Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Is The Demand For Health Care Income Elastic? The Case Of 40 Sub-Saharan African Countries, Meron Masresha Nadew

Masters Theses

This paper uses panel data (1995 to 2011) from 40 Sub-Sahara African countries to analyze the income elasticity of health care expenditure along with some of the other theoretical determinants. The empirical results of the instrumental variable approach indicate that per capita income is a core and statistically significant determining factor of health expenditure. The value of the elasticity is about 0.48, suggesting that health expenditure as a commodity is a necessity for this region. In simple words, the goal of the system in this region is curative rather than caring. The percentage of population age 65 or older and …

Modeling The "Gravity" Of Foreign Aid: A Dyadic Panel Analysis On The Impact Of Bilateral Aid Commitments On Bilateral Immigration From 1994 To 2011, Miles D. Williams

Masters Theses

While research shows policymakers increase bilateral foreign aid commitments in response to an increase in bilateral immigration, supposedly as a means for reducing the demand for immigration, the effectiveness of this strategy is given only passing consideration in the literature. Many doubt this approach's success, but little effort has been made to empirically justify this doubt. This paper attempts to fill this gap in the literature and proposes a novel hypothesis. It is argued here that aid, more than simply failing to promote development quickly enough to reduce the demand for immigration, functions as a signal of donor wealth. When …

Does Foreign Aid Promote Growth? Evidence From Africa, Mai Abdulaziz Alghamdi

Masters Theses

Taking a panel of 54 African countries and employing pooled, GLS, and panel regression, this study investigates the impact of foreign aid, policies, and their interaction on economic growth. This study covers a period of 35 years from 1980 to 2015. The key variables of this study are aid, measured by the official amount of foreign aid as a percentage of GDP by the recipient countries and policy, measured by an index created using linear estimation of various policy variables associated with political, economic and fiscal freedom; the Sachs-Warner measure of openness and World bank's Country Policy and Institution Assessment …

Behavioral Patterns Of The Cannibalism And Sexual Taboos, Kayla R. Rice

Masters Theses

Previous research has suggested that there may be a connection between the cannibalism taboo and sexual attraction. Specifically, it appears that when forced to choose someone to cannibalize, people choose victims in a pattern that mimics who they would choose to be sexually intimate with. To confirm and explore this relationship, the current study measured sexual orientation and examined whether participants' preferences in who to cannibalize if forced reflected their desired sexual partner. Participants recruited from Amazon Turk responded to forced pair choices regarding either desired sexual partner or cannibalism victims. Targets included all combinations of three variables: Physical Appearance …

Evaluating Growth Slowdowns: Does Middle-Income Trap Exist?, Nusrat Farah

Masters Theses

Growth theories suggest that the factors affecting growth at low-income and high-income countries can be different. If countries struggle to graduate to high-income growth strategies, they may find themselves "stuck" at some middle-income level. This phenomenon can be termed as "middle-income trap". Using a panel of 145 countries over a period of 55 years, this study attempts to identify the existence of "middle-income trap" and its determinants. The aim of this study is to inspect whether the countries really get "stuck" at middle-income levels and if so, then pinpoint the factors associated with growth slowdowns. By employing panel probit estimations, …

Children With Special Needs And The Effect On The Family, Taylor N. Downey

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the family unit after the addition of a child with special needs. Additional stressors, positive and negative emotions were also explored in this study. The results of this study suggested that all families have different experiences with their child but they may feel similar emotions, feelings, and face the same characteristics depending on their child's diagnosis.

Taxing Choices: International Competition, Domestic Institutions And The Transformation Of Corporate Tax Policy, Duane Swank

Political Science Faculty Research and Publications

Since the 1980s, notable corporate tax base broadening and rate reductions have occurred throughout the rich democracies. Scholars agree that tax competition for mobile assets shapes this transformation. I address two questions in this article. First, what form has tax competition taken and, second, how have domestic institutions conditioned competition's impact? I build on past work and argue that tax competition is characterized by the (Stackelberg) leadership of the United States as opposed to alternative forms of competition. At the same time, domestic institutions, especially the degree to which the nation is a co-ordinated versus liberal market economy, are central …

Perceptions Of Ict Use In Rural Brazil: Factors That Impact Appropriation Among Marginalized Communities, Paola Prado, Alejandro Tirado-Alcaraz, Mauro Araújo Câmara

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

This study of digital inclusion among the rural poor examines how residents of remote mountain communities in Brazil perceive the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). It analyzes social factors that impact ICT appropriation and the behaviors and attitudes that advance digital literacy among marginalized rural populations. The authors conducted factor analysis and logistic regressions to survey data collected. Results confirm the presence of a gender divide in ICT adoption. Women were more likely to perceive that ICT use brings social benefits to the community, and considered that ICTs provide better opportunities for the young.

