Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Development Of An Expert Algorithm For Substance Identification (Easi) To Discriminate Between Spectrally Similar Fentanyl Analogs In Mass Spectrometry, Alexandra Adeoye

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Fentanyl is an opioid that is about 100 times more potent than morphine, and its analogs are just as potent, and some like carfentanil are even more so potent. In recent years, fentanyl and its analogs have been responsible for over 50% of overdose-related deaths. In response, the DEA has placed all fentanyl analogs as Schedule I compounds because of their non-medicinal use and high potential for abuse and physical dependence. However, fentanyl analogs have high structural and mass spectral similarities due to the extremely conservative nature of the core fentanyl structure, which makes the differentiation and identification of fentanyl …

Jurors' Perceptions Of Child Sexual Abuse Disclosure Patterns, Hannah Elias

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The process of child disclosure of sexual abuse can be complex. Children often disclose abuse consistently across settings (continuous disclosure), though there is research to support that children may deny abuse or recant their allegations despite the abuse having truly occurred (London et al., 2008; Bradley & Wood, 1996; Malloy, Lyon, & Quas, 2007). In this study, data was collected from voluntary MTurk users (N = 688). Mock jurors responded to a survey assessing perceptions of child credibility, defendant guilt, and child susceptibility to external influence in response to each CSA disclosure pattern (continuous disclosure, denial, recantation). Additionally, expert …

Screen Media Use Among Children And Adolescents – Applications Of Supervised And Unsupervised Machine Learning And Sentiment Analysis, Yifan Zhang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Screen media has become increasingly pervasive in our everyday lives and has profoundly changed the way people communicate and interact with each other. However, we are still unclear about the long-term influence of screen media use on our physical health, mental health, and social wellbeing. Children and adolescents are in an important stage of brain development and are susceptible to the environmental influence that screen media possess. This dissertation pursued three aims to address research gaps related to screen media use among children and adolescents: 1) identify topics and knowledge gaps in screen media use research among children and adolescents …

Analyzing The Viability Of Direct Pcr For Use In Conjunction With Cyanoacrylate Enhanced Fingerprints, Coral M. Smith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Efficient methods for DNA analysis are desperately needed in laboratories due to the influx in DNA analysis requests. The current DNA processing methods are costly, time consuming, and involve multiple tube changes, increasing the risk of contamination. However, the use of direct PCR can simplify the DNA analysis process by eliminating the extraction, purification and quantitation steps. Presently, the FBI Quality Assurance Standard 9.4 requires all evidence samples to be quantitated. As a result, the direct PCR method of DNA processing cannot be implemented on evidence samples at this time. Direct PCR presents the opportunity to provide efficient DNA analysis, …

Mtdna Heteroplasmy In Hair Shafts Versus Buccal Swabs For Forensic Applications, Sara R. Bodnar

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis has several forensic applications such as criminal investigations, identification of human remains, and missing person investigations. It is also the only type of DNA that is available from certain sample types such as hair shafts. The presence of mtDNA heteroplasmy within and between tissue types can lead to mtDNA sequence differences when comparing samples originating from the same individual. Studies on mtDNA heteroplasmy are increasingly being carried out for their implications in forensic interpretation of mtDNA sequences. Specifically, mtDNA in buccal swabs compared to hair samples from one individual may show differences in sequence due to …

Carbon Emissions, Abatement, And Natural Disasters: Politics And Social Institutions, Ritika Khurana

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation empirically examines three issues related to renewable energy and international development: 1) The Political Economy of Solar Initiatives in the Sunshine State; 2) Climate Change, Natural disasters, and Institutional Integrity; and 3) Institutional Integrity and Carbon emissions.

