Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Gender, Relationship Type, And Perceptions Of Interpersonal Violence, Eric Allen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Intimate partner violence continues to be a controversial issue for the legal and criminal justice system. Difference in how people interpret violence in the domestic context can have substantial consequences for victim and bystander reporting and responses. Yet few studies have explored the possible influence of gender-based normative expectations for understanding instances of violence between men and women. How do perceptions of violence vary between relationship type and sex of the perpetrator? I test whether reports of criminality, recommendations to contact police, and perceived level of injury vary across relationship intimacy (i.e., acquaintance, dating, spouses) and perpetrator sex. I analyzed …

Effects Of Licensed And Unlicensed Negation On The Activation Of Negated Concepts, Kevin Autry

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research on the activation of negated concepts has demonstrated situations in which negated concepts are less active than non-negated concepts (e.g., MacDonald & Just, 1989) as well as situations where negated and non-negated concepts are equally active (e.g., Autry & Levine, 2012, in press). Based on the pragmatic inference hypothesis (Levine & Hagaman, 2008), the present experiments tested the hypothesis that the activation level of negated concepts is a function of the context in which they occur. In two experiments, the activation level of target concepts was measured following licensing or non-licensing contexts using lexical decision and reading times. Although …

The Effects Of Kindergarten Redshirting From A Parental Perspective, Kelli Dougan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Kindergarten redshirting is the term used to describe the phenomenon where a parent chooses to keep their child from attending kindergarten so that the child may gain a year's worth of maturity. This qualitative dissertation examines the decision making process undergone by parents who have redshirted their children. While some parents began the decision making process soon after their child's birth, every parent in the study considered the decision carefully. The study also provides an analysis of the outcomes the redshirting has provided for children as perceived by their parents. Parents rated the academic, Social and emotional effects of kindergarten …

Education In Modern China A Case Study: Teachers' Attitudes Of In-Service / Professional Development In Guangzhou, China, Todd E. Neuhaus

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

China has a long history of education, which can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty (1523 B.C. to 1027 B.C.). During this long history changes occurred as the needs of society changed. During the Warring States Period (770 B.C. to 221 B.C.), the philosophies of Daoism and Confucianism were developed. These philosophies became the cornerstone of education theory and practice in China. At the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1911), steps were taken to train teachers with the goal of universal education for all of its citizens. Since 1977, the Chinese government has taken strides in universal …

Evaluation Of Video Modeling To Teach Children Diagnosed With Asd To Avoid Poison Hazards, Shannon Eileen King

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Accidental poisonings are one of the leading safety threats for young children, so it is important to teach children to avoid ingesting poisonous substances. Research has shown that behavioral skills training (BST) and in situ training (IST) are effective in teaching children safety skills to prevent gun play, abduction, and poison ingestion. However, little research on safety skills has been conducted with children with autism. Video modeling has been shown to be effective in teaching abduction prevention skills to children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of video modeling to …

The Partisanship Spectrum, Justin Levitt

William & Mary Law Review

In a polarized political environment, allegations of excessive partisanship by public actors are ubiquitous. Commentators, courts, and activists levy these allegations daily. But with remarkable consistency, they do so as if “partisanship” described a single phenomenon. This Article recognizes that the default mode of understanding partisanship is a descriptive and diagnostic failure with meaningful consequences. We mean different things when we discuss partisanship, but we do not have the vocabulary to understand that we are talking past each other.

Without a robust conceptualization of partisanship, it is difficult to treat pathologies of partisan governance. Indeed, an undifferentiated approach to partisanship …

Responding To Trauma: Help-Seeking Behavior And Posttraumatic Growth In A College Sample, Aaron J. Burrick

Honors Scholar Theses

Research indicates that traumatic experiences can impact college students’ mental health, academic abilities, and relationships with peers. Trauma and associated symptoms of PTSD can lower students’ well-being and increase the risk of withdrawing from the university. Research also emphasizes the importance of psychological help-seeking as a way to experience posttraumatic growth. This study examines traumatic experiences, help-seeking attitudes, barriers, and behaviors, and posttraumatic growth in a sample of 168 undergraduate college students. Results indicated an overwhelming preference for informal help-seeking resources and the importance of traumatic severity in the decision to seek help. Additionally, female participants reported greater traumatic severity …

A Creative Journey In Higher Education: The Story Of Personal And Organizational Change, Iryna Zorianna Molodecky

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project explores my personal and professional journey as a teacher in higher education and how it parallels the unique journey of the institution where I teach, Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario. This is a story about the pursuit of creativity in education and the transformation as a result of creativity. Drawing on current theories of creativity, in particular the 4 P’s (person, process, product and press), it examines what factors played a role in initiating and managing change. Presented as a narrative, this project documents the various aspects of personal and organizational change. The questions asked include: “What sparked …

