Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Examining The Effects Of A Strength-Based Therapeutic Assessment Process On Students’ Perceptions Of Teacher-Student Relationship, Hope, And Academic Competence, Teresa A. Duszlak

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

One major purpose of school-based assessment approaches is to identify ways to intervene to promote positive school academic, social and well-being outcomes for all students. Although schools traditionally use assessment tools to identify students’ weaknesses and needs, they can also use strength-based assessment tools to guide intervention planning and to validate students’ and teachers’ positive views of student skills and characteristics. Sharing these strengths and how to use them may enhance a student’s perception of the teacher-student relationship, hope and academic competence. Likewise, a second approach to assessment, called Therapeutic Assessment (TA), has yielded similar child outcomes for youth in …

Adolescent Relationship Concerns And Perceived Gains From A Relationship Education Course, Jenny Harris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was conducted with survey data drawn from a relationship education initiative in the state of Utah. Teenagers participated in the Premarital Interpersonal Choices and Knowledge (PICK) program (also known as How to Avoid Falling for a Jerk or Jerk-ette), a program designed for single individuals. They answered questions before and after the course, and I used their responses to answer two questions: (1) What concerns do middle-adolescents (ages 15-17) have about romantic relationships? (2) What do middle-adolescents gain from participation in PICK?

Data from 605 participants were combined and analyzed for themes. Teenage participants expressed concerns about …

Essays On The Economics Of Energy And Transportation, Ryan N. Barnes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is responsible for planning, operating, and maintaining a highway network consisting of over 18,500 lane-miles of highway. In recent years the growing uncertainty about oil prices and availability has made long-range transportation planning even more challenging. Rather than relying on trend extrapolation, this study uses market mechanisms to shed light on key long-range transportation planning assumptions. In particular, this study was conducted to help WSDOT assess the likelihood that natural gas will substitute for petroleum fuels and estimate the impacts that changes in fuel prices will have on natural gas vehicle demand, fuel …

The Inevitable Fusion: A Mixed-Methods Sociological Approach To Comprehensive Kodiak Bear Viewing Management, Jacqueline M. Keating

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge is home to one of the highest concentrations of brown bears in Alaska. As the public demand for bear viewing opportunities continues to increase, managers are faced with the challenge of accommodating this new kind of visitor use on a refuge that was traditionally managed for the sustainable hunting of bears. To inform the public use management planning process, the Kodiak Refuge allocated funding to support social science research that objectively assessed the current nature of bear viewing opportunities and the factors that influence the quality of those opportunities. Ecologist Aldo Leopold claimed that the …

Foreign Fighter Recruitment Messaging And The ‘Islamic State’, Jacob M. Nelson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The so called ‘Islamic State,’ an Islamic extremist organization which currently controls large swaths of territory in the Middle East, has attracted foreign fighters to its insurgency in tens of thousands. Until just recently, foreign fighters were not well researched or understood separately from local fighters. David Malet (2013) argues that insurgencies recruit foreign fighters by persuading them to defend a ‘common group’ against a threatening enemy. This ‘defensive mobilization,’ he believed, was critical to recruiting foreign fighters throughout history. After preliminary analysis, the Islamic State presented evidence contrary to this theory, and it seemed dubious that they would use …

Increasing Knowledge And Detection Of Racial And Ethnic Microaggressions In White College Students, Christina A. Patterson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Scholars have strongly suggested that to combat microaggressions and their impact on persons of color, there needs to be an increased awareness and ability to detect microaggressions when they occur. There is limited research on how to practically address these concerns. This study examined the efficacy of a multimedia intervention aimed at increasing White individuals’ ability to accurately detect microaggressions. The high-exposure intervention was compared against two other conditions, low-exposure and control, at pre-, post-, and 1-week follow-up from intervention.

Undergraduate university students were recruited from two predominantly white universities (PWU). Participants watched a series of videos to determine if …

Assessment Of The Impact Of The Premarital Interpersonal Choices And Knowledge (Pick) Program On Adolescents, Raquel R. Boehme

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was conducted to determine if the information from the Premarital Interpersonal Choices and Knowledge (PICK) program How to Avoid Falling for a Jerk/ette helped positively change adolescents’ attitudes about relationships. The program was taught to 9,130 high school students (ages 14 -18) from 35 different high schools in a Western state.

