Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Profiles Of Academic Commitment, Anna Jill Womack

Dissertations

Tinto (1993) found that only 15-25% of students who dropped out of college did so due to academic failure, while the reasons for leaving among the remaining group of students who dropped out were unknown. This suggests that the majority of students who drop out of college are likely doing so for reasons other than academic struggles. Researchers have suggested that individuals who are committed to their major are more likely to obtain a bachelor’s degree (Bowling, Beehr, & Lepisto, 2006; Den Hartog & Belschak, 2007; Duffy, Dik, & Steger, 2011; Goulet & Singh, 2002; Landrum & Mulcock, 2007), indicating …

Refinement Of The Attitudes Toward Anger Management Scale, David Jerome Boudreaux

Dissertations

Identifying and addressing potential problems with anger before they result in adverse consequences could be beneficial in improving quality of life and minimizing the disruptive effects of anger on one’s social environment. Excessive anger or anger which is expressed in maladaptive ways present particular challenges for college students due to their developmental stage, stressors, and environmental demands. Unfortunately, too few college students utilize available mental health resources. Individuals with problem anger are influenced by unique factors that affect help seeking decisions. A better understanding of these factors could facilitate outreach and improve service utilization. This study continued the development of …

The Associations Among Expressed Emotion, Relationship Satisfaction, Ptsd Symptoms, Alcohol Use, And Depression: A Longitudinal Investigation With A Military Sample, Laci Lee Zawilinski

Dissertations

PTSD in military personnel is highly prevalent and accompanied by elevated rates of additional issues such as depression, problematic alcohol use, and interpersonal relationship problems. Family members and spouses of military personnel have also been shown to be negatively impacted by PTSD symptoms. Previous research has indicated that family members and spouses’ expressed emotion regarding the PTSD patients’ symptoms negatively impacts treatment outcome in civilian populations. However, studies have yet to investigate the effect of expressed emotion on the course of PTSD symptoms and associated problems in military personnel. Therefore, the purpose of the present investigation was to examine the …

Multi-Sensory Emotion Recognition With Speech And Facial Expression, Qingmei Yao

Dissertations

Emotion plays an important role in human beings’ daily lives. Understanding emotions and recognizing how to react to others’ feelings are fundamental to engaging in successful social interactions. Currently, emotion recognition is not only significant in human beings’ daily lives, but also a hot topic in academic research, as new techniques such as emotion recognition from speech context inspires us as to how emotions are related to the content we are uttering.

The demand and importance of emotion recognition have highly increased in many applications in recent years, such as video games, human computer interaction, cognitive computing, and affective computing. …

Implementing A Positive Variation Of The Good Behavior Game With The Use Of A Computer-Based Program, Shauna Lynne

Dissertations

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is an interdependent group contingency designed to address behavioral concerns. The vast majority of published findings on the GBG have supported its effectiveness in decreasing disruptive behavior in classroom settings. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness and the social validity of a positive variation of the GBG in which teachers were asked to use ClassDojo to manage each team’s progress. ClassDojo is a computer-based program that enables teachers to track student behavior and monitor progress by way of a virtual system. Dependent variables included class-wide disruptive and academically engaged behavior (AEB), …

The Role Of Parental Locus Of Control In The Relations Among Early Childhood Temperament, Parenting Practices, And Child Externalizing Behavior, Amanda Kathryn Stary

Dissertations

Child externalizing behaviors are a common reason for children’s referral for mental health services, and parenting practices are a primary target of efficacious interventions. In turn, child temperament and parent beliefs, such as parental self-efficacy and locus of control, relate to use of specific parenting practices. The present study aimed to evaluate whether parental locus of control and related components moderate the indirect effect of preschool-aged children’s temperament on their externalizing behaviors through parenting practices. Specifically, child temperament was expected to predict parenting practices only at certain levels of locus of control. Female caregivers of 146 children ages 3-5 years …

The Impact Of Varieties Of Shame On Disordered Eating: Exploring The Influence Of Emotion Regulation And Self-Compassion, Tiffany Ann Hopkins