Supporting Teen Leaders: Validation Of The I Drive Smart Survey, Cynthia M. George

Theses and Dissertations

Recent policy change allows states to spend federal dollars directly on teen-led driver safety efforts and requires regular evaluations of effectiveness. There are currently no standardized instruments to measure change in teen driving behavior relevant to teen leaders. This study serves the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, Tennessee Highway Safety Office and their network of teen leaders to empirically test and refine the I Drive Smart survey developed by partners and grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). The survey is designed to be administered by teen leaders to their peers and produce data relevant for use …

Longitudinal Relations Between Parental And Peer Support For Violent And Nonviolent Responses To Conflict And Early Adolescent Dating Aggression, Rachel C. Garthe

Theses and Dissertations

High prevalence and the negative legal, health, and psychological consequences of adolescent dating aggression underscore the need to identify risk and protective processes associated with this type of aggression. Studying dating aggression in early adolescence is important, as this is the developmental time frame when most youth are establishing attitudes, beliefs, and norms for dating behaviors. The current study investigated longitudinal associations between perceived parental and peer support for violent and nonviolent responses to conflict and dating aggression perpetration among middle school students. Participants included 1,399 adolescents (52% female) in the sixth (n = 466), seventh (n = …

Positive Illusory Bias In Adolescents With Adhd: Prevalence, Stability, And Accuracy Of Reporters, Elizaveta Bourchtein

Theses and Dissertations

The positive illusory bias (PIB) – over-reporting levels of self-competence compared to other raters – has been demonstrated in youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), despite increased impairment rates. However, due to inconsistent definitions of the PIB, conflicting findings have emerged regarding prevalence of the PIB in youth with ADHD and whether parent or child report is actually “biased” and driving the PIB. Additionally, stability of the PIB across time is unknown. The present study used person-centered methodology cross-sectionally and longitudinally to evaluate the prevalence of the PIB in adolescents with ADHD. Results revealed a cross-domain global PIB group at baseline …

The Future Of Arabic Music: No Sound Without Silence, Nesma Magdy Khodier Vcuq

Theses and Dissertations

For centuries, Arabic music has been intrinsically linked to Arab culture and by extension bonded to the environmental landscape of the region, reflecting their emotions, moods, and behaviors. Numerous technological advancements in the latter half of the twentieth century, have greatly affected the rich legacy of Arabic music, significantly impacting the natural progression of traditional Arabic musical genres, scales, and instrumentation.

This thesis serves as an introduction to generative methods of music production, specifically music generated through gestures. Through generative music, and its unique ability to map gestures to different musical parameters, music can be produced using computer algorithms.

The …

Factors Affecting Institutional Performance At High And Very High Research Universities: Policy Implications, Jose G. Alcaine

Theses and Dissertations

Higher education institutions in the Unites States (U.S.) are under stress. Universities and colleges in the U.S. face competing demands marked by steeply declining state and local appropriations and increased competition for research dollars and prestige. This stress is felt most acutely at high and very high research universities who must face these funding challenges while at the same time must serve a multiplicity of missions and stakeholders.

