Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Television Executive Producers' Use Of Twitter As A Public Relations Tool, Scott Joseph Nash

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how television executive producers are utilizing the social media platform of Twitter as a public relations tool. Utilizing a qualitative textual analysis, this study examines 10 executive producers' use of Twitter over a three-week period. The results of the textual analysis indicated executive producers primarily used Twitter as a public relations tool in five different themes: clarification, compliment, gratitude, promotion, and engagement. Future research should utilize additional qualitative research through in-depth interviews with industry professionals such as television executive producers or public relations firms that work directly with the television industry and those who specifically work with …

Lords And Order: Credible Rulers And State Failure, Matthew Dimick

Journal Articles

Why do states fail? Why do failed states persist without collapsing into complete anarchy? This paper argues that given insurgency or weakened state capacity, rulers may find it best, paradoxically, to reduce the amount of political good it provides as a means of sustaining some amount of their rule. Moreover, although the consequence is political fragmentation and increasing levels of violence, this is not inconsistent with the continuation of attenuated central governance. To evaluate this argument, I select the case of King Stephen’s reign in medieval England. Although far removed historically from contemporary cases of state failure, the reign of …

Social Skills And Executive Functioning In Children With Epileptic And Non-Epileptic Seizures, Ashley J. Levan

Theses and Dissertations

Prior studies have demonstrated that a sizeable percentage of children presenting to the epilepsy monitoring unit for evaluation of paroxysmal events (seizures) are found to have non-epileptic seizures (NES) (Asano et al., 2005). The importance of identifying NES cannot be overstated since misdiagnosis often leads to treatment with antiepileptic drugs, which may have side effects that may negatively impact cognition (Chen, Chow, & Lee, 2001) and perhaps even cognitive development. While studies in adults with epilepsy or NES have demonstrated impaired executive functioning and social outcome compared to healthy peers, less work is present among pediatric populations (Cragar, Berry, Fakhoury, …

We Built A Research Toolkit. You Can, Too!, Stephanie M. Margolin, Wendy Hayden

Publications and Research

Poster describing, briefly, how we developed our Research Toolkit.

Uni Scholarworks Readership Snapshot, May 2015, Bepress

Library Documents & Reports (entire collection)

No abstract provided.

Do Semantic Contextual Cues Facilitate Transfer Learning From Video In Toddlers?, Laura Zimmermann, Alecia Moser, Amanda Grenell, Kelly Dickerson, Qianwen Yao, Peter Gerhardstein, Rachel Barr

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Young children typically demonstrate a transfer deficit, learning less from video than live presentations. Semantically meaningful context has been demonstrated to enhance learning in young children. We examined the effect of a semantically meaningful context on toddlers' imitation performance. Two- and 2.5-year-olds participated in a puzzle imitation task to examine learning from either a live or televised model. The model demonstrated how to assemble a three-piece puzzle to make a fish or a boat, with the puzzle demonstration occurring against a semantically meaningful background context (ocean) or a yellow background (no context). Participants in the video condition performed significantly worse …

Attention Deficits In Cognitive Abilities As Measured By The Mmpi-2-Rf And Nab, Ashley Nicole Mullins

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Attentional deficits, the inability to sustain attention and concentration, are a common symptom of many psychological disorders (i.e. AD/HD, Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, PTSD, GAD, etc.). Previous studies examined the relationship between Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Format (MMPI-2-RF) and measures of attention (Conner's CPT, WAIS III) specifically only with patients with AD/HD or traumatic brain injuries. This study set to explore the clinical utility of patterns on the MMPI-2-RF of people with attentional deficits, as measured by the Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (NAB) Attention Module. The final sample consisted of sixty-one adults (37 women, M age = 20.8 years, age range: …

The Relationship Of Cell Phone Usage To Personality And Attention, Victoria L. Grajeda

Senior Theses

Cell phones seem to create distraction and anxiety in student’s daily lives. The present study tests if distraction would occur just by the ring from a cell phone (i.e. they will score lower on the lecture quiz). The procedure will include 40 students enrolled in two sections of Introduction to Psychology. In one section, a backpack will be situated on an empty desk with a cell phone inside which is set to ring during a normal classroom lecture. Once the lecture ends (in both sections), a quiz will be issued about the PowerPoint including slides showing during the cell phone …

On The Divide: Examining Residential Segregation In Marin County, California, Felicia Burgess

Senior Theses

Today, segregation is a term rarely used or heard in public discourse, as it has been illegal in the U.S for the past 50 years. However, despite its illegalization, scholars and sociologists have noted that patterns of segregation are still a prominent feature of many U.S counties, cities and suburbs. Reflecting upon my experiences as a black woman living in an all-white community, this paper offers a critical analysis of the causes and consequences of residential segregation in Marin County, California: a county of urban and suburban communities just 20 minutes north of San Francisco. Despite its liberal image, Marin …

