Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Communication Apprehension Vs. Social Phobia And Related Conditions A Correlational Study, Christine M. Donaldson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Of all social situations, public speaking is the most prevalent fear in both the general population and among social phobic individuals (Mannuzza, Schneier, Chapman, & Liebowitz, 1995; Stein, Walker, & Forde, 1996). The fear of public speaking is referred to as communication apprehension (CA) by members of the communication field; in other programs of study, this condition has been categorized and conceptualized in a wide variety of ways ranging from stage fright to reticence. Several scholarly fields including communication, social psychology, the health sciences and the social sciences, seek to find an explanation and effective intervention for this prevalent condition. …

Effects Of 3d Stereoscopy, Visuo-Spatial Working Memory, And Perceptions Of Simulation Experience On The Memorization Of Confusable Objects, Joseph R. Keebler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigated the impact of active stereoscopic 3-dimensional (3D) imagery equipment and individual differences in visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) capacity on retention of a set of similar, novel objects (i.e., armored military vehicles). Seventy-one participants were assessed on their visuo-spatial working memory using the Visual Patterns Test (Della Sala, Gray, Baddeley, & Wilson, 1997). They were then assigned to one of four different conditions (3D high VSWM, 3D low VSWM, 2D high VSWM, 2D low VSWM) based upon their visuo-spatial working memory. Participants were then trained to identify military vehicles using a simulation that presented the training stimuli in …

Effects Of Corticosterone And Ethanol Co-Exposure On Hippocampal Toxicity: Potential Role For The Nmda Nr2b Subunit, Tracy Renee Butler

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Chronic ethanol (EtOH) exposure produces neuroadaptations within the NMDA receptor system and alterations in HPA axis functioning that contribute to neurodegeneration during ethanol withdrawal (EWD). Chronic EtOH exposure and EWD, as well as corticosteroids, also promote increased synthesis and release of polyamines, which allosterically potentiate NMDA receptor open-channel time at the NR2B subunit. The current studies investigated effects of 10 day EtOH and corticosterone (CORT) co-exposure on toxicity during EWD in rat organotypic hippocampal slice cultures, and alterations in function and/or density of the NR2B subunit of the NMDA receptor that may mediate CORT-potentiation of toxicity during EWD. We hypothesized …

Factors Influencing Community Response To Locally Undesirable Land Uses: A Case Study Of Bluegrass Stockyards, Terry Logan Lunsford

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Community development is an ongoing issue that faces communities as they develop. This is a case study where two communities where faced with an identical development proposal involving Bluegrass Stockyards. Bluegrass Stockyards a prominent livestock marketing business, located in Lexington, KY needed to relocate its facility and looked at communities in Lincoln and Woodford County Kentucky as possible new locations.

By looking at the case of Bluegrass Stockyards this study is able to use Conflict Theory, Growth Theory and Frame Analysis to look at the development process and issues that was associated with this development proposal. With the two communities …

Levels-Of-Processing Effects On "Remember" Responses In Recognition For Familiar And Unfamiliar Tunes, Esra Mungan, Zehra F. Peynircioğlu, Andrea R. Halpern

Faculty Journal Articles

We investigated the effect of level-of-processing manipulations on "remember" and "know" responses in episodic melody recognition (Experiments 1 and 2) and how this effect is modulated by item familiarity (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, participants performed 2 conceptual and 2 perceptual orienting tasks while listening to familiar melodies: judging the mood, continuing the tune, tracing the pitch contour, and counting long notes. The conceptual mood task led to higher d' rates for "remember" but not "know" responses. In Experiment 2, participants either judged the mood or counted long notes of tunes with high and low familiarity. A level-of-processing effect emerged …

Mississippi Period Occupational And Political History Of The Middle Savannah River Valley, Keith Stephenson

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Research focusing on the political economy of Mississippian mound centers in the middle Savannah River valley has prompted a reevaluation of current interpretations regarding societal complexity. I conclude the clearest expression of classic Mississippian riverine-adaptation is evident at centers immediately below the Fall Line with their political ties to chiefdom centers in the Piedmont, and especially Etowah. By contrast, those centers on the interior Coastal Plain were politically autonomous with minimal signatures in social ranking. The scale of appropriated labor and resulting level of surplus production, necessitated by upland settlement on the Aiken Plateau, fostered social contradictions making communally-oriented and …

Going On Otor: Disaster, Mobility, And The Political Ecology Of Vulnerability In Uguumur, Mongolia, Daniel J. Murphy

