Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Uni Scholarworks Readership Snapshot, April 2016, Bepress

Library Documents & Reports (entire collection)

No abstract provided.

Precision Agriculture And Big Farm Data: Producer Adoption And Opinions, Michael H. Castle, Bradley D. Lubben, Joe D. Luck

UCARE: Research Products

Using scarce resources to feed an ever-increasing world population in the climate of increasingly-volatile commodity prices has charged producers with the task of becoming more efficient. The answer to these problems may lie within technological advancements, through the usage of precision agriculture and the “big” data these technologies are capable of producing. These technologies are expected to have an enormous impact that could effectively allow farmers to produce more with less. As such, research regarding producer adoption and opinions of the technology are of great relevance. Furthermore, there is great debate over the data produced by these technologies; with the …

Mediators Of The Relationship Between Depression And Alcohol-Related Harm: The Role Of Alexithymia, Impulsivity And Negative Reinforcement Outcome Expectancies, Andrew Brauer Mcgrath, Dennis E. Mcchargue

UCARE: Research Products

Background and Objectives: The prevalence of alcohol misuse on college campuses is a considerable problem. Depression is commonly found to be related to increases in alcohol related harm; however, not frequently found to be directly related to increases in alcohol use. This pattern suggests that there are factors related to depression that exaggerate alcohol problems other than the association between depression and the amount of alcohol used. This study examined the relationship between depression and alcohol related harm in college binge drinkers, focusing on emotional, behavioral, and cognitive variables believed to mediate the association. The roles of alexithymia, impulsivity, and …

The Influence Of Emotional And Situated Social Cognition Factors On Consents To Search, Sarah A. Moody

UCARE: Research Products

The Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution holds that the government cannot conduct an unreasonable search or seizure without probable cause or consent. A surprising majority of people acquiesce to search requests and research is lacking in determining what factors play a role in these decisions. Findings from the current research on the roles of emotions and situated social cognition in consents to search may help police officers and other legal authority figures ensure against coercive or unfair consents. Based upon regression models constructed from the data, authority figures can alter their search requests to help prevent coercion. The current …

Inferring Task Based On Eye Movements: The Living Classifier, Jordan E. Marshall, Mallory Richert, Mark Mills, Michael D. Dodd

UCARE: Research Products

Several studies, including Yarbus (1967), have found that various task instructions for viewing images influence visual behavior. This holds true for both experimenter driven and participant driven tasks. Research has also shown that classifier technology is capable of determining the task that was being performed based on the individual’s eye movements. Typically classifier technology is designed to perform tasks humans are known to be cable of performing. However, little research has been done on the human ability, or lack thereof, to determine task based on eye movements.

Purpose: To determine to what extent humans are able to classify task performed …

Emotion Regulation And Valance Bias, Drue Marr, Catherine Brown, Maital Neta

UCARE: Research Products

In this study we wanted to look at the affects of emotion regulation on individual differences in valance bias. The ability to regulate emotions brings into question how difficult/easy it is for individuals that have a more natural positive bias/disposition to them, or have a more natural negative bias/disposition to them. We would expect someone with a negative disposition to have a more difficult time regulating his or her emotions, as evidenced by the elevated EMG levels and EDA readings that we acquired. The purpose of this study was to better understand the way one perceives surprised expressions, as surprised …

Chinese Students’ Perceptions Of Level Of Stress, Qinwei Veronica Zhang

UCARE: Research Products

With a hope of providing more contextual effective and culturally appropriate services for Chinese and international students in the future, this descriptive study aims at finding out current Chinese students' perceptions of their experiences and stress in US colleges along with a variety of coping strategies they utilize to combat the stress during their process of adaptation and adjustment to the new environment.

Engineering Outreach Education Through Social Media, Katie E. Meiergerd, Dagen Valentine, Jennifer R. Keshwani, Bradley Barker

UCARE: Research Products

Familiarizing teachers and educators with Engineering and other related STEM fields is crucial in educating students, so ensuring teachers with access to these resources is important. The objective of this work is to identify ways to use social media to provide support to K – 12 educators interested in implementing engineering education with their students.

