaking In Contemporary China: A Case Study Of The Government Response To The Rich-Poor Gap, Gary Stephen Andrasko

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Multiple Identities Of Second-Generation Haitian Women, Regina Pierre Milfleur

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Linear Enamel Hypoplasia At Santa Rita Corozal, Belize, Andrew Peter Tetlow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this thesis is an analysis of a sample of dentition collected from the Postclassic Maya site of Santa Rita Corozal in Northern Belize. The goal of this study is to determine what the presence (or absence) of Linear Enamel Hypoplasia (LEH) can demonstrate about the general health (i.e. stress, disease, nutrition, and weaning age) and social status of a single subset of the Late Postclassic (900-1500 CE) Maya living at Santa Rita Corozal. Specifically, this thesis focuses on dentition of thirteen individuals from a large Postclassic platform group. The sample consists of sub-adult and adult female dentition …

Tobacco-Free Prison Policies And Health Outcomes Among Inmates, Alison R. Connell

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This study was the first to examine the effect of tobacco policies in prisons on the health of inmates. Kentucky has two types of tobacco policies in its 16 state prisons: indoor smoke-free policies, where smoking is allowed outdoors and tobacco-free policies, in which no tobacco of any kind is allowed on the grounds of the prison. The smoking rate of inmates is three times higher than that of current smokers in the non-incarcerated population which results in high rates of tobacco-related health conditions such as heart disease and lung cancer.

A literature review discussed the evolution of tobacco policies …

Diversity Backlash: Examining The Caucasian Response In Homogenous And Heterogeneous Groups, Michael Dooney

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Art, Artifact, Anthropology: The Display And Interpretation Of Native American Material Culture In North American Museums, Laura Browarny

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Essays On Human Capital, Health Capital, And The Labor Market, Charles Hokayem

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three essays concerning the effects of human capital and health capital on the labor market. Chapter 1 presents a structural model that incorporates a health capital stock to the traditional learning-by-doing model. The model allows health to affect future wages by interrupting current labor supply and on-the-job human capital accumulation. Using data on sick time from the Panel Study Income of Dynamics the model is estimated using a nonlinear Generalized Method of Moments estimator. The results show human capital production exhibits diminishing returns. Health capital production increases with the current stock of health capital, or better …

Input Price Risk And The Adoption Of Conservation Technology, Karina Schoengold

Cornhusker Economics

Energy price trends have shown increases in both the mean and variance in recent years. In addition, innovation activity continues to develop new technologies that can benefit consumers by providing the same services as traditional technology, but with higher input use efficiency. For example, technologies such as hybrid vehicles or compact fluorescent light bulbs provide consumers with benefits, while simultaneously reducing the demand for limited energy inputs. Examining the impact of increasing price variability on the adoption of conservation technologies is important to innovators and policy-makers. This is especially important when multiple technologies exist, and producers have an option to …

Theory, History, And Methodological Positivism In The Anderson-Thompson Debate, Abraham Jacob Walker

Publications and Research

This article repositions the famous debate between Edward Thompson and Perry Anderson in relation to major figures of comparative-historical sociology. The author shows that the debate was — in the last instance — an argument about methodology.

Preschool Teachers' Perceptions Of Obesity At Ages 3-5 Years, Jessica D. Mackinney

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The purpose of this study was not only to investigate the knowledge of preschool teachers on the topic of obesity, but also to determine whether or not they find obesity to be a significant problem facing 3-5 year old children. Results indicate that preschool teachers agree that obesity is a concern; however, they are unclear on the causality of obesity. Preschool teachers feel the long-term consequences of being obese at ages 3-5 years affect future academic, social, and physical growth, but they do not feel intervention should take place at the preschool level. This study contributed to a better understanding …

Efficacy Of A Self-Monitoring Technique To Improve Academic Skill Production, Carrie L. Winfield

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study examined archival data from an assisted self-graphing intervention for improving early literacy skills in first grade students from one elementary school. The purpose of the investigation is to examine the use of a self-graphing supplemental intervention that occurred outside of the class-wide first grade reading instruction. The participants included first grade students from three classroom settings in one predominately middle class, suburban school district in southeastern Pennsylvania. The participants formed three groups: (1) 8 students in a DIBELS Progress Monitoring and Self-Graphing Intervention group (PM + SG group); (2) 9 students in a DIBELS Progress Monitoring-only group (PM …

The Relationship Between Cognitive Distortions And Psychological And Behavioral Factors In A Sample Of Individuals Who Are Average Weight, Overweight, And Obese, Christina Berchock Shook

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The current study was designed to investigate the relationship between the frequency of cognitive distortions, as measured by the Inventory of Cognitive Distortions (ICD), and psychological and behavioral factors, as measured by the Millon Behavioral Medicine Diagnostic (MBMD), which includes negative health habits, psychiatric indications, and treatment prognostics among a sample of individuals who were average weight, who were overweight, and who were obese. The sample of 385 men and women was recruited primarily from a health and fitness center. The results of this study indicated that negative health risk behaviors such as inactivity and overeating, as well as depression …

Description Of The Tadpole Of Proceratophrys Renalis (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920) (Anura: Cycloramphidae), Filipe Augusto C. Do Nascimento, Barnagleison S. Lisboa, Gabriel O. Skuk, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

