Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Correlation Between Employee Job Satisfaction And Leadership Style By Leadership Personnel In Massage Businesses, Veronica Henry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Job satisfaction plays a significant role in employee retention outcomes. Therefore, examining factors that contribute to employee job satisfaction is vital to formulating and implementing effective organizational protocols that increase job satisfaction, employee retention, and overall business performance. This study was designed to examine the relationship between leadership style and job satisfaction in massage-based businesses. The research question was as follows: Is there a relationship between job satisfaction and leadership style in massage businesses in Columbia, SC? This study utilized three primary leadership styles: transformational, transactional, and passive/ avoidant. The research question was answered through a quantitative correlational analysis of …

Participative Leadership And Project Success, Hunter S. Taylor

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In this non-experimental correlational study, the researcher examines the relationship between participative leadership and project success. The researcher addresses concerns expressed in the literature that project success rates are below a desirable level. The study employed a survey methodology with participants from two professional organizations in North Carolina and South Carolina. The findings demonstrate that participative leadership behaviors and project success rates are significantly correlated, and each factor of participative leadership is significantly correlated with project success. Of the five factors that describe participative leadership: coaching, leading by example, participative decision-making, informing, and concern for the team (Arnold, Arad, Rhoades, …

Contents

The Bridge

No abstract provided.

Edward Snowden, National Security Whistleblowing, And Civil Disobedience, David E. Pozen

Faculty Scholarship

No recent whistleblower has been more lionized or vilified than Edward Snowden. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and denounced as a "total traitor" deserving of the death penalty. In these debates, Snowden's defenders tend to portray him as a civil disobedient. Yet for a range of reasons, Snowden's situation does not map neatly onto traditional theories of civil disobedience. The same holds true for most cases of national security whistleblowing.

The contradictory and confused responses that these cases provoke, this essay suggests, are not just the product of polarized politics or insufficient information. Rather, they reflect …

Statement From The Indiana Academy Of The Social Sciences And Board Of Directors, Mssj Staff

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Senior Editor In Chief's Note, Kenneth D. Colburn

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Natural Disaster, Crime, And Narratives Of Disorder: The 1861 Mendoza Earthquake And Argentina’S Ruptured Social And Political Faults, Quinn P. Dauer

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Social scientists studying natural disasters have generally found an absence of panic, a decrease in crime, and survivors working together to find basic necessities in the days and weeks after a catastrophe. By contrast, political and military authorities implement measures such as martial law to prevent chaos and lawlessness threatening private property. The media amplifies narratives of disorder, creating the perception of uncontrolled masses wantonly committing crimes in a disaster’s aftermath. Historians study natural disasters to view political, social, economic, and cultural structures stripped of their everyday veneer. The 1861 earthquake that destroyed the provincial capital of Mendoza in western …

East Chicago Politics: A Cornucopia Of Corruption, Tina Ebenger, Tracey Mccabe

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Despite the comical title, there is a lot of corruption in East Chicago (IN) politics. One mayoral election had to have a “do-over” because of fraudulent absentee ballots, and a former mayor is doing time in jail for using public monies to remodel his home. This cornucopia of corruption extended to the indictment of six public officials (the so-called Sidewalk Six) in East Chicago for misusing public funds for political gain, specifically vote-buying, in the 1999 mayoral reelection of Robert Pastrick. These officials, ranging from a parks superintendent to a city engineer to several city council members, bought votes by …

Going To Extremes: The National Parent Teacher Association And Political Extremism In The 1960s, Sarah E. Heath

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

In the 1960s, the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) reported efforts at “infiltration” by conservative extremist groups, including the John Birch Society (JBS). Extremists sought to take over PTA meetings to obtain a mainstream platform for minority opinions. The PTA parried extremists’ efforts with a deluge of activities and publications dedicated to democratic fair play and research-based approaches to education. In spite of a coherent plan for dealing with such techniques in the 1960s, the methods used by the Birch Society and other conservative extremist groups appear to have resumed in contemporary educational discussions. Once again, opinions that appeal to …

Race And Racism In The Historical Imagination: Slavery And Civil Rights In Popular Culture, Denise Lynn, Sakina Hughes, Aimee Adam

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Because Hollywood films often lack black representation, films on slavery and civil rights often fail to recognize the roles that black Americans have played in their own emancipation from slavery and in the civil rights movement. Our contention is that historically inaccurate films perpetuate inaccurate understandings of Black history and thus inform contemporary race relations. We selected a more and a less accurate film about slavery and about the civil rights movement, discussing these four films in terms of their historical context.

