Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

American Millennials: An Ideological Overview, Michael Andersson

Honors Senior Capstone Projects

In an attempt to further understand the inner workings and beliefs held by the majority of my own generation located in the geographic scope of the United States of America, this report will be a conduction of research to further examine the overall beliefs and ideologies of the generation in the United States that older generations, such as Generation X and Baby Boomers, stereotypically view as “the problem” with the country’s political landscape. This report will seek to explain the reasoning behind the ideologies and beliefs of millennials, those Americans born between 1980 and 2000 (probe.org), and what particular world …

The Effect Of Social Media On The Physical, Social Emotional, And Cognitive Development Of Adolescents, Aaron Bryant

Honors Senior Capstone Projects

This paper explores the possible problems that the usage of social media can have on the physical, social emotional, and cognitive development of adolescents. Adolescence is such a crucial and vulnerable stage in development, where teenagers begin to form their own identity and create meaningful relationships, but social media can have a profound effect on areas of their development. Social media offers new opportunities and challenges for adolescents more today as a generation than ever before. Issues regarding body image, academic achievement, and self-esteem and the connection to social media usage is reported. The issue of cyberbullying and its connection …

Police Lineups And Eyewitness Identification, Alessandra Ricigliano

Honors Senior Capstone Projects

Improper police lineups often lead to the misidentification of a suspect in particular cases. These mistakes could potentially have detrimental effects on someone’s freedom because eyewitness identifications hold so much weight in court proceedings. If a witness or victim is certain they can identify the suspect, jurors are likely to believe them whether the witness is right or wrong. Eyewitness misidentification is one of the leading causes of wrongful convictions (The Innocence Project, 2017). The current research employs qualitative in depth interviews with police officers from local and state departments. The interviews asked about police procedures for conducting simultaneous and …

The Gender Wage Gap And The "Motherhood" Effect, Adrianna Decicco

Honors Senior Capstone Projects

This paper discusses the gender pay gap and how motherhood is a major factor toward the inequalities in the workplace. For this paper, the wage gap is defined as the difference between men and women’s yearly income consisting of hourly or salary wages, overtime, benefits and bonuses. It should be noted that men earn more in every category of work, even the categories that are female-dominated professions.

Ua51/1 Collections & Connections, Jennifer Wilson, Editor

Collections & Connections

Collections & Connections is a bi-annual publication of the Western Kentucky University Libraries featuring the Libraries' events with a view of reaching out to the Libraries supporters in the community. This issue highlights a message from the new Dean Susann deVries, the creation of the Connie Foster Student Scholarship Endowment, SOKY Bookfest, 2018 Used Book Sale, and a Spring Semester Calendar of Events.

The Uses Of The Internet: Improving Health Conditions, Thu Nguyen

MBA Student Scholarship

The purpose of this research proposal is to determine three uses of the Internet in enhancing health conditions among a sample of 670 educated people who are divided into two groups— a student group and an employee group. The method of this research is a cross-sectional study. Six hundred and seventy subjects need to complete two questionnaires that relate to data storing habits and health information seeking habits, and answer one interview about how they feel if they use the Internet to memorize, and look for health information. The research concludes that the more the subjects spend time on using …

An Analysis Of The Unintended Effects Of The Amber Alert System, Josiah Bloomquist

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduate requirement for the BSU Honors Program. The capstone encompasses an analysis of the majority of research done up to this point on the America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response System (AMBER). It brings up and discusses the significance of research done and the unintentional effects (both positive and negative) of the implication of the system within the United States. In addition, there is a discussion and recommendations of the true facts of child abductions and AMBER that need to be more broadly dispersed to the general public to set straight incorrect, perceived notions of the capabilities …

There’S More To Life Than Being Happy: Ted Talk Annotated Resource List, Alex Huntsman

Undergraduate Research Award

No abstract provided.

Doctor [Career Paper], Aquilah Hussain Alsadiq

Undergraduate Research Award

No abstract provided.