Surveys were given at the beginning of the first class (pretest) and at the end of the final class (posttest). In addition to demographic information, students rated (1) their attitudes about what it takes to get to know a potential partner, (2) their belief that love alone …

Public Opinion On Renewable Energy: The Nexus Of Climate, Politics, And Economy, Shawn K. Olson-Hazboun

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation research examines the factors underlying public opinion toward renewable energy in the United States. U.S. citizens in general support the continued development of renewable energy, yet opposition has been widely observed toward a variety of renewable energy facilities at the local level. Previous research on public responses to renewable energy has focused on one or a small number of communities experiencing renewable energy development. In this research I examine public views more broadly, in communities with and without renewable energy development, and also using nationally representative opinion data. I ask the following questions:

What local experiences influence how …

Answers To Common Misconceptions About Biological Evolution, Leah M. Abebe, Blake Bartels, Kaitlyn M. Caron, Adam M. Gleeson, Samuel N. Johnson, Tyler J. Kluza, Nicholas W. Knopik, Kristen N. Kramer, Masiel S. Maza, Kaitlyn A. Stava, Kaitlyn Sullivan, Jordan T. Trimble, Robert M. Zink

Papers in Evolution

“When you have an established scientific emergent truth, it is true whether or not you believe in it.” Neil deGrasse Tyson, Science in America. Very few people outside of a particular scientific discipline can actually say they understand it, because most do not have the training to “speak the language.” They are then not particularly bothered by its tenets and predictions. Of all the major branches of science, however, evolutionary biology is an exception to this generalization because even though people are not versed in the field, they sometimes have a negative, knee-jerk objection. This objection is often because they …

Examining The Link Between Press Freedom And Politics., Megan Wollerton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Freedom of the press is a hallmark of liberal democracy. Denying this civil liberty emboldens a government to exert an undue degree of influence over its citizens. By comparing the media discourse in a democratic country to the media discourse in an authoritarian country, one could reasonably expect to identify unique language markers, which shed light on their divergent political climates. This study specifically sourced articles from the Venezuelan publication El Universal and the Costa Rican publication The Tico Times. The author then analyzed every article related to politics published by both newspapers in March 2014 and in March …

Civic Pride Or Civic Duty? : An Examination Of Willingness To Support A Professional Sport Stadium Referendum., Alicia M. Cintron

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Professional sport stadium subsidization is abundant across the United States, where the voting public is sometimes provided the opportunity to approve the measures through referendum. Many of these referendums are approved by the voters (Kellison & Mondello, 2014; Mondello & Anderson, 2004), despite research stating professional sport stadiums bring little to no economic benefit to a municipality (Baade, 1994, 1996; Baade & Dye, 1988a, 1990; Baade et al., 2008; Coates & Humphreys, 1999, 2002; Euchner, 1993; Zipp, 1996). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand what factors may influence a constituent’s willingness to support a professional sport stadium …

Moral Time And Homicide Investigations., David Stuart Lapsey Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous literature explores the many dimensions of homicide investigations, including case and individual characteristics, evidence and investigative activities. However, little research delves into situational characteristics and their relationship to specific homicides, charge severity sought by prosecutors and sentence length given to homicide offenders. The current study sampled homicide cases (N=68) to gather baseline information and data regarding judicial outcomes. Donald Black’s Theory of Moral Time (2011) is tested and utilized as the study’s conceptual framework for the study’s hypotheses.

De Jure Provisions For Judicial Independence In Us States: 1776-2015, Kimberly M. Pilatovsky

Senior Theses

In this paper I present original data collected for over three dozen factors capturing constitutional provisions for judicial independence for all 50 US states, from statehood to 2015. Drawing on insights from research on comparative courts, this data set goes far beyond simple appointment procedures, and includes tenure, rule-making ability, removal procedures, and other factors affecting the relationship between the judiciary and political branches. I further discuss how this data can be used in the future to address debates over the effect of institutional design on judicial behavior, as well as how changes in political conditions affect the role of …

“Speed-Faithing” Engages “Big Questions” And Builds Bridges Of Empathy And Connection, Bonnie Glass-Coffin

Interfaith Initiative Research

An article about how various Interfaith activities can help campus become a safer place for students in the wake of the 2016 Presidential Election.