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Post-socialist states have increasingly adopted rural governance and resource management policies framed around the concepts of decentralization, devolution, and de-concentration in which formerly central state powers are transferred to lower, more local levels of governance. In more recent incarnations, these policies have become inspired by neo-liberal discourses of minimal government, self-rule, and personal responsibility. Increasingly, the social science literature has argued that such forms of neo-liberal governance lead to a variety of unforeseen and diverse consequences. This dissertation attempts to understand the impact of these political transformations on household vulnerability in the context of hazardous events called zud. I …

Examining The Role Of Personality, Peers, And The Transition To College On Substance Use, Ursula Louise Bailey

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

It is well established that there is an increase in substance use among college students. In the literature, this increase in use has been attributed to different personality factors, such as sensation seeking. However, what has not received sufficient attention is the possibility that the new peer groups, afforded by the transition to college, introduce unique influence on the relationship between personality and substance use. The purposes of the current study were to explore whether personality predicted substance use across the transition to college whether peer substance use moderated that relationship.

The current study examined developmentally the relations among personality, …

Pollution Knowledge And Urban Water Politics In The Ganges River Basin (India), Sya Buryn Kedzior

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Millions of people rely upon the Ganges River as a source of water provision and a site of disposal for sewage, solid waste, agricultural runoff and industrial effluent. The river is also a goddess in the Hindu pantheon who is worshipped for her purificatory powers, despite water quality levels that fall far short of standards for use in bathing, washing, and drinking. In recent years, a number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have formed to oppose both pollution of the river and the failure of state-run pollution abatement programs. They are joined by an increasingly frequent number of seemingly spontaneous protests …

Lavapiés, Madrid As Twenty-First Century Urban Spectacle, Matthew Isaiah Feinberg

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Informed by the theories of Henri Lefebvre regarding the production of space and the theories of scale found in current scholarship in Cultural Geography, my methodology analyzes both dramatic texts and theater spaces to investigate how cultural production and capital converge in the “spectacle” of urban space. While employing this term “spectacle” to describe how dramatic texts, theater productions, and modern architecture transform the urban landscape into a metaphoric theater space for the production of local, national, and global identities, this project examines the relationship between theater and urban change in Lavapiés, an iconic, multicultural, and oftenunderserved neighborhood located in …

The Public Sector, Migration, And Heterogeneity, Carlos J. Lopes

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Questions on the optimal size of government always provoke intense political debate. At the center of this is the public goods problem, where certain goods and services are “under-provided” by the market due to problems with rivalry and excludability. These goods are usually provided by the public sector and financed through taxes. Questions emerge over the optimal level of provision, as different individuals value these goods differently. This dissertation consists of two studies which address preferences for the size of government from different perspectives.

The first study provides a method that can be used to estimate demand for changes in …

Understanding Interactive Experiences: Perceived Interactivity And Presence With And Without Other Avatars In The Online Virtual World Second Life, Jennifer Lynn Robinette

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Interactivity research lacks consensus regarding the qualities and consequences of interactive experiences. Empirical proof is needed to substantiate the numerous interactivity theories and provide direction for new media technology developers. Specifically, there is a shortage of research on differences between user experiences of interactivity when technology enables communication versus when it does not. In addition, interactivity research is often confounded by the construct of presence.

This study’s objectives included: 1) identifying qualities associated with interactive experiences; 2) disambiguating the constructs of interactivity and presence; and 3) developing a measure of perceived interactivity for VW research. The experimental design measured perceived …

Generational Influences On Educational Perceptions Of Rural African Americans, Quentin Romar Tyler

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This study discussed research exploring intergenerational influences on the educational experiences and expectations of rural African Americans in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Hopkinsville is located in a district that has lagged behind reaching state and national benchmarks in educational attainment. It is home to one of the largest African American communities in the state and reflects striking disparities in educational achievement by race as it struggles to close achievement gaps generally. Through qualitative case study, this study found that both college track sons and parents shared comparable views on education while low performing parents and sons did not have the same views. …

Texting In The Presence Of Others: The Use Of Politeness Strategies In Conversation, Jennifer Ann Maginnis

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

The following study used politeness theory to explore the impact of simultaneously engaging in a face to face conversation and a text message conversation. Specifically the study used Brown and Levinson’s (1978, 1987) five original politeness strategies to see whether strategy choice (in the face to face conversation) impacts the face threat present in engaging in multiple conversations. Multivariate analysis of covariance was used to understand the impact different politeness strategies had on the following variables: conversational appropriateness, relational/social appropriateness, immediacy, attentiveness, and politeness. Findings show that when a face to face partner ignores (no verbal/nonverbal politeness) a text message …

Hacks/Hackers Survival Glossary, Priscilla Finley

Library Faculty Research

[Visited Oct'10] This "crowdsourced" glossary of Web content distribution technologies is intended for journalists writing for an audience of laypersons.