Affirmative Action Debates In American Government Introductory Textbooks, Sherrie L. Wallace, Marcus D. Allen

Publications and Research

Affirmative action debates remain hotly contested across America. Given how the topic is presented in respective disciplines and core textbooks, students are often misinformed. Introductory textbooks may be one of the few places where students are exposed to significant discussions on affirmative action. In this study, we examine affirmative action policy in American government introductory textbooks published between 2005 and 2014. Our study is modeled on previous, similar analyses of introductory textbooks. We use content analysis to examine the extent to which affirmative action discussions challenge or reinforce affirmative action myths and meritocracy. We conclude that textbook discussions that emphasize …

Examination Of The Psychometric Properties Of An International School Survey Of Parent Experience, Angela D. Patterson

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Given the stakes regarding parent involvement, satisfaction, and choice in international schools, information regarding the measurement of parent perception and experience is highly desirable. Though International Schools of China (ISC) collected data from parents annually, little was known about the survey instrument. Therefore, this study examined the psychometric properties—the underlying latent structure and internal reliability—of the ISC Parent Survey. Using existing data obtained from the 2014 collection cycle (N=309), an exploratory factor analysis was conducted on 72 likert-scale items. Results from this study identified 13 (including 11 well-defined and internally consistent) factors that measure various concepts of parent experience in …

Differential Recessionary Impacts On U.S. Research Relative To Comprehensive University Efficiencies And Productivities: 2004-2014 Panel Data Estimates, G. Thomas Sav

Economics Faculty Publications

Using data envelopment analysis and Malmquist index decompositions this paper focuses on the impacts of the Great Recession on the efficiency and productivity changes of U.S. publicly funded prestigious research universities in comparison to their lower level comprehensive university counterparts. Do elite research relative to comprehensive universities have more political clout and resources to better ward off the financial impacts and production demands of the? Results, based on ten academic years from 2004-05 through 2013-14, are somewhat mixed, but indicate that research universities have a technological edge that acts as the primary advantage driver to total productivity gains over their …

The California S.T.E.P. Act: Prosecuting Fraternities As Criminal Street Gangs, Courtney Lee Spears

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis project examines the similarities in structure, initiation processes, af liations, and motivations for joining both criminal street gangs and fraternities. These similarities serve as the foundation for the central idea of the thesis: using California’s street gang legislation, mainly the S.T.E.P. Act, to more severely prosecute fraternities for their crimes. My application of the legislation is supported through both comprehensive gang data, as well as case studies of fraternity crimes, as comprehensive data for this group does not exist. My research has important implications, as recent legislation serves to protect fraternity offenders from facing punishment for their crimes, …

Corporate Reputation In Asia, Chong, Mark

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

It is convenient but misleading to think of Asia as a monolithic entity. Indeed, the historical, cultural, political, economic, and religious differences between Asian nations—even those within a single economic bloc, such as ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)—are significant. Nonetheless, there are several characteristics that define corporate reputation in Asia. This entry discusses the importance of corporate reputation in Asia, challenges for multinational companies operating in Asia, challenges for Asian companies in maintaining a good reputation, and effects of a good corporate reputation on companies in the region.

Disentangling Greenhouse Warming And Aerosol Cooling To Reveal Earth's Climate Sensitivity, T. Storelvmo, T. Leirvik, U. Lohmann, Peter C. B. Phillips, M. Wild

Research Collection School Of Economics

Earth's climate sensitivity has long been subject to heated debate and has spurred renewed interest after the latest IPCC assessment report suggested a downward adjustment of its most likely range(1). Recent observational studies have produced estimates of transient climate sensitivity, that is, the global mean surface temperature increase at the time of CO2 doubling, as low as 1.3 K (refs 2,3), well below the best estimate produced by global climate models (1.8 K). Here, we present an observation-based study of the time period 1964 to 2010, which does not rely on climate models. The method incorporates observations of greenhouse gas …

Bringing Africa In: Promising Directions For Management Research, Gerard George, Christopher Corbishley, Jane N. O. Khayesi, Martine R. Haas, Laszlo Tihanyi

