Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

2018 – 2020 Key Strategic Issues List, Antulio J. Echevarria Ii

Articles & Editorials

No abstract provided.

The Prime Minister’S Dilemma: The Strategies For The Game Prisoner’S Dilemma Contain Useful Lessons For Those Playing The Diplomatic Game, Including Our Prime Minister, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

In her analysis using game theory's Prisoner's Dilemma, Erika Simpson explores strategic lessons for diplomacy, focusing on the Tit for Tat (TFT) strategy. TFT, which starts with cooperation and responds in kind to the opponent's previous move, proves effective in fostering stable, long-term relations. Drawing parallels with Canada's interactions with Saudi Arabia and the U.S. under Trump, Simpson argues for diplomatic approaches emphasizing reciprocity, cooperation, measured retaliation, and forgiveness. These principles, derived from game theory, suggest that in navigating international relations, strategies promoting trust and stability can mitigate conflict and enhance mutual benefit over time.

Comparison Of Two Ancient Dna Extraction Protocols For Skeletal Remains From Tropical Environments, Maria A. Nieves-Colon, Andrew T. Ozga, William J. Pestle, Andrea Cucina, Vera Tiesler, Travis W. Stanton, Anne C. Stone

Biology Faculty Articles

Objectives

The tropics harbor a large part of the world's biodiversity and have a long history of human habitation. However, paleogenomics research in these climates has been constrained so far by poor ancient DNA yields. Here we compare the performance of two DNA extraction methods on ancient samples of teeth and petrous portions excavated from tropical and semi‐tropical sites in Tanzania, Mexico, and Puerto Rico (N = 12).

Materials and Methods

All samples were extracted twice, built into double‐stranded sequencing libraries, and shotgun sequenced on the Illumina HiSeq 2500. The first extraction protocol, Method D, was previously designed for …

Small-Scale Forestry And Carbon Offset Markets: An Empirical Study Of Vermont Current Use Forest Landowner Willingness To Accept Carbon Credit Programs, Alisa E. White, David A. Lutz, Richard B. Howarth, José R. Soto

Dartmouth Scholarship

This study investigates the preferences of small forest landowners regarding forest carbon credit programs while documenting characteristics of potentially successful frameworks. We designed hypothetical carbon credit programs with aggregated carbon offset projects and requirements of existing voluntary and compliance protocols in mind. We administered a mail survey to 992 forest landowners in Vermont’s Current Use Program utilizing best-worst choice, a novel preference elicitation technique, to elicit their preferences about these programs. We found that small forest landowners see revenue as the most important factor in a carbon credit program and the duration of the program as the least important factor. …

Online Information Seeking Behaviour Of Faculty And Research Scholars On E-Resources Of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, India, Ashwani Kumar

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors affect the optimum use and utilization of various e-resources by faculty and research scholars at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (A Central University), Lucknow, UP. The study mainly focused on the preferred information sources and methods to access electronic information. The study describes in brief, the e-resources, and their types, etc. The objectives, scope and research methodology of the study are clearly expanded. For this purpose, the researchers prepared a well-structured questionnaire as a tool for data collection and the same responses were subjected to mathematical and statistical analysis.

Staff Council Book Scholarship Winners, Wku Staff Council

Staff Council

Notification of book scholarship winners.

Pilot Shortage: Sustainability Perspective, Adem Okal, Suzanne Kearns

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Air transport is recently going through an exponential economic growth (ICAO, 2016). Similarly, industry forecast reports predict an upward trend for the next 20 years (Boeing, 2015). While these forecasts offer many opportunities, there are concerns as to whether or not this growth is sustainable. Defined as meeting “the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”, sustainable development (SD), also adopted by United Nations (UN), brings more comprehensive approach to the subject (WCED, 1987, p. 43). The SD envisions a “balanced strategy” among economic (profit), social (people) and environmental (planet) domains, also …

Lessons For Life, Andrew Becker

Best Integrated Writing

Andrew’s paper is well structured, and it clearly shows his interaction with the material he chose to read and displays his beginning personal journey in understanding Zen Buddhism. The rewrites and editing of the paper he composed brought him closer to what he was trying to say. The final version of his writing and editing process exhibits the discipline a first-year student can master. Those who research the brain tell us that when a student makes the type of personal connection that Andrew has with the academic material the student remembers the material studied long after the class has ended.

