Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Resilience In Undergraduate Students: The Relation Between Personality, Social Support, And Cortisol Levels, Elisheva Joy Havlik

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of the current study was to investigate resilience in relation to personality, social support, and cortisol levels in response to a stress induction in a sample of 174 undergraduate students. It was hypothesized that resilience would be positively related to personality traits and perceived social support, and also would predict cortisol levels at baseline, reactivity to stress induction, and recovery after stress induction. Additionally, exploratory analyses investigated the moderating effects between variables to explain the process of resilience further. Participants completed self-report questionnaires (i.e. the CD-RISC, BFI, and the MPSS), provided saliva samples via a passive drool collection …

Gender Differences In Perceived Stigma Among Sexual Minorities And Their Related Health Practices, Sara Kay Richardson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Stigma, which is partially determined by social norms within specific cultures, can affect individuals in many ways such as direct negative treatment and discrimination as well as medical, social, and psychological disadvantages and problems. Lesbian women, gay men, bisexuals, and pansexuals have endured a long history of stigmatization in the United States (Herek, 1991). There is further evidence suggesting that bisexuals are especially susceptible to stigmatization, not only from heterosexuals (Herek, 2002), but from lesbian women and gay men as well (Ochs, 1996). I hypothesized that among sexual minorities men would report higher levels of perceived stigma than would women, …

Adverse Childhood Experiences, Self-Control, And Teen Dating Violence Perpetration, Madison Trace

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Teen dating violence (TDV) is a serious public health concern that can cause long-term problems in its victims. The present study used data collected in a study funded by the CDC to explore whether self-control operates as a mediator between adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and TDV perpetration. The survey was distributed to random samples of 6th and 9th graders from 14 public schools in Michigan (N = 1236). Preliminary correlation tests revealed a strong negative relationship between self-control and TDV perpetration as well as a positive relationship between ACE and TDV perpetration. Hayes' (2012) PROCESS macro was used to establish …

Interrupting The School-To-Prison Pipeline: Are We Educating Or Incarcerating Our Youth, Gayle R. Springer

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Zero tolerance policies in schools have led to substantial financial, personal, and social costs. These policies are widely criticized for being discriminatory, particularly among youth from minority backgrounds. The ways we have responded to behaviors in school has changed dramatically over the years. Today, harsh discipline measures result in lengthy out of school suspensions for minor infractions. This literature review examines the school-to-prison pipeline is and how zero tolerance policies have contributed to this social justice issue. Strategies designed to interrupt the school-to-prison pipeline are also discussed.

New Studies In Rio Grande Valley History, Milo Kearney, Anthony K. Knopp, Antonio Zavaleta, Thomas Daniel Knight

Studies in Rio Grande Valley Regional History Series

Spanglish, a poem / Mario Barrera -- Place identity formation in the Lower Rio Grande Valley: the identity of Brownsville / Elim Zavala -- The complexity of land custody in 19th century deep South Texas / Eugene Fernandez -- Not in Kansas anymore: selling midwesterners the 'Magic Valley' of South Texas / Craig H. Roell with Ruth May Euler Roell -- Alexander Headley, public servant or scoundrel? / Norman Rozeff -- Rebels at the Rio Grande: naval actions on the international border in 1863 / Walter E. Wilson -- Matamoros en la época de la constitución de 1917 / Rosaura …

Latinos' Intergroup Contact And Prejudice In The United States, Jason R. Popan, Jesse Acosta, Michiyo Hirai

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Despite being a large and fast-growing ethnic group in the United States, only a small amount of research has focused on intergroup attitudes and prejudice held by Latinos towards other groups. In the intergroup contact literature, the relative lack of research has resulted in a tendency to generalize the experiences of a subset of minority groups to minorities as a whole. The objective of this chapter is to review the existing literature on prejudice held by Latinos towards several groups and to review the role of intergroup contact in reducing prejudice held by Latinos toward outgroups. In particular, we review …

Consonantal Variation In Utah English: What El[T]Se Is Happening[K], Joseph A. Stanley, Kyle Vanderniet

Faculty Publications

MOUNTAIN

• standard moun[ʔn̩] was the most common
• hyperarticulated moun[tʰɨn] twice as common as moun[ʔɨn]
• more common in younger speakers
• possibly as reaction to stigmatized variant

FALSE

• no clear pattern, but possibly women use it more

[k]-epenthesis

• not enough data

Nonmainstream forms can be found in Utah English.