In Chapter 2, I empirically examine the outcomes of two solar energy amendments that were on the ballot in Florida in 2016. One amendment exempts solar energy devices from ad valorem taxation of real estate property, effectively decreasing the cost of solar energy for those who adopt solar photovoltaic panels. The other amendment reaffirms the right of property owners to install …

Association Of Early Life Stressors With Deficits In Child And Adolescent Cognitive Functioning, Emily M. Deming

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the ACEs questionnaire could be a viable screener tool for identifying children in need of neuropsychological testing. This study consisted of a sample of child participants aged 8-17 years (N=53) who were divided into a no ACEs group or the ACEs group (1 or more ACEs) depending on parental responses to the ACEs questionnaire. Participants completed a series of virtual neuropsychological tests that assessed overall neurocognitive functioning, memory, and attention. No significant differences between the no ACEs group and the ACEs group in performance of the overall Neurocognitive Index, …

Effects Of Depression And Stress On Oral Self-Care Among Perinatal Women In Appalachia: A Longitudinal Study, Jeongwi An

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Oral health during the perinatal period has an impact on the health of women and their offspring. Oral self-care behaviors are preventive methods that can be employed to maintain or improve oral health but may be compromised during the perinatal period. Identifying factors affecting oral self-care behaviors might provide direction on how to intervene in oral health during and after pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to investigate independent and interactive effects of depression and stress on oral self-care behaviors of perinatal women in Appalachia, given the burden of oral disease in this region. A total of 1,172 women …

Sacramental Ethnicity: Women’S Culture And Vernacular Religion In Twentieth-Century America, Aaron J. Rovan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This project examines the reciprocal and evolving relationship between American women’s culture, vernacular religion, and the social development of American ethnicity. This project focuses on the roles of white ethnic women, both literary and real, in the construction, maintenance, and transmission of ethnic identity. The project highlights the connections between the folkloric performances of vernacular religion and the discursive articulation of ethnicity by focusing on two women writers and two groups of Slovak American women. The fiction of Kate Chopin and Anzia Yezierska illustrates how literary authors bring their contemporary concepts of folklore into their writing. The writings of these …

Undergraduate Academic Advising Experiences With Confirmation And Supportive And Connected Communication Climate, Sara Pitts

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation examined undergraduate student perceptions of academic advisors use of communication confirmation and supportive and connected communication climate. Additionally, this dissertation investigated if academic advisors use of confirmation behaviors had an effect on student learning, specifically, cognitive learning outcomes, affective learning outcomes, and satisfaction. Focus groups were conducted with 33 current undergraduate students. First and second cycle coding of the data revealed four academic advisor confirming behaviors: (a) recognize students’ experiences outside the classroom, (b) collaborate on educational/career goals, (c) recall prior interactions with the student, and (d) offer praise and positive feedback. Additionally, students identified three disconfirming behaviors …

The U.S. Coal Industry: Market Structure & Implications, Sara Elizabeth Guffey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The U.S. coal mining industry was once a booming industry which created and defined communities, particularly in Appalachia. The industry has, however, transformed significantly in the last couple of decades with the passage of environmental policies, with competition from the Shale Revolution, from changes in company ownership, and from mine safety regulation. Overall, the coal industry during this time has experienced a massive decline in production and employment. This dissertation is composed of three papers that investigate these mechanisms and their role in understanding market structure, coal transactions and prices, and mine safety outcomes. Motivated by the shutdowns of U.S. …

Examining The Spatial Relationship Between Maternal Morbidity, Access To Health Care, And Community Characteristics In West Virginia, Sarah E. Woolard

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Maternal-related morbidity rates in the United States have risen almost three fold since the early 1990’s. Issues related to rurality, socioeconomic disparities, and pre-existing health conditions increase the risk of poor pregnancy outcomes and introduce barriers to accessing advanced maternal health care. West Virginia (WV) has higher maternal morbidity rates than many other states in the United States (US), and is considered to be driven by all 55 counties being classified as Appalachian, possessing the highest prenatal smoking rate in the US, and having disparities in access to health care. Despite this, no previous studies have evaluated maternal morbidity in …