The Struggle Within, Robert Puthoff

Best Integrated Writing

In The Struggle Within, Bob seeks to understand basic teachings for Hindus in The Bhagavad Gita and then ambitiously seeks to apply some of those lessons to his own life as a college student. Bob is one of the few students who chose to read The Bhagavad Gita, which speaks to his ability to challenge himself academically; in addition, he also uses one of the class’s textbooks to help him decipher key elements of the story. Bob’s leap from The Bhagavad Gita into his own life experience is a tribute to his ability to look at his life and to …

Self As Religion In Noviolet Bulawayo's We Need New Names, Lauren Randall

Best Integrated Writing

In this essay, Lauren shows how a breakdown in the belief in the Christian God in NoViolet Bulawayo’s novel We Need New Names leads to the protagonist’s renewal of faith in herself. As the world around her implodes and modern-day Zimbabwe collapses under the political regime of Robert Mugabe (who is never named in the novel but whose baleful influence is nevertheless assumed), “Bulawayo juxtaposes human endurance and the absence of a helpful god to achieve commentary on Darling’s fortitude and resilience.” The essay presents several original insights and offers a sensitive and highly nuanced picture of the divided colonial …

Self-Destructive Educationin Tsitsi Dangarembga’S Nervous Conditions, Sarah Miller

Best Integrated Writing

In this essay, Sarah examines Tsitsi Dangarembga’s 1988 novel Nervous Conditions, set during the colonial period in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). She argues that the novel portrays education in an ambivalent light: while it serves as a vehicle of liberation and progress for the black Rhodesian characters, it also reveals to them the injustices of colonial occupation. The essay uses excellent textual examples and good support from secondary sources to convincingly advance this thesis. I believe that Sarah makes us rethink the function of education in a critical light; when viewed in the African colonial context, education becomes a tool for …

“María Llena Eres De Gracia” Y Una Desconocida: La Fortaleza Del Espíritu Humano, Yaakov Oliveira

Best Integrated Writing

The compassion for, and understanding of, The Other, without bias, is the most revealing attribute of this paper. Given that immigration, and undocumented people constantly coming to the US, has become a national issue, it is inspiring to see that there still are ways of evaluating the problematic--with objectivity--yet with admiration. This writer is capable of seeing with the inner eyes, perceiving the colloquialisms of the Spanish language, the traits of the culture, and the emotion of both narratives that he is comparing. At the end of the day, film and art remain as the bridge between cultures.

The Scientific Narrative Of Leonardo’S Last Supper, Amanda Grieve

Best Integrated Writing

This paper presents a clear and original thesis about Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper that incorporates important scholarly research and Leonardo’s own writings. The literature on Leonardo is extensive, yet the author has identified key studies and distilled their essential contributions with ease. Moreover, she has looked to Leonardo’s writings on the art of painting to draw conclusions about his great mural.

The Bello Chavez Family: A Reflection Of Health In The Mexican American Community Through A Family Nursing Assessment, Vanessa Bello Chavez

Best Integrated Writing

Vanessa Bello Chavez provides an in-depth, personal look into the health problems that affect Hispanic families across the United States. The writing takes a personal view and makes it relatable to all.

Best Integrated Writing 2018 - Complete Edition

Best Integrated Writing

Best Integrated Writing includes excellent student writing from Integrated Writing courses taught at Wright State University. The journal is published annually by the Wright State University Department of English Language and Literatures.

On The Dependability And Feasibility Of Layperson Ratings Of Divergent Thinking, Richard W. Hass, Marisa Rivera, Paul J. Silvia

College of Humanities and Sciences Faculty Papers

A new system for subjective rating of responses to divergent thinking tasks was tested using raters recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk. The rationale for the study was to determine if such raters could provide reliable (aka generalizable) ratings from the perspective of generalizability theory. To promote reliability across the Alternative Uses and Consequence task prompts often used by researchers as measures of Divergent Thinking, two parallel scales were developed to facilitate feasibility and validity of ratings performed by laypeople. Generalizability and dependability studies were conducted separately for two scoring systems: the average-rating system and the snapshot system. Results showed that …

Career Coaching: A Study Of Veterans Health Administration (Vha) Leaders', Jerelyn Dugas

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore and describe the impact of career coaching on the career performance growth and retention as perceived by healthcare’s emerging leaders who participated in selected coaching program institutes for a minimum of 1 year at VHA hospitals in Southern California.