Connecting Beyond The Circle: A Restorative Approach In Co-Creating A Safe Space For Social Justice Education At Utec, Nikki F. Pelonia

Capstone Collection

“Social justice is both a process and a goal. The goal of social justice education is full and equal participation of all groups in a community that is [co-created] to meet the members’ needs. Social justice includes a vision of a community that is equitable and all members are physically and psychologically safe and secure” (Adams, Bell, & Griffin, 2007, p. 1). In the process, one is used to going straight to issues of social justice before connecting by building trusts and relationships. This Course-Linked Capstone in Training focuses on SIT Graduate Institute coursework from Training Design in Experiential Learning …

A Well-Rounded Experience: Connecting The Home Campus To The Study Abroad Experience And The Study Abroad Experience To The Home Campus, Mary Aurora Grandinetti

Capstone Collection

Many small liberal arts colleges across the United States partner with third-party providers or foreign institutions to provide their students with an opportunity to study abroad. Denison University, a small liberal arts school in Ohio, traditionally sends 50% of its student body to study abroad before they graduate. Since students have the option to spend a semester or two participating in study abroad, it is important for the students to be well prepared, for the experience to be integrated into their overall Denison education and for the students to transition back to campus successfully. To determine how students were preparing …

Listening: Projects For The Self And Social Action, Thomas Boyd

Capstone Collection

Listening is becoming more of a rarity in this increasingly busy world, especially between those who see a particular issue differently. The question, “By conducting listening projects as trainers, what can we learn about ourselves and social action work?” is explored in this capstone paper to see how listening can benefit us both personally and professionally as trainers. Numerous articles, commentaries, and literature around listening, listening projects, and their meaning are examined in this paper.

Five different types of listening projects are explored through listening sessions: Oral histories, Oral artistries, ‘Button-pushing’ challenges, Single-issue testimonies, and Life stories. With the exception …

Sustainable Tourism Study Through Solimar International, S Silongwengjia

Capstone Collection

This inquiry explores a pragmatic approach of sustainable tourism and its application as a transformative development instrument. It seeks a general understanding of the global tourism sector, looks specifically at an individual tourism enterprise, Solimar International, and examines rural tourism, and its proposed standards. It discusses the opportunities and threats to the culture, ecology, and livelihoods of the residents of destination tourism and the unique experience to geotravelers. It analyzes the theoretical development history of tourism and the integrated approach of Solimar International as a leading agency in the tourism industry sector. And it seeks to understand a new type …

Book Review: Stein, Shawn Y Nicolás Campisi. Por Amor A La Pelota: Once Cracks De La Ficción Futbolera. Santiago: Cuarto Propio, 2014. Isbn: 9789-5626-0690-5. 271 Pp., Martín Camps

College of the Pacific Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Examining The Impact Of The Haven Training On Perceptions Of Rape, Katerina Marie Oberdieck

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to study the effect of a university-mandated sexual assault prevention program-Haven: Understanding Sexual Assault-on college students' judgments of three different rape vignettes (Stranger Rape, Acquaintance Rape, Acquaintance Rape with Intoxication), and overall rape myth acceptance. A sample of 490 participants who either had or had not completed Haven training participated in the study, and each participant was also randomly assigned to read either a brief summary of the Haven training or a control paragraph before judging the vignettes. Gender was also treated as an independent variable due to robust evidence of gender differences in …

International Law And The Use Of Lawfare: An Argument For The U.S. To Adopt A Lawfare Doctrine, Trevor Michael Alfred Logan

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to develop a comprehensive operational definition of lawfare, analyze historical case studies of states currently implementing lawfare strategies, and to make an argument for why the U.S. should adopt a lawfare doctrine. Chapter 1 will focus on defining the concept of lawfare and drafting an operational definition of lawfare. Chapter 2 focuses on the evolution of the lawfare doctrine established by the People's Republic of China (PRC), identifies the current lawfare operations conducted by the PRC in the fields of maritime, airspace, cyberspace, and outer space, and analyzing the implications of PRC lawfare operations …

A Self-Compassion Intervention To Increase Feedback Acceptance Among Individuals With Perfectionistic Tendencies, Alise Sue Ellen Kottman

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Performance feedback is an important part of employee development. Performance feedback is often administered incorrectly which can be damaging to the employee. Self-compassion training is proposed as a means to mitigate the negative effects associated with receiving damaging performance feedback. Self-compassion priming was used as a method to increase feedback acceptance among individuals with perfectionistic tendencies. Participants (n = 938) were given a measure of perfectionism and then asked to complete a proofreading task containing either a self-compassion prime or a neutral topic. Positive and negative feedback was randomly assigned. Participants then filled out an internal self-compassion measure as well …

Energy Transformation: Examining How Nuclear And Solar Power Could Enhance Stability In The Middle East Region And Implications For U.S. Policy, Brett Matthew Roenigk

