Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Examination Of Language Skills In Children Who Attend Head Start Programs, Madilyn Littlefield

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Socioeconomic status and poverty can greatly affect child development and have lasting impacts throughout life. Children who are raised in a low socioeconomic status homes may experience limited parent sensitivity, limited parental engagement, and limited access to stimulating materials. These factors may also limit opportunities to experience rich language and literacy experiences which can negatively impact development of emergent literacy skills and later educational growth. To reduce the effects of poverty on school readiness, income-based childcare programs allow families access to affordable early school readiness opportunities that are developmentally appropriate. Head Start programs are designed to facilitate child development, provide …

Practitioner Use Of And Attitudes Toward Video-Conferencing For The Delivery Of Evidence-Based Telemental Health Interventions, Kathryn Parisi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Compared to telehealth delivery of interventions for physical health issues, the implementation of evidence-based psychosocial interventions using technology has less support. Video-conference delivery (VCD) has the potential to increase accessibility to effective treatments, although its use remains limited and understudied. This study employed a mixed methods approach in surveying mental health practitioners about their attitudes regarding the use of video-conference methods to deliver evidence-based interventions. One hundred and eleven practitioners were sampled from several national and regional practice organizations and administered quantitative surveys about their use of and attitudes towards VCD of evidence-based interventions. The relationship between clinician-level technology access, …

Sex, Stress, And The Supreme Court: Verbal And Vocalic Analysis Of Brett Kavanaugh’S Senate Confirmation Hearings To The Supreme Court, Alexandra Johnson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzed the relationship between verbal and nonverbal vocalic communication patterns exhibited by Brett Kavanaugh, now a sitting Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, during his Senate confirmation hearings in 2018. Additionally, the relationship between verbal statement types: attempt to define reality, personal narrative, policy positions, attacks, acclaims, and defenses, and the nonverbal vocalics of sighs, sharp intakes of breath, and sniffs were evaluated together to see which statement types would elicit higher physiological stress responses during both the 16-minute speech given at the end of the Day One hearing and the 45-minute testimony during the sexual assault hearing. …

Effects Of Lasalocid And Energy Supplementation On Forage Intake, Energy Metabolism, And Performance Of Cattle Grazing Wheat Pasture, Autumn Tayler Pickett

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cattle grazing wheat pasture have the potential to gain BW exceptionally well, but excessive nitrogen intake results in increased excretion and increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Supplemental concentrates with the addition of an ionophore given to ruminants grazing wheat is a potential practice for producers to increase nitrogen efficiency while decreasing GHG emissions. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to quantify the effects of energy (2.95 kg/d) and lasalocid (200 mg/hd/d) supplementation on nutrient intake, energy metabolism, respiratory gas fluxes, and performance of grazing cattle. Methane emissions were not affected (P = 0.58) by treatment, hence methane intensity (P …

Chefs' Perceptions Of Zero Waste Cooking In Restaurants, Josephine Reardon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine chefs’ perceptions and practices relative to current and potentially future efforts to decrease food waste. Through qualitative inquiry, this research aims to identify food waste reduction practices in Northwest Arkansas restaurants; chef’s perceptions of these practices and zero waste cooking; the impact these practices have on successfully implementing sustainability; and the biggest challenges in reducing food waste in restaurants. The results of this study will assist chefs and restaurant owners by providing guidance on practices easily utilized in restaurants currently.

An interview protocol, with five sections, was conducted with ten chefs at …

Comparison Of Dietary And Physical Activity Changes Across Family-Based Maintenance Treatments For Childhood Overweight And Obesity, Jessica Jakubiak

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Patterns Of General- And Eating Disorder-Related Psychopathology In Relation To Weight Change In Treatment-Seeking Children, Anne Claire Grammer

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Few studies have examined the compounded impact of general psychopathology and eating disorder (ED) psychopathology on weight change in youth with overweight/obesity (OW/OB). We characterized patterns of general psychopathology and ED psychopathology in children with OW/OB and examined the impact on weight change following family-based behavioral obesity treatment (FBT). Children (n=172) with OW/OB participated in 4 months of FBT. General psychopathology (i.e., anxiety, depression), ED psychopathology (i.e., shape concern, weight concern, loss of control (LOC) eating), and child percent overweight (%OW) were assessed at baseline. Latent profile analysis identified patterns of general and ED psychopathology at baseline. Multiple linear regression …