We also conducted an experiment. After watching one of the four movies, or after viewing no movie, participants …

Effects Of Cisnormative Beauty Standards On Transgender Women’S Perceptions And Expressions Of Beauty, Delmira Monteiro, Mixalis Poulakis

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

The authors conducted a qualitative study exploring the effects of cisnormative beauty standards on transgender women’s perceptions and expressions of beauty. Twelve self-identified Caucasian transgender women completed a semistructured interview that provided descriptive data related to the women’s perceptions of societal beauty standards. Analysis of the data revealed the following primary themes: Participants viewed the beauty of transgender and cisgender women as diverse or as encompassing a broad range of variability; societal beauty standards were influential on participants’ expressions of beauty; and participants’ viewed out-group transphobia as a factor contributing to discriminatory and prejudicial perceptions of transwomen’s beauty.

Antidiscrimination Ordinances In Northwest Indiana: An Event-History Analysis Of Municipal Policies Since 1992, James Paul Old, Kimberly Palmer Fields

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

In recent years, municipalities throughout Indiana have passed antidiscrimination ordinances that protect the rights of individuals who belong to racial, ethnic, or sexual minorities. Political scientists have proposed competing theories of policy-adoption processes that suggest a number of internal factors (such as socioeconomic characteristics, governmental capacity, or issue salience) or external factors (such as mandates/incentives from higher-level governments or influence from neighboring communities) as predictors of policy adoption; however, most existing studies focus on state-level processes, and those that focus on municipalities consider only large cities in different states. To more clearly distinguish between state-level effects and local effects, this …

Table Of Contents, Mssj Staff

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Perspective In Identifying And Responding To Potential Sexual Misconduct: A Study Of University Students, Nichole Maki Weller, Kathy Parkison, Steven R. Cox, Michael Plummer

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Recent events have demonstrated a divergent understanding of sexual harassment and other forms of sexual misconduct. Although sociocultural standards regarding sexual misconduct have changed over time, including improved social and workplace standards and protections, it is clear that not everyone views these events through the same lens. The lens is even less clear when potential misconduct is viewed from the distinct perspectives of a “victim” and a “perpetrator.” We surveyed 424 undergraduate and graduate students at Indiana University Kokomo to identify the impact of perspective and various sociodemographic characteristics that may influence perceptions of what is, and is not, sexual …

Measures Of Challenging And Excitatory Parenting Behavior As Predictors Of Later Child Self-Regulation, Zachary Havlin

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Challenging and excitatory parenting behaviors play an important role in children’s development, particularly in regard to the development of selfregulation; however, no well-established measures of parent-child interactions exist that record such behaviors. In the current study, I compare two recently developed coding systems that intend to address this issue: the Risky Interaction Support and Challenging (RISC) and Marbach coding systems. A subset of videos from the New Parents Project (NPP) data set at 12 and 18 months was coded using both scales, then a factor analysis was conducted for each scale. Regressions were conducted to look at the predictive power …

Racial Segregation In Indianapolis, 1990–2010: A Spatial Perspective, Vijay Lulla, Owen Dwyer

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

The index of dissimilarity is the most widely used method for measuring racial segregation. When applied to Indianapolis, this index has returned results showing the city to be among the most segregated in the country. The resulting measure, however, suffers from two shortcomings. First, the index of dissimilarity is sensitive to the census-defined geographic unit chosen for the analysis; thus, this index returns different (though proportionate) results depending on whether the population data are aggregated to larger or smaller enumeration units. Second, the index of dissimilarity cannot account for the influence of spatial proximity; adjacent census blocks interact regardless of …

Citizen Initiative To Improve Local Government Ethics: Northwest Indiana Experience, Calvin Bellamy