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The U.S. Department of Energy projects that rapid growth in population and access to domestic resources will cause the Middle East's energy consumption to increase by 95% from 2012 to 2040. Currently, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates do not have enough installed power capacity to handle this increase in consumption. Due to this, these states are looking to solar and nuclear power to diversify their energy sectors. This thesis' focus is to examine the impending energy demand crisis that will affect Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Jordan. I argue that solar and nuclear power …

Human Trafficking: A Global Tragedy In Five Acts, Cynthia Rhiannon Knight

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Transnational security is an emerging sub-field within the broader scope of international relations. Human trafficking is a wide-spread but rarely emphasized threat to global security with powerful transnational dimensions. This type of crime threatens security at all levels of society. At the individual level, the victims of trafficking are abused, tortured, and experience incredible trauma. The traffickers themselves exploit weaknesses at the state level, either leveraging lack of political will or corrupt officials into their schemes to make more money, or by circumventing lax laws entirely. States have serious power to affect change at this level, particularly in the realm …

A Replication/Extension Of The Presence Of Others On Judgments Of Desirability, John E. Scofield

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Mate-choice copying is a mating strategy where females rely on contextual information to assist in securing accurate assessments of potential mates. Mate-choice copying has been extensively studied in non-human species, and has begun to be examined in humans as well. The desirability enhancement effect occurs when women judge men surrounded by opposite-sex females as more attractive than those same men alone or with same-sex males. The desirability diminution effect occurs when men judge women surrounded by opposite-sex males as less desirable than those same women alone or with same-sex females. The current project replicated previous findings concerning the desirability enhancement …

The Effects Of Goal Systems On Performance In Youth Baseball, Joshua A. Leet

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This thesis explores the relationship of multiple goals set by youth baseball players with past and present performance. Core to this investigation was the complexity, content, and number of distal and proximal goals reported by players who wrote their goals for an upcoming season. Results showed that players with a greater number of process goals (compared to performance or outcomes goals) and individual goals (compared to team goals) received higher ratings of performance by their coaches. Analyses also revealed that age significantly influenced aspects of goal structure and content for goal reported by players. That is, older players reported having …

Expressing Pride: Effects On Perceptions Of Agency And Communality Based On Race And Gender, Rosalyn A. Miles

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This study investigated how the expression of pride shapes perceptions of agency and communality, and how those perceptions differ when the pride expresser is of a certain gender and race. Participants were primed with a scenario featuring a picture of a target varying in race and gender. Participants were then invited to complete a survey assessing their perceptions of agency, communality, leadership competence, and ascribed interpersonal hostility. It was hypothesized that the expression of pride over happiness would rank someone as being more or less agentic, communal, competent in leadership, or interpersonally hostile. It was also hypothesized that black targets …

Higher Education: The Impact On Bosnian Women Who Came As Refugees To The United States, Belma Sadikovic

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the impact college education has on Bosnian refugee women who resettled to the United States. The research findings help us better understand the effect higher education has on female students who came to the United States as refugees, their self-sufficiency and their overall integration into their new society. Using Kunz’s refugee theory and Bourdieu’s theory on social and cultural capital as a theoretical framework, the study explores socio-cultural factors that enable and constrain the ability of Bosnian women to navigate the facets of higher education, and how those factors affect their self-sufficiency and overall integration. The participants …

Mindfulness And Dance: The Effect Of Yoga Practices In College-Aged Dancers, Alison Saum

Senior Theses

Mindfulness is the self-regulation of attention toward conscious awareness of bodily sensations and perceptions (Howell & Marich, 2015). As opposed to other forms of attention training, mindfulness focuses on a non-judgmental monitoring of stimuli and experiences which adopts a curious, open, and accepting attitude (Creswell, Denson, & Schofield, 2015). Mindfulness practitioners develop an ongoing awareness of changes in their internal experiences of sensations, thoughts, and feelings, as well as awareness of external experiences (Daubenmier, Dunn, Farb, Gard, Kerr, Klein, Mehling, Paulus, & Price, 2015). Traditionally, mindfulness involves quietly sitting and observing various experiences without judging or attempting to change the …

Climate Change As A Contributor To Terrorism: A Case Study In Nigeria And Pakistan, Natalie Lytle

Senior Theses

This thesis explores the relationship between climate change and terrorism. It seeks to identify climate change as a contributing factor to terrorism. The motivation for this research is the increasing threat from both global issues. The threat of climate change and terrorism were heavily debated topics in the United States 2016 election, and remain contentious topics for world leaders today. The years 2014 and 2015 were the top two deadliest years for global terrorism, and out of the 17 hottest years on record, 16 of them have occurred since 2000. The world has already begun to see the repercussions of …