Quality Of Sleep, Stress, And Exercise: Effects Of Environmental And Lifestyle Factors On Spatial Navigation In Older Adults, Hannah Maybrier

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: With increasing age, many adults experience reduced spatial navigation ability, with the most prominent reductions in tasks dependent on the hippocampus. Hippocampal dysfunction may be linked to age-related increases in sleep fragmentation, which results in reduced neurogenesis and long-term potentiation. This project aims to determine if age-related reductions in hippocampal-dependent navigation ability and strategy selection are mediated by impaired sleep. Further, we propose that the effects of sleep on navigation are moderated by psychological stress and physical activity. Methods: 36 older (m: 70, sd: 7) and 33 younger (m: 20, sd: 1.5) adults recorded one week of sleep via …

Indian Contribution On Antibiotic Resistance: A Bibliometric Mapping And Visualization, Mahender Pratap Singh, Vijay Kumar Bharati

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Background: Antibiotic is a medicine that gradually reduces the effect of the bacteria available in our body and kills it, but if antibiotics are used continuously, the mutation in bacteria creates a resistance to it, which is called antibiotic resistance, and if antibiotic resistance has occurred then these antibiotics cannot kill the bacteria and patient may die. Objectives: Antibiotic medicine is closely related to human life and day by day antibiotic resistance increasing, so there is a need to count the research productivity of Indian scientists on AR. This study was undertaken to examine the research productivity of the literature …

Scholarly Research Output Of Kumaraguru College Of Technology, Coimbatore: Scientometric Analysis, Arumugam J, Balasubramani R

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Scientometrics analysis the quantitative as well as the qualitative aspects of scientific parameters for better understanding of the mechanism of research activities. The paper attempts to present a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the publication output of Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore. Data have been collected from the Scopus database for the period 1997 to 2020. Among the 2110 papers published in the span of 24 years, the highest numbers of 404 papers were published in 2018 and 2019. 1792 papers (85.3%) were published during the last ten years from 2011 to 2020. Journal is the most preferred channel of …

Subject Experts In Engineering And Technology In Deemed Universities With Special Reference To Vidwan Database: A Study, Dr. Gnanasekaran, D, Rajkumar Thangavel

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This paper aims to examine the Vidwan database and find the distribution of subject experts in engineering & technology of Deemed Universities in India. Vidwan is the expert database for national researchers network it helps the research community to maintain their academic profile and identify the experts from various subject domains in one place. We collected the data from Vidwan database manually and used Microsoft Excel for analysing the data. Frequency distribution, percentage analysis were used to rank for finding the highly performing the fields of expertise, the academic positions (designation of the researcher), organisations and states. There are about …

Competitive Ratios For Online Multi-Capacity Ridesharing, Meghna Lowalekar, Pradeep Varakantham, Patrick Jaillet

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In multi-capacity ridesharing, multiple requests (e.g., customers, food items, parcels) with different origin and destination pairs travel in one resource. In recent years, online multi-capacity ridesharing services (i.e., where assignments are made online) like Uber-pool, foodpanda, and on-demand shuttles have become hugely popular in transportation, food delivery, logistics and other domains. This is because multi-capacity ridesharing services benefit all parties involved – the customers (due to lower costs), the drivers (due to higher revenues) and the matching platforms (due to higher revenues per vehicle/resource). Most importantly these services can also help reduce carbon emissions (due to fewer vehicles on roads). …

Early Detection Of Mild Cognitive Impairment With In-Home Sensors To Monitor Behavior Patterns In Community-Dwelling Senior Citizens In Singapore: Cross-Sectional Feasibility Study, Iris Rawtaer, Rathi Mahendran, Ee Heok Kua, Hwee-Pink Tan, Hwee Xian Tan, Tih-Shih Lee, Tze Pin Ng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Background: Dementia is a global epidemic and incurs substantial burden on the affected families and the health care system. A window of opportunity for intervention is the predementia stage known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Individuals often present to services late in the course of their disease and more needs to be done for early detection; sensor technology is a potential method for detection.Objective: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to establish the feasibility and acceptability of utilizing sensors in the homes of senior citizens to detect changes in behaviors unobtrusively.Methods: We recruited 59 community-dwelling seniors (aged >65 years …