Political And Social Agendas: Analyzing Commercials & Public Service Announcements Attempting To Sway Public Opinion, Jennifer Sharkey

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

Provides an overview of a source evaluation lesson plan that utilizes video/multimedia of commercials, public service announcements, and ad campaigns. The lesson promotes media literacy by focusing on media and social influences of this media, how values and points of view are included or excluded, and in what ways language, audio, and visuals influence beliefs and behaviors. The overview includes the following sections: Circumstances of the Instruction; Objectives of the Instruction; Components of the Instruction (Preparation, Presentation, Evaluation); Supplementary Material (Activity worksheet); and Recommended Resources.

From Displacement To Emplacement: Bosnian Muslims In Urban U.S., Fethi Keles

Anthropology - All Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Transforming The City. An Ethnography Of Contested Public Space In Venezuela, Ana Servigna

Anthropology - Dissertations

My research falls within urban anthropology, as it examines how supporters and opponents of the Venezuelan government have manipulated symbols in attempting to control certain public places in Venezuela's capital city, Caracas. My thesis is that by using public places to advance their respective agendas, President Chávez' supporters and opponents have struggled for power and have exacerbated the country's social segregation, territorial division and political intolerance. My study reveals that despite its particular topography and socioeconomic structure, Caracas has a characteristic cartography of political segregation. This cartography has been created by groups of government opponents and supporters that want to …

Communication In Intercultural Marriages: Managing Cultural Differences And Conflict For Marital Satisfaction, Tiffany G. Renalds

Masters Theses

This qualitative study investigated the phenomenon of intercultural marriages, particularly the unique internal and external elements that impact communication and conflict within intercultural marriages of varying lengths and the intercultural communication competencies utilized by spouses in intercultural marriages. The research focused on three questions: (1) Which internal and external factors impact the effectiveness of communication between spouses in intercultural marriages the most? (2) Which communication competencies do spouses in intercultural marriages develop in order to address cross-cultural differences? (3) How do spouses in intercultural marriages experience and deal with conflict within their intercultural marriages? Data was obtained employing semi-structured interviews. …

Who Were The First Americans?, Bruce Willis

A with Honors Projects

A discussion of the earliest sites in the Americas.

International Financial Reporting Standards: A Cautionary Note For Emerging Economies, Khursheed Omer, Darshan Wadhwa

Business Review

Long before the present economic crisis unfolded, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) had been working to achieve harmonization in accounting and financial reporting standards across the globe. Now that the world economic community has become more integrated, cross border flow of capital has gained unprecedented momentum and steps are underway to achieve this goal as early as possible. Initial efforts to harmonize local accounting principles and practices with those followed in developed economies were generally aimed at facilitating foreign multinationals operating in other countries. The desired goal of harmonization now ought to …

Integration Management For Green Business To Achieve Sustainability And Buildability, Low Sui Pheng, Ng Wei Chen

Business Review

The Building Control (Environmental Sustainability) Regulations, introduced in 2008, require buildings to attain minimum scores under the Green Mark Scheme (GMS) in Singapore. The Building Control (Buildable Design) Regulations, introduced in 2001, require buildings to attain minimum buildability scores under the Buildable Design Appraisal System (BDAS) in Singapore. It appears that both the GMS and BDAS can influence building designs and must therefore be considered concurrently to yield the optimal results. Consideration of both sets of requirements is illustrated using a case study of one 18-storey residential building. Through interviews, the study also explores the issues relating to integration management …

Role Of Information And Communicational Technologies In Perceived Organizational Performance: An Empirical Evidence From Higher Education Sector Of Pakistan, Irfan Saleem, Tahir Masood Qureshi, Saba Mustafa, Farooq Anwar