Clitic Doubling: The Case Of Nariño Andean Spanish, Jessica Paola Jurado Eraso

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis examines the behavior of clitic doubling in Nariñense, a little-studied Andean Spanish variety spoken in the southwest of Colombia, and compares it to well-studied varieties such as standard Peninsular, Rioplatense, and other Andean Spanish varieties. Its aim is to present novel data about clitic doubling in order to shed more light into the extensive literature about this phenomenon in Spanish. Through spontaneous speech recordings obtained from thirty native speakers of Nariñense, 133 sentences involving clitic doubling were analyzed. Features such as agreement matching between the clitic and the doubled NP, use of the preposition a to introduce the …

The Bigger Picture: Wrongful Conviction Documentary Thematic Vs Episodic Framing, Alecsandra N. Vac

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

True crime documentaries have gained popularity in the past decade, but those focusing on wrongful conviction cases have been on the rise (Doughty, 2018). Advocates against wrongful conviction, such as the Innocence Project, have been utilizing entertainment media to increase awareness on the issues present in the criminal justice system. However, the framing of wrongful conviction causes and cases (ex: focusing on extreme accusations of police misconduct and intentional forensic evidence tampering) could lead to a bias in how the viewers understand how miscarriages of justice occur. The primary research question being investigated here is, how are these advocacy-recommended documentaries …

An Exploration Of The Effects Of Mindfulness On Pain: The Role Of Pain Catastrophizing, Ilana Haliwa

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Chronic pain is a complex global public health concern associated with a host of negative outcomes, including loss of productivity, decreased quality of life, and greater likelihood of developing a mental health disorder. Initial evidence indicates that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) improve pain symptomatology. However, most MBIs are time and resource intensive, and it is unclear how mindfulness may improve the pain experience. The purpose of the present set of studies was to test the effects of a brief, app-based MBI on pain experience, and to examine whether pain catastrophizing was a statistical mediator of any effect. Two studies were conducted …

Essays In The Consequences Of Occupational Regulation, Noah J. Trudeau

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Occupational regulation affects many people across many aspects of life. This dissertation research investigates the consequences of occupational regulation across three different areas of study: economic history, urban and regional economics, and health policy.

The first chapter investigates the historic licensing of emigrant agents. In the period following the US Civil War, firms wished to capitalize on the availability of African American labor. To do so they hired emigrant agents, also known as labor agents, to hire and help with the migration of individuals from the South. Faced with out-migration at the hands of the labor force, some southern states …

Critical Perspectives On Produce Prescription Programs & Us Federal Nutrition Policy, Alanna K. Higgins

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Produce prescription programs, interventions operating at the intersection of food access and public health, are steadily increasing in number across the United States since 2010. I leverage key informant interviews, participant observations, and event ethnographies to form a four-year institutional ethnography of the implementation of produce prescriptions within West Virginia alongside a legal-policy archaeology methodology to understand how produce prescriptions have been institutionalized and funded within the US Farm Bill. While much of produce prescription program growth is attributed to an expansion of federal funding starting in 2014, this dissertation demonstrates that these programs and the federal legislation which has …

Adverse Childhood Experiences And Alcohol Use Trajectories In College Students, Rebekah Lynn Damitz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Heavy alcohol use during college can result in numerous negative outcomes (e.g., accidents, worse academics, risky sexual behaviors, etc.). Understanding the risk-factors associated with elevated alcohol use in college are needed so prevention and/or interventions can be implemented to inhibit such dangerous behavior. Adverse childhood experiences have been identified as one key factor in the initiation and escalation of alcohol use, but there is limited research on samples that are in emerging adulthood. Specifically, the transition to college is a time when many students escalate drinking and can form the basis for longer term drinking patterns. It is not yet …

Relation Of Child Feeding Behaviors & Caregiver Qualities To Adherence To Nutritional Therapy In Type 1 Diabetes Management, Corrine N. Ahrabi-Nejad