Explaining Excess Stock Return Through Options Market Sentiment, Michael Gough

Honors Projects in Finance

Option markets are a fascinating area of study and in recent years research has indicated that information obtained from the options market can be used to explain price returns in the underlying stock market. Building on existing asset pricing models such as the Fama-French Three Factor, Carhart Four Factor, and Fama-French Five Factor Models, this research tests if the put to call ratio can be used as an additional factor in explaining excess returns. Ordinary least squares models are run on all Dow Jones 30 stocks using more than ten years of data and the model results are compared. The …

Journalism And Human Rights: From The Abolition Of The British Slave Trade, The Aids Crisis, And Injustices Beyond And In-Between, Andrew Henderson

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The conception of human rights is one that is enshrined within the shared, collective history of humanity. Encompassing secular traditions, Asian religions and traditions, and monotheistic religions and perspectives as a base for what would come to evolve into universal human rights. Throughout history these traditions and religions have all played a role in shaping where we are at today in terms of human rights. Yet the road which led to a universal declaration of rights was not paved with ease. From the onset of Aristotle, Plato, Hammurabi, other secular authors, and culminating to the end of the French Revolution …

If Signs Could Talk: Tales From Two Minority Landscapes In Contact With Spanish, Falcon Restrepo-Ramos

World Languages & Cultures Department Publications

In the Caribbean Archipelago of San Andres, Colombia, a minority creole language, known as Islander, have coexisted with Colombian Spanish for almost two centuries. However, since the declaration of San Andres island as a free-duty port in 1953, the commercial expansion of the Archipelago has brought about the imposition of Spanish in formal settings (Bartens, 2013), and consequently the preference of Spanish in written visual signs. In contrast, Valenciano (Valencia, Spain), another minority language in contact with Spanish as a national language, seems to enjoy more official recognition in terms of public display of written signs. This study examines the …

An Adventure Concerning Identity: The Use Of Folklore And The Folkloresque In Murakami’S Hitsuji Wo Meguru Bōken (A Wild Sheep Chase) To Construct A Post-Colonial Identity, Jessica Alice Krawec

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis examines the use of folklore and the folkloresque in Haruki Murakami’s novel Hitsuji wo meguru bōken, or, as it is translated by Alfred Birnbaum, A Wild Sheep Chase. Murakami blends together Japanese and Western folklore to present a Japan that has been colonized by a post-national, global capitalistic force. At the same time, Murakami presents a strategy to resist this colonizing force by placing agency onto the individual and suggesting that it is still possible to craft a meaningful identity within the Japanese/Western blended, globalized society in which these individuals now exist.

Alongside examining the use of folklore …

The Influence Of A Proposed Margin Criterion On The Accuracy Of Parallel Analysis In Conditions Engendering Underextraction, Justin M. Jones

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

One of the most important decisions to make when performing an exploratory factor or principal component analysis regards the number of factors to retain. Parallel analysis is considered to be the best course of action in these circumstances as it consistently outperforms other factor extraction methods (Zwick & Velicer, 1986). Even so, parallel analysis could benefit from further research and refinement to improve its accuracy. Characteristics such as factor loadings, correlations between factors, and number of variables per factor all have been shown to adversely impact the effectiveness of parallel analysis as a means of identifying the number of factors …

Investigating The Influence Of Esri Story Map Design On Partcipation In Sustainability-Related Activities, Brittany Grace Austin

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Decades of scientific inquiry have conveyed evidence in support of sustainability efforts to mitigate some of the greatest challenges and dilemmas facing modern and future societies. The solutions to these dilemmas may not be achievable in the short-term, yet, through increased public participation in sustainable community development, smallscale, localized solutions can be obtained. This preliminary research explored the influence of Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri) story map designs on participation in sustainability-related activities among individuals who expressed interest in sustainable lifestyles. Specifically, this exploratory study was designed to demonstrate the applicability of interactive web geographic information systems (GIS) applications as …

