Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Building Coalitions, Making Policy: The Politics Of The Clinton, Bush, And Obama Presidencies, By Martin A. Levin, Daniel Disalvo, And Martin M. Shapiro, Eds., José Villalobos

Departmental Papers (PS)

No abstract provided.

Borderplex Economic Outlook: 2013-2015, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Adam G. Walke

Departmental Papers (E & F)

No abstract provided.

Heterosexual Romantic Relationships And Mate Preference In College Students From The U.S. And China: Cross-Cultural And Gender Difference In Beliefs And Attitudes, Feiran Chen

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

This study examines how culture influences U.S. and Chinese college students’ mate preferences, and attitudes and beliefs on the following elements of romantic relationships: love as the only basis for marriage, premarital sex, and the influence of family and friends on mate choice. I surveyed 291 American participants and 292 Chinese participants and found that: Overall, American and Chinese participants vary in their mate preferences; Most American participants, especially female participants, would be more likely to “marry for love,” whereas Chinese participants, especially female participants, would be more likely to consider health and financial conditions in a mate; Chinese participants …

Shaking The Military Pillar Of Regime Support: A Closer Look At The Factors Influencing Military Defections During The Revolutions In Egypt, Libya, And Syria During The Arab Spring Movement, Sarah Kruger

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

Using Egypt, Libya, and Syria as primary case studies, this project qualitatively analyzes the recent uprisings in each of these nations with focus on what factors influenced soldiers to defect. Paying specific attention to the role of the international community, the power of nonviolent tactics, the influence of ethnic and religious divisions, and examining what happens when the opposition forces turn violent, these decisions by military personnel are deconstructed by analyzing their triggers. While the topic of military defections is a fairly new focus in revolutionary studies, this research serves as a talking point and gives insight into where future …

Music And Aspects Of Identity In People With Alzheimer's Disease, Rachel L. Heying

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

Music has been used as a healing tool for centuries, now commonly in the form of music therapy. Music therapy has been beneficial for people with Alzheimer’s disease by brightening moods, increasing social interaction, and reducing the difficulty of finding words (Brotons, Koger, & Pickett-Cooper, 1997). In the current study, the effect of music on aspects of identity in individuals with Alzheimer’s was investigated. Twenty-three participants (nine with Alzheimer’s, fourteen non-Alzheimer’s controls) responded to the Autobiographical Memory Interview (AMI) and the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) with and without music played immediately beforehand. It was hypothesized that music would increase autobiographical …

Matter Over Mind: Comparing Emotion Regulation Techniques With Ego Depletion, Kelsey Koch

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

It has been found that tasks that require self-control deplete our willpower gradually over time, and have been linked with glucose levels. This “ego depletion” effect has rarely been tested in emotional regulation. The depletion effect (by means of the mentally challenging Stroop task) was compared with two emotional self-regulation strategies by pairing them in four conditions. Half of all participants underwent the Stroop task, and all received instructions for viewing a video clip asking them to either suppress or reappraise their reaction to the film. Participants were then shown a brief video clip invoking disgust, as measured by an …

The Rally Around The Flag Effect: A Look At Former President George W. Bush And Current President Barack Obama, Jocelyn E. Norman

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

The purpose of my research is to look at how the “rally-round-the-flat effect” affected both former President George W. Bush and current President Barrack Obama and uncover why Obama only benefited from the “rally-round-the-flag effect” once, even though he has dealt with numerous international crises. This research is valuable because it will illustrate how the rally effect affects different presidents and uncover the outside factors that caused Obama’s approval ratings to remain stagnant during time of international crisis. In addition, it will hopefully disprove the notion that crisis or war automatically increases the popularity of a President.

An Arms Race Or Bureaucratic Dogfight? Assessing The Underlying Causes Of India’S Nuclear Force Development, Drew Stommes

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

States have developed military capabilities throughout the history of the nation-state international system. Examples include the Anglo-German naval arms race at the beginning of the 21^st century and the United States-Soviet Union arms competition during the cold War. One contemporary example of an arms buildup can be seen with the expansion and enhancement of India’s nuclear arsenal. Drawing from two broad bodies of literature that focus on the role of external and internal causes of arms buildups, I argue that India’s nuclear buildup has been caused primarily by the external threat posed by Pakistan, and less so by China. …

Household Catastrophic Medical Expenses In Eastern China: Determinants And Policy Implications, Xiaohong Li, Jay J. Shen, Jun Lu, Mei Sun, Chengyue Li, Fengshui Chang, Mo Hao

School of Public Health Faculty Research

Background: Much of research on household catastrophic medical expenses in China has focused on less developed areas and little is known about this problem in more developed areas. This study aimed to analyse the incidence and determinants of catastrophic medical expenses in eastern China.