Black Faculty Alliance Statement On The Criminal Act Of Anti-Black Racist Terrorism Against Dr. Charles Becknell, Jr. And The Program Of Africana Studies, Black Faculty Alliance Unm

Black History at UNM

Public statement from the University of New Mexico Black Faculty Alliance (BFA) condemning the criminal act of domestic anti-Black terrorism that includes the threat of a lynching directed toward Dr. Charles Becknell, Jr. and his family. Dr. Becknell, Jr. is the Director of the Africana Studies program in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of New Mexico. Among their suggested actions, the BFA calls for "the creation of a task force to develop a survivor-focused approach for an emergency response to hate-based threats against UNM Black faculty and a truth-telling commission to document systems and behaviors that …

Emotional Intelligence Of Adults Raised In Different Family Structures, Mary Sloan

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Emotional intelligence (EI) contributes to optimal social functioning and is predictive of numerous positive outcomes (Gallagher & Vella-Brodrick, 2008). Existing research has indicated a relationship between emotional development of an individual and the family system in which they were raised, however limited exploration has been done examining the influence of the family structure. The current study examined EI of adults raised in dual parent households, single mother households, and single father households. Four hundred and seventy-five participants from dual parent, single mother, and single father households responded to a series of measures assessing emotional intelligence, emotional competence, subjective happiness, and …

Returning To Complex Strategic Analysis: A Discussion On The Diminishing Window Of Opportunity For United States Nuclear Policy Preparation With Respect To China, Christopher Keith Giuliano

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

American upheaval over the Chinese technologically advanced strategic threat permeates throughout the government and political culture. The response to this fear is a somewhat nascent reactive U.S. policy toward China as it relates to strategic weapon systems. The U.S. currently is responding by attempting to revitalize an aging nuclear architecture, and re-prioritize strategic weapons in U.S. defense spending. However, U.S. policy must move beyond justifying nuclear weapons and requesting increased funding. What is necessary for this balance beyond an arms race is the intellectual prescription for the calculated employment or fielding of those arms.

Ultimately, this paper suggests the U.S. …

Evaluating Changes In Peak And Iq Scores In Children With Autism Following A Peak Treatment Program, Megan Nicole Kimzey

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The present study evaluated the relationship between scores on the Promoting the Emergence of Advanced Knowledge Pre-Assessments (Equivalence & Transformation Modules; PEAK) in one individual with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their corresponding performance on standardized IQ tests (WPPSI-IV Short Form), their performances on PEAK assessments following 10 weeks of treatment with four hours per week, and the corresponding obtained relational deceleration coefficient. The data indicated a strong, significant relationship between participation in PEAK treatment and an increase in scores on PEAK and IQ tests. The relational deceleration coefficient score did not change significantly. These results have the implications PEAK …

Effects Of Peak Equivalence And Transformation Treatment On Derived Relational Responding As A Generalized Operant And Iq, Lindsey Schneider

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The present study examined Promoting the Emergence of Advanced Knowledge Relational Training System; Equivalence (PEAK-E) and Transformation’s (PEAK-T) effect on a participant with ASD’s derived relational responding, intelligence scores (WPPSI-IV; Weschler 2012), and the deceleration coefficient. One participant with ASD was given 10 weeks of PEAK-E and PEAK-T treatment for four hours a week, along with probes throughout the study for IQ scores and deceleration coefficient scores. The data indicated a significant relationship between PEAK-E and PEAK-T treatment and IQ scores, as well as a relationship between PEAK scores and a participant’s deceleration coefficient. This indicated that PEAK-E and …

Parents' Experiences Of Camp For Siblings Of Pediatric Oncology Patients, Kristen Lauren Krueger

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The diagnosis and treatment of childhood cancer is oftentimes a stressful experience for individuals other than the patient, such as parents and siblings of pediatric oncology patients. Parents and siblings may be impacted in many ways, but there are interventions to help. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand parents’ lived experiences of having a child who has attended a camp designed for siblings of pediatric oncology patients. Parents (n=5) of siblings that have attended camp for siblings were interviewed with open-ended questions. Data was analyzed using phenomenology procedures. Results from this study indicated that mothers and fathers …