Methodology: The researcher selected a qualitative multiple case study to explore and describe VHA leaders’ perceived impact of coaching on their career performance growth and retention. Further, the researcher conducted semi-structured, interviews with 15 participants to gain a better understanding of the lived experiences of the participants at the …

Work-Type Influences Perceived Livestock Herding Success In Australian Working Kelpies, Jonathan B. Early, Elizabeth R. Arnott, Lisa J. Mascord, Diane Van Rooy, Paul Mcgreevy, Claire M. Wade

Genetics Collection

Background

Working dog handlers and breeders have very different behavioural requirements in the animals that they employ for managing livestock. The Australian Working Kelpie breed may be used in several working contexts, notably yards, paddocks and a combination of both. The working context influences the skillsets required and gives rise to three corresponding work-types: Yard, Paddock and Utility Kelpies. In particular, dogs used for working stock in the confines of yards and trucks interact with stock more forcefully than those mustering in larger areas (paddocks) where they can herd stock effectively from a greater distance. This article explores owner assessments …

Network Changes Associated With Transdiagnostic Depressive Symptom Improvement Following Cognitive Behavioral Therapy In Mdd And Ptsd, Steven Bruce, Zhen Yang, Shi Gu, Nicolas Honnorat, Kristin Linn, Russell Shinohara, Irem Aselcioglu, Desmond Oathes, Christos Davatzikos, Theodore Satterthwaite, Danielle Bassett, Yvette Sheline

Psychology Faculty Works

Despite widespread use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in clinical practice, its mechanisms with respect to brain networks remain sparsely described. In this study, we applied tools from graph theory and network science to better understand the transdiagnostic neural mechanisms of this treatment for depression. A sample of 64 subjects was included in a study of network dynamics: 33 patients (15 MDD, 18 PTSD) received longitudinal fMRI resting state scans before and after 12 weeks of CBT. Depression severity was rated on the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Thirty-one healthy controls were included to determine baseline network roles. Univariate and …

A Nordic Anomaly: Examining The Establishment Of An Anti-Immigrant Party In Sweden, Louise Paulsen

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the establishment of an anti-immigrant party (AIP) in Sweden. Until recently, Sweden was known as the Nordic anomaly with no AIP in spite of high levels of immigration and high rates of right-wing violence. This has now changed, and the AIP, Sweden Democrats, are rising to popularity in high speed. I examine the causes given for the anomaly up until 2006 and show that a change in these has since created a favorable environment for an AIP to become successful. First, socio-economic cleavages have become less salient through decreasing party loyalty and increasing numbers of party switchers. …

Is Civility Contagious? Examining The Impact Of Modeling In Online Political Discussions, Soo-Hye Han, Leann Brazeal, Natalie Pennington

Communication Studies Faculty Research

This study examines a way to promote civility in online political discussions through modeling discursive cues. An online experiment (N = 321) was conducted to investigate the impact of civil and uncivil discursive cues on participants’ mode of discussion. Results show that participants who were exposed to civil cues were more likely to engage in civil discourse themselves, stay on-topic, and offer additional perspectives in their comments. We also found that metacommunication (i.e., talking about the tone of discussion) engendered more metacommunication. This study illustrates the impact of modeling discursive cues and illuminates the possibility that participants in online discussion …

Beyond Keeping The Peace: Can Peacekeepers Reduce Ethnic Divisions After Violence?, Douglas D. Page, Sam Whitt

Political Science Faculty Publications

Existing research suggests that international peacekeeping contributes to conflict resolution and helps sustain peace, often in locations with hostile ethnic divisions. However, it is unclear whether the presence of peacekeepers actually reduces underlying ethnocentric views and parochial behaviors that sustain those divisions. We examine the effects of NATO peacekeeper deployments on ethnocentrism in postwar Bosnia. While peacekeepers were not randomly deployed in Bosnia, we find that highly ethnocentric attitudes were common across Bosnia at the onset of peacekeeper deployments, reducing endogeneity concerns. To measure ethnocentrism, we employ a variety of survey instruments as well as a behavioral experiment (the dictator …

Assessing Spatiotemporal Stream Temperature Trends And Drivers Through Integrated Longitudinal Thermal Profiling And Stationary Data Logger Methodology On The Upper Chehalis River, Wa, Whitney Vonada

