Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Attitudes And Awareness Of Sexual Assault, Relationship Violence, And Bystander Intervention Of Undergraduate Students, Megan Stidd

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Meaning And Resilience As Predictors Of Posttraumatic Growth Among College Students, Meredith Blackwell

Honors Theses

Meaning in life is related to such outcomes as resilience and the potential to experience posttraumatic growth among populations that have experienced a traumatic event. However, the literature is conflicted on the relationship between resilience and posttraumatic growth. The goal of this study is to further evaluate the relationship between meaning, resilience, and posttraumatic growth among a college student sample. Six-hundred and twelve participants, ages 18-26, completed self-report measures about their experience with potentially traumatic events (Life Events Checklist), their perceived purpose in life (Purpose in Life test — Short Form), resilience (Brief Resilience Scale), and posttraumatic growth (Posttraumatic Growth …

Nondepository Credit Intermediation And Its Effects On The Financial Well-Being Of Consumers, Nathan Simpson

Honors Theses

This paper investigates whether the availability of consumer loans has a positive or negative effect on the indicators of financial well being for consumers in the same area. By observing the number of consumer lending establishments and regressing those numbers on financial indicators, such as percent in poverty and median household income, this paper observes any statistically significant correlations that arise out of the presence of these establishments as well as the sign (positive or negative) of the correlation. The data period is 2007 to 2013. This process is used for nationwide numbers as well as six selected Southern states. …

Practices And Perceptions Of Music Therapists Using Songwriting Interventions With Clients Who Are Grieving, Erin Aubrey Batkiewicz

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Music therapists use songwriting interventions to address a variety of goals with several populations. Nevertheless, limited research exists regarding the use of songwriting interventions with individuals who are grieving. The purpose of this study was to examine practices and perceptions of board-certified music therapists working with clients who are grieving, specifically: (a) common interventions used to address grief (b) use of songwriting intervention; (c) perceived effectiveness of songwriting; and (d) music therapists’ comfort levels and training in implementing songwriting interventions. An online survey was sent to 6,292 board-certified music therapists, 324 of whom completed the survey. Participants reported that they …

The Latino Voter Registration Dilemma, Laird W. Bergad

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

This special report in partnership with CNN en Espanol examined changes in the Latino electorate, registered voters, and voters in the U.S. and key swing states between 1992 and 2016. Methods: Data were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau, Voting and Registration, as a part of the Current Population Survey data from the November Voter Supplements. The 2016 estimates were derived by using the yearly percentage rate of increase between 2004 and 2012. Results: The absolute number of Latinos eligible to vote, registered, and who voted grew dramatically. Yet the rates of Latino voter registration were almost exactly the same …

Learning Commons Reference Collections In Arl Libraries, Cindy Pierard, Sever Bordeianu

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Many academic libraries have developed or partnered in the development of learning commons over the last two decades. Although the nature of these environments may vary, learning commons are characterized here as adaptable spaces in which services, programming, and specialized resources are brought together to support and enact specific learning and research activities.The development of learning commons spaces has resulted in significant changes in traditional library collections, including decisions to weed or relocate physical collections, to transition from print to electronic collections, and to develop collections to support new learning services, programs, and collaborations (Brown et al., 2014; Detmering …

Identifying Risk For Atypical Parenting Behavior Using Prenatal Profiles Of Interpersonal Trauma Experiences And Ptsd Symptoms, Katherine L. Guyon-Harris

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Experiences of interpersonal trauma and symptoms of PTSD greatly impact the ability to form and maintain meaningful relationships, which is especially problematic during the perinatal period due to the formation of the mother-child relationship. Interpersonal trauma and symptoms of PTSD present considerable risk for the emergence of a concerning class of “atypical” maternal behaviors (e.g., contradictory communication, sexualized/role reversed behavior, and severe withdrawal) that have serious implications for child social-emotional development. However, past research has focused primarily on how maternal experiences of childhood maltreatment and, to a lesser extent, PTSD symptom severity, predict atypical parenting behaviors. The present study aimed …