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Africa is beginning to capture the imagination of entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and scholars as an emerging market of new growth opportunities. Over 15 years, the continent has experienced an average growth rate of 5% (World Economic Forum, 2015: v). Out of its 54 countries, 26 have achieved middle-income status, while the proportion of those living in extreme poverty has fallen from 51% in 2005 to 42% in 2014 (African Development Bank, 2014a: 49). Although there are regional differences, the primary drivers of growth have been rapidly emerging consumer markets, regional economic integration, investment in infrastructure, technological leap-frogging, and the opening …

How Do We Adopt Multiple Cultural Identities? A Multidimensional Operationalization Of The Sources Of Culture, Badri Zolfaghari, Guido Mollering, Timothy Adrian Robert Clark, Graham Dietz

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Given the shortcomings of unidimensional accounts of culture that are based on nationality, this paper builds on and steps beyond current multidimensional conceptualizations of culture in order to provide first empirical evidence for a multidimensional operationalization of culture. It shows the multiple and simultaneous sources of cultural values (i.e., Family, Nationality, Urban/Rural Background, etc.) that individuals draw from in order to behave in accordance with their social setting. This contributes to our understanding of how and when individuals adopt multiple cultural identities. As the first attempt to operationalize the 'mosaic' framework of culture proposed by Chao and Moon (2005), this …

Entrepreneurship, Education And Credit: The Golden Triangle, Roberto M. Samaniego, Juliana Yu Sun

Research Collection School Of Economics

We develop a model to evaluate the impact of college education finance on welfare, inequality and aggregate outcomes. Our model captures the stylized fact that entrepreneurs with college are more common and more profitable. Our calibration to US data suggests this is mainly because higher labor earnings allow college educated agents to ameliorate credit constraints when they become entrepreneurs. The welfare benefits of subsidizing education are greater than those of eliminating financing constraints on education because subsidies ameliorate the impact of financing constraints on would-be entrepreneurs.

Increasing Vocal Behavior And Establishing Echoic Stimulus Control In Children With Autism, Joseph Shane

Dissertations

Many children with autism fail to demonstrate vocal-verbal behavior, including echoic behavior, as early as their typically developing peers. Some also make very limited vocal sounds in general, remaining mostly mute aside from crying or engaging in stereotypy. Echoic behavior involves auditory discrimination and matching, and functions as a beneficial, if not necessary, prerequisite for many other vocal-verbal skills. The purpose of this study was to develop and implement an echoic training procedure for primarily non-vocal children who did not demonstrate auditory discrimination in baseline. The intervention consisted initially of sessions in which any vocal sounds were reinforced. Then differential …

Teaching Children Who Have Difficulty Mastering Auditory Discriminations, Sarah Lichtenberger

Dissertations

Simple and conditional visual and auditory discrimination repertoires are critical components of many skills necessary for daily functioning, including communication, academic, and daily-living skills (Green, 2001). When auditory discrimination is not under instructional stimulus control, it can result in delayed acquisition of new skills and limit academic progress. The purpose of this study was to teach auditory discrimination to children with autism who had little to no progress on classroom procedures that required auditory discrimination, such as selecting an object from an array when given the name of the object as the direction. Auditory discrimination was taught starting with teaching …

The Behavioral Revolution In Contemporary Political Science: Narrative, Identity, Practice, Joshua R. Berkenpas

Dissertations

The behavioral revolution of the 1950s and early 1960s is a foundational moment in the history of political science and is widely considered to be a time in when the discipline shed its traditional roots by embracing its identity as a modern social science. This dissertation examines reference works published between 1980 and 2012 in order to gauge the contemporary significance of the behavioral revolution. The behavioral revolution is discussed in many foundation narratives throughout reference works like dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks. After sixty years, why does the behavioral revolution still figure centrally in the way political scientists remember their …

Fulcrum, Newsletter Of The Furman University Libraries. Issue 08, Jenny Colvin

Libraries Institutional Records

Learn how the library can support the new WR requirements and the citation tool: Mendeley; see how the new Center for Research Libraries (CRL) subscription can support your research needs; read about changes to the WorldCat database; and stay up-to-date with upcoming events.

The issue also includes News from the Stacks, an alumni profile, a new library staff member profile, new research databases (CRL and Social Explorer), professional activities from Furman Library staff and faculty, information about on-demand workshop offerings, and updates from the Digital Collections Center, Special Collections and Archives, and the Furman University Scholar Exchange.

