Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Boundaries And Breaches: Complexities And Strategies Down On The Farm, Debra S. Kershaw

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Employing a wide range of theoretical and methodological tools, practitioners within an array of disciplines have attempted to gain new understanding about the structural changes in the agricultural system in the United States and around the world. From Agricultural Economists to Sociologists, quantitative and qualitative research has attempted to shed light on structural change in agriculture and its implications for the real lives of farmers, their families, and consumers of their goods. The current research adopts a comparative-historical approach to examining the particular affects of structural change in six counties in central Nebraska. The general theoretical frame on which this …

Values In Place: Intersecting Values In Rails To Trails Landscapes, Lisa Rainey Brownell

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is a study of the values and meanings people attach to places and why exploring those values is important in trails and historic preservation planning. From a foundation in critical humanistic geography and values based preservation literatures, the dissertation examines three rails to trails projects as case studies. Primary research questions include: how does a landscape become valued, devalued, and/or revalued through time? In what ways do different values of different people or groups intersect in rails to trails landscapes and how do they shape the landscape? How do historic values intersect with economic, social, political, and other …

Knowledge And The Objection To Religious Belief From Cognitive Science, Kelly James Clark, Dani Rabinowitz

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

A large chorus of voices has grown around the claim that theistic belief is epistemically suspect since, as some cognitive scientists have hypothesized, such beliefs are a byproduct of cognitive mechanisms which evolved for rather different adaptive purposes. Th is paper begins with an overview of the pertinent cognitive science followed by a short discussion of some relevant epistemic concepts. Working from within a largely Williamsonian framework, we then present two different ways in which this research can be formulated into an argument against theistic belief. We argue that neither version works.

The Therapeutic Effects Upon Dog Owners Who Interact With Their Dogs In A Mindful Way, Amy Jackson-Grossblat

Dissertations

Problem. For many in contemporary culture, the pursuit of possession has become an attempt to achieve happiness. However, this path may not always be congruent with psychological well-being. In addition, this path may lead us further away from relationships within the natural world. Humanistic and existential psychologists have suggested that a mindful connection to ourselves, to other-than-human beings, and to the natural world would enable more meaningful lives. If dogs are considered an extension of nature and those interactions between dog and owner that promote mindfulness are examined, there is the potential to obtain a better understanding of how individuals …

Power & Politics In Resettlement: A Case Study Of Bhutanese Refugees, Christie Shrestha

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

This thesis examines the complexities in the resettlement of Bhutanese refugees. Using anthropological ethnographic field methods, this thesis explores the power dynamics between the employees of a resettlement organization and the refugees and the intricate webs of power within different institutions, such as local NGOs and healthcare institutions. The study argues that humanitarian actions and interventions are often driven by bureaucratic politics and policies that contradict what humanitarianism stands for as apolitical and value-neutral. These contradictions or paradoxes in humanitarianism also are also present in refugee resettlement. Analyzing these paradoxes that characterize resettlement, this thesis illuminates structural discontinuities or gaps …

Analysis Of Two-Year Colleges: Transfer, Retention And Graduation, Darshak P. Patel

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Investment in higher education is typically considered as a static discrete-choice problem where students make post-secondary education choices usually right after high school (Heckman et al., 2006). This is largely aligned with Becker’s human capital theory. As Becker’s theory holds, students’ decisions can alter with the arrival of new information (Weisbrod, 1964). By relaxing the assumption certainty in the human capital model, student education decisions can be modeled using Weisbrod’s option value theory. According to this theory, students reevaluate their lifetime-utility maximizing decisions based on new information acquired in a sequential nature. Students face large uncertainties due to unexpected positive …

The Effects Of Minimum Salaries On Firm Tenure, Career Length, And The Experience Distribution: Evidence From The National Football League, Johnny C. Ducking

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

I use data from the National Football League (NFL) to analyze the impact of minimum salaries on an employee’s firm tenure, an employee’s career length, and an employer’s distribution of employee experience. The NFL has a salary structure in which the minimum salary a player can receive increases with the player’s years of experience. Salary schedules similar to the NFL’s exist in public education, Secret Service, Internal Revenue Service, other federal government agencies, the Episcopalian church, and unionized industries. Even though the magnitude of the salaries in the NFL differs from other industries, this study provides insight to the impact …

Three Essays Evaluating Choices Of Teachers And Administrators In Kentucky Public Schools, Nathan Barrett

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Public K-12 education is a large enterprise in the United States. Through local, state and federal sources, the U.S. allocated over $610 billion to K-12 public education in 2009 (NCES). Not only is the commitment of public funds for education substantial, the provision of K-12 education is primarily administered by the government in non-market settings through local school districts. It is this institutional environment that generates the impetus for evaluating how those in education make choices in the absence of markets.

