Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

"We Have Ground To Cover For Each Other": A Case Study Of Mentoring Across Black Sorority Alumni In North Central West Virginia, Elizabeth C. Dever

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Black sororities are much more than their stereotypes of stepping and partying. They are service organizations that have a deep impact on their communities and help shape the identities of their members. These organizations can be seen at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Predominately White Institutions (PWIs). Black sororities are different than their traditionally white counterparts because the majority of active time in membership occurs after graduation. This thesis utilizes a case study of Black sororities in North Central West Virginia and West Virginia University. In spaces lacking in diversity and inclusion, Black sororities can serve as a …

Morally Injurious Experiences Of Combat Exposed Veterans Of Iraq And Afghanistan: Moderating Effects Of Self-Forgiveness On Feelings Of Shame And Guilt, Timothy Swiger

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Moral injury is a construct developed to explain a unique symptom profile of individuals who may have perpetrated, witnessed, or learned about events that transgress their held moral beliefs. Among combat exposed Veterans, particular attention has been focused on the ambiguous nature of recent military conflicts and the increased moral conflicts associated with more recent, unconventional combat tactics and strategies. This study examined the relationship between moral injury and feelings of shame and guilt among a large sample (n=198) of Veterans who deployed in support of conflicts in Iraq and/or Afghanistan. Additionally, this study sought to examine self-forgiveness …

Topics In Cultural And Entertainment Economics, Justin W. Parker

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During the first 60 years of television broadcasting, prime time programming was dominated by the "Big Three" networks--NBC, ABC, and CBS. Their dominance in the market functioned as an oligopoly, supported by longstanding regulatory structures. Beginning in the 1970s, a wave of deregulation and change from satellite technology swept the industry, making it easier for other firms to enter the market. In 1986, the premiere of FOX saw a viable fourth network break through to compete with the Big Three. This paper analyzes inefficiencies on both the cost and content production side of prime time television, using survival analysis to …

A Contemporary Tale Of Two Countries - State Of Children In India And Pakistan, Arijit Ray

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Some common economic problems of the Indian subcontinent are its low per-capita income, major dependence on agriculture, heavy population pressure, chronic unemployment, slow capital formation, limited opportunity for human capital development, rising pollution, and heavy inequality in the wealth distribution. Each of these problems affects its children in its unique way, both directly and indirectly. However, some problems are human-made which directly affect its own existence. I focus on two countries in the Indian subcontinent: India and Pakistan, where such problems exist. In both societies, female children are valued less than male children, a common theme across many other countries …

Three Essays In Law And Economics, Daniel Bonneau

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This dissertation investigates three relevant topics in law and economics literature. The first chapter explores the effectiveness of a crime prevention policy in Detroit, Project Green Light. This initiative began in 2016 and was aimed at reducing crime around high-risk businesses. Reductions in crime can be found in the business block that housed the green light, with a potential diffusion of benefits to their immediate neighbors. Using calls for service produces mixed results and suggest that there may be an increase in proactive policing within these areas. Lastly, response times do appear to decrease significantly. The second chapter empirically evaluates …

Three Essays On “Production And Technical Efficiency”, Douglas Mugabe

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This dissertation examines production and or technical efficiencies in agricultural and energy systems. The first essay examines production capabilities of smallholder corn farmers following Zimbabwe’s fast track land reform program of 2000. This paper accounts for semi-parametric production frontier to provide more reliable efficiency estimates than can be obtained using traditional parametric methods. The second essay examines efficiency and state level fuel substitution in the US electricity generation sector. I apply the recent fixed effects stochastic frontier estimation to understand the implications of changes in inter-fuel substitution for technical efficiency. The third essay examines the role of drilled but uncompleted …

Relation Between Depression Symptoms And Suicide Risk In Adults And Older Adults, Ruifeng Cui

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Suicide consistently ranks among the top 10 leading causes of death in the United States. Depressive disorders as well as depression symptoms are risk factors for suicide. Depression symptoms typically fall under a cognitive affective domain and a somatic domain. Males and older adults may have a more somatic presentation of depression. Among those with physical health problems, these somatic symptoms may be confounded with symptoms of physical conditions. Not all symptoms of depression are equally useful for predicting suicide risk. The types of depression symptoms that are risk factors may vary depending on the characteristics of the sample and …

The Effects Of Punctuation Events On The Oil Policy Network: A Network Analysis Of Rulemaking Outputs, Fadi M. Mugheirbi

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In this dissertation, I display the effect of punctuating events on the oil policy subsystem and network and, in turn, on the rulemaking process. Here I examine whether, and to what extent, the changes in the dynamics of the policy network and the composition of the subsystem caused by the punctuation could alter rulemaking outputs and whether these changes occur simultaneously or sequentially across the policy subsystem and network.