This study examines factors that influence institutional performance at high and very high research universities in the U.S. These high and very high research universities, as classified by the Carnegie Foundation for …

Pushed Without Direction: Privileged Problems And The Configuration Of Class And Race. How Latent Class Differences, Supported Through Racial Inequities, Maintain The Achievement Gap For Upper Class Black Students, Jullian Harrison

Theses and Dissertations

Scholars for decades have studied the achievement gap and attempted to explain it in regards to race and class. Throughout the existing literature regarding the achievement gap between black and white students, however, there is a dearth of research exploring why the gap exists for upper-class black students; this population is largely ignored. This research seeks to explain why an achievement gap exists between white and black students who come from households of similar incomes. Ten students (five white and five black gradates) of a private, non-parochial school in Washington DC are interviewed about high school and post-high school experiences. …

Reciprocity As A Species Of Fairness: Completing Malinowski’S Theory Of Law, James M. Donovan

Law Faculty Books and Chapters

The present essay seeks to recast Malinowski’s arguments grounding law in the social phenomena of reciprocity in light of current information. Reciprocity is argued to be a higher order construct built out of more basic influences, the most relevant of which are the inherent fairness evaluations humans perform in contexts of distributive justice. Deconstructing Malinowski’s claims into these elemental components preserves the original insight that explains the civil law in terms of social reciprocity. More importantly, this analysis generates a description for the criminal law in these same terms, something Malinowski himself was unable to achieve. The outcome realizes his …

Royal Uncertainty: An In-Depth Analysis Of The Potential Affects Of Brexit On The U.K. Art Market, Ashley Solmer

MA Projects

The United Kingdom, most notably London, has been known on the international commerce scene as a pivotal trade center for many centuries acting as a stepping stone from Europe to the Western World. Even though the economic importance of London can be dated back to early times, the inherent popularity of its art market only began flourishing in the late eighteenth century, riding on the back of the already established, but restrictive, art epicenter in Paris. The rise and prominence of Paris’ art market from 17^th to 19^th century eventually came to an end at the heels of …

Using Graphic Methods To Challenge Cryptographic Performance, Brian Cusack, Erin Chapman

Australian Information Security Management Conference

Block and stream ciphers have formed the traditional basis for the standardisation of commercial ciphers in the DES, AES, RC4, and so on. More recently alternative graphic methods such as Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) have been adopted for performance gains. In this research we reviewed a range of graphic and non-graphic methods and then designed our own cipher system based on several graphic methods, including Visual Cryptography (VC). We then tested our cipher against RC4 and the AES algorithms for performance and security. The results showed that a graphics based construct may deliver comparable or improved security and performance in …

A Survey Of Social Media Users Privacy Settings & Information Disclosure, Mashael Aljohani, Alastair Nisbet, Kelly Blincoe

Australian Information Security Management Conference

This research utilises a comprehensive survey to ascertain the level of social networking site personal information disclosure by members at the time of joining the membership and their subsequent postings to the sites. Areas examined are the type of information they reveal, their level of knowledge and awareness regarding how their information is protected by SNSs and the awareness of risks that over-sharing may pose. Additionally, this research studies the effect of gender, age, education, and level of privacy concern on the amount and kind of personal information disclosure and privacy settings applied. A social experiment was then run for …

An Investigation Of Potential Wireless Security Issues In Traffic Lights, Brian Bettany, Michael N. Johnstone, Matthew Peacock

Australian Information Security Management Conference

The purpose of automated traffic light systems is to safely and effectively manage the flow of vehicles through (usually) urban environments. Through the use of wireless-based communication protocols, sets of traffic lights are increasingly being connected to larger systems and also being remotely accessed for management purposes, both for monitoring and emergency purposes. These protocols, however, were not designed with security as a primary requirement, thus systems may operate with sub-standard or non-existent security implementations. This research aims to test if the same issues and vulnerabilities that appear to be present in traffic light systems in the USA are prevalent …

Copley Library Annual Report 2015-2016, Helen K. And James S. Copley Library, University Of San Diego

Copley Library Annual Reports

2015-2016: A Year of Collaborations, Partnerships, and Services; Holleman Foundation Grant to Support Collections; Copley Library 2016-2020 Strategic Plan; Library Open Education Resources Initiative; Inaugural Roy and Marian Holleman Copley Library Student Assistant Scholarship; Reference Services Update; Satelite Libraries at the University of San Diego; Bayside Community Center; Barrio Logan/Logan Heights Connection; Exhibit Spaces at Copley Library; Patrons’ Voices; Third Annual Digital Initiatives Symposium; Copley Website Redesign; Digital@USanDiego; Campus Engagement — Copley Library Spring 2016 Salon Celebrates Library Resources; Library Committee; Student Assistants 2015-2016; Celebrating Faculty and Staff; 2015-2016 Faculty Presentations and Publications; Copley Library Stats and Expenditures; Giving to …

Ala Midwinter 2016 Conference Report, Ellen T. Mcgrath

Law Librarian Other Scholarship

No abstract provided.