Looted Antiquities: Economic Opportunity For Terrorists, Vanessa Hanson

Senior Theses

Looted Antiquities: Economic Opportunity for Terrorists In the post 9/11 world countering terrorism has become a top United States foreign policy priority as well as the subject of much scholarly research. To counter terrorism it is important to understand the inner-workings of such groups. How do terrorist groups fund their operations in order to be able to carry them out continuously? It is often assumed that the arms and drug trade on the black market are the main source of income for terrorists groups (Kaplan). Unbeknownst to many, there is an illegal trade in art and historical artifacts that funds …

Going Beyond The ‘New Normal’ In Indonesia, Mari Pangestu, Philip Charles Zerrillo

Asian Management Insights

The Republic of Indonesia’s former Minister of Trade and former Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Professor Mari Pangestu, talks about the country’s resilience, and going beyond the ‘new normal’, in this interview with Philip Zerrillo.

The Philippines Growth Story: Ground Realities Of Asean Integration, Bernardo M. Villegas

Asian Management Insights

Open policies, an attractive workforce and new market potential in the Philippines– all suggest a ‘take-off’ is underway.

Asean's Role In Asia Pacific In The Driver's Seat Or Just A Back-Seat Driver?, Sudhir Devare

Asian Management Insights

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has often been described as the fulcrum around which the security, political and economic architecture of AsiaPacific will be built. But can ASEAN play that role?

Foreign Investors Are Finding Vietnam Increasingly Attractive, Tony Diep, Hawkins Pham

Asian Management Insights

A new wave of mergers and acquisitions and foreign direct investments is coming into Vietnam thanks to macro stability, an emerging middle class and changes in Asia’s manufacturing landscape.

Developing Leaders, Rajeev Dubey

Asian Management Insights

Investing in human resources and leadership potential to develop sustained competitive advantage.

The Past And The Hopeful Future Of Vietnam’S Economy, Le Dang Doanh

Asian Management Insights

Reform and integration are key for tapping Vietnam’s economic potential.

Muddling Through Or Knee Deep In The Big Muddy?, Howard Thomas

Asian Management Insights

A widening gulf between thepractice of managementand academic organisationscharacterises the stateof affairs in business schools today.

Media Literacy And Girl Empowerment: The Midriff, Lolita And The Pseudo Empowered, Amanda Ghosh

Honors College Theses

This thesis explores the cooptation of authentic girl power by mainstream media designed to sell normative sexuality, consumption practices and a pseudo empowered self. It explores the sexualization of girls in the media and girls’ educational and community engagement with media in the context of empowerment. From an expansive feminist and girls’ studies foundation this project seeks to emphasize the importance of media literacy for girls and aims to address the gap in feminist scholarship on media literacy and educational programming for girls’ empowerment. The thesis examines and connects women’s studies literatures, Rosalind Gills’ Midriff Theory and Gigi Durham’s notion …

Falkland Islands Malvinas Exploitation Report 2015, Fenix- Insight Ltd.

Global CWD Repository

A series of three reports were published by the Demining Programme Office in the Falkland Islands (Malvinas). This report explains that the need for exploitation was recognised early during the planning for mine clearance operations in the Falkland Islands (Malvinas). Little was known about the state of the mines some 30 years after the conflict, and it was considered important to understand the effects of ageing, along with the implications for issues such as appearance/recognition, functionality and detectability. Exploitation was previously carried out during clearance Phases 1 and 3.

This report outlines the work conducted during Phase 4a, where a …

Ways In Which Community Involvement May Influence Girls’ Education In Senegal, Babou Ndiaye

Masters Theses

This study attempts to examine through the lens of social feminist theory the ways in which community involvement may influence girls’ education in Senegal. It highlights the extent to which networking, advocacy, and meaningful interactions between community and school may contribute to improving access, learning conditions, and academic achievements for girls. The paper also provides an analysis of the adverse effects of community involvement on girls’ education in Senegal. It underscores the extent to which patriarchy and class interfere to shape community involvement and undermine girls’ education, in terms of both access and quality. The paper further sketches a combination …

Assess The Efficacy Of A 15-Week Psychological Skills Training Program For Collegiate Wrestlers, James Malechek

Theses

Psychological skills training is becoming increasingly popular among coaches and elite athletes. However, the research available in this area continues to be lacking. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of using a self-guided psychological skills training program to improve wrestler mental skills during competitive season. The wrestler's mental strength was evaluated before and after the program using the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28.