Aging And The Perception Of Coherent Motion, Lindsey Marie Shain

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The aperture problem describes an effect by which a contoured stimulus, moving behind an aperture with both ends occluded, appears to move in a direction perpendicular to its own orientation. Mechanisms within the human visual system allow us to overcome this problem and integrate many of these locally ambiguous signals into the perception of globally coherent motion. In the current experiment, younger and older observers viewed displays composed of either 64 or 9 straight contours, arranged in varying orientations and moving behind circular apertures. Because these lines moved behind apertures, their individual local motions were ambiguous with respect to direction …

Clinical Measurement Of Problem Solving In Children With Autism, Megan Nicole Martin

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study examined verbal and non-verbal problem skills in twenty-seven male children 10-16 years of age, twelve with autism and fifteen children who were neurotypical. The goal of this study was to assess problem solving abilities of children with autism when compared to gender and age matched peers. The twenty-seven participants completed two assessments of the Rapid Assessment of Problem Solving and one online assessment of Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices. Results of this study showed a .92 reliability of the RAPS for all twenty-seven participants. Correlation between the RAPS and RPM was .419 for all participants. The results of …

The Effect Of Classroom Context On Head Start Teacher Feedback, Jasmine Renee Ernst

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS, LaParo, Pianta, & Stuhlman, 2004) assesses quality of teacher social and instructional interactions with children, and classroom management and productivity. Prior research indicated low quality of feedback scores in programs serving low-income children (Early et al., 2005). The purpose of this study was to compare the quantity and quality of managing interaction utterances (i.e. a type of feedback) provided by Head Start teachers (N = 8) in two classroom contexts. Video-recorded book-reading and 20-minute center-time sessions in the fall and spring of a school year were used to assess managing interaction utterances in structured …

Emotion Discrimination In Peripheral Vision, Hayley M. Lambert

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The recognition accuracy of emotion in faces varies depending on the discrete emotion being expressed and the location of the stimulus. More specifically, emotion detection performance declines as facial stimuli are presented further out in the periphery. Interestingly, this is not always true for faces depicting happy emotional expressions, which can be associated with maintained levels of detection. The current study examined neurophysiological responses to emotional face discrimination in the periphery. Two event-related potentials (ERPs) that can be sensitive to the perception of emotion in faces, P1 and N170, were examined using EEG data recorded from electrodes at occipitotemporal sites …

A Review Of Supreme Court Cases Involving Workplace Retaliation: 2006-2018, Rachel Quinn Pearson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Employers want to reduce or eliminate claims of employee retaliation whenever possible because of associated negative organizational consequences such as legal liability, various financial costs for the organization, and negative effect on employee morale. As such, it is important to identify the factors that impact the court’s decision to rule in favor of the plaintiff or the defendant. The purpose of the present study is to identify factors driving the court’s decision, as well as to review the implications of recent Supreme Court holdings for retaliation issues. Supreme Court cases involving a claim of employee retaliation from BNSF v. White …

The Impact Of Exercising At A Self-Selected Intensity On Concurrent Academic Task Performance, Carrie Ann French

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The goal of this study was to examine the impact of exercising while completing an academic task on performance on the academic tasks. Participants were 71 undergraduate students at a midsized southern university who were asked to complete reading and math tasks while exercising on a stationary bike. Performance on reading and math tasks completed on the stationary bike was compared within-subjects to performance on parallel tasks while seated. Working memory scores were assessed as potential covariates. Order of experimental tasks was evaluated as a between-subjects factor. Within-subjects ANCOVA’s indicated that performance on math tasks was significantly worse while exercising. …

On Being Trans: Narrative, Identity, Performance, And Community, Chloe Jo Brown

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis focuses on various topics related to transgender identity and culture. Through a combination of ethnographic and secondary research, I studied transgender coming out narratives, trans media representation, transgender performance and identity, and conceptualizations of group and chosen family in a community of trans students, the WKU Transgender and Non-Binary Student Group.