Application Of Learned Industriousness Theory To Brain Injury Rehabilitation: Examining The Effect Of Effort Training On Task Engagement, Aimee M. Giammittorio

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a form of acquired brain injury that impacts millions of individuals annually. The severity of TBI can range from mild to moderate and severe, with moderate to severe injuries associated with significant and prolonged impairment within cognitive, behavioral, and emotional functioning domains. Moderate to severe TBI, thus, has long-lasting effects that demand life-long accommodations and care. Many behavioral interventions aim to compensate for skill deficits, but these techniques increase reliance on external cues and may not serve to enhance internal, self-motivated action. Interventions that aim to improve internal motivation are therefore desirable, but are lacking …

Understanding Urgency In Borderline Personality Disorder: Disinhibition Or Impulsive Emotion Regulation?, Amy Paggeot

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a serious and costly disorder characterized by emotional dysregulation and risky, impulsive behaviors. Urgency is a type of impulsivity that has been strongly associated with symptoms of BPD, and it remains unclear whether Urgency represents a failure of self-regulation under conditions of strong emotions or whether Urgency reflects short-term attempts to regulate strong emotions. A useful method for studying the role of strong emotions in impulsive behaviors is “mood freezing”. Mood freezing is a technique that uses a placebo to create a context in which individuals believe that they are unable to change their mood …

Poetry And Performance: Programming For National Poetry Month At The Western Michigan University Libraries, Michael J. Duffy Iv, Kathleen Langan, Marianne Swierenga, Susan Steuer, Lou Morgan

University Libraries Faculty & Staff Publications

To promote the library as an academic partner in cultivating cultural awareness and student engagement on campus, Western Michigan University Libraries celebrated National Poetry Month (NPM) in April of 2015. An event committee of three librarians and two staff members organized activities including readings, lectures, displays, interactive activities, and musical performance. The committee also implemented a survey designed to measure participants and audience reception of the event. The survey collected data on location of event, role of respondent, satisfaction of participation, intent to participate in coming years, and how they learned about the event. Responses were analyzed using both a …

Human Brain Reacts To Transcranial Extraocular Light, Lihua Sun, Jari Peräkylä, Anselmi Kovalainen, Keith Ogawa, Pekka J. Karhunen, Kaisa M. Hartikainen

School of Science Faculty Works

Transcranial extraocular light affects the brains of birds and modulates their seasonal changes in physiology and behavior. However, whether the human brain is sensitive to extraocular light is unknown. To test whether extraocular light has any effect on human brain functioning, we measured brain electrophysiology of 18 young healthy subjects using event-related potentials while they performed a visual attention task embedded with emotional distractors. Extraocular light delivered via ear canals abolished normal emotional modulation of attention related brain responses. With no extraocular light delivered, emotional distractors reduced centro-parietal P300 amplitude compared to neutral distractors. This phenomenon disappeared with extraocular light …

Animal Suffering Calls For More Than A Bigger Cage, Simon R. B. Leadbeater

Animal Sentience

Ng (2016) argues for incremental welfare biology partly because it would be impossible to demonstrate conclusively that animals are sentient. He argues that low cost changes in industrial practices and working collaboratively may be more effective in advancing animal welfare than more adversarial approaches. There is merit in some of Ng’s recommendations but a number of his arguments are, in my view, misdirected. The fact that nonhuman animals feel has already been adequately demonstrated. Cruelty to animals is intrinsic to some industries, so the only way to oppose it is to oppose the industry.

Is Humanitarianism Recent?, Andrea L. Sammarco

Animal Sentience

Although there is the need for textbooks in this field, the literary style of Broom’s Sentience and Animal Welfare detracts from the readability of the book. The author attempts with mixed success to define the field and differing opinions regarding the definitions of “sentience” and “animal welfare,” but makes a number of questionable assumptions concerning the history of the subject area.