The experimental group consisted of 27 male collegiate wrestlers. The control group had 21 male collegiate wrestlers. The experimental group was given a handout every week for 15- weeks. The handouts dealt with multiple …

The Beginnings Of The Journal Of Food Law & Policy, Michael T. Roberts

Journal of Food Law & Policy

In the first sentence of the introduction to the inaugural edition of the Journal for Food Law & Policy, Margie Alsbrook, the founding Editor-in-Chief, and I, the founding faculty advisor, stated: "It is with great pride and pleasure that we present the inaugural issue of the Journal for Food Law & Policy." In celebration of the Journal's tenth anniversary, I am inclined to echo the same sentiment, but with the added proviso: "surprised!" I confess being gravely concerned ten years ago over the Journal's survivability. Food law and policy was then barely in its formative stage. The nascent, social food …

Tribal Food Sovereignty In The American Southwest, Julia Guarino

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Food is an issue that implicates tribal sovereignty for historical, cultural, and public health reasons. This article undertakes a policy analysis of the importance of food to tribal sovereignty, and suggests that tribes, many of which have begun to do so already, make robust use of the concept of "food sovereignty" as part of their overarching project of protecting and promoting tribal sovereignty in general. This article sets the stage for understanding the importance of food sovereignty to tribes by exploring the history of food and culture in the American Southwest, where the public health consequences of changes in diet …

Averaged Instrumental Variables Estimators, Yoonseok Lee, Yu Zhou

Center for Policy Research

We develop averaged instrumental variables estimators as a way to deal with many weak instruments. We propose a weighted average of the preliminary k-class estimators, where each estimator is obtained using different subsets of the available instrumental variables. The averaged estimators are shown to be consistent and to satisfy asymptotic normality. Furthermore, its approximate mean squared error reveals that using a small number of instruments for each preliminary k-class estimator reduces the finite sample bias, while averaging prevents the variance from inflating. Monte Carlo simulations find that the averaged estimators compare favorably with alternative instrumental-variable-selection approaches when the strength levels …

Failing To Replicate: Hypothesis Testing As A Crucial Key To Make Direct Replications More Credible And Predictable, Pedro Fernando Mateu Bullón

Dissertations

Theory cannot be fully validated unless the original results have been replicated, resulting in conclusion consistency. Replications are the strongest source to verify research findings and knowledge claims. Sciences such as medicine, chemistry, physics, genetics, and biology, are considered successful because their knowledge claims are buttressed by a large set of replications of original studies. Unfortunately in the social sciences many attempts to replicate fail and thus there is a continuing need for replication studies to confirm facts, expand knowledge to gain new understanding, and verify hypotheses. Two plausible explanations for the failure to replicate in the social sciences could …

Three Essays On Panel Data Estimation, Alexander Houser

Dissertations

This work discusses various aspects of panel data estimation. In chapter one, an algorithm for semiparametric random effects estimation is proposed. The performance of bootstrap-based confidence intervals for the proposed estimators are examined and found reasonable. The algorithm is also applied to a set of U.S. state level medical expenditure data to estimate the medical Engel curve. In the second chapter, the predictive performance of various parametric and semiparametric panel data estimators is compared on the same dataset of U.S. state level medical expenditures as well as out of sample forecast performance and bootstrap bias-corrected mean square errors of the …

Factors Influencing Academic Engagement And Achievement: Exploration Of Impact Of Parentification And Poverty In Adolescents’ Student-Teacher Relationships, Nontle Nako

Dissertations

Parentification is the highest form of Adultification; a phenomenon that occurs when some children precociously perform extensive labor in their families, often as a function of poverty, and when their roles, responsibilities, and behaviors are “out of synch” with contemporary social and institutional notions of what children are expected to do (Burton, 2007). Based on the hypothesis that a significant number of children growing up in economically disadvantaged family backgrounds have higher chances of taking on adult roles at a young age and become adultified to a level of being parentified; this study sought to investigate whether and how school-based …

Innovative Governance And Natural Resource Management In Kenya: Procedural And Substantive Outcomes Of Civil Society Participation, Jane Omudho Okwako

Dissertations

Kenya’s environmental sector is embracing co-management to address major threats to wildlife. In the past two decades, the Municipal-Community-Private Sector Partnership (MCPP) model evolved to address the threats. This dissertation seeks to explain variations in partnership outcomes. It evaluates whether the model as introduced empowers communities to be conservation stewards.

This study hypothesized the impact of five variables. These are decentralization of power, elite support, capacity of community organizations, partnership formalization, and resources expended. The findings confirm that three variables are indispensable and two minimally influence empowerment. More decentralized management structures are enabling and supportive of empowerment. However, empowerment is …

Depression And Social Functioning : Examining Two Interpersonal Theories, Caroline B. Smith

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to test the specific predictions of two theories of depression and social functioning. One, the Social Navigation Hypothesis, is an adaptationist approach that predicts that depression functions to increase an individual’s ability to analyze and solve problems in their social system. The individual engages in behaviors such as feedback seeking in order to identify potential problems and develop solutions. In contrast, Interpersonal Theory predicts that depression is related to aversive social behaviors that can lead to rejection. Adult American participants (n=155) were recruited from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. They completed an online survey …

Himmelfarb Library Liaison Letter - May 2015, George Washington University, Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library

Himmelfarb Library Liaison Letters

No abstract provided.