Sovereign Silence: Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act And Sex Work In Sonagachhi, Simanti Dasgupta

Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications

Drawing upon ethnographic work with a grassroots sex workers’ organization in Calcutta, Durbar Samanwaya Samiti (Durbar), this article analyzes the relationship between subalternity and silence. I discuss how sex workers, especially new entrants, use silence as a subaltern strategy to resist state and non-state surveillance intended to oppose trafficking. The increased surveillance is a direct result of the global anti-trafficking narrative, led mainly by the United States, in which developing countries, like India, adopt measures to avoid being downgraded in the United States’ Trafficking in Persons Report. I contend that these national and international efforts have led to a quandary …

Negative Experiences In Physical Education Class And Avoidance Of Exercise, Daphne Brown

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

One of our nation’s growing concerns is obesity and the effect it has on one’s health and overall quality of life. Determining the underlying causes for an individual’s avoidance of exercise is crucial in battling the obesity crisis. The impact negative feelings involving Physical Education classes taken in adolescence may have on one’s current exercise routines and barriers to current participation in exercise were examined in the current study. Measures of barriers to exercise, self-esteem, current exercise routines and negative experiences involving Physical Education classes were examined. A total of 101 participants completed the measures of barriers to exercise, self-esteem, …

Construct Validity Of The Hare Psychopathy Checklist Revised (Pcl-R) For The Purposes Of Predicting Recidivism In Sex Offenders, Courtney Mccue

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

To be eligible for civil commitment under the Kansas Sexually Violent Predator Act (K.S.A 59-29a02,1994), three criteria must be satisfied; being the person must have past sex offenses, a mental abnormality, and be likely to sexually recidivate within the community. The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) (Hare, 2003) is a tool often used by clinicians completing sexual predator evaluations as a means to assess for psychopathy, a mental disorder capable of satisfying criteria two. However, due to the amount of literature linking psychopathy to recidivism, the PCL-R has been presented and/or interpreted to also satisfy criteria three within the law, likely …

Gender-Based Stereotype Threat And Competitive Interactive Games, Phillip Paul Robbins

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Stereotype threat has been examined in numerous areas of performance, including entrepreneurial intentions, negotiation, math, and chess (Gupta, Turban, & Bhawe, 2008; Kray, Thompson, & Galinsky, 2001; Maass, D’Ettole, & Cadinu, 2008; Spencer, Steele, & Quinn, 1999). Women who identify more strongly with their gender are also more vulnerable to stereotype threat (Schmader, 2002). The masculine stereotype includes such qualities as aggressiveness and risk-taking, and the feminine stereotype includes qualities such as cooperating and nurturing (Best, Williams, & Briggs, 1980; Gupta et al., 2008; Kray et al., 2001). Men tend to play competitive interactive games, particularly complex board games and …

The Role Of American Tyranny In Iran's Nuclear Production: The Framework Of Public Law 112-158 Iran Threat Reduction Act Of 2011, Kimberly Jones

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

The use of war pretext in foreign policy has been studied for decades. Several theories have established how pretext are used to manage public opinions about war. Arguably, the U.S. government uses pretext to obscure the awkwardness of justifying aggressive or offensive activities to the public. U.S. accusations of Iran’s development of nuclear weapons give justification for imposing economic sanctions, but it is an act of war. Public Law 112-158 penalizes states that pay Iran for its oil. Given its current economic weakness, the U.S. government must wield its military power to retain its global preeminence. Oil that is not …

Child Sexual, Physical, And Emotional Abuse: The Long-Term Impact Of Child Abuse On Adult Interpersonal Functioning, Sarah Landry

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

In order to appreciate the relationship problems child abuse victims experience in adulthood, there must first be a fundamental understanding of how the abusive relationship impacts a victim’s cognitions and behaviors. The various forms of child abuse include sexual, physical, and emotional. Information gathered from relevant child abuse literature is provided regarding definitions, statistics, prevalence, effects experienced in both childhood and adulthood, and effects on interpersonal functioning. Attachment theory’s working models and child attachment styles are discussed and introduced as potential sources for conceptualizing the interpersonal problems commonly associated with a history of child abuse. For this current study, a …

Facing Crisis : Maintaining Class Status In Victorian Old Louisville., David Walter Schatz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The late Victorian era (1876-1915) was a time of economic and social crisis as America entered into the industrial age. Multiple economic crises including three market crashes and resulting depressions placed a strain on the economic viability of the growing middle classes. The changing nature of middle class work also created a social crisis as professionals and entrepreneurs were forced into clerk and managerial positions within the government and corporations to maintain their middle class lifestyle. One of the ways that middle class families mitigated the social and economic crises was to participate in the practice of segmented dining. Segmented …

Testosterone Reactivity Is Moderated By Relationship Compatibility, Florencia Iturri

Senior Honors Theses

Testosterone levels change in response to a variety of social situations including, sexual and challenge situations. Yet, little is known about the role of testosterone dynamics in in young adults in romantic relationships. Furthermore, the effect of compatibility of the relationship dyad on testosterone reactivity in response to social-challenge is unknown. Prior studies suggest that attachment levels may predict testosterone responsivity during stressors such as social challenge.