Business Review

This research study is an attempt to measure Impact of Information Communication Technology (ICT) on Organizational Productivity (Efficiency and Effectiveness); which leads to Organization Performance (∆Cost, ∆Time, and ∆Quality) using IRA Model. Study also explores barriers in ICT Adoption and impact of IT Literate Human Capital on Organizational Productivity. Sample for this research study has been chosen from Higher Educational Sector (HES) of Pakistan. These institutions are located at various geographic locations of Pakistan. Result shows significant relation of ICT adoption on the effectiveness, nonetheless ICT adoption is insignificant on efficiency; however the relationship between the two is positive. Research …

My Own Private Library: A Peek Inside The Personal Library Of A Librarian, Ginger Williams

Georgia Library Quarterly

The article looks at the personal library of the author. As a librarian, her literary preferences are a microcosm of her diverse interests. The two best books that she read in a while are "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski and "The Last American Man" by Elizabeth Gilbert. She names four autographed books in her collection. She relates her determination to bring her copy of "Delia's Complete Illustrated Cookery Course" back home.

The Geography Of Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Within Urban Areas Of India, Jochen Albrecht, Peter Marcotullio, Andrea Sarzynski

Publications and Research

This paper examines the patterns of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from urban areas in India—a rapidly growing and urbanizing nation. It uses a new dataset, Emission Dataset for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) to estimate the urban share of national GHG emissions. It presents a geographic picture of emission variation by urban form (urban population size, area size, density, and growth rate), and economic (GDP and GDP per capita), geographic (location of emissions released: 20, 40, and 80 km from urban areas), and biophysical (ecosystem and climate: cooling degree days) characteristics. Dependent variables include emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), …

Public Participation Gis Implementation And The Transformation Of Us Planning Practice, Laxmi Ramasubramanian

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Cultural Competence In Urban Affairs And Planning, Tom Angotti, Marly Pierre-Louis, Laxmi Ramasubramanian, Sigmund Shipp, Angela Tovar

Publications and Research

In the Fall of 2009, the Center for Puerto Rican Studies (CENTRO) undertook the Centro Cultural Competence Initiative (CCI) with the support of a one-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). The goal of the CCI is to address the need for culturally appropriate work in a variety of professions by training students to be culturally competent practitioners. In the Fall of 2010, the Urban Affairs and Planning Department at Hunter College joined CENTRO as a partner in this initiative. Full time Professors Sigmund Shipp, Laxmi Ramasubramanian, and Tom Angotti worked …

Psychological Functioning In Adulthood: A Self-Efficacy Analysis, Daniele Artistico, Jane M. Berry, Justin Black, Dan Cervone, Courtney Lee, Heather Orom

Psychology Faculty Publications

In the first edition of this handbook, we laid the foundation for a self-efficacy approach to understanding learning in adulthood. We examined self-efficacy applications to learning in adulthood from two broad-based theoretical perspectives: KAPA (knowledge and appraisal personality architecture; Cervone, 2004a) and SOC (selective optimization with compensation, Baltes, Lindenberger, & Staudinger, 2006). Both perspectives emphasize the dynamic interplay between dispositional, motivational, situational, and developmental contexts for successful functioning and adaptation in life. In this edition, we build upon earlier claims with new evidence regarding the central role of self-efficacy to adult development, aging, and well-being in memory, health, work, and …

Preference And Tranquility For Houses Of Worship, Thomas R. Herzog, Lauren E. Gray, Amy M. Dunville, Angela M. Hicks, Emily A. Gilson

Peer Reviewed Articles

Participants rated houses of worship for one of seven variables: preference, tranquility, age, visual richness, building care, potential for recovery from fatigued attention, and potential for reflection. Factor analysis of the preference ratings yielded four content categories: “contemporary,” “traditional,” “unusual architecture,” and “older red brick churches.” Preference was positively correlated with visual richness and building care in the contemporary and traditional categories and had a positive partial correlation with age in the traditional category. Tranquility was positively correlated with preference, building care, recovery, and reflection in the contemporary category but only with reflection in the traditional category. Tranquility was rated …

Perceived And Capitalization Support Are Substantially Similar: Implications For Social Support Theory, Ryan C. Shorey, Brian Lakey

Peer Reviewed Articles

Social support is typically thought to protect people from bad events, whereas capitalization support augments people’s reactions to good events. Because social support and capitalization support apply to different classes of events, most theory predicts that measures of perceived support and capitalization support should be empirically distinct. We tested a new theory that hypothesizes that the main effects between perceived support and mental health do not reflect stress and coping primarily, but instead reflect ordinary, yet affectively consequential conversations and shared activities, some of which include positive events. According to this view, perceived support and capitalization support should be substantially …