Methods: Data were obtained from a health care utilization and expense survey of 11,577 households conducted in eastern China in 2008. The incidence of household catastrophic medical expenses was calculated using the method introduced by the World Health Organization. A multi-level logistic regression model was used to identify the determinants.

Results: The incidence of household catastrophic …

Are Print Books Dead? An Investigation Of Book Circulation At A Mid-Sized Academic Library, Lisa Rose-Wiles

Library Publications

I analyzed circulation of print books at Seton Hall University Libraries using the WorldCat Analysis tool and Voyager data. Only 21.5% of our collection circulated between 2005 and 2009, but circulation varied by subject area. Circulation was higher for subjects with more current collections. Over one-third of recent science books circulated, while older science books had low circulation. Print book circulation declined by 23% between 2005 and 2009. Results of this study informed collection development and prompted a comprehensive weeding project, participation in an international scholarly reading study, and an e-book, patron-driven acquisition program.

The Truth Is Out: How Students Really Search, Marta Deyrup, Beth Bloom

Library Publications

No abstract provided.

Democracy, Market Solutions, And Educative Institutions: A Perspective On Neoliberalism, John Buschman

Library Publications

No abstract provided.

Historical Roots Of Faith (In The Market): Neoliberalism Before The “Neo”, John Buschman

Library Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Procedural Injustice, Rebecca B. Martin

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to test for the existence of procedural injustice (PIJ) in the audit environment and its effect on junior auditor's reporting of time and level of skeptical action. This dissertation theorizes that the conflicting forces between junior auditors' ethical beliefs, formal firm policies forbidding the underreporting of chargeable time (URT), and implicit encouragement from managers to engage in URT result in a unique aspect of the audit environment, PIJ, because entry-level auditors perceive these conflicting beliefs and messages as unfair. In this study, PIJ is defined as the inverse of procedural justice, which is the …

Refreshing Information Literacy: Learning From Recent British Information Literacy Models, Justine Martin

Library Services Publications

Models play an important role in helping practitioners implement and promote information literacy. Over time models can lose relevance with the advances in technology, society, and learning theory. Practitioners and scholars often call for adaptations or transformations of these frameworks to articulate the learning needs in information literacy development. This study analyzes four recently published models from the United Kingdom. The initial findings were presented in a report for an ACRL taskforce reviewing the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. This article presents complementary, yet distinct findings from the same dataset that focus on reoccurring themes for information literacy …

Personal Reflections From Eportfolio: Ahrc New York City, Karen Mendoza Luis

Community Action Forum: Seidenberg School

No abstract provided.

Professional Staffing Levels And Fourth-Grade Student Research In Rural Schools With High-Poverty Levels, Karla Steege Krueger, Jean Donham

Curriculum & Instruction Faculty Publications

Rural schools in high-poverty areas are often understaffed. This descriptive phenomenological study examined fourth-grade state research projects in high- poverty rural Iowa schools to reveal the influence of school librarians’ staffing levels on student learning of research skills. To determine evidence of students’ critical literacy, ethical use of information, content learning, and understanding of the inquiry process, researchers analyzed twenty-four student work samples from eight schools, along with students’ responses to questionnaires and school librarians’ responses to surveys. Six (66 percent) student work samples in higher-staffed schools showed higher critical-literacy scores than those in the five lower-staffed schools. Six (of …

Leadership In Voluntourism, Heidi Jolivette Satre

Theses and Graduate Projects

This paper explores the opportunities for leadership development in the evolving field of VolunTourism. VolunTourism, a relatively new term within the tourism industry used to describe travelers paying to take a trip in which they spend their time volunteering, has been growing in populariry without any universally established guidelines or a program model for leaders to follow. Currently, there is a lack of research regarding the sustainability of projects and the impact of leadership sfyles on the success of VolunTourism programs. This paper also explores the opportunities for leadership development within the evolving field of VolunTourism, based on the experiences …

First Ladies In The White House, Oklahoma State University

Women

Photographs of a display of government documents from Oklahoma State University.

Testing Misconceptions And Building Excitement In A Psychology And The Law Course, Emily Stark

Psychology Department Publications

Did you know that there is no evidence that verifies that each person's fingerprints are truly unique, or that even trained dental examiners cannot accurately match bite marks to the teeth of a suspect? Thinking about our misconceptions can make us excited to learn more about a topic, so that we understand why we were wrong. This article discusses a method that I developed to address misconceptions about psychology and the legal system and to get students excited to learn more about these topics.

Alma Openurl Migration Strategies, Jimmy Ghaphery

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

VCU Libraries fully migrated from SFX to Alma OpenURL in January 2013. This presentation will discuss the challenges and opportunities of that migration. In addition a number of local migration tools and processes will be shared that proved beneficial to VCU in efficiently making the leap from SFX to Alma OpenURL.