Like traditional markets, non-market solutions often fail because the incentives facing individuals and agencies elicit choices which produce outcomes …

Unspoken Rules Of The Creative Game: Insights To Shape The Next Generation From Top Advertising Creative Women, Jean M. Grow, Sheri J. Broyles

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

This study addresses gender issues in advertising creative departments and defines some of the unspoken rules in the creative game. Based on the interviews of twenty top creative women from the United States and Canada, the study focuses on the work creative women do, how they do it, and the environment in which they work. Content analysis of in-depth interviews led to the emergence of four thematic categories: the business, about personality, the work, and being female. Ultimately, knowing the unspoken rules will help prepare future generations of advertising creatives for the challenges that lie ahead. For women, knowledge of …

Disjuncture Among Classic Period Cultural Landscapes In The Tuxtla Mountains, Southern Veracruz, Mexico, Wesley Durrell Stoner

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Teotihuacan was the most influential city in the Classic Mesoamerican worldsystem. Like other influential cities in the ancient world, however, Teotihuacan did not homogenously affect the various cultural landscapes that thrived in Mesoamerica during the Classic period (300-900 CE). Even where strong central Mexican influences appear outside the Basin of Mexico, the nature, extent, and strength of these influences are discontinuous over time and space. Every place within the Classic Mesoamerican landscape has a unique Teotihuacan story. In the Tuxtla Mountains of southern Veracruz, Mexico, Matacapan, located in the Catemaco Valley, drew heavily upon ideas and symbols fostered at Teotihuacan, …

“You’Re Surviving But I Don’T See How You’Re Living” Appalachian Women Talk About Tanf And Employment In Their Communities, Pon-Chu Tsou

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

This thesis studies qualitative data to examine the lived experiences of Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program (K-TAP) recipients in Appalachian Kentucky. This research suggests that PRWORA legislation utilize the importance of place-based analyses to implement and evaluate poverty policy. For women who are attempting to meet PRWORA’s goals, the local services available to the women and the barriers they face to employment highlight the role place has in this national policy discussion. Of the women interviewed, recipients who resided in economically distressed areas had fewer opportunities to participate in employment activities than women in at-risk or transitional areas. While many strived …

Perceptions Of Support, Likelihood Of Retention, And Differences Between Places Of Origin Among First-Generation College Students, Teresa Radomski

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

First-generation college students are less likely to attend and complete college than their peers whose parents have completed college. Among the reasons cited for this disparity is lack of parental familiarity of the college admissions process and financial aid opportunities. First-generation youth wishing to pursue a college education must rely on others for this knowledge. This study examines first-generation college students' perceptions of support and whether their places of origin have any bearing on their future plans. The study examines interviews with participants through the lens of Tinto's (1993) model of student departure to examine whether their responses, and whether …

The Effect Of Practice On Eye Movements In The 1/D Paradigm, Will Seidelman

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Previous studies have demonstrated that observers may ignore highly salient feature singletons during a conjunction search task through focusing the attentional window (Belopolsky, Zwaan, Theeuwes, & Kramer, 2007), or by the suppression of bottom-up information (Treisman & Sato, 1990). In the current study, observers’ eye movements were monitored while performing a search task in which a feature singleton was present and corresponded with the target at a chance level. With practice, observers were less likely to make an initial saccade toward the singleton item, but initial saccades directed at the target were likely throughout. Results demonstrate that, in an effort …

From Programmatic Reform To Social Science Research: The National Tax Association And The Promise And Perils Of Disciplinary Encounters, Ajay K. Mehrotra, Joseph J. Thorndike

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This article uses the history of the National Tax Association (NTA), the leading twentieth-century organization of tax professionals, to strengthen our empirical understanding of the disciplinary encounter between law and the social sciences. Building on existing sociolegal scholarship, this article explores how the NTA embodied tax law's ambivalent historical interaction with public economics. Since its founding in 1907, the NTA has changed dramatically from an eclectic and catholic organization of tax professionals with a high public profile to an insular, scholarly association of mainly academic public finance economists. Using a mix of quantitative and qualitative historical evidence, we contend that …

Creating Trust In Piranha-Infested Waters: The Confluence Of Buyer, Supplier And Host Country Contexts, Akbar Zaheer, Darcy Fudge Kamal

Business Faculty Articles and Research

Research by Dyer and Chu (2000) suggests that trust in exchange varies significantly across borders and influences the level of trust in cross-border exchange dyads. However, while a good start, research has yet to develop the concept that not only can the countries of origin of the partners to the exchange influence the nature and outcomes of dyadic trust, but also the country where the exchange dyad is located. Furthermore, such home and host country differences may interact with dyad-level differences in trust creation capabilities and influence trust violation and repair. We develop a framework and propositions along these lines.