Nonsuicidal Self-Injury As A Risk Factor For Purging Onset: Negatively Reinforced Behaviours That Reduce Emotional Distress, Elizabeth N. Riley, Heather A. Davis, Jessica L. Combs, Carol E. Jordan, Gregory T. Smith

Psychology Faculty Publications

Both nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and purging behaviour are thought to involve harm to the self. The acquired capability for self-harm model holds that engaging in one self-harming behaviour increases the capability to tolerate harm to the self, thus increasing risk for engaging on other such behaviours. In addition, both behaviours are thought to serve the similar function of relief from distress. We thus tested whether engagement in one of these behaviours predicts the subsequent onset of the other. In a longitudinal design, 1158 first-year college women were assessed for purging and NSSI at two time points. Engagement in NSSI at …

Corticosterone Enhances N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Signaling To Promote Isolated Ventral Tegmental Area Activity In A Reconstituted Mesolimbic Dopamine Pathway, Jennifer Nicole Berry, Meredith A. Saunders, Lynda Sharrett-Field, Anna R. Reynolds, Michael T. Bardo, James R. Pauly, Mark A. Prendergast

Psychology Faculty Publications

Elevations in circulating corticosteroids during periods of stress may influence activity of the mesolimbic dopamine reward pathway by increasing glutamatergic N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor expression and/or function in a glucocorticoid receptor-dependent manner. The current study employed organotypic co-cultures of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and nucleus accumbens (NAcc) to examine the effects of corticosterone exposure on NMDA receptor-mediated neuronal viability. Co-cultures were pre-exposed to vehicle or corticosterone (CORT; 1 μM) for 5 days prior to a 24 h co-exposure to NMDA (200 μM). Co-cultures pre-exposed to a non-toxic concentration of corticosterone and subsequently NMDA showed significant neurotoxicity in the VTA only. …

From Obedience To Contagion: Discourses Of Power In Milgram, Zimbardo, And The Facebook Experiment, Timothy Recuber

Sociology: Faculty Publications

When the public outcry concerning the ‘Facebook experiment’ began, many commentators drew parallels to controversial social science experiments from a prior era. The infamous Milgram (1963) and Zimbardo (1973) experiments concerning the social psychology of obedience and aggression seemed in some ways obvious analogs to the Facebook experiment, at least inasmuch as all three violated norms about the treatment of human subjects in research. But besides that, what do they really have in common? In fact, a close reading of Milgram, Zimbardo, and the Facebook experiment reveals something about the way power—both as a subject of scholarly inquiry and as …

Why Are We Still Listening To This Dead British Guy: An Analysis Of Emergency Liquidity Assistance In Germany During The Sovereign Debt Crisis, Nia R. Gillenwater

Scripps Senior Theses

Germany’s position of power within the European Union disguises how impacted the German economy was by the 2008 Financial Crisis and Europe’s subsequent Sovereign Debt Crisis. Two of Germany’s major banks-Commerzbank and Bayerische Landesbank- suffered major losses and required emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) to survive. Walter Bagehot wrote the theory underpinning lenders of last resort (LLRs) in 1873 but how has the development of systemically important banks affected the usefulness of Bagehot’s theory? This paper aims to explain why Germany is in need of updated LLR recommendations through an analysis of the ELA Germany at large, Commerzbank and Bayerische Landesbank …

Modelling The Impact Of Fiscal Policy On Non‑Oil Gdp In A Resource Rich Country: Evidence From Azerbaijan, Khatai Aliyev, Bruce Dehning, Orkhan Nadirov

Accounting Faculty Articles and Research

This paper analyses the impact of public expenditures and tax revenues on non‑oil economic growth in Azerbaijan for the period of 2000Q1‑2015Q2 by employing OLS, ARDL, FMOLS, DOLS, CCR and Granger Causality techniques. Different cointegration methods result in consistent results. In this study, there is strong evidence of significant long‑run positive contributions from public expenditures to non‑oil sector output. Results also show that tax revenues significantly slow down non‑oil economic growth in the long run. Granger Causality analysis finds the existence of a bidirectional short‑run association between non‑oil GDP and public expenditures, while tax revenues Granger Cause both variables. The …

