Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The "Troubles:" Northern Irish Political Contention From Sunningdale To The Good Friday Agreement, Daniel J. Foley

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This paper looks to answer the question: Can the contentious politics thesis of Doug McAdam, Sidney Tarrow, and Charles Tilly explain why the Good Friday Agreement (1998) (GFA) successfully produced a lasting peace in Northern Ireland, when the Sunningdale (1973) and the Anglo-Irish (1985) agreements failed to do so? I set out to study the buildup and aftermath of each agreement and subsequently examine each through the lens of the contentious politics thesis, searching for causal mechanisms and processes that explain the success of the GFA. The purpose of the contentious politics thesis is not to examine various forms of …

The Egyptian Revolution Goes Viral: Reading Categories Of Tweets In The Twitter-Created Networked Public Sphere, Alexander Craig Benson Fay

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The expansion of online social media (OSM) and networked information technology (NIT) use has coincided with reinvigorated democratic movements around the world, including the toppling of authoritarian governments in Tunisia and Egypt in 2011. This paper examines the variety of uses for Twitter during the Egyptian revolution, as Hosni Mubarak’s regime collapsed in less than three weeks after 30 years in power.

To achieve this analysis, this paper first divided the revolution into Fisk’s four stages of political crisis. Next, the authors extracted 37,634 tweets containing key words from an archive of 16 million tweets collected from January 23-February 8, …

The History Of Public Relations In China: A Western Comparison And Beyond, Jessica Engel

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

During my six month study abroad expericence in Hong Kong, I became fascinated by the duality of China mainland and its “Special Administrative Region”, (Hong Kong) from a public relations perspective. With its one government, two system approach to politics, I sought to understand how the practice of public relations evolved in these two regions. Through literary analysis, personal interviews with public relations practitioners and personal observations during an internship in Hong Kong, I explore the development of the public relations practice in China and Hong Kong through first a western lens, and then through a global perspective.

My first …

The Rights-Based Approach To Development In Latin America, Catherine Divita

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Many scholars and practitioners believe the rights-based approach represents a significant step forward in the development field towards the eradication of poverty. In lieu of blind service provision, aid organizations implementing the rights-based approach use human rights to address underlying causes of poverty such as exclusion, discrimination and corruption. However, integrating human rights into the development process is no clean, simple task. The rights-based approach has been conceptualized and implemented in many different ways around the world since its emergence in the 1990s. Scholars and practitioners now ask: Which rights-based approach is the most successful? I examine the rights-based approaches …

The Financial Consequences Of Turkey’S Potential Accession Into The European Union, Onur Can Ozer

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Turkey, with a population of nearly 74 million and a strategic location opening up to Europe, Middle East, North Africa, and East Asian markets, has been one of the fastest growing markets in the world in the present day. Having recorded a GDP growth with a level of 11% in the first half of 2011, Turkey was regarded to have the fastest growing industry in Europe. Turkey’s accession talks have been around since 1950s and have been official when Turkey became an associate member of the EU in 1963. Although Turkey has made a remarkable progress in the last decade, …

The Obama Doctrine: The Lici Foreign Policy Perspective, Wesley Michael Milillo

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Every U.S. President has maintained and crafted a prescriptive set of policies with which they conduct international affairs. All Presidents have left their historical mark- what they believe to be America’s position in the world, and its commensurate role. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the world transformed as America achieved international hegemony as the sole superpower and subsequent victor of the Cold War. However, many today question U.S. primacy shifting the debate toward questioning if and how America should act in the world.

Barack Obama’s foreign policy eludes the confines of a single political ideology and philosophy. After …

Birth Order And The Academic And Social Success Of College Students, Jessica Nissenbaum

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The purpose of the study of Birth Order and the Academic and Social Success of College Students was to examine the relationship between birth order and the academic and social experiences that students have during their college years. An ideal college experience involves students being actively engaged in what they are learning and having positive social interactions and support networks. Unfortunately, the college experiences of many students fall short of these expectations and they struggle to continue their pursuit of higher education. Depression has become a serious concern on college campuses. Understanding the birth orders that may create challenges in …

Ecotourism In Costa Rica: Empowering Local Communities, Rachel Lequire

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This paper explores a community-based ecotourism initiative called La Tortuga Feliz, in Pacuare Beach, Costa Rica. This organization founded and run by Western expatriates using a conservation approach provides benefits to the local community while meaningfully involving them in the process.