These are not captured by the demographic variables we gathered.

Ruminators (Unlike Others) Fail To Show Suppression-Induced Forgetting On Indirect Measures Of Memory, Paula T. Hertel, Amaris Maydon, Ashley Ogilvie, Nilly Mor

Psychology Faculty Research

Suppression is a useful everyday skill leading to the clinically important outcome of forgetting. Suppression-induced forgetting, investigated with the think/no-think (TNT) paradigm, is typically demonstrated on direct tests of memory, even though indirect tests are often more ecologically valid. We report results from two TNT experiments terminating in indirect tests—tests that seem not to measure memory. For a subset of the participants in Experiment 1, latencies to rate word valence were delayed by flankers previously learned but not by flankers previously learned and then suppressed on 16 occasions. For a similar subset in Experiment 2, cue meaning denoted by free …

Policy Effects Of Resistance Against Mega-Projects In Latin America: An Introduction, Eduardo Silva, Maria Akchurin, Anthony J. Bebbington

Geography

In this introductory article, we present the special issue and outline our research agenda on extractive development, social mobilization, and policy impact in Latin America. We propose a shift in analytical focus from the study of resistance to studying the policy and institutional impacts of mobilization. We outline possible outcomes of interest and conditions contributing to the attainment of policy and institutional change. These conditions include movement characteristics - such as coalitions, repertoires, and alliances with state actors - and the socioeconomic, political, and ideational conditions that shape and constrain patterns of mobilization and the likelihood and durability of its …

Conflicts Over Extractivist Policy And The Forest Frontier In Central America, Anthony J. Bebbington, Laura Aileen Sauls, Herman Rosa, Benjamin Fash, Denise Bebbington

Geography

Central America is characterized by an asymmetric forest transition in which net deforestation is a product of both forest loss and patches of forest resurgence. Forest loss is also associated with rights violations. We explore the extent to which extractive industry and infrastructure investments create pressure on forest resources, community rights and livelihoods. Drivers of this investment are identified, in particular: constitutional, legislative and regulatory reforms; energy policies; new financial flows; and ideas of development emphasizing the centrality of infrastructure in combining geographical integration and economic growth. We discuss forms of contentious action that have emerged in response to these …

Writing Indigenous Identity In Herman Melville And Joseph Conrad's Polynesian And Malay Archipelago Novels, Catherine L. Black

Dissertations and Theses

The thesis of this paper is that cross-cultural writing can be done with the right methods of communication, such as engaging narrator and education—or simply sensitive, imaginative writing. Herman Melville and Joseph Conrad’s five books set in the Polynesian and Malay Archipelagos—Typee and Omoo and the Malay Trilogy (Almayer’s Folly, An Outcast of the Islands, and The Rescue)— are used as master models of how to write indigenous characters with rich characterization in pivotal roles, even circa 1846 and 1896. The unique perspective and technique by which they did this is explored, a technique and perspective not …

The Famished Road: Oil Dependency And Socioeconomic Underdevelopment In The Niger Delta, Nelson Caban

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines the social and political relationships between indigenous communities within the Nigerian Delta region and the Federal government regarding the management of petroleum resources and its implication for the general socioeconomic development of the Nigerian State. It investigates the correlation between the broader issues of sociocultural sovereignty, representation of ethnic minorities in the body politic and infrastructural development of the country. Furthermore, the thesis explores trends such as the development of native-led cultural institutions that foster the continuation of cultural praxis through the theoretical tropes of Globalization and Modernization.

Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries And Their Implications On Changes In Event Related Potentials: A Look Into Visual Gating (P50), Katelynn M. Kozak

Dissertations and Theses

Concussions are a prevalent injury that affect a wide range of individuals. Commonly seen amongst individuals who play contact sports, there are many underlying factors that doctors and clinicians have yet to understand which include properties such as proper diagnosis standards or lasting impacts. In this study, we look at those impacts by using electroencephalographic (EEG) measures to study the changes in event related potentials (ERPs) associated with sensory gating and how this cognitive property is affected in those who have a self-reported concussion. Here we show that a visual attention and gating mechanism exists in both populations (control and …

Crime On The High Seas: What Conditions Are Necessary To Achieve Effective Maritime Governance Regime?, Michael A. Celic

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores why international maritime governance regimes have inconsistent rates of success. The global community relies on the world’s oceans for food, trade, and resources. Therefore, the regulation of these oceans is necessary to provide adequate passage through its waters and the management of all the resources they supply for the mutual benefit of all. Although there are international laws such as the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS), many of these laws fail to address current global threats and have proven inadequate in forming proactive collective responses. It is particularly problematic addressing transnational criminal …

Are Cyber Operations Having An Impact On State Electoral Processes?, Sean Joseph Mcnicholas

Dissertations and Theses

Cyber-attacks have become common occurrences which have an impact on all aspects of life ranging from business transactions to personal communications. Alarmingly, coordinated cyber-attacks are increasingly targeting politicians and their associates, political campaigns, political organizations and the broader public with political messaging. Given the novelty of these new forms of attacks, little is known of their potential impact. This thesis argues that states, state-directed actors, or non-state actors are disrupting, altering or influencing the electoral process in democratic states through coordinated cyber operations. It further argues that the purpose is to increase hyper-partisanship and erode the legitimacy of democratically-elected leaders. …

Guyana-Venezuela Border Dispute: Seeking A Peaceful Solution, Aaron Marcus Homer

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine and evaluate the effectiveness of those dispute settlement mechanisms that are capable of resolving the Guyana-Venezuela border dispute. This thesis will analyze those legal principles and/or techniques of the International Court of Justice, mediation and the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which are indispensable for dispute resolution. I argue that a resolution is significant for the stability of the international community.

Guyana and Venezuela possess economic and political interests in the disputed Essequibo region. Venezuela’s predilection for bilateral negotiations contradicts Guyana’s request for a judicial solution. These extreme positions are not novel but …

Nationalism, Soft Annexation And Hybrid Warfare: Putin's Recipe For Russian Resurgence, Brian E. Szlenk Straub

Dissertations and Theses

Over the last decades since the fall of the Soviet Union, The Russian Federation has struggled to reclaim its grasp over Eastern Europe and re-establish itself as a major player on the international scene. Increased NATO expansion towards its borders, and the “Westernization” of Eastern Europe has led to the country feeling it has been boxed into a corner. The feeling that the Russian nation has been encroached upon by the Western world has led to the rise of Vladimir Putin as President of Russia, and the marked rise in nationalism within the country. In this Master’s Thesis, I intend …

From The Humanitarian Impact Initiative To The Treaty On The Prohibition Of Nuclear Weapons: A Novel Approach To Nuclear Disarmament, Elisabeth Szeli

Dissertations and Theses

The present thesis analyzes current developments in nuclear disarmament, specifically the humanitarian impact initiative that culminated in the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW, the Treaty) by 122 members of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in July 2017. Through academic research and six interviews with people directly involved in the process, I traced the humanitarian initiative from its first conference in Oslo in 2013 all the way to the Treaty negotiations in 2017. My argument is that the humanitarian initiative constitutes a novel approach to nuclear disarmament, spearheaded by small and medium-sized states, with …

Cultural Relativism In The Age Of Modernity: Are Human Rights Still Up For Debate?, Devani N. Whitehead

Dissertations and Theses

Modernity has given rise to the state as the primary unit in international relations moving away from the primacy of more traditional units such as the clergy, family, etc. Given this shift, the protections offered by these traditional units for individuals have shifted to the responsibility of the state. However, these protections are not a given. Individual rights can be compromised by the state for its overall benefit as states work to maintain and increase power in a globalized world.