Allyship As An Act: The Performative, Power-Laden, And Contradictory Co-Cultural Strategies Of Straight Allies, David Dooling

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

While the study of queer communities underscores the importance of responses to heteronormativity, this dual-method study challenges positionality by examining the co-cultural strategies of straight allies in predominantly queer conversations and spaces. Using Orbe’s Co-Cultural Theory as a lens, this study examines the co-cultural strategies and factors that influence straight allies’ communication when entrenched in queer ontology and dialogue (Study 1). Additionally, co-cultural strategies are measured among straight allies in hypothetical workplaces that are either predominantly queer or predominantly straight (Study 2) using Lapinski and Orbe’s (2007) Co-Cultural Theory Scales. Together, the results of these studies contribute to the ideas …

Evaluating Correlations Between The Peak Equivalence And Transformation Assessments With Intelligence Quotient Scores And The Relational Acquisition Of Skills In Children With Autism, Hannah L. Wallace

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate correlations between PEAK Equivalence and Transformation assessment scores to Intelligence Quotient (IQ) scores in children with autism. An assessment called the Relational Acquisition of Skills in Children with autism (RASC) was created as a pilot test. This method was used to test relational responding in young children with autism. The scores of this assessment were correlated with scores obtained using PEAK Equivalence and Transformation assessments and IQ. It was found that PEAK Equivalence and Transformation assessments had a strong positive correlation with IQ. No significant relationship between the Relational Acquisition of …

Goal-Setting And Prompting To Increase Id-Checking Behavior, Samantha N. Carton

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Credit card fraud is an important issue that occurs in many different business settings and locations across the world (Federal Trade Commission, 2018). The United States shifted to the use of Europay, Mastercard, and Visa (EMV) system to help with this issue but credit card fraud continues unabated. ID-checking is infrequently performed by employees when customers are purchasing items with debit/credit cards and results in an increase in fraudulent charges that cost businesses and consumers a considerable amount of time, frustration, and money. Two studies (Geller 1997; Geller 2001) showed that by using goal-setting, feedback, prompting, and utilizing managerial involvement …

Evaluating The Construct Validity Of The Peak Comprehensive Assessment: Measuring Language And Cognition, Nicole Rae Mcdonald

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to conduct a pilot investigation of the internal construct validity of the four modules of the PEAK Comprehensive Assessment (PCA). The PCA has been developed through robust research over the past five years (Dixon et al. 2017) and is designed to evaluate language and cognitive skills of individuals with developmental disabilities, including neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder. Although the PCA contains four modules exemplifying four distinct learning processes (Direct Training, Generalization, Equivalence, and Relational Learning), these four processes may represent one singular learning construct, described loosely as “executive functioning” or “cognitive …

Alternative Production Practices And The Role Of Consumer Choice: Willingness-To-Pay Analyses, Amanda P. Wecker

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Production choice is often viewed as driven by the resources and methods known to the producers. However, recent discussions focus on the other factors leading to production choice such as consumer preference, measured by factors such as willingness to pay (Tait, Saunders, Guenther, and Rutherford, 2016). This study evaluates the role of diet preference and age in driving a consumer’s willingness to pay for food produced with specific method. The data analyzed are from the 2016 U.S. Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) Consumer survey. A total of 1042 individuals were asked whether they were willing to pay 10% more …

Does Aging Identity Moderate The Impact Of Experiences With Familial Ageism On Well-Being?, Emily E. Kinkade

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to begin investigating the effects of ageism in the family context. The current literature has documented the negative impacts that negative stereotypes and negative perceptions of aging has on older adults’ health, mortality, and well-being (Levy, 1996; Levy, 2003). However, the majority of extant research on ageism focuses on age discrimination in the workplace and in healthcare despite the majority of peoples’ time being spent in the family context. Therefore examining experiences of ageism sourced from family members merits study. Walker, Bisconti and Kinkade (in preparation) found evidence that the experience of ageism within …

A Pilot Investigation Of The Relationship Between Derived Relational Responding And Challenging Behavior Function, Kaitlin N. Beason