News - University Of West Georgia, E. Lorene Flanders

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Queer Stories Of Coming Out In The 21st Century, Bradley Wolfe

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Queer Stories of Coming Out in the 21st Century was written by Bradley Wolfe for his Communication Studies master’s capstone project. The research was conducted at Minnesota State University, Mankato during the 2015-2016 school year. The research problem was to analyze the relevance of the Cass Model of queer identity development in a cultural environment which has shifted greatly since its origination. 10 semi-structured interviews were conducted to understand what aspects of the model still held true and if other models better describe the identity development process for queer individuals. The research found the Cass Model was not correlating with …

Weitz Cec Building Viewbook, Weitz Cec

Programs and Brochures

Welcome to the Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center (Weitz CEC), the first of its kind in the country. Since opening in April 2014, the Weitz CEC, and the programs and partnerships it houses, have made a dynamic impact on our students, campus, and community.

The Weitz CEC is an expansive concept in university-community relations. Through its Student Service and Leadership Collaborative, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) will elevate student volunteerism initiatives by incorporating leadership, civic responsibility, and cultural competence. Our award-winning Service Learning Academy now has room to grow, providing more students with experiences that enhance learning, foster …

The Influence Of Safety, Efficacy, And Medical Condition Severity On Natural V. Synthetic Drug Preference, Brian P. Meier, Courtney M. Lappas

Psychology Faculty Publications

Research indicates that there is a preference for natural v. synthetic products, but the influence of this preference on drug choice in the medical domain is largely unknown. We present 5 studies in which participants were asked to consider a hypothetical situation in which they had a medical issue requiring pharmacological therapy. Participants ( N = 1223) were asked to select a natural, plant-derived, or synthetic drug. In studies 1a and 1b, approximately 79% of participants selected the natural v. synthetic drug, even though the safety and efficacy of the drugs were identical. Furthermore, participants rated the natural drug as …

Births By Race And Hispanic Origin Of The Mother: U.S. 1990 To 2016, Center For Public Affairs Research (Cpar)

Past Publications

Spreadsheet showing births by race and Hispanic Origin of the Mother: U.S. 1990 to 2016. Source: Births: Final Data for 2013, CDC (Table 5) http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_01.pdf; Births: Final Data for 2016, CDC

Data Snapshot: Challenges To Small Business, Applied Policy Research Institute, Wright State University

Defense Policy

The percentage of contract dollars awarded to small businesses at DoD increased from just over 16% to just over 19%, but the actual dollars only changed by approximately 10%. The number of small business contract actions at DoD fell by nearly 70% yet the value of those contract actions rose by nearly 290%. As the data shows, fewer small companies are winning contracts, but the contracts won are larger in dollar amount.

Halprin Sequence Reimagined, Andrea Villarroel, Nate Miller, Kris Decker, Foster Gough, Scott Robinson

Urban Design Workshop

The Halprin Sequence is a series of underutilized green spaces in the heart of Portland, Oregon. Once a booming attraction, as time has past and the city has grown, the Halprin Sequence has been forgotten amongst the towers. With a rich history in urban development and design, the Halprin Sequence could offer much more to the people of Portland than it is currently. The surrounding street of Fourth Avenue is also underutilized. The street is primarily used by automobiles, and the sidewalks are not pleasant to walk through.

For a green space network, the Halprin Sequence is in an ideal …

Who Votes For Mayor?, Jason R. Jurjevich, Phil Keisling, Kevin Rancik, Carson Gorecki, Stephanie Hawke

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Voter turnout is shockingly low in elections for mayor and other local officials across the United States. For the most recent round of mayoral elections in America’s 30 largest cities, turnout of eligible citizens in 15 of them was less than 20%.

Creating An Inclusionary Bicycle Justice Movement, Aaron Golub, Melody L. Hoffman, Gerardo Francisco Sandoval, Adonia Lugo

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This is a chapter in: Bicycle Justice and Urban Transformation: Biking for All?