Dissertations

The current study examined the impact of specific forms of shame on severity of specific disordered eating behaviors, after controlling for depression and guilt, among women who engaged in restricting, binge-eating, purging/compensatory behaviors, or binge eating and purging in combination. Additionally, the study examined whether self-compassion and emotion regulation mediated the relation between various forms of shame and disordered eating severity. Finally, the study piloted an internet-based method of self-compassion induction. Participants (N = 518) were a convenience sample of women recruited from websites associated with eating disorders, who reported engagement in at least one disordered eating behavior in the …

Assessing U.S. Veterans' Work Role Functioning: Influences Of Posttraumatic Stress, Sense Of Coherence, And Vocational Identity, Lauren Kelly Osborne

Dissertations

Since beginning military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that now characterize the Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) combat eras, unique stressors and conditions have faced service members. Advancements in military medicine have resulted in greater survival rates of combat veterans, but have also increased rates of chronic psychological distress (Schnurr, Lunney, Bovin, & Marx, 2009). Research regarding these concerns has increased as these service members are now returning home and re-entering civilian life and many studies show the detrimental effects on psychosocial functioning following combat including employment difficulties. As …

The Influence Of The Electric Supply Industry On Economic Growth In Less Developed Countries, Edward Richard Bee

Dissertations

This study measures the impact that electrical outages have on manufacturing production in 135 less developed countries using stochastic frontier analysis and data from World Bank’s Investment Climate surveys. Outages of electricity, for firms with and without backup power sources, are the most frequently cited constraint on manufacturing growth in these surveys.

Outages are shown to reduce output below the production frontier by almost five percent in Africa and by a lower percentage in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East and North Africa. Production response to outages is quadratic in form. Outages also increase labor cost, reduce exports …

U.S. State Building And The Second Amendment, Darren Dale Gil

Dissertations

This dissertation used a comparative case study strategy employing a mixed methods thematic content analysis approach¹ to explore U.S. government support for Second Amendment freedoms as compared to other freedoms in the U.S. Bill of Rights in American-led state-building projects in Cuba (1898-1901), Germany (1945-1949), and Iraq (2003-2005). The dissertation tested for Republican and Democratic political party support regarding Second Amendment freedoms in U.S. state-building projects. Findings from the three case studies showed that the American government did not support individual arms rights in its state-building efforts as it did with the other nine Bill of Rights freedoms. Findings …

Predictive Effects Of Parenting Styles, Self-Regulation, And Resistance To Peer Influence On Drinking Behaviors In College Freshmen: A Social Learning Perspective, Saarah Danielle Kison

Dissertations

The first year of college may be a salient time period for the development of drinking practices in college populations. While parenting styles have been associated with global self-regulation, resistance to peer influence and college student drinking behaviors, a comprehensive evaluation of these relationships has yet to be established. Researchers have demonstrated that self-regulation acts as both a predictor and moderator of resistance to peer influence, which has been shown to be a more proximal predictor of drinking behaviors. While relationships between global self-regulation, parenting and drinking have been empirically established, less attention has been given to specific methods of …

The Effect Of Auditory Stimulation On Sleep Disruption In West Indian Manatee (Trichechus Manatus Latirostris), Natalija Lace

Dissertations

Florida manatees inhabit waterways where motorized boats are common. Although manatee mortalities resulting from boat strikes are well documented, the effect of boat noise on some manatee behaviors, including rest, has not been investigated. This study focuses on rest behavior and used a playback experiment with four manatees at the Lowry Park Zoo in Florida. We tested their responses to playback stimuli of either boat noise, silence, or manatee calls. A playback trial was initiated when the focal animal showed behavioral characteristics of rest.