The concept of human rights has been a response to the primacy of the state, outlining what the state should …

Exploring The Relation Between Sectoral Foreign Direct Investment And Domestic Investment: Case For Turkey, Selin Erkan

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis investigates the relationship between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and domestic investment in Turkey during 2005Q1-2016Q2 to see if there is a crowding-in or crowding-out relationship. Sectoral FDI data for manufacturing, agriculture and service are employed and gross fixed capital formation is used as a proxy for domestic investment. GDP and export are used as control variables. A VAR model estimates negative coefficients of sectoral FDI on domestic investment indicating that there is some crowding-out in Turkey during 2005Q1-2016Q2 although not one-for-one. These negative effects are concentrated in the manufacturing sector.

Well-Being And Academic Performance In Immigrant Students: The Role Of Inequality Of Country Of Origin And Resilience, Yumiko Yamaguchi

Dissertations and Theses

Abstract

Research on the psychology of immigrants has primarily focused on their socioeconomic status, but has not factored in macroeconomic indicators. These provide a deeper understanding of the stressors experienced by immigrants through the lens of cultural gaps between home and host countries. This study examined predictors of psychological well-being (PWB) and academic performance among 376 immigrant college students by employing Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model of development (1994) consisting of four levels of environmental factors: Macrosystem, exosystem, mesosystem and microsystem. The results revealed that higher PWB was predicted by mesosystem variables (lower perceived stress, lower acculturative stress) and microsystem variables (higher …

Dimension Reduction On Measures Of Impulsivity, Christina T. Schulz

Dissertations and Theses

The main focus of this study was twofold: the first purpose being the assessment of convergent validity on six different measures of impulsivity, and the second being a comparison of dimension reduction techniques for quantitative data. Results from a Principal Components Analysis (PCA) were compared with results from a novel dimension technique known as Local Linear Embedding (LLE). LLE is an analysis of dimension reduction for nonlinear, high dimensional data. By computing neighborhood preserving embeddings, LLE aims to map newly constructed coordinates into a global coordinate structure of a lower dimension. Past research using LLE has solely been conducted on …

Education And Civil Conflict: The Negative Effects Of Intolerant Curricula In Kosovo, Pakistan, And Sudan, Nicholas A. Jaspers

Dissertations and Theses

Education has long been used as a tool for national identity formation and social cohesion. However, in diverse communities across the globe, the question must be asked: are educational institutions creating citizens with a narrow view of “us vs. them” or an identity built on multiculturalism and acceptance? Through past research, it is obvious that education has either acted as an instigator or mitigator of civil conflict, though to what extent is still largely unknown. In this thesis, I argue that both the extent and quality of education in a country can instigate or, at least, exacerbate the outbreak of …

Making Smart Choices When Faced With Risk: The Role Of Interoceptive Awareness And Life Stress On Implicit Learning., Ronald A. Nicholson

Dissertations and Theses

In complex situations where there is an unclear link between the available options and an advantageous outcome, visceral signals of arousal play a role in decision-making. Perception of the body’s various visceral signals is called interoceptive awareness (IA). Exposure to stressful events can impede the production and perception of these signals, leading to a potentially impaired perception of risk and impeded decision-making. However, there is a paucity of research exploring the impact of life event stress on IA, or how both of these factors may influence the dynamic process of decision-making during risk. To address this gap the current study …

Measurements And Observations In The Xxi Century (Moxxi): Innovation And Multi-Disciplinarity To Sense The Hydrological Cycle, Flavia Tauro, John Selker, Nick Van De Giesen, Tommaso Abrate, Remko Uijlenhoet, Maurizio Porfiri, Salvatore Manfreda, Kelly Caylor, Tommaso Moramarco, Jerome Benveniste, Giuseppe Ciraolo, Lyndon Estes, Alessio Domeneghetti, Matthew T. Perks, Chiara Corbari, Ehsan Rabiei, Giovanni Ravazzani, Heye Bogena, Antoine Harfouche, Luca Broccai, Antonino Maltese, Andy Wickert, Angelica Tarpanelli, Stephen Good, Jose Manuel Lopez Alcala, Andrea Petroselli, Christophe Cudennec, Theresa Blume, Rolf Hut, Salvatore Grimaldia