What is missing from the literature is whether testosterone response to social-challenge is specifically modified within the confines of an attachment relationship, such as within romantic couples. I measured salivary testosterone in healthy …

Non-Western Art And The Musée Du Quai Branly: The Challenge Of Authenticity, Mary Grace Cathryn Bernard

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis discusses the recent construction and anthropological collaboration of the Paris museum: Musée du quai Branly (MQB), an art museum dedicated to showcasing art collections specific to aboriginal and indigenous cultures in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania. The opening of MQB in June 2006 raised a plethora of controversial questions concerning the museum’s methods of curatorial display of the art it has made its primary focus. One of the major issues discussed examines the Quai Branly’s authentic, or inauthentic, representation of certain artworks displayed throughout the museum. Thus, the essay raises the questions: does a non-Western object remain …

Reciprocal Relation Between Psychophysiological Patterns Of Stress Responsivity And Sleep, Miguel A. Velasquez

Senior Honors Theses

Contemporary understanding of the brain indicates that a reciprocal relationship exists between mind and body. Biological functioning adjusts to the consequences of our behavior and our behavior is influenced by our biology. This is the case with the stress responsivity system. The stress hormone cortisol follows a biologically-predetermined daily cycle of secretion (controlled by circadian rhythm) that correlates with expected activity throughout the day, however this cycle can accommodate to different environmental changes that can occur. It has been noticed that individuals who report stress problems also report sleep problems. I hypothesized that sleep quality can predict maladjustments in cortisol’s …

"Hey, Y'Guys!": A Diachronic Usage-Based Approach To Changes In American English Address, Ben Sienicki

Linguistics ETDs

This dissertation adopts a functional, usage-based perspective on language to highlight key changes in American English address over the past century, especially the development of 'you guys' and its expansion across second-person plural contexts. Based on data from the Corpus of Historical American English and the Corpus of Contemporary American English (among other corpora), the study tracks the increasing usage, gradual restructuring, semantic generalization, and shifting registers of 'you guys', including the interactions of those changes as the form has grammaticalized. This work offers an explanation, therefore, as to why 'you guys' has been uniquely reshaped into a pronominal unit …

Generational Differences In Work Motivation Of Healthcare Workers, Rose Leavitt

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study examined the motivational differences across the major generations and the specific cusps between the Veterans and Baby Boomers, between Baby Boomers and Generation X, and between Generation X and Generation Y.

Data were collected from 1,098 self-selected employees of a large healthcare system in the Midwest. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed to statistically analyze the data. Significant differences in the sources of motivation among the four generations and the cusps of generations for four of the five MSI subscales were identified.

Intrinsic process motivation was found to be significantly higher for Generation Y than Generation …

Students' Perceptions Of Recess: An Examination Of Predictors Of Peer Conflict, Kadie Dooley

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Recess plays an important role in students’ school days because it provides students opportunities to interact with their peers in unstructured settings. Some research has explored the relation between peer conflict within school contexts and how it is related to locations of positive play and the presence of adult supervisors. Further, researchers have conducted studies to examine within group differences for gender and grade, as well as between school differences. However, results have been mixed.

This dissertation examined the degree to which the following variables were related to where peer conflict occurs during recess: location of adult supervisors, location of …

Supporting Positive Parent-Toddler Relationships And Reducing Toddler Tantrums: Evaluation Of Pcat-E, Tara M. Sjuts

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

At the most fundamental level, a positive parent-child relationship is the foundation of child success. However, the toddler period may present difficulties for the parent-child relationship. As toddlers explore their autonomy, they challenge parents with noncompliance and temper tantrums, which may be difficult for the parent-child relationship. This study examined the impact of an extension of Parent-Child Attunement Therapy (Parent Child Attunement Therapy – Enhanced; PCAT-E) on parenting behaviors, toddler tantrum behaviors, and the parent-toddler relationship. This extension featured eight individual didactic and coaching sessions with parent-child dyads focused on teaching positive parenting skills, effective commands, and emotion language modeling. …

Black Radicals And Marxist Internationalism: From The Iwma To The Fourth International, 1864–1948, Charles R. Holm

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This project investigates historical relationships between Black Radicalism and Marxist internationalism from the mid-nineteenth through the first half of the twentieth century. It argues that contrary to scholarly accounts that emphasize Marxist Euro-centrism, or that theorize the incompatibility of “Black” and “Western” radical projects, Black Radicals helped shape and produce Marxist theory and political movements, developing theoretical and organizational innovations that drew on both Black Radical and Marxist traditions of internationalism. These innovations were produced through experiences of struggle within international political movements ranging from the abolition of slavery in the nineteenth century to the early Pan-African movements and struggles …