My research included an extensive literature review, informal and formal interviews as well as participant observation for one month on-site. The objective was to understand what it means to empower and involve local communities in a meaningful way in community-based ecotourism projects.

I will argue that La Tortuga Feliz, although facilitating some benefits to the community, also disempowers the …

Collaborating To Build Futures The Role Of Non-Governmental Organizations In Creating Education Opportunities For Migrant Workers’ Children In China, Emerson A. Gale

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This project examines how informal and legal relationships between the Chinese government, migrant communities, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are useful for educating migrant workers’ children. Market reforms have increased internal migration of Chinese families and have sparked a growth in non-profit NGOs which assist under-privileged migrant youth. Contemporary Chinese urban education literature notes legal and financial obstacles which prevent millions of migrant students from being entitled to the same education opportunities as their non-migrant peers. I note that creating equitable schooling for migrant youth is highly important for the political, economic, and social health of the Chinese state. By drawing …

The Effects Of Foreign Direct Investment On Sovereign Debt Sustainability In Latin America, Oriana I. Fuentes

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Sovereign debt has been a central political issue in Latin American nations for many years, especially considering the region’s long history of defaults and restructurings. Finding ways to grow sustainably at manageable levels of indebtedness has certainly been a challenge, especially with the large number of factors that play into how a nation finances itself and its growth. One of these factors, foreign direct investment (FDI), has attracted significant attention after countries became more politically stable and protective of investor interests in the early 1990s. As a result, inflows of FDI have grown at record levels reaching over $112 billion …

Foundations Of Euroskepticism In The United Kingdom: Declining Support For The European Union, Kayla Walsh

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

I discuss two questions pertaining to the relationship of the United Kingdom and Europe: why has support always been lower in the United Kingdom for Europe than other member states and why is support for Europe in decline?

To show the low support as well as the decline in support, I look at two referendums in the UK on membership, one in 1975 and another in 2011 that show two end points for how low support has fallen. I then discuss the history of the United Kingdom and her relationship with the European institutions to lay the foundation of the …

Dirty War: Across Borders And Generations, Robert Douglas Solonick

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The term “dirty war” has been applied to various periods of political violence and armed conflict around the world: the dirty wars of Latin America in the 1970s and 1980s, the dirty war in Chechnya, and even the dirty war in Israel. Yet, given its broad spectrum of application, there is no established definition explaining what a dirty war is. These conflicts all titled “dirty wars” occur in different times, different locations, and for different reasons. Such ambiguous use of this term in such different environments is extremely confusing.

This project set out to establish a working definition for …

Waiting In “The House Of Life”: Experiences Of Seeking Asylum In The United States While Living In Buffalo, New York, Meagan Nicole Salisbury

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

I am interested in the experiences of individuals in Upstate New York throughout the process of seeking asylum. I want to know asylum law influences the daily lives of individuals in relation to their cases and other emotions and activities. To address this, I traveled to Vive, Inc. in Buffalo, a shelter for individuals seeking asylum in either the U.S. or Canada, and conducted nine interviews. I interviewed people seeking asylum, one woman who already obtained asylum in the United States, and the two staff members.

Based on my interviews, I argue that seeking asylum in the United States is …

Socio-Politics Of Smuttynose Island: A Look Into The Glass Importation Industry Of Early New England Fishing Sites, Lauren Silverstein

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Smuttynose Island of the Isles of Shoals is a well preserved archaeological site that documents approximately 400 years of human activity. Four years of excavation has recovered a significant amount of material related to the intensely occupied, seasonally utilized fishing stations on Smuttynose. This project examined a concentrated sample of approximately 2,000 pieces of glass vessels related to two periods of fishing activity on Smuttynose Island (1640-1720 and 1760-1830). By determining the date and type of manufacture present in the concentration of fishing period glass and comparing the two specific time periods of the fishing industry, the project highlights how …

Perceptions Of Factors Related To Therapeutic Change In Face-To-Face And Distance Counseling Environments, Stephen Harding Wright

Counseling and Human Services - Dissertations

Videoconferencing is quickly becoming a part of daily life as technologies using the Internet and computer advances are now being employed to deliver synchronous, highly discernible video and audio content on devices used for daily communication. Videoconferencing is also being increasingly used by counseling professionals to provide counseling sessions and other services, and counseling accrediting and licensing bodies have recognized its use in some professional practice situations.