The tadpole of Proceratophrys renalis is described based on specimens from Maceió, State of Alagoas, northeastern Brazil. At stage 35 the body is slightly dorso-ventrally depressed, ovoid in lateral, dorsal, and ventral views. Oral disc is ventral with lateral emarginations, surrounded by a single row of marginal papillae with a large gap on the upper labium. Labial tooth row formula is 2(2)/3(1). The analysis of internal oral anatomy revealed two possible characters that readily distinguish P. renalis from P. boiei, supporting the recent ressurection of P. renalis. Comparisons with available descriptions of the larvae for other species in the …

Organizational Safety Culture And Idividual Safety Behavior: A Case Study Of The Turkish National Police Aviation Department, Yildirim Uryan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human related accidents in high-risk industries amount to a significant economic hazard and incur tremendous damages, causing excessive operational costs and loss of life. The aviation industry now observes human-related accidents more frequently than in the past, an upswing attributable to cutting-edge technology usage and the complex systems employed by aviation organizations. Historically, aviation accidents have been attributed to individual unsafe behavior. However, contemporary accident causation models suggest that organizational-level factors influence individual safety performance, as human-related accidents take place in an organizational context. The present study examines the formation of organizational safety culture and influence on individuals' safety behavior …

Moving From A Textbook To Facebook College Students' Motivations For Using Social Networking Sites In Education, Heather J. Halter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined college student motivations for using social networking sites for educational purposes. Motives were examined through the uses and gratifications approach. If we can determine student motivations for using social networking sites, perhaps we can determine a way to successfully implement social networking sites into the classroom. By adding the concept of satisfaction, we can also determine if students will use the sites again. If students are satisfied with educational social networking site use, they will return to these sites for educational purposes again. Data was collected by giving a questionnaire to undergraduate students that assessed social networking …

A Plurinational State: The Impact Of The Mas On The Status Of Indigenous People In Bolivia, Pamela Medina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2005 the largely indigenous country of Bolivia elected its first indigenous president, Evo Morales of the Movement toward Socialism (MAS) Party. Morales ran on a promise of re-distributing wealth, to aid in the development of one of Latin America's poorest countries. Morales' first term in office marked a historical achievement for the indigenous movement in Bolivia, and sparked social change in the country. The government also experienced a momentous achievement through the re-writing of the Bolivian constitution, acknowledging the country's multi-ethnic and pluri-national character. Although his social, domestic and foreign policies have been controversial, particularly in the United States, …

Whole Farm Modeling Of Precision Agriculture Technologies, Jordan Murphy Shockley

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation investigated farm management concerns faced by grain producers due to the acquisition of various precision agriculture technologies. The technologies evaluated in the three manuscripts included 1) auto-steer navigation, 2) automatic section control, and 3) autonomous machinery. Each manuscript utilized a multifaceted economic model in a whole-farm decision-making framework to determine the impact of precision agriculture technology on machinery management, production management, and risk management. This approach allowed for a thorough investigation into various precision agriculture technologies which helped address the relative dearth of economic studies of precision agriculture and farm management. Moreover, the research conducted on the above …

The Social Relations Of Tourism On The Perhentian Islands., Jacqueline L. Salmond

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

In recent years there has been an increase in the adoption of tourism as an economic strategy in many developing nations and a growing interest in how communities and individuals engage with tourism. This parallels research which aims to uncover alternative readings of community participation in forms of economic and social development. This research uses tourism as a lens to understand the economic subjectivity of communities engaged in tourism. Focusing on how the local populations understand, experience and participate in tourism, it paints a picture of the Perhentian Islands which challenges existing understandings of individual and community participation in tourism. …

Market Structure And Mortgage Pricing: The Role Of Information In Firm And Consumer Behavior, Abdullah A. Al-Bahrani

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes information, market structure, and firm pricing strate-gies. I begin the dissertation with an analysis of the market structure of the mortgage in-dustry. I find that the configuration of the mortgage market at its present state is vastly different than its historical structure. The reduction in the cost of transmitting informa-tion has increased the collaborative environment and facilitated the dis-integration of the supply chain. Generally, the mortgage industry has been successful at reducing principal-agent problems and minimizing asymmetric information concerns that arise in segmented markets.

In the first essay I provide a theoretical explanation of the effect of …

Public School Choice And The Public-Private School Decision, Kylie Goggins

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is a compilation of three studies related to public school choice issues. Chapter 2 examines whether access to public schools of choice influences a household’s decision to choose private school for their child. I employ a multistate, individual-level data-set on students and their families — for which I have been granted access to restricted geo-code information. I supplement these data by matching students with their respective school districts using geographic information systems (GIS); I then examine whether relative measures of public school choice (PSC) in a school district influence the household’s public-private school decision. I find slight evidence …

Grades 11-12 Short Stories, Lauren Russo

English

Within a unit dedicated to reading, writing, and analyzing short stories, the lesson explores the key elements in composing engaging work. Students are given a multiplicity of activities to explore and determine what makes the short story, "Lost in the Woods" a thrilling tale. The activities serve to enhance their knowledge of the methods and techniques behind good short story writing.