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The study evaluated the relationship between participants derived relational responding across arbitrary stimuli and parent or teacher endorsed functions of challenging behavior as assessed on the Questions About Behavior Function (QABF). Supplemental analyses were conducted to directly observe the frequency and intensity of challenging behavior using the Challenging Behavior Index (CBI), as week as direct observation of presenting autism symptoms in session using the PEAK Autism Symptoms and Behavioral Observation Summary (PAS-BOS). Derived relational responding was assessed using the Promoting the Emergence of Advanced Knowledge Equivalence Pre-Assessment (PEAK-E-PA) and the Promoting the Emergence of Advanced Knowledge Transformation Pre-Assessment (PEAK-T-PA) taking …

Different Paths, Same Destination? Comparison Between Two Approaches To Developing Situational Judgment Tests On Cross Cultural Competency, Xiaowen Chen

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on developing SJTs to measure an individual’s cross-cultural competency, and comparing the two SJT development approaches in terms of development costs, reliability, validity, susceptibility to social desirability, and test-taker reactions. In the first phase, the two 3C SJTs were developed with the model-based approach and the SME-driven approach respectively. In the second phase, data were collected to examine the reliability and validity of the two SJTs. Both 3C SJTs demonstrated acceptable reliability (αSME = .72; αmodel =.70), and convergent to CQS (rSME = .35, p < .01; rmodel = . 24, p < .01). The SJTs psychometric properties were further examined in the third phase, wherein the SJTs displayed similar reliability and were convergent to CQS. Both SJTs predicted satisfaction with overseas life (βSME = .24, p < .01; βmodel = .18, p < .05) and sociocultural adaptability (βSME = -.20, p < .05; βmodel = -.21, p < .05), meanwhile, only having none or small correlation with satisfaction with general life (rSME = .10, n.s. and rmodel = .19, p < .05). The SME-driven SJT outperformed the model-based SJT and CQS in predicting the actual multicultural team performance that was rated by peers (βSME = .26, p < .05; βmodel = - .04, n.s.; βCQs = .01, n.s.). The utility of the two SJT development approaches, implications, future research directions and limitations were discussed in the end.

Determinants Of Safety Outcomes In Organizations: Exploring O*Net Data To Predict Occupational Accident Rates, Lavanya Shravan Kumar

Theses and Dissertations

Workplace safety is of utmost importance given the regular occurrence of both fatal and nonfatal occupational injuries all around the world. Although research in this area is hugely prevalent, it is focused mainly on safety climate and lacks an integrated approach when examining predictors of safety outcomes. The development of an occupational risk factor that predicts safety outcomes will aid in understanding the relative importance of different factors that contribute to safety and help organizations target their safety programs and interventions efficiently. The present study is an exploratory analysis utilizing publicly available O*NET data (work activities, work context features, and …

Effects Of Contemplative Practice Applications On Learning With An Adaptive Training System, Melissa Marie Walwanis

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to test the impact of the contemplative practices of guided mindfulness and more traditional mindfulness compared to a standard educational practices control condition, on learning. Guided mindfulness practices are embedded concentrative psychoeducational practices of contingency planning and guided reflection that are systematically sequenced in experiential learning contexts. Traditional mindfulness practices are embodied interoceptive practices such as diaphragmatic breathing, mindfulness meditation, and body scan used in a generalized sense. The control condition standard educational practices include note taking and learning styles. By engaging learners in an embedded psychoeducational practice and embodied interoceptive practices, this study sought to: 1) …

A Generative Approach To Oscan Syntax: Towards An Analysis Of The Conditional Construction, Jennifer Mclish

Senior Honors Papers / Undergraduate Theses

This thesis presents an analysis of some aspects of the syntax of Oscan, a dead language from the Italic family, with a focus on the conditional construction. Drawing on modern approaches to the syntax of the related language Latin, I show that deviation from the default SOV word order of Oscan can be described in terms of discourse-marking focus and topic movement. Due to the frequent appearance of imperatives in conditional constructions, I address the syntax of imperatives in some detail. Applying current generative theories of the imperative to the Oscan consequent clause, I conclude that the Oscan imperative is …