Building upon Punctuation-Equilibrium Theory (PET), Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), and the Policy Network Approach (PNA) alongside the political control literature, I provide explanations for the routines and outputs of rulemaking. Accordingly, …

The Fight Is Still On: An Ethical Analysis Of The American Civil Liberties Union’S Partisan Rhetoric In The Trump Era, Emily Charlotte Gerber

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The 2016 U.S. presidential election of Donald Trump generated a newfound surge in political advocacy that greatly benefitted certain nonprofits and grassroots organizations. One of these organizations was the American Civil Liberties Union, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to protecting and defending civil liberties and rights in the U.S. The ACLU received an unprecedented number of donations following Election Day and has since pursued an aggressive campaign against President Donald Trump.

In order to explore this phenomenon, this thesis analyzed the ACLU’s rhetoric between Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump (both Republicans) and between Presidents Barack Obama (Democrat) and Donald …

A Phenomenological Photovoice Exploration Of Female Exercisers’ Experiences Of Their Body In Fitness Center Environments, Katherine E. Fairhurst

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For many women, the relationship with their body and exercise is complex. Exercise can have positive effects on body image, however, not all women appear to benefit positively from all types of exercise. To date, body image research has focused on exercise as an activity and less so on the context in which exercise is performed. Women frequently exercise in fitness centers as young adults which, unfortunately, is associated with body dissatisfaction. Using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach with Photovoice methodology, we explored young adult women’s lived body experiences while exercising in fitness centers. A purposive sample of 11 …

Effects Of Appalachian Culture And Pregnancy Status On Pain-Related Fear, Cecelia Irene Nelson

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Fear of pain during pregnancy is an understudied phenomenon with important implications for prenatal and postpartum functioning. The aim of the current study was to understand the role of pregnancy and culture on pain-related fear in Appalachia. Archival datasets, and a new sample of women recruited via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, were sources of data. Participants completed the Fear of Pain Questionnaire-9 and responded to demographic questions in order to ascertain whether they were pregnant at the time of the study as well as the number and nature of prior pregnancies. In support of hypotheses, results indicated that pregnant women reported …

Mnemonic Discrimination And Social Anxiety: The Role Of State Anxiety, Gabriella T. Ponzini

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The Mnemonic Similarity Task (MST) measures mnemonic discrimination, or the ability to correctly identify new stimuli from highly similar, old stimuli. Neuroscientific and theoretical suppositions suggest that poor mnemonic discrimination may represent a potential risk or maintenance factor for anxious individuals. However, state affect appears to moderate the relation between mnemonic discrimination abilities and trait anxiety. The current study aimed to elucidate the nascent research on mnemonic discrimination and anxiety by evaluating the MST in a specific subtype of anxiety (i.e., social anxiety) and utilizing a clinically relevant stressor task (i.e., knowledge of a future speech). Participants (N = …

The Idea Of A Citizen: The Role Of Higher Education Institutions In The Development Of Citizens And An Exploration Of Innovative Teaching Techniques To Aid In The Process, Eric Matthew Myers

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This work seeks to explain how institutions of higher education and political science educators within those institutions can develop students into citizens. Understanding the role of each (institution, educator, and student) within American democracy is important and the focus of this research. As the roles of each are demarcated, it becomes clear that higher education institutions and their political science educators have a unique ability to nurture students into citizens with a strong sense of civic purpose and understanding.

The subsequent chapters in this work explore the use of experiential education and other innovative teaching methods to determine if students …

Role Centrality And Shared Activities With Grandchildren: Effects On Grandparent Wellbeing, Madeline Marie Marello

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Research shows that physical and mental health are closely linked (Ohrnberger, Fichera, & Sutton, 2017). Further, social role theory states that holding and enacting valued roles, such as grandparenting, can buffer the negative effects of health on depression (Reitzes & Mutran, 2004). Using data from 247 grandparents (Mean age = 66.5; range 42 to 90 years; 46.2% grandfathers), we examined whether grandparent role centrality and engagement with grandchildren altered the effects of physical health on depression. We then explored model differences between 164 custodial and 83 traditional grandparents. We found that for all grandparents the model was of sufficient fit: …

Addiction Or Disorder? Using The Bias Map Model To Explain The Stigmatizing Effects Of News Media Labels For Opioid Use Disorder, Kylie J. Wilson