Event-Related Potential Correlates Of Social And Nonsocial Cognitive Processes Related To Schizotypy, Charles A. Davidson

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Social cognitive, neurocognitive, and social functioning research in serious mental illness (SMI) have recently proliferated. Their synergy requires translational bridges to applied research. This project aims to develop a measurement protocol capable of measuring independent components of social cognitive and neurocognitive brain functioning. These brain processes should each vary systematically with schizotypal traits whose extremes represent core elements of psychotic disorders. The measurement technology must be affordable, efficient, and acceptable for use in clinical settings.

An ERP protocol was developed that incorporates an array of candidate measures. The stimuli consist of emotional (angry and happy), neutral, and scrambled (non-face comparison) …

Procedural Due Process In Modern Problem-Solving Courts: An Application Of The Asymmetric Immune Knowledge Hypothesis, Leah C. Georges

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Problem-solving courts, such as drug and mental health courts, function under the model of therapeutic jurisprudence—the idea that legal policies and procedures should help and not harm clients, within the confines of the law (Winick & Wexler, 2002). Although it would seem that the lack of procedural due process in most problem-solving courts is in direct opposition to the best interests of a client, it is possible that observers find this more of a problem than do the court clients themselves. This two-experiment study applied Igou’s (2008) AIK hypothesis to problem-solving courts’ practice of sanctioning in the absence of due …

The Effects Of Alcohol Intoxication And Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies On Lab-Based Partner Aggression, Laura E. Watkins

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Intimate partner aggression (IPA) is a serious national health concern that affects an alarming number of individuals and can lead to substantial psychological and physical suffering. Situational risk factors that arise in the immediate context of IPA reflect state-like influences that trigger aggression. Because these factors are more variable and fluctuate according to the situation, they are potentially promising targets for prevention and intervention efforts (e.g., through cognitive and behavioral interventions). Within this realm, two factors in particular appear to play a prominent role in the etiology of IPA: alcohol intoxication and cognitive emotion regulation strategies. In contrast to prior …

An Examination Of The Role Of Social Support, Coping Strategies, And Individual Characteristics In Students’ Adaptation To College, Arleen Bejerano

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Adaptation, or adjustment, is a psycho-social process that occurs when an individual accepts and integrates into his or her life a transition from one situation to another situation (Schlossberg, 1981). Many individuals struggle with transitions because transitions involve changes in the environment, roles, routines, and/or ways of looking at the world. The present investigation examines the transition from high school to college, and explores the interpersonal and individual ways that students manage the changes accompanying this transition. Using Transition Theory as a framework, students’ social support networks, coping strategies, self-esteem, and depression are posited to influence students’ adaptation to college …

Peer Health Teaching Improves Nutrition Behaviors In The Teen Teacher Population, Ashlie Smith

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Peer teaching is a promising model of health education. Limited research exists on the topic of the effectiveness of peer health teaching, and even less research exists on the effects on the actual peer teachers, notably their motivations for becoming peer teachers as well as behavioral modifications and improved self-efficacy made as a result. This study examined the motivations and the health behavior modifications made by 4-H Eat 4-Health teen teachers ages 14 to 17 after delivering a peer health education program. This study investigated teen teachers’ nutrition and physical activity behavior changes as well as their leadership and confidence …

Contests With A Prize Externality And Stochastic Entry, Xiaogang Che, Brad R. Humphreys

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

We analyze a contest with stochastic participation and a prize externality. A unique symmetric equilibrium exists in the contest. We demonstrate that the presence of a prize externality affects individual equilibrium spending but active participants always face the same expected payout as in a contest without a prize externality. A positive prize externality gives a higher impact on individual equilibrium spending than a negative prize externality. Regardless of the existence and the sign of a prize externality, ex-post over-dissipation occurs if the actual number of participants is sufficiently large. Independent of the prize externality's sign, active participants spend less but …

Information Security In Nonprofits: A First Glance At The State Of Security In Two Illinois Regions, Thomas R. Imboden, Jeremey N. Phillips, J. Drew Seib, Susan R. Fiorentino

Public Policy & Administration Faculty Publications

Information security is a hot button topic across all industries and new reports of security incidents and data breaches is a near daily occurrence. Much is known about recent trends and shortcomings in information security in the public and private sectors, but relatively little research examines the state of information security in nonprofit organizations. The underlying missions of nonprofit organizations, composition of their workforce, and their reliance on grants and donations for revenue generation streams set nonprofits apart from private business. These facts warrant an examination of information security of nonprofit organizations separate from private or commercial groups. This paper …