The three chapters of my thesis address some of the traditional milestones of a trans person’s acculturation: coming out, constructing one’s newly discovered trans identity, and finding community. Chapter 1 explores coming out as transgender, and the way in in which coming out is valued and discussed …

Practice Standards For Initial Adhd Assessment: A Review, Lauren Spencer

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

There are many challenges that come with diagnosing attentiondeficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), including shared symptoms with many similar disorders, high comorbidity of other mental disorders, and subjective bias from informant reports. Three clinical guidelines for diagnosing ADHD currently exist, published by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP). However, these guidelines are outdated as they are based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) and do not include more recent research. This project was intended to update …

The Effect Of The Type Of Mental Disorder On Mental Health Stigma, Kristina Conkright Peterson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Mental health stigma is an important topic as it has an influence on the care clients receive, as well as resources allocated by society. Previous research has primarily investigated the topic of stigma associated with schizophrenia and various factors that may influence the endorsement of stigmatizing beliefs. Few studies have investigated whether the type of mental disorder has an influence on the level of stigma. The current study evaluated the difference in the level of stereotypes endorsed across three conditions: schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, and a typical person. Additionally, this study evaluated the reliability of using a global stereotype score …

The Effects Of Bingocize® On Cognitive Aging: A Health Promotion Intervention, Rilee Pauline Mathews

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Previous research has suggested that physical exercise can play a role in not only improving functional performance, but also cognitive function. In this study, adults age 60 and older participated in a health promotion intervention that included two groups: (a) a Bingocize® group, who exercised and learned about relevant health information while playing bingo, and (b) a control group who only learned about relevant health information while playing bingo. The intervention was completed over the course of 10- weeks at community senior centers. Cognitive function, functional fitness, and health knowledge were assessed before and after the intervention to test for …

Check Out The Library, 2018 Spring Seismic Edition, Humboldt State University Library

Library Publications

• Library Continually Improves
• Summer Is For Learning
• We Love The Library
• Library End of Year Fundraiser
• Where Did It Go?

Check Out The Library, 2018 Spring Issue, Humboldt State University Library

Library Publications

Issue 7

• Grand Opening of Special Collections
• Celebrating Community
• Meet Our Donors: Joan Berman & Glen Atkinson
• Supporting the HSU Library
• Dean's Statement
• Library Impact Stories: Designing with Data
• April Events
• HSU Student Snapshots
• Students are Talking: Lumberhacks

Effects Of Self-Affirmation On Anti-Terror Related Worldview Defense Following Mortality Salience, Haley Jewel Ramsey

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Previous research has demonstrated that self-affirmation via values affirmations seem to buffer the self against perceived threats (Steele, 1988). An example of such a threat is opposing worldviews regarding civil liberties in counterterrorism policies. The present study uses the threat of worldview opposition in regards to counterterrorism policies in conjunction with an experimental induction of mortality salience to explore whether self-affirmation can attenuate increases in worldview defense following mortality salience. It was hypothesized that mortality salience would increase worldview defense, but that self-affirmation would decrease worldview defense following exposure to a worldview threat. When extremity of attitudes toward civil liberties …

Solar Farming In Maine: An Objective Overview, Carmen Demartis

Student Policy Briefs

The US Energy Information Administration predicts that there will be 28% more energy use globally by the year 2040 (1). Coupled with this, is an increase in awareness of the negative effects of greenhouse gas emissions on the environment. These two facts are among the main drivers behind the heightened interest and investment in renewable energy sources. Solar energy, with carbon emissions estimated as 43 times less than natural gas (2), is a particularly attractive source of renewable energy.

Maine has the distinction of being both one of the highest per capita consumers of fossil fuels in the nation (3), …

In The Beginning... A Legacy Of Computing At Marshall University, Jack L. Dickinson, Arnold R. Miller Ed.E

Manuscripts

This book provides a brief history of the early computing technology at Marshall University, Huntington, W.Va., in the forty years: 1959-1999. This was before the move to Intel and Windows based servers. After installation of an IBM Accounting Machine in 1959, which arguably does not fit the modern definition of a computer, the first true computer arrived in 1963 and was installed in a room below the Registrar’s office. For the next twenty years several departments ordered their own midrange standalone systems to fit their individual departmental requirements. These represented different platforms from different vendors, and were not connected to …