Love Of Place: The Metropolitan University Advantage: 2015 Cumu National Conference In Omaha, Joseph A. Allen, Kelly Prange, Deborah Smith-Howell, Sara Woods, B. J. Reed

Psychology Faculty Publications

The theme for the 2015 CUMU National Conference in Omaha, NE was “Love of Place: The Metropolitan University Advantage”. The 2015 theme celebrates key elements that establish the identity of metropolitan universities and CUMU as an organization. The theme recognizes the unique opportunities and benefits provided by metropolitan universities for students and communities. Metropolitan universities provide students with enriching educational experiences while contributing to building and strengthening the community. These enriched experiences also support faculty and staff growth as members of the university and community. The theme encouraged conference participants to explore new pedagogical approaches, strategies for sustaining meaningful partnerships, …

U.S. Energy Sector Cybersecurity: Hands-Off Approach Or Effective Partnership?, T. M. Ballou, Joseph A. Allen, Kyle Francis

Psychology Faculty Publications

Recent reporting has identified significant threats to the U.S. energy’s critical infrastructure from nation states and other groups through cyberspace. Efforts to improve the security and resilience of U.S. energy infrastructure relies upon voluntary partnerships between the U.S. Government and public and private energy infrastructure owners. This paper examines ideal Public-Private Partnership (PPP) characteristics and compares them to an actual PPP in the U.S. The results identify strengths of and challenges to efforts to secure U.S. energy infrastructure. The research was conducted through a combination of literature reviews and interviews with a sample of U.S-government and private-energy infrastructure representatives.

Using Wii Technology And Experiential Learning To Teach Newtonian Mechanics To Rural Middle School Students, Joseph S. Dvorak, Tanya C. Franke-Dvorak, Shane Neel

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

This study looked at the effects of an experiential learning activity using the accelerometer in the Wii Remote to teach basic concepts of Newtonian mechanics, e.g., acceleration, to middle school students in a rural school district. A major prerequisite for students at the mid-level in biosystems engineering programs is that they have a good knowledge of basic science, including physics. Education in these concepts must begin before college, such as at the middle school level. Improvements in science education are vitally necessary to achieve essential learning outcomes for middle school students in the U.S. and to prepare these students for …

Maternal Allostatic Load During Pregnancy: Predicting Length Of Gestation, Molly Malany Sayre

Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications

Allostatic load, or the “wear and tear” on the body due to stress, is thought to have a negative impact on length of pregnancy and contribute to health disparities in preterm birth. However, the magnitude of the effect on birth outcomes is unknown, in part due to questions of timing of measurement of allostatic load during pregnancy. This study used linear regression analysis of data from 156 pregnant women to test whether allostatic load is a predictor of length of gestation in the study sample, finding that third trimester allostatic load predicted length of gestation among women with full-term births. …

Types Of Persuasive Message Promoting Blood Donation In Hong Kong, Pui Chuen Tam

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

Based on Ferguson, Farrell, & Lawrence (2008)’s study on persuasive messages promoting blood donation, this study has identified a characteristic of persuasive message that could influence Chinese participants’ behavioral intention to donate blood. Participants (N = 66) were randomly assigned to read one of the four messages with different focuses and framings. They then indicated their behavioral intention to donate blood after reading the messages. Two-way ANCOVA, with self-efficacy as covariate indicated that respondents after reading altruistic messages reported a higher intention to donate blood than those who read egoistic messages. Moreover, it is also revealed that within people with …

Review Of Sremac And Ganzervoort's "Religious And Sexual Nationalisms In Central And Eastern Europe: Gods, Gays And Governments", Nena Močnik

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Adolescent Methylphenidate Treatment Differentially Alters Adult Impulsivity And Hyperactivity In The Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat Model Of Adhd, Sucharita S. Somkuwar, Kathleen M. Kantak, Michael T. Bardo, Linda P. Dwoskin