The Killer In Me, Maggie Mason Smith

Publications

No abstract provided.

World Intellectual Property Day Display, Maggie Mason Smith

Presentations

The theme of World Intellectual Property Day 2016 is Digital Creativity: Culture Reimagined.

Reimagining Culture – how we create it, how we access it, and how we finance it – is not without challenges. The Libraries is pleased to present a panel addressing these issues on Friday, April 22 from 11am-12pm in the Brown Room.

In conjunction with this panel, we are also adopting a Digital Creativity theme for the April book display. On display are items such as Noise Channels: Glitch and Error in Digital Culture; Digital Rhetoric: Theory, Method, Practice; and A New Republic of Letters: Memory and …

Sibyl 2016, Otterbein University

Otterbein University Yearbooks

No abstract provided.

The Kenya Youth Survey Report, Alex Awiti, Bruce Scott

East Africa Institute

Kenya is a very youthful country. The median age is estimated at 19 years, and about 80 percent of Kenya’s population is below 35 years.

To a very large extent, Kenya’s youth — defined as individuals between the ages of 18 and 35 — will determine the shape of the country’s future. With that in mind, the East African Institute of the Aga Khan University commissioned a survey to understand the values, attitudes, concerns and aspirations of this critical segment of the population.

We interviewed 1,854 respondents ages 18-35 from across the country, including both urban and rural areas. The …

The Unexpected Belle La Follette, Nancy Unger

History

Although the New York Times eulogized Belle Case La Follette in 1931 as perhaps "the most influential of all American women who have had to do with public affairs in this country," she faded quickly from popular memory.1 And when she is recalled, it's usually in relation to her husband and sons. This minimization of her own accomplishments began with progressive reform giant Robert M. La Follette famously calling her "my wisest and best counselor." He openly deferred to his wife's judgment throughout his storied professional life: as a district attorney, three-term congressman (1885-1891), lawyer (1891—1900), three-term governor of Wisconsin …

Self-Regulation To Practice: Incorporating The Strategy To An Early Childhood Special Education Setting, Kathryn L. Szwed

Open Access Dissertations

Preschool students who display social emotional deficits pose challenging issues for families, caregivers and teachers who educate them. In this study, the effectiveness of an assistive technology based treatment package consisting of video self-modeling and behavior management software was investigated to determine if its combined use would result in increased student self-regulation skills. Using a multiple baseline design, three students used the treatment package to increase self-regulation skills. During the investigation, the accuracy to self-identify behaviors, the documentation of desired and undesired behaviors and the overall impact of the treatment package was studied. Interobserver agreement (IOA) was used to determine …

Detroit Health Department: Lead Report 2016, Abdul El-Sayed, Alex B. Hill, Haifa Haroon

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Research Publications

The Epidemiology team at the Detroit Health Department rigorously stress- tested Detroit’s lead numbers. The findings suggest a true decline in EBLL levels rather than a decrease in lead testing or a change in the characteristics of the children who are being tested.

A Phenomenological Approach Examining The Completion Of Latino High School Students Through The Lenses Of Critical Race Theory, Anna M. Rangel-Clawson

Dissertations

Latino students represent 24% of the American student population (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2002, 2013). Dropout rates for Latino students living in severe poverty are twice the dropout rate of other Americans at the same income level (National Center Educational Statistics, 2002, 2013). The strongest factor that influenced those who choose to drop out seems to be related to a family’s socioeconomic status (Fry & Taylor, 2013; Rumberger & Lim, 2008; Swanson, 2004).

This study sought to elicit the voices of Latino students who successfully completed high school in a school district with significantly lower graduation rates for Latinos …

Kickact: The Implementation & Evaluation Of A Youth Empowerment & Leadership Program, Crystal M. Denny

Capstone Collection

KickAct is a program that combines martial arts and performing arts to empower youth and engage them in creative social change. Youth experience a lack of community engagement and partnership with the adult. Many youth face additional challenges, ranging from lack of support in school to violence at home, that can negatively impact their life. KickAct is designed to provide youth with the necessary skills and experience to thrive as active participants in their communities. Due to inconsistent attendance and participation, it was not possible to determine whether the workshop format was a successful method for youth empowerment. However, the …