Dissertations and Theses

This study encompasses 25 kilometers of the Chehalis River in Washington, USA that currently has sections under a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan for stream temperature impairments that exceed 18°C, a regulatory standard set at the time of the listing to protect salmonid spawning, rearing, and migration. Using information integrated from stationary data loggers (n=22) that collected stream temperature information from August 4-September 10, 2017, and longitudinal thermal profiling performed on July 29-30, August 4-5, and September 9-10, 2017, this study aimed to quantify the spatial distribution of stream temperature, evaluate relative consistencies of the riverine thermal regime over …

Police Officers’ Attitudes Toward Citizen Advisory Councils, Justin Nix, Scott E. Wolfe, Brandon Tregle

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the antecedents of sheriff deputies’ perceived legitimacy of their agency’s citizen advisory council (CAC).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors obtained survey data from 567 sheriff deputies in a southeastern state. The authors first asked whether respondents knew their agency had a CAC, and then asked those who responded affirmatively a series of questions about the legitimacy of the council. The authors then ran an ordinary least squares regression that included organizational justice, self-legitimacy and public scrutiny as independent variables predicting perceived legitimacy of the CAC.

Findings

Deputies who perceived greater organizational justice from …

Tortured Policies On Torture: Notes From The House Of The Dead?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes issues needing to be resolved before policies on the use of enhanced interrogation techniques including torture are developed, implemented, and assessed.

A Randomized Controlled Trial Of A Hatha Yoga Intervention For Smokers, Emily Robin Jeffries

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Despite well-documented negative effects of smoking, many individuals continue to smoke. Anxiety and depression are associated with poorer cessation outcomes. Three transdiagnostic factors may explain the anxiety/depression-smoking link: anxiety sensitivity (AS), distress tolerance (DT), anhedonia (Anh; Leventhal & Zvolensky, 2015). It therefore follows that changing AS, DT, and Anh could aid cessation efforts. Thus, the current study tested the efficacy of hatha yoga for reducing craving, smoking, AS, and Anh and increasing DT, and whether anxiety/depression moderates these relationships. Participants were 55 community-recruited smokers (62% male, 71% non-Hispanic White, M_age = 28.16) motivated to reduce or quit smoking. We …

A Comparison Of Traditional And Culturally Sensitive Parent Training Of Functional Communication Training, Adriana Rodriguez

Thesis Projects

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of culturally sensitive interventions on parent training. Behavior-analytic services were provided to 3 Latino/Latina families that included children diagnosed with developmental disabilities whose problem behaviors were maintained by social reinforcement. Children were exposed to preference assessments and a functional analysis. Parents then were trained on the implementation of Functional Communication Training (FCT) using English as well as Spanish protocols. Data were collected on the percentage of correct steps completed by the parent as well as levels of child problem behavior. Culturally sensitive intervention does not impact parent training. This …

Capacity To Reform, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

COMMITMENT to reform goes hand in hand with the capacity to reform, as together they lead to the implementation of reforms. The capacity of state-centred institutions responsible for implementation of public policies, programmes and projects has eroded over time. Tangible results can be achieved with political commitment, but only when these institutions are revitalised. Simultaneous and sweeping reform of all institutions is neither politically feasible nor practicable given current capacity constraints. A selective and incremental approach is therefore recommended.

How To Help Kids Succeed - School-Based Programs And Social Mobility, Theresa Bell

Honors Theses

Education is the key to Social Mobility and unless children from poor families get a college degree, their economic mobility is severely restricted (Tough, 2016 pg 2). In November of 2005, the City unveiled a college tuition incentive to Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS) graduates, The Kalamazoo Promise. According to the Kalamazoo Promise website (2017), the purpose of the Promise is to, “provide a real meaningful and tangible opportunity for all students,” as “education is an important key to financial wellbeing.” Though access to an affordable college education is possible for Kalamazoo students eligible for The Promise, the numbers show that …

The Influence Of Leadership Style, Organisational Justice And Human Capital Development On Employee Commitment In University Libraries In South-West, Nigeria, Okeoghene Mayowa-Adebara

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

ABSTRACT

The study investigated the influence of leadership style, organizational justice, and human capital development on employee commitment in university libraries in South-West, Nigeria.The study adopted survey research design. The population of the study consisted of 684 librarians from 43 universities in the six states of South-West, Nigeria. Total enumeration was used to cover all the professional and para-professional library personnel. A validated questionnaire was used for data collection. A return rate of 72% was achieved. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential (linear and multiple regression) statistics. The study revealed that leadership style, organisational justice and human capital development …