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The stigma surrounding opioid use disorder is often reinforced by the language that the general public and institutions use to talk about people with the disorder. Consistent with labeling theory, contending that labels are vehicles for social categorization and stereotypes, triggering bias, (e.g., Ashford, Brown, Ashford, & Curtis, 2019; Corrigan, Kuwabara, & O’Shaughnessy, 2009; Goodyear, Haass-Koffler, & Chavanne, 2018; Link & Phelan, 1999) but the ingroup based cognitive and emotional process through which these affect public stigma has not been explored in detail. This dissertation employs the Stereotype Content Model (SCM) and the Behaviors from Intergroup Affect Stereotypes (BIAS) Map …

Why Are They Wrong? Exploring Surrogates’ Accuracy When Predicting Patient Treatment Preferences, Rachael Lynn Spalding

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Surrogate decision making is common in medical settings, particularly regarding treatment decisions for patients at end-of-life. When making decisions on behalf of patients, surrogates are most often encouraged to use the substituted judgment standard and make the decision that the patient would make if he or she were able to express a choice. A significant body of research, using patient-surrogate pairs and hypothetical vignettes, has documented that surrogates tend to inaccurately predict patient preferences when making these decisions (Shalowitz et al., 2006). This results in treatment decisions that do not match what the patient would have selected. Various factors that …

The Role Of Flavors In Electronic Cigarette Abuse Liability In Tobacco-Naïve Young Adults, Ilana Haliwa

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

A primary public health concern associated with the use of electronic cigarettes (ECIGS) has been the risk of product initiation by vulnerable young adults who are largely naïve to tobacco. The use of ECIGs among such individuals may be influenced by the wide variety of sweet flavored liquids available for purchase. Previous work suggests that one flavor, menthol, increases the likelihood of abuse of cigarettes. Thus, the United States Food and Drug Administration has requested input from the research community regarding the abuse liability of flavored ECIGs in order to inform future product regulation. Using a double-blind, within-subject study design, …

The Role Of Racial Discrimination On Parental Emotion And Racial Socialization, Tyia K. Wilson

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This study was the first to examine whether African American parents’ past experiences with racism and discrimination influence parents’ emotional and racial socialization practices. Additionally, this study investigated whether parental beliefs about their child’s positive and negative emotions mediated the relationship between racial discrimination and emotion socialization behaviors. Hypotheses were tested in a sample of 406 African American parents recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Using structural equation models, the study found significant association between racial discrimination and parents’ racial and emotion socialization behaviors. Furthermore, significant meditation effects were found such that racial discrimination was associated with emotional beliefs which …

Interpersonal Influences On Interpretation Of Workplace Sexual Harassment, Rachael E. Purtell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how women interpret and respond to incidents of sexual harassment at work, in the context of both their romantic relationships and workplace cultures. Incorporating Ambivalent Sexism Theory (Fiske & Glick, 1995) to measure sexist attitudes, I presumed that their own, their partners’ and their presumed workplace’s sexism scores for both subsets would be linked to the women’s perceptions and behavioral intentions in response to being sexually harassed at work. Participants were 145 heterosexual adult women, employed full-time and in self-defined committed heterosexual relationships. Each completed a survey that included the Ambivalent …

Perceptions Of Asian American Representation In Entertainment Media, Lydia Susan Owens

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The rise of Asian American representation in entertainment media has brought new questions to the current perceptions of Asian Americans in American culture. Where whitewashing of roles or stereotypes of the Model Minority were once portrayed frequently in the past, there are now more diverse stories being shown. When representational images are being shown in entertainment media, there is need for a media literacy lens to critically analyze these images. With this rise in Asian American representation, what are current perceptions of Asian Americans in American culture and American entertainment media? What are current levels of media literacy? This study …

Making A Dent, Emily Morwood

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

West Virginia’s opioid-related death rates have surpassed any other state since 2014, with projections that it will continue to do so. With the epidemic, largely negative and stereotypical accusations have come, which have led to “othering,” or the concept of making groups ‘other’ due to their differences. This documentary project’s purpose is to address those that have been put in those othered groups through the concept of Standpoint Theory, which argues that insiders to a situation should tell their stories, rather than outsiders. The project aimed to allow the participants to tell their perspectives on the epidemic as insiders in …

The Shifting Scheme Of Athletic Fundraising: Investigating Private Giving Under The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act, Kirsten Nicole Brown

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

With a consistent decline in state funding to public higher education, institutions have become more reliant on private funding to institutional support. The shift in government policy through the introduction of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) (2017) created financial uncertainty within athletic departments and university foundations. The TCJA eliminated the 80 percent tax deduction on season ticket donations and increased the standard deduction. With these policy changes, athletic development officers speculated a decline in donations in 2018 and beyond. Using quantitative methodology and a longitudinal approach, this study examined athletic donations from January 1, 2013 to July 31, …

Associations Between The Adult Adhd Self-Report Rating Scale And The Test Of Differential Inhibition And Attention, Andrew Benton Darling