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

After more than 50 years of widespread public corruption in Northwest Indiana, a small group of citizens and public officials met over a period of several months and developed a largely voluntary response. The result was the Shared Ethics Advisory Commission, which trains public employees on ethical decision making, provides specialized training for department heads and board and commission members, and hosts an annual ethics summit for the general public. Periodic employee ethics surveys indicate a positive effect of the training. In addition, the commission has developed a Candidate Ethics Action Pledge administered in each local election cycle, and a …

Analysis Of Colombian Trade Agreements From 2007 To 2013, Ryan Lee

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

I analyze the firm-level effects on Colombia entering into Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) between 2007 and 2013. The combination of detailed firm-level data and PTAs make this article unique. In particular, I look at two separate potential trade-promotion effects of the agreements. The first result deals with how exporting firms in Colombia respond to the tariff cuts in the agreements. The tariff cuts from the agreements increase the size of exports by Colombian firms (the intensive margin); however, tariff cuts do not increase the number of exporting Colombian firms (the extensive margin). The second result deals with how the signed …

Genealogical Trends In Solving Cold Cases: An Investigation Into The Merits And Concerns With New Cold-Case Lead Development, Katie Smolucha, Tyler Counsil

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

In the criminal justice system, not all offenders are brought to justice; unfortunately, cold cases exist and provide long-term challenges to investigators. From historic breakthroughs in forensic DNA analysis to today’s new trends, advancements in technology continue to give investigators hope of resolving unsolved mysteries with no clear-cut suspect. This article examines the progression of DNA analysis over the past three decades and explores the recent trends in the use of genealogy websites to solve cold cases. DNA technology’s innovative uses, from its early years to modern, are explored herein. By exploring traditional DNA analysis to advances that explore the …

“We Are A Very Happy Family”: 19th-Century Familial Power Dynamics, Stella A. Ress

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

This article examines the roles of family members in the mid-19th century in America, using the Willard family as a case study. Ultimately, this thick description of the Willard family demonstrates that power within the family structure was neither intrinsic nor static; moreover, one person did not control the family and its decisions at all times. Instead, each family member, depending upon circumstances, situations, and his or her own nature, negotiated and laid claim to power through various sources of authority. Josiah Willard’s authority stemmed from his role as father and husband; society crowned him king of the household, and …

“But I Only Wanted Them To Conform”: A Detailed Look Into The Initial Cohort Of Girls At The Indiana Reformatory Institution For Women And Girls Between 1873 And 1884, Molly Whitted, Michelle Williams

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

For the past four years, as part of a group of currently and formerly incarcerated scholars, we have researched the “inmates” and staff at the Indiana Women’s Prison during the institution’s first decade. Then known as the Indiana Reformatory Institution for Women and Girls, the facility was located near downtown Indianapolis on Randolph and Michigan Street. We focused on a key constituent of the Indiana Reformatory for Women and Girls: the girls themselves, heretofore voiceless and uninvestigated.

Our primary sources include the annual reports of the reformatory and the original registries for the girls during the survey period of 1873–1884. …

Is Breaking Up Hard To Do? Exploring Emerging Adults’ Beliefs About Their Abilities To End Romantic Relationships, Tyler B. Jamison Phd, Jonathon J. Beckmeyer Phd

Faculty Publications

Objective: We explored emerging adults’ beliefs about their ability to end romantic relationships (i.e., breakup beliefs) and identified demographic, personality, and romantic experience factors associated with breakup beliefs.

Background: Emerging adulthood typically involves forming and dissolving multiple romantic unions. Thus, ending relationships is a key component of emerging adult romantic development.

Method: 948 emerging adults, recruited from Qualtrics Panel Services, participated in a cross-sectional study of romantic experiences and health outcomes.

Results: Most participants perceive they are able to carry out breakup related tasks. Most participants reported knowing when to break up, being able to do so appropriately, being able …

Resting Cerebral Blood Flow After Exercise Training In Mild Cognitive Impairment, Alfonso J. Alfini, Lauren R. Weiss, Kristy A. Nielson, Matthew D. Verber, J. Carson Smith

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Background:

Exercise training has been associated with greater cerebral blood flow (CBF) in cognitively normal older adults (CN). Alterations in CBF, including compensatory perfusion in the prefrontal cortex, may facilitate changes to the brain’s neural infrastructure.