Results showed that rest was interrupted in response to the playback of boat noise for each …

The Effects Of Peer-Mediated Check-In, Check-Out With A Self Monitoring Component On Disruptive Behavior And Appropriate Engagement In The Classroom, Chandler Erin Mclemore

Dissertations

Check-In/Check-Out (CICO) is a commonly used Tier II behavioral intervention within public school settings. The present study evaluated the use of an alternative method of service delivery for CICO that included peers as interventionists. Self-monitoring was an additional intervention component, utilized in order to reduce teacher response effort associated with intervention implementation. Three target student/peer interventionist dyads served as participants (one elementary school dyad, one middle school dyad, and one high school dyad). Direct observation data were collected, and the effects of peer-mediated CICO were evaluated with an ABAB design. Social validity measures were also completed by each teacher as …

Process Feedback In Group Psychotherapy: A Second Look At Leader Implementation Of Gq Feedback, Kaitlyn Elizabeth Whitcomb

Theses and Dissertations

The current dissertation is a replication of a pilot study and aims to define what it means for group leaders to "act on" feedback from a group therapy process measure called the Group Questionnaire (GQ). Twelve leaders received feedback reports based on group member responses to the GQ after each session. Leaders submitted two sources of qualitative data: brief written session-by-session explanations of feedback use and end-of-semester debrief interviews to describe their experience with the measure. Researchers conducted a qualitative content analysis that yielded 15 categories of leader GQ use summarized by three temporal dimensions. Quantitative analyses were performed to …

(Wp 2016-06) The Effectiveness Of Central Bank Forward Guidance Under Inflation And Price-Level Targeting, Stephen J. Cole

Economics Working Papers

This paper examines the effectiveness of central bank forward guidance under inflation and price-level targeting monetary policies. The results show that the attenuation of the effects of forward guidance can be solved if a central bank switches from inflation targeting to price-level targeting. Output and inflation respond more favorably to forward guidance with price-level targeting than inflation targeting. A monetary policy rule that aggressively reacts to inflation and includes interest rate inertia narrows the performance gap between the two policy regimes. However, forward guidance with price-level targeting is still preferred to forward guidance with inflation targeting after performing multiple robustness …

Early Parental Loss, Socioeconomic Stressors, And Health In Later Life: Evidence For Gender Disparity, Rong Fu

Open Access Dissertations

Drawing from the stress process model and the cumulative disadvantage theory, this dissertation examined how childhood and later life stressors affected cognitive and subjective health in older adults. Using three main articles, this dissertation investigated (1) the effect of early parental loss on cognitive well-being in Chinese oldest old; (2) the effect of intergenerational socioeconomic mobility on cognitive and subjective health in advanced age; and (3) the effect of different dimensions of socioeconomic status and perceived financial strain on subjective health in later life. Data were derived from the 2002 and 2005 waves of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey. …

A Review Of Community-Based Solar Home System Projects In The Philippines, Erees Queen B. Macabebe, Reynaldo C. Guerrero Jr, Aleta C. Domdom, Aison S. Garcia, Emma E. Porio, Samuel Matthew G. Dumlao, Teresita R. Perez

Sociology & Anthropology Department Faculty Publications

Solar Home Systems (SHS) are easy to deploy in island and in remote communities where grid connection is costly. However, issues related to maintenance of these systems emerge after they are deployed because of the remoteness and inaccessibility of the communities. This study looked into community-based programs in the Philippines and investigated the following: (1) social preparation, (2) role of the community in the project, and (3) sustainability of the program. In this paper, three communities under two government programs offering SHS are presented. These programs are the Solar Power Technology Support (SPOTS) program of the Department of Agrarian Reform …

The Link Between Recurrent Childhood Animal Cruelty And Recurrent Interpersonal Violence, Caleb E. Trentham

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

In the early 1960s, researchers began to examine the potential link between childhood animal cruelty and future interpersonal violence. Findings since then have been inconsistent in establishing a relationship between the two. This may be due to researchers failing to measure the recurrency of childhood animal abuse and the recurrency of later violent acts committed in adulthood. The current study, using data from 257 inmates at a medium-security prison in a Southern state, is a replication of research conducted by Tallichet and Hensley (2004) and Hensley, Tallichet, and Dutkiewicz (2009), which examined this recurrency issue. The only statistically significant predictor …