Migration And Ethnicity: Louisiana Creoles From The Bayous To Los Angeles, Naomi Christina Auzenne

Whittier Scholars Program

This project examines the complexities of identity among Creoles from South West Louisiana who migrated to California during and after World War II. This study compares and contrasts various Creole communities throughout Louisiana. This student argues that United States Migration has changed the way in which people begin to self-identify within the Creole community.

The Ronald Reagan Paradigm, Taylor Evenson

Whittier Scholars Program

This project is centered on the Ronald Reagan Paradigm, a pervasive ideology that has dominated politics and the U.S. Government for approximately the last 30 years. The pervasive ideology is a neoliberal agenda aimed at increasing the power of corporations within the United States. The ideology is legitimized by Ronald Reagan's Presidency. Furthermore, the ideology is legitimized by think-tanks and few educational institutions. The ideas are disseminated through publications and media outlets. This paper highlights the author’s understanding of this ideology and its creation.

Coalition For Prisoners' Rights Newsletter, Vol. 36-C, No. 1, Coalition For Prisoners' Rights

Coalition for Prisoners' Rights Newsletters

¡Up With The New!

The Unity We Have

Concession: Semi-Contact Visits

End of Lethal-Injection Drug

Voices in Solidarity

El Secretario de Comercio de EEUU

Taming Lightning In More Than One Bottle: Implementing A Local Next-Generation Catalog Versus A Hosted Web-Scale Discovery Service, Sheila A. Bair, George Boston, Scott Garrison

University Libraries Faculty & Staff Publications

This paper compares implementing the VuFind “nextgeneration catalog” and SerialsSolutions®’ Summon™ “Web-scale discovery service” at an academic library. Different though complementary, and both positively disruptive, these systems each offer easier searching for users through leveraging metadata. The paper discusses aspects of each implementation including purpose, function, architecture and development model, faceted interface, metadata management and interoperability, governance and project management, and differing perceptions and feedback from librarians and users.

Effect Of Stress, Emotional Lability And Depression On The Development Of Pregnancy Complications, Servitje, Estibalitz Laresgoiti Servitje

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Chronic stress and other emotional factors may have relevant impacts on pregnancy outcomes because they are related to neuroendocrine changes that lead to alterations in immunomodulation during pregnancy. In this quantitative prospective cross-sectional study, the relationship of emotional lability, depression, and stress during pregnancy and the development of preterm labor, preeclampsia, placental abruption, and low birth weight for gestational age babies was examined. Additionally, social support scores were compared to levels of stress/anxiety, depression, and emotional lability in pregnant women. Two hundred and forty two pregnant women who received prenatal services at the National Institute of Perinatology in Mexico City …

Stakeholders' Roles In Prioritizing Technical And Vocational Education And Training In Postconflict Liberia, Edward S. Forh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Postconflict governments and counterparts have collaborated to provide skills training to communities as a critical postconflict development strategy. In these undertakings, the role of community members remains largely undefined. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to understand the perceptions held by rural community members regarding the role they played in influencing government's policy priority for technical and vocational education and training (TVET) as a local human development strategy in postconflict Liberia. The conceptual framework was based on human capital theory and concepts of motivation and achievement. Fourteen participants were purposefully selected for the study. Data were collected …

Formal Supports Improve Qol For Parents Of Children With Disabilities: Systematic Review; And, Mothers Caring For A Child With A Disability Require Dynamic, Tailored Support Services To Return To Paid Work, Sylvana Pasini

Theses : Honours

Parents caring for a child with a disability (PCCD) may experience adverse effects on quality of life (QOL) due to role demands, hence it is important to evaluate available support services. This paper aims to systematically review current research examining the impact of formally provided, parent-focused emotional or informational interventions on QOL for parents caring for a child with a disability or chronic condition. Procedures: Electronic searches of five databases (2001 – 2011) were conducted and reviewed against the study eligibility criteria. All levels of evidence were included, and studies were evaluated against standard quality assessment criteria by two reviewers. …

Using Ordinary Least Squares Regression And Quantile Regression To Test The Capital Asset Pricing Model And The Fama And French Model In The Australian Equity Market, Yixaun Rui

Theses : Honours

Many studies have tested the CAPM and the Fama and French model in the Australian security market using the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method. However, this regression method just focuses on the relationship between means in the dataset, and equity market usually has some extreme situations in the tails. In this study, quantile regression will be used as well as OLS to provide a more comprehensive picture. This research will also compare the domestic and overseas indices in testing the CAPM and the Fama and French model. A twenty-year data sample composed of the 50 largest companies' equity returns will …