Geography

To promote the advancement of novel observation techniques that may lead to new sources of information to help better understand the hydrological cycle, the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) established the Measurements and Observations in the XXI century (MOXXI) Working Group in July 2013. The group comprises a growing community of techenthusiastic hydrologists that design and develop their own sensing systems, adopt a multidisciplinary perspective in tackling complex observations, often use low-cost equipment intended for other applications to build innovative sensors, or perform opportunistic measurements. This paper states the objectives of the group and reviews major advances carried out …

The Behavioral And Electrophysiological Effects Of Discrimination And Inhibition Training On Visual Selective Attention: An Erp And Time-Frequency Analysis, Arooj Abid

Dissertations and Theses

Enhancement of task relevant information and the suppression of task irrelevant information are the two co-occurring mechanisms of selective attention. Studies have shown that ERP components (specifically N2, P3, and RP) and the alpha band (8-14 Hz) rhythm correspond to neural mechanisms and processes of visual selective attention, especially conflict resolution. Tested by a modified version of the visual flanker task, a conflict task employing inhibitory control, two groups of healthy adults were exposed to three weeks of cognitive training; either discrimination training (trained to discriminate target orientation) or inhibition training (trained to ignore interfering distractors) to investigate whether training …

An Analysis Of The Efficacy Of Post 9/11 Security Policy In Countering Violent Extremism And Reducing Acts Of International Terrorism, Omaima Khan

Dissertations and Theses

Terrorism is a phenomenon that baffles even the most experienced of researchers within academia. Understanding what constitutes terrorism is important to the field of international relations because combatting terrorist violence yields no straightforward method of prevention and protection. This paper examines four measures of counterterrorism taken by the U.S. government after the September 11^th attacks. The methods included in this study and the framework in which they are congruent with are: The War on Terror as a defense strategy, torture and “enhanced interrogation techniques” as a deterrence method, targeted drone attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan as a compellence force, …

Machismo Predicts Prejudice Toward Lesbian And Gay Individuals: Testing A Mediating Role Of Contact, Michiyo Hirai, Serkan Dolma, Jason R. Popan, Mark H. Winkel

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

This study examined the relationship between traditional machismo and prejudice toward lesbian and gay individuals as mediated by contact in a Latino college sample. Gender was examined as a potential moderator. Undergraduate students from a public university in South Texas (128 males and 447 females; mean age = 22.1. SD = 4.75) completed online measures of prejudice toward lesbian and gay individuals, machismo, and contact experience with lesbian and gay individuals. Contact significantly mediated the relationship between machismo and anti-gay prejudice, yet this indirect effect was relatively small. Significant direct and indirect effects of machismo on prejudiced attitudes toward lesbian …

A Gender Invariant Model Of Disgust Propensity In Blood-Injection-Injury Phobia In Latina/O Individuals, Michiyo Hirai, Laura L. Vernon, Serkan Dolma

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Latinas/os have been underrepresented in research investigating the role of disgust propensity in phobias. The current study was the first to examine associations between disgust propensity and Blood-Injection-Injury (BII) phobia, when acculturation was controlled for, in Latina/o Americans (n = 376). A structural model was developed with a BII fear latent variable consisting of fears of injection, blood, and sharp objects (causing injuries). The disgust propensity latent variable was formed with three domains of core, animal reminder, and contamination disgust elicitors. In the model, disgust propensity predicted BII fear when controlling for acculturation. A series of measurement and structural invariance …

Cognitive Language Development And Birth Order In Non Affected Siblings Of Children With Autism, Cecilia Montiel-Nava, Esther Bromberg, Zoila González, José A. Chacín

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

The study aims to explore cognitive and language development in siblings of children with autism, and to compare younger and older siblings on all the measures. 36 siblings of children with autism, between the ages of 2 years, 6 months and 15 years (x=8.67; SD=3.91) were assessed using the PPVT for the receptive language abilities, the WPPSI-III or WISC-III as an estimation of IQ, the VABS as a measure of adaptive functioning, and SCQ was used to assess autism-related symptoms. 72% (n=26) of the children were older than the affected sibling, whereas 28% (n=10) were younger. PPVT scores were below …