The Social Brain In Human And Religious Evolution: Elucidating The Role Of Theory Of Mind In (Non)Religious Belief, Thomas J. Coleman Iii

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Contemporary theorists of religion have argued that religious beliefs are “natural” because they arise from normally functioning social cognitive capacities, especially Theory of Mind (ToM). Hence, attempts to explain atheism have relied heavily on the assumption that nonbelievers may have a malfunctioning ToM and other traits associated with the autism spectrum continuum (ASC). However, few studies currently address this topic and the evidence either way remains ambiguous. The current research narrows this empirical gap, addressing these claims with a two-fold approach. First, a near comprehensive review of ToM is provided. Second, this study is exploratory, employing a unique methodology and …

Exploring Relationships Between Stress And Olfaction As Mediated By Neuropeptide Y, William J. Heaton

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The negative correlation between olfactory sensitivity and depression has been well documented, but the biological processes underpinning the relationship are not understood. This study explored a potential relationship between olfactory sensitivity, stress, and resilience to stress, specifically examining neuropeptide y (NPY) as a mediator. In phase I, 197 UTC students participated in a survey measuring stress and resilience among other factors. Of this sample, 25 students volunteered for phase II, in which they took an olfactory threshold test and gave blood. Serum levels of cortisol and NPY were analyzed from blood samples. Correlational analyses suggest a positive effect of stress …

Wildfire, Climate, And Perceptions In Northeast Oregon, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Joel N. Hartter, Barry D. Keim, Angela E. Boag, Michael W. Palace, Forrest R. Stevens, Mark J. Ducey

Sociology

Wildfire poses a rising threat in the western USA, fueled by synergies between historical fire suppression, changing land use, insects and disease, and shifts toward a drier, warmer climate. The rugged landscapes of northeast Oregon, with their historically forest- and resource-based economies, have been one of the areas affected. A 2011 survey found area residents highly concerned about fire and insect threats, but not about climate change. In 2014 we conducted a second survey that, to explore this apparent disconnect, included questions about past and future summertime (fire season) temperatures. Although regional temperatures have warmed in recent decades at twice …

Understanding Mediators Of The Relationship Between Hiv-Related Stigma And Medication Adherence Among People Living With Hiv (Hiv), Shannon Marie Sweeney

Dissertations - ALL

Although accumulated research demonstrates that HIV-related stigma is associated with medication adherence difficulties for PLWH, this literature is limited by inconsistencies in the conceptualization and assessment of both stigma and adherence. Additionally, few empirical research studies provide tests of the psychosocial mechanisms that may account for the stigma-adherence relationship. The present study sought to clarify these relationships using more refined measures, which assessed multiple domains of stigma (i.e., internalized, anticipated, and enacted stigmas) and multiple domains of adherence (i.e., global and intentional nonadherence). It was further hypothesized that two mediational pathways, depressive symptoms and disclosure concerns, may mediate the association …

Library Instruction And Information Literacy 2015, Latisha Reynolds, Samantha Mcclellan, Susan Finley, George Martinez, Rosalinda H. Linares

Works by Oberlin College Libraries Staff

Purpose: This paper aims to highlight recent resources on information literacy (IL) and library instruction, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering all library types.

Design/methodology/approach: This paper introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations and other materials on library instruction and IL published in 2015.

Findings: This paper provides information about each source, describes the characteristics of current scholarship and highlights sources that contain either unique or significant scholarly contributions.

Originality/value: The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and IL.