Objective:

To examine the effects of a 12-week aerobic exercise intervention on resting CBF and cognition in CN and those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). We hypothesized individuals with MCI (vs. CN) would exhibit greater whole brain CBF at baseline and that exercise would mitigate these differences. We also expected CBF changes to parallel cognitive improvements.

Methods:

Before and after a 12-week exercise intervention, …

Being Dishonest About Our Prejudices: Moral Dissonance And Self-Justification, Kris Vasquez, Debra L. Oswald, Angela Hammer

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

We applied the moral dissonance reduction framework, used to explain the maintenance of a positive self-concept in dishonest behavior, to understand self-justification of prejudice. Participants identified ambiguously negative intergroup behaviors, then evaluated those behaviors when performed by others and themselves. As predicted by moral dissonance reduction, participants were less critical of their own behavior when considering others' behaviors before their own. In a third study directly comparing prejudiced and dishonest behavior, participants' responses showed the greatest self-justification in the initial question about their behavior regardless of the content of the question, whereas subsequent questions showed more stability, consistent with the …

Please Tweet Responsibly: The Social And Professional Ethics Of Public Defenders Using Client Information In Social Media Advocacy, Nicole Smith Futrell

Faculty Scholarship

Every day the criminal legal system hauls poor and marginalized individuals through a process wrought with trauma, indignity, and abuse. Public defenders representing the criminally accused view their clients and the system from a unique vantage point: they bear witness to the human costs of a system that falls far short of its purported norms and ideals. For the public defender who works within this reality day in and day out, fighting for each individual client might feel limited in its wider impact. Some public defenders have found that using online and social media platforms, such as Twitter, to provide …

Engineering Rules, Peter L. Strauss

Faculty Scholarship

“Engineering Rules” is a clever triple entendre, evoking rules (the industrial standards that are its concern), the emergence of engineering (the profession largely responsible for their creation) and the consensus processes developed over time (the engineering) by which they have been created. The book is an extraordinarily detailed history of the movement from national to international standards creation and use, a necessary product of the industrial age and the emergence of a global economy. It introduces as its heroes, in remarkably intimate accounts of their careers, a series of men of rectitude and accomplishment who selflessly built the practice. The …

Rhetorics Of Functionally Applicative Game Design: Designing And Testing The Project Management Game Scrummage, Matthew Carson Beale

English Theses & Dissertations

In this project, I designed and tested Scrummage, a tabletop game to teach the scrum project management system to undergraduate students. The project grew from the gaps in both academic literature and pedagogical tools for project management and collaboration in the technical communication classroom. Although the field of technical communication places significance on project management, research shows that many employers find the project management skills and knowledge of recent graduates to be under-developed. Situated in the fields of game design, game studies, project management, and technical communication, this project asks how we as educators can improve the project management learning …

The Language Of The Spirit In The Book Of Mormon, Noel B. Reynolds

Faculty Publications

This study provides students of the Book of Mormon with the first comprehensive analysis of the many ways in which the word spirit is used in that volume of scripture. It demonstrates how the titles Holy Ghost, Spirit of God, Spirit of the Lord, Holy Spirit, and the Spirit are used interchangeably to refer to the third member of the God. It also shows that the Holy Ghost was understood to be a separate being. The analysis is thoroughly integrated with scholarly studies of references to the spirit ( rûah ) in the Hebrew Bible. The functions of the Holy …

History Of Housing Policy In The United States, Lauren Elizabeth Morrow Everett, Marta Petteni

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

Graduate student Lauren Everett created a brief history of housing policy in the United States from 1843 to the present. She looked at major events that helped shape our country’s understanding and policies around property. Events include everything from the donation land claim act, which entitled each white, male settler to 320 acres in the Oregon territory, to the rent control stabilization legislation in 2019.

Safe Parking - Psu, Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative, Portland State University

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

A national study done to collect data on homelessness rates in universities says that between 11% - 14% of students are experiencing homelessness. A study has not been done on specific data at PSU, however, there are students and staff experiencing homelessness at PSU, and some of those individuals are sleeping in their vehicles. Some of the individuals living in their vehicles purchase quarterly parking passes for the PSU parking garages. These individuals would benefit from a Safe Parking Program. There are existing infrastructures, systems and services that could be made available or utilized immediately. The purpose of this proposal …