This experimental study used a regional sample of counselors, other mental health professionals, and counselors-in-training (N = 126), to examine whether participants, randomly assigned, rated three different measures of counseling process-working alliance, session …

Global Career Development Facilitator Romania: Training Evaluation And Job Analysis, Elena Amalia Stanciu

Counseling and Human Services - Dissertations

The Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) Romania training program was the focus of the current study. GCDF is a paraprofessional certification program in the field of career counseling and development, which was created in the United States by the Center for Credentialing and Education, and was adapted to Romanian needs with the intention of preparing career specialists and of developing a national certification system. This cross-sectional quantitative study had two purposes: to evaluate the GCDF Romania training program and to conduct a job analysis of the tasks performed by Romanian GCDF career consultants.

Kirkpatrick's model was used in designing and …

Three Essays On The Property Value Impact Of Neighborhood Disamenities, Alexander Nicholas Bogin

Economics - Dissertations

This dissertation employs hedonic analysis to examine market demand for three neighborhood disamenities. The first chapter investigates the property value impact of a No Child Left Behind "failing" school designation. The second chapter studies the property value impact of a local homicide. The third chapter examines the property value impact of proximity to a mosque post 9/11. Each disamenity has a negative and significant effect on property values with the magnitude of impact varying across household type.

Integrating Brownfield Redevelopments Into The Urban Fabric, Ryan Medlen

All Theses

The American landscape is dotted with hundreds of thousands of sites that are contaminated and underutilized. These sites bring down surrounding property values and face unique barriers that inhibit their redevelopment. Addressing these sites is complicated as a result of the number of sites needing attention and the limited resources to address them with. Much work has been done about the characteristics of these sites but minimal work has been done with regards to how they relate to surrounding area. The work that has been done in regards to brownfields and their relationship to the neighborhood has focused on site …

An Engineering Psychology Based Analysis Of Ladder Setup Procedures, Alan Campbell

All Theses

ABSTRACT
Accidents involving portable ladders are a common cause of serious occupational and non-occupational injuries throughout the industrialized world. Many of these injuries could be prevented with proper education, training and usage of portable ladders. This research focused on the human factors and engineering aspects of portable extension ladder usage. Results and analysis revealed evidence of unsafe acts that could lead to catastrophic ladder slide-out accidents in real-life situations. Six ladder setup methods were evaluated based on placement angles: the Basic, 75 Degree, Stand-Reach, L Sticker, 4:1, and Level methods. The level method produced the most accurate results with the …

The Recession Of 2008: For Better Or For Worse, Kelsy Litchenburg

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

With nonstop discussion about the current recession in the government, news, classroom, social media, and any other type of communication outlet, there is seldom a minute that Americans are not impacted by our current economic condition. Constantly, we are faced with pitfalls of the recession, like job loss and a declining house market, but who is to say that the motion of our economy doesn't follow Newton's third law stating that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction? Meaning that for each negative this recession brings, might there also be a positive social effect as well? After …

Young Children‘S Mathematics References During Free Play In Family Child Care Settings, Shawnee M. Hendershot

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was undertaken to determine how children use math in their everyday activities, which includes caregiving environments outside of their home. Audio recordings were taken of children while they played. The researcher typed transcripts of the audio recordings in order to search for references to math. The different types of math that the children used were: (a) classification, (b) magnitude, (c) enumeration, (d) patterns and shapes, (e) spatial reasons, and (f) part/whole. An example of classification would be a child sorting blocks into groups based on shape. Magnitude is used when a child uses phrases to compare two or …