Seeing Is Believing, But Is It The Truth? Reality Vs. Representation Of Men In Contemporary Magazine Advertisements, 1980-2010, Dana Ann Lopez Coleman

Dissertations

McQuail (1994) observed, “The entire study of mass communication is based onthe premise that the media have significant effects” (p. 327). Many of these studies in mass communication have focused specifically on the various consequences that are believed to be a result of advertising. These images and perceptions can also become an individual’s reality which serves to shape society and their day-to-day environment. As Rudy, Popova, and Linz (2010) wrote, “Extensive media exposure leads audience members to adopt media reality as their own, and these altered conceptions of reality can in turn influence behavior” (p. 708). Understanding these visual representations, …

Rebuilding Security And Peace For Women: Exploring Women’S Security Challenges And Activism For Security And Peace Building In Northeast India, Rubi Devi

Dissertations

Women have been affected by violence and conflicts ever since the wars were first waged on earth. Woman as a grieving mother or widow is a common portrayal of war and conflict. However, the common portrayal of women as passive victims does not recount the whole story of women’s experience in conflict/post conflict scenario. Women face countless security challenges in the form of physical, psychological abuses, economic burden and most importantly sexual violence- rape, murder, molestation, kidnapping and sex trafficking. The gendered nature of conflict, thus, increases women’s security challenges and places them at a critical juncture of experiencing and …

Improving The P300-Based Brain-Computer Interface By Examining The Role Of Psychological Factors On Performance, Samantha A. Sprague

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The effects of neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic-lateral sclerosis (ALS) eventually render those suffering from the illness unable to communicate, leaving their cognitive function relatively unharmed and causing them to be “locked-in” to their own body. With this primary function compromised there has been an increased need for assistive communication methods such as brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). Unlike several augmentative or alternative communication methods (AACs), BCIs do not require any muscular control, which makes this method ideal for people with ALS. The wealth of BCI research focuses mainly on increasing BCI performance through improving stimulus processing and manipulating paradigms. Recent research …

Tornado Density And Return Periods In The Southeastern United States: Communicating Risk And Vulnerability At The Regional And State Levels, Michelle Bradburn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Tornado intensity and impacts vary drastically across space, thus spatial and statistical analyses were used to identify patterns of tornado severity in the Southeastern United States and to assess the vulnerability and estimated recurrence of tornadic activity. Records from the Storm Prediction Center's tornado database (1950-2014) were used to estimate kernel density to identify areas of high and low tornado frequency at both the regional- and state-scales. Return periods (2-year, 5-year, 10-year, 25-year, 50-year, and 100-year) were calculated at both scales as well using a composite score that included EF-scale magnitude, injury counts, and fatality counts. Results showed that the …

Social Comparison Processes As Contributors To Consistent Physical Activity., Holly M. Knight

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the impact that attention to social comparison (SC) information may have on consistency in physical activity (PA) behaviors across genders. SC factors, including SC frequency, SC direction and trait tendency to compare (SCO) were assessed within the Dynamic Relapse Model (DRM) as markers of PA consistency within men and women. Participants were N=200 individuals engaging in physical activity at YMCA gym facilities. Data collection utilized cross-sectional methods including anthropomorphic data collection at the point of recruitment and online selfreport measures post-recruitment. High adherence to regular physical activity was observed, with participants reporting infrequent slips in PA …

Local Investment And The Relationship Between Prices And Earnings, Michael Hyman

Dissertations - ALL

This paper examines how local stock ownership influences the relationship between stock prices and future earnings. Prior finance literature has found that local investment leads to superior returns and has suggested that these returns are a result of an informational edge for those who invest locally. However, the literature has yet to examine which types of information local investors have access to and how that impacts the informativeness of stock prices. This paper shows that local investors have access to earnings-relevant information which results in stock prices which better lead future earnings for companies with larger local ownership bases. This …

Racial Incidents In The Classroom: A Qualitative Study On Preschool Teachers’ Perceptions, Melinda Day

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation examines the extent to which 35 early childhood educators’ training and experiences influence their perception of and subsequent teaching strategies racial incidents that occur in a preschool classroom. The study used focus groups to explore the implications of a teacher’s ability to a) perceive the racial situation; and b) act or intervene through curriculum or other choices to turn the situation into a “teachable moment”. Using the theories of social learning, intergroup contact, perspectives on ethnic/race identity formation and foundations of multicultural education, the study addresses what role early educators and their strategies could play in reducing the …