Investigating Virtual Worlds, Patricia D. Sobczak

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

The global phenomena of online gaming engages millions of people, some playing over 45 hours a week - the equivalent of a second full-time job. Our children are logging over 10,000 hours of gaming time before they are 21 years old; the equivalent of the time children spend in formal classrooms from grades five through 12. Players in one of the most popular online games have logged over 5.3 million years of play time since 2004.

These statistics show that virtual worlds, including online games, have become an important component of modern culture, but their impact on society has yet …

In The Beginning ... There Was Netlibrary, Barbara Anderson

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

A chronicle of the growth of electronic books in the VCU Libraries collections, the challenges this format presents to cataloging and user discovery, and the approaches taken by VCU Libraries to address these challenges.

Encouraging Corporate Social Responsibility In Rayong, Thailand, Christina Spoons, Mark Gordon

2010-2016 Archived Posters

A review of literature revealed a gap in research on effective ways to promote corporate social responsibility in the Rayong province of Thailand where the Integrated Refinery and Petrochemical Company (IRPC) is located. This case study used purposeful sampling of eight key informants in a CSR program designed to help restore the environment surrounding the refinery, increase cooperation and good will between IRPC and surrounding villages, and make better use of local resources.

Factors Influencing Voter Behavior In Two Inner-City Communities In Jamaica, Apollone S. Reid

2010-2016 Archived Posters

A phenomenological study explored the decision making process of voters in two inner-city communities in Jamaica, wherein results of three consecutive general elections showed homogenous voting in favor of incumbent candidates. Voting behavior examined through theoretical frameworks of reciprocal determinism and counter-control supported influences among environmental, cognitive, and behavioral factors.

The Role Of Leadership In Ict Integration And Its Impact On The Economy In Haiti, Carmel Louis-Jacques

2010-2016 Archived Posters

A phenomenological study on the process and effect Haitian leaders have on the implementation and application of information communication technologies in Haiti. Guided by Colaizzi’s Seven Steps of Phenomenological Analysis, the emerging concepts included key sectors, corruption, lack of infrastructure, decentralization, and engagement. The findings can aid researchers, academicians, and leaders interested in investigating how the use of ICT can produce positive or negative social and political outcomes in LDCs.

Impact Of Hiv And Aids On Elderly Caregivers In Chiang Mai, Thailand, Sarah-Kate Hawkins

School of Public Policy and Administration (SPPA) Dissertation Award

The UN General Special Assembly on HIV/AIDS reported that Thailand's elderly are living on the edge of poverty. Those who become caregivers for the children who have been orphaned by AIDS incur even greater challenges. The 2007 Survey of Older Persons of Thailand concluded that there is a range offinancial and social safety nets provided by the government, nongovernmental (NGO), and faith-based organizations (FBOs) to help the elderly caregivers and their families. The research literature offered limited studies on Thailand's elderly caring for these children. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the social, religious, and familial experiences …

Gastrophilanthropy: Utopian Aspiration And Aspirational Consumption As Political Retreat, Patricia Mooney Nickel, Angela M. Eikenberry

Public Administration Faculty Publications

In this paper we inquire into the practice of gastrophilanthropy—the individualized consumption of food products under the aegis of philanthropic action. In particular, we examine the case of the philanthropic cupcake. By positioning gastrophilanthropy within the complex of consumption and social relations of power we attempt to shed light on why it has become so well accepted in society today and how the impulse to consume and the impulse to be philanthropic relate to each other and to the contemporary political moment. We question the transformative impact of gastrophilanthropy on those who practice it and on those for whom it …

Green Politics In China: Environmental Governance And State-Society Relations, Joy Y. Zhang, Michael S. Barr

Books

Based on interviews with members of grassroots organisations, media and government institutions, Green Politics in China is an in-depth account of the novel ways Chinese society is responding to its environmental crisis, using examples rarely captured in Western media or academia.

The struggle for clean air, low-carbon conspiracy theories, is transforming Chinese society, producing new forms of public fund raising and the encouraging the international tactics of grassroots NGOs. In doing so, they challenge static understandings of state-society relations in China, providing a crucial insight into the way in which China is changing internally and emerging as a powerful player …

Hegemony And Humanitarian Norms: The Us Legitimation Of Toxic Violence, Eric Bonds

History and American Studies Articles

Despite widespread beliefs that the United States has not used chemical weapons since the distant past of World War I, this study suggests a more complicated history by examining U.S. use of herbicides and incapacitating gases in the Vietnam War and its use of herbicides in the "War on Drugs." This article places such use of toxic violence within a context of U.S. hegemony, by which U.S. officials have used contested forms of violence to secure geopolitical goals, but have also been pressured to comply with humanitarian norms or-when there is a gap between norms and state policy-to do legitimating …