Evidence Of The Shaming Effect: A Look At Ncaa Football, Holmes Hill

All Theses

This paper addresses the general theory of shaming and the effects it has on criminal behavior. There has been much debate of the use of shaming in the criminal justice system and the effects it has on criminal behavior. The lack of quantitative data has limited such debates to theory without evidence. This paper applies the theory to NCAA football statistics to study the behavior of football players on the field, to explain the way people and how people respond to shaming. The analysis is based on seasonal team statistics of all division I football teams in correlation with a …

Diminishing Discrimination In English Premier League Soccer, Can Cetegen

All Theses

Racism still represents one of the biggest problems in soccer. Szymanski has proven that racial discrimination exists in English Premier League soccer. This paper shows diminishing discrimination against African origin and foreign players looking at a time period from 2001 to 2010.

Financial Inclusion & Economic Development: A Case Study Of Turkey And A Cross-Country Analysis Of European Union, Recep Yorulmaz

All Theses

ABSTRACT
Financial development enhances human development, and access to financial services makes a positive impact on people's lives particularly poor people. In addition, financial development reduces income inequality and boosts incomes. Over the last few decades, policymakers have considered financial sector reforms that promote financial inclusion. This paper attempts to show how financial inclusion is correlated with standard measures of economic development and economic well-being. To this end, we first measure the extent of financial inclusion by comparing economies and regions over time. Then, using this index of financial inclusion, we identify the factors associated with financial inclusion using a …

The Effects Of Health Benefit Use On Organizational And Union Commitment Among Full And Part-Time Retail Employees, Skye Gillispie

All Theses

Previous research on employee benefits has found that benefits are related to various employee attitudes including job satisfaction, turnover intentions, organizational commitment, perceived organizational support, affective organizational commitment, and continuance organizational commitment (Blau et al., 2001; Sinclair, Leo, & Wright, 2005; Williams et al., 2002). The current study examined how health benefit use and health benefit satisfaction influence three types of commitment: affective organizational, continuance organizational and union loyalty. To date, researchers have never examined the differential effects of health benefits use in full and part-time employees. Given that it is uncommon for part-time employees to be offered benefits, part-time …

Student Perceptions And Use Of Multimodal And Traditional Forms Of Composition, Shawn Stowe

All Theses

Given the dynamic nature of technology and writing, it is important to understand how students view traditional and multimodal methods of composition. Traditional composition (plain text) is frequently used to complete essays, and multimodal composition (often digital, but otherwise containing multiple media elements) is often used to construct blogs and webpages. As technologies advance, there is more and more opportunity for the overlapping of composition and technology in writing practices. The objective of this study was to examine how students perceive traditional and multimodal composition in terms of their use, perceptions, and preferences. This study used surveys (quantitative) and interviews …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Response Elimination And Resurgence Using Rich, Lean, And Thinning Schedules Of Alternative Reinforcement, Mary M. Sweeney

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Mary M. Sweeney, graduate student in the Experimental and Applied Psychological Science graduate program, proposed and completed this thesis in partial fulfillment for the requirements of the degree of Master of Science of Psychology. This project was supported in part by the American Psychological Society of Graduate Students (APAGS) Basic Psychological Science Fall2010 Research Grant awarded by the members of the APAGS Science Committee.

Many problem behaviors, such as aggression or self-injury in persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) or drug abuse can be maintained by the consequences of those behaviors. For example, many instances of aggression in individuals …

Pragmatic And Semantic Contributions To Social Cognitive Development In Children With Down Syndrome, Jillian Carroll

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study sought to investigate how children with Down syndrome (DS) develop social cognition. This is an important topic because there have been few studies that have examined this as a developmental phenomena. The participants in the study were six families, three of these families had children 8-10 months of age and three had children between 16 and 18 months of age. Three of these infants were diagnosed with Down syndrome and three of them had no developmental issues. Data was collected using the MacArthur-Bates Development Inventories (Fenson, Marchman, Thal, Dale, Reznick & Bates, 2007) and a developmental questionnaire. The …

2012_05 Pca Professional Development, Pennsylvania Counseling Association

PCA Board of Directors Meetings

No abstract provided.

St. Dominic Deaf Center, May-June 2012

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