How Short And Long Term Interdependencies Have Changed Due To The Global Financial Crisis, Lungowe Andala

Theses : Honours

This study investigates how short and long term interdependencies have changed among ten countries grouped into countries from the same region (close geographical proximity) as a result of the recent Global Financial Crisis. A number of econometrics methodologies are employed in doing the analysis. Johansen's cointegration methodology is carried out to assess whether the stock markets have long run interdependencies and whether these interdependencies have changed as a result of the Global Financial Crisis. For the stock markets not cointegrated Granger Causality is carried out to analyze short run interdependencies between pairs of stock markets. Furthermore, generalized Impulse Response Function …

Blood Donor Motivation: A Phenomenological Study Of Young Male Donors, Aleeza Morris

Theses : Honours

The demand for blood products in Australia is projected to increase substantially in coming years. Yet population growth and population ageing will present challenges to blood donor recruitment and hence threaten the availability of adequate blood supplies for the future. Improving the retention of blood donors offers an opportunity to leverage this availability of blood products, and a focus on young men can be particularly beneficial because men become the biggest cohort of donors later in life. This research was conducted in collaboration with the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. It applied a descriptive phenomenological methodology to explore the factors …

Neutrosophic Interpretation Of The Analects Of Confucius, Florentin Smarandache, Fu Yuhua

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

This book is the companion volume of "Neutrosophic Interpretation of Tao Te Ching,” its purpose is to extend the foundation and application range of “The Analects of Confucius.” The reasons for this are as follows. Firstly, we are willing to point out that The Analects of Confucius already has some limitations, because many questions we are interested in cannot be answered within “The Analects of Confucius.” For example, The Analects of Confucius basically discussed the matters in China, however considering all possible situations it should matter in foreign countries as well, i.e. the “global village.” This was impossible in Confucian …

Inside The Black Box An Exploration Of The Impact Of Action And Activity In The Inner Spheres Of Policy Making On Early Childhood Education And Care Policy, Siobhan Bradley

Doctoral

While ECEC policy decisions usually reflect the predominant ideological stance of those actors involved, they also represent the outcome of a battle over values and objectives as vested interests within the inner spheres of policy making debate, contest and negotiate the nature of the problem and prescribe solutions to remedy it. Despite the integral importance of these processes, few studies explore how action and activity in these less visible arenas impact on policy design and outcome. By shifting the focus of policy analysis from the reified product of policy decisions to the behind the scenes processes of policy production, this …

Copyright And Academia: Launching A Successful Copyright Education Program, Jeff Graveline

Libraries Professional Work

Librarians, and particularly academic librarians, deal with copyright issues on almost a daily basis. It makes sense, therefore, that libraries and librarians should be the “go to” place on campus for copyright information. I am often asked by colleagues for suggestions on launching copyright education programs on their campuses. In this column, I provide steps and ideas to help you get started with a copyright education program, or at least to make you feel more confident in your efforts by providing advice from my own experiences, from educating yourself to implementing local workshops.

The Genetic Basis Of Creativity And Ideational Fluency The Genetic Basis Of Creativity And Ideational Fluency, Mark A. Runco, Ernest P. Noble, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Selcuk Acar, Terry Ritchie, Justin M. Yurkovich

Psychology Faculty Publications

Reuter, Roth, Holve, & Hennig (2006) described what they called the first candidate gene for creativity. This study replicated and extended their work for a more careful analysis of five candidate genes: Dopamine Transporter (DAT), Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT), Dopamine Receptor D4 (DRD4), D2 Dopamine Receptor (DRD2), and Tryptophane Hydroxylase (TPH1). Participants were 147 college students who received a battery of tests of creative potential. Multivariate analyses of variance indicated that ideational fluency scores were significantly associated with several genes (DAT, COMT, DRD4, and TPH1). This was apparent in both verbal and figural fluency ideation scores, before and after controlling general …

Exploiting Borders: The Political Economy Of Local Backlash Against Undocumented Immigrants, Jamie Longazel, Benjamin Fleury-Steiner

Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications

Four years prior to Arizona's passage of one of the most far-reaching pieces of anti-Latino immigrant legislation signed into law in decades,3 demands to "seal off the border"4 were being made thousands of miles from the U.S.-Mexico divide. In 2006, Hazleton, Pennsylvania, passed equally harsh legislation aimed at keeping undocumented immigrants out of their community. During this time, commentators described the local backlash in Hazleton and other small cities across the United States as akin to "the opening of a deep and profound fissure in the American landscape" 5 wherein "all immigration politics is local." 6 Yet, as the so-called …