Psychology Faculty Publications

Impulsivity and hyperactivity are two facets of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Impulsivity is expressed as reduced response inhibition capacity, an executive control mechanism that prevents premature execution of an intermittently reinforced behavior. During methylphenidate treatment, impulsivity and hyperactivity are decreased in adolescents with ADHD, but there is little information concerning levels of impulsivity and hyperactivity in adulthood after adolescent methylphenidate treatment is discontinued. The current study evaluated impulsivity, hyperactivity as well as cocaine sensitization during adulthood after adolescent methylphenidate treatment was discontinued in the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat (SHR) model of ADHD. Treatments consisted of oral methylphenidate (1.5 mg/kg) or water …

Critical Needs In Drug Discovery For Cessation Of Alcohol And Nicotine Polysubstance Abuse, C. E. Van Skike, Sarah E. Maggio, A. R. Reynolds, E. M. Casey, Michael T. Bardo, Linda P. Dwoskin, M. A. Prendergast, Kimberly Nixon

Psychology Faculty Publications

Polysubstance abuse of alcohol and nicotine has been overlooked in our understanding of the neurobiology of addiction and especially in the development of novel therapeutics for its treatment. Estimates show that as many as 92% of people with alcohol use disorders also smoke tobacco. The health risks associated with both excessive alcohol consumption and tobacco smoking create an urgent biomedical need for the discovery of effective cessation treatments, as opposed to current approaches that attempt to independently treat each abused agent. The lack of treatment approaches for alcohol and nicotine abuse/dependence mirrors a similar lack of research in the neurobiology …

Individual Differences In Impulsive Action And Dopamine Transporter Function In Rat Orbitofrontal Cortex, Justin R. Yates, Mahesh Darna, Joshua S. Beckmann, Linda P. Dwoskin, Michael T. Bardo

Psychology Faculty Publications

Impulsivity, which can be subdivided into impulsive action and impulsive choice, is implicated as a factor underlying drug abuse vulnerability. Although previous research has shown that dopamine (DA) systems in prefrontal cortex are involved in impulsivity and substance abuse, it is not known if inherent variation in DA transporter (DAT) function contributes to impulsivity. The current study determined if individual differences in either impulsive action or impulsive choice are related to DAT function in orbitofrontal (OFC) and/or medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Rats were first tested both for impulsive action in a cued go/no-go task and for impulsive choice in a …

Re-Conceiving Time In Reference And Information Services Work: A Qualitative Secondary Analysis, Jenny Bossaller, C. Sean Burns, Amy Vanscoy

Information Science Faculty Publications

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to use the sociology of time to understand how time is perceived by academic librarians who provide reference and information service (RIS).

Design/methodology/approach

This study is a qualitative secondary analysis (QSA) of two phenomenological studies about the experience of RIS in academic libraries. The authors used QSA to re-analyze the interview transcripts to develop themes related to the perception of time.

Findings

Three themes about the experience of time in RIS work were identified. Participants experience time as discrete, bounded moments but sometimes experience threads through these moments that provide continuity, time is …

Creating Space: The Impacts Of Spatial Arrangements In Public Library Makerspaces, Shannon Crawford Barniskis

Communication Faculty Publications

This multi-site ethnographic case study examines the spatial arrangements of two public library makerspaces. These spaces are participatory social and spatial arrangements aimed at least in part at creating physical or digital objects, which are open for the free use of all library patrons, irrespective of the types of workshops, tools, staffing, materials created, or location. Library creative places shape the possible actions and experiences of those using them through policy and practice, including the planning and implementation of spatial arrangements. Power relations are often invisibly embedded in the affordances intentionally or unintentionally designed into the spaces. This study examines …

Electric Vehicles In Ireland: The Past, The Present And The Future?, Emma Sadleir

Theses

This research is undertaken as part of the researcher’s efforts to achieve a Masters Degree in Business from Cork Institute of Technology. The research topic of Electric Vehicles in Ireland and the concentration on those vehicles exclusively or primarily powered by battery was prompted by interest and curiosity, but with a significant undertone of concern for the environment, all of which led to the research question: Electric Vehicles in Ireland: the past, the present, and the future?

It was not possible to start with a complete void and therefore initially assumptions were made, particularly that serious environmental damage arises from …