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) ranks among the most common mental health disorders in adults (APA, 2013). ADHD assessment is complicated by heterogenous symptoms, gender and age differences in diagnosis, variability in symptom manifestation across the lifespan, and comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders and medical conditions (Asherson, 2016; Willcut, 2012; Williamson & Johnston, 2015). The stop-signal task (SST) identifies ADHD clinical groups in children and adults (Lifffijt et al., 2005), yet it remains unclear whether SST performance reflects general deficits in attention (Alderson et al., 2007) or a selective deficit in motor response inhibition (Aron & Poldrack, 2005). Studies of SST often …

Perceived Effects Of Bush Burning On Agriculture And Wildlife Resources In Ghana, Caitlin A. Wilson

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Peace Corps was started in the 1960s by President John F. Kennedy. Ghana was one of the first established host countries that received Peace Corps Volunteers. There are five different sectors that volunteers can work in education, health, agriculture, environment, or community and economic development. Peace Corps service begins with ten weeks of pre-service training before volunteers swear in and are placed in communities throughout the country. Training covers topics such as global Peace Corps policy, health and security concerns, local language, and technical skills. I was placed in a small, rural community in the Northern Region of Ghana. My …

The Effect Of Blended Learning On Language Proficiency Of An Efl Class: An Empirical Study, Jamile Sulam Tango Rojas

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The combination of online learning and face-to-face lessons have become a relevant learning model in English Language Teaching in the last years. The goal of this research study was to investigate the integration of such a blended learning approach in an EFL class in Bolivia. The study was conducted at a binational language institution, and it focused on the effect of blended learning on the students’ overall language proficiency and each language skill individually. Data was collected via a proficiency pre-test at the beginning of the experiment, two quizzes during the module, and a final exam, all of them to …

Gendered Access To Wetland Gardens (Dimba) In Northern Malawi, Rhoda Nyirenda

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Due to increasing degradation of upland fields and in the face of erratic rains and increasing occurrence of droughts and floods and increasing food prices, smallholder farmers in many places across sub Saharan Africa engage in wetland cultivation for livelihoods security (Mutambikwa et al., 2000). A cultivatable wetland area is considered prime land, and a desired opportunity that every rural family need for the purpose of food production. Studies have indicated that wetland cultivation significantly contributes to household’s income and food security. Wetland agriculture, however, in Malawi and most of the sub-Saharan African countries is marred with issues of access …

Behavior Coaching In Pennsylvania Schools Implementing School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports At The Universal Tier One Level, Lisa Anderson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) is a multi-tiered system of student support that emphasizes the use of positive behavior strategies for a school’s students. Schools are adopting SWPBIS because it gives staff the opportunity to teach desired behaviors to students and emphasizes the enhancement of instructional time by minimizing disruptions. SWPBIS uses a support framework that includes a building-level behavior coach and a core team made up of an administrator, parent(s), and professional school staff. Staff and student training is bridged with implementation efforts to sustain a positive school climate and prevent student behavior problems. The SWPBIS coach …

Exploring The Relationship Between Hardiness And Performance In Collegiate Baseball Players, Kevin R. Lou

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The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of the individual personality characteristic of hardiness on trait anxiety and objective performance within NCAA Division I collegiate baseball players. An updated version of the PVS III-R was used to measure hardiness after a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted. Of the total 389 players that participated, 171 met inclusion criteria requirements and were split into two groups – hitters (N=94) and pitchers (N=80) – to identify differences in skills and how sub-constructs of hardiness affected performance through a descriptive correlational prospective design. The results show …

International Students’ Adjustment Challenges In The United States: A Case Study Of West Virginia University, Lawrencia Baaba Okai

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International students face challenges as they endeavor to study abroad ranging from host government policies to the host country’s attitudes vis-à-vis foreign students and immigration. In some instances, they also face obstacles leaving their country of origin. The United States is the largest destination country with 24% of all international students worldwide, followed by the United Kingdom, Australia, France, and Germany. In the United States, international students make up about 6% of all college students. They make significant contributions to the United States economy and bring several benefits, particularly to federal and state governments. They contribute to the federal government’s …

Exploring The Challenges Of Social Integration Within An Upper-Level Public Relations Classroom, Tabitha Hayley Dyer

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Despite three decades of literature that has explored the gender imbalance of public relations at a professional level, there is a dearth of information addressing if or how these experiences are informed at a collegiate level. Accordingly, this study examines if the gender imbalance impacts students in the upper-level public relations classroom, and the similarities and differences exist between other single-gender dominant programs including nursing and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) using three dimensions (i.e., role strain, teamwork, and overall social environment) as a comparison. Using qualitative in-depth interview data collected from 13 junior- and senior-standing public relations students …