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic illness, typically diagnosed within childhood, that affects the ability of the pancreas to produce insulin. Significant daily self-management behaviors are required to maintain metabolic control for patients with T1D. Nutritional therapy, including adequate intake of macronutrients, is one self-management behavior necessary to optimize health. Adherence to such nutritional guidelines is associated with improved glycemic control, decreased instances of acute health complications (e.g., hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia), and can also prevent insulin resistance. Despite the critical importance of nutritional therapy, adherence to these guidelines remains low within pediatric populations. Therefore, it is important and necessary to …

Three Essays In Public Economics, Joylynn Michelle Pruitt

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation presents three chapters related to each other in their application to public economics. In the study of how utility-maximizing or goal-seeking units achieve economic outcomes, this dissertation presents results for a diverse range of agents including prosecutors and liberal arts colleges. Co-authored with Dr. Bryan McCannon of West Virginia University, the first chapter examines an interesting feature of prosecutor elections, where the pool of potential challengers to an incumbent comes primarily from subordinates within the office. We develop a signaling model that analyzes whether entry into the political race by a subordinate provides voters with useful information. In …

“I Lost Everything I Owned… Now I’M Growing That Back”: Narratives Of Redemption After Meth Immersed Lives, Danielle M. Stoneberg

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

There is a lack of knowledge on how the process of desisting (i.e., maintaining abstinence) works for those leaving immersed drug lifestyles, leaving a need for a better understanding of the role and impact of identity in drug desistance. Through secondary analysis of interview data from a sample of 33 former methamphetamine manufacturers, this study examines the applicability of Maruna’s (2001) redemption narrative framework and identifies other aspects featured in their narratives that signaled identity change. Results found all participants discussed at least one component of the framework in their interviews. Their narrative identities changed over time to recognize that …

U.S.-Ukraine Relations And The Concept Of Strategic Partnership, Khrystyna Pelchar

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A strategic partnership has become particularly relevant in the wake of the Russian war in Ukraine. Most studies focus on the historical perspective of particular special relations leaning toward the long-standing nature and stability of those relations. Others describe interstate partnerships as dynamic developments rather than static phenomena. Conventionally, strategic partnerships are multifaceted, including the spheres of economic cooperation, military assistance and partnership, and democracy promotion. Scholars also single out cultural proximity as an important factor facilitating mutual trust and feasibility of strategic partnership.

This thesis will discuss the historical background of the U.S.-Ukraine economic, socio-political, and military cooperation and …

Essays In Urban And Health Economics, Allyssa Ann Wadsworth

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Chapter 1 analyzes the impact new hospital construction has on neighboring residential real estate prices. In 2017, the Oishei Children’s Hospital was built in downtown Buffalo, New York, representing a new era for women and children’s medical facilities. Individuals working at the old facility now faced the decision of whether to move closer to the new hospital or have a longer commute. Using property sales data, I analyze how Oishei impacts residential property prices with a difference-in-differences hedonic price model while utilizing three unique time treatments and two distance treatments. The opening of Oishei generated a statistically significant percentage increase …

Embodied Energy Geographies: An Exploration Of Fracked Landscapes In The Ohio River Valley, Rachael L. Hood

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Methane gas production has boomed across the United States as a result of the development of fracking technology and its associated infrastructures, including pipelines. This production has provoked resistance over a litany of environmental and social concerns at both global and local scales. These concerns are compounded by a history of extractive economies and degradation in the Marcellus shale region of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley. To date, there has been limited research at the intersection of extractive industry and emotional geography, especially around pipelines. This research draws on feminist, emotional, and energy geographies and uses semi-structured interviews and …

Mountain Biking Mountaineers: Insights Into The West Virginia Mountain Biking Community, Connor Mullin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Mountain biking is one of the most popular recreational activities in the United States. Beyond the increasing popularity of the sport, the technology is also changing, especially in terms of electric mountain biking. This new type of bike blends traditional mountain bikes with electric bikes, creating a potential new group of recreationists. The research on mountain biking, and more specifically electric mountain biking, is limited. The purpose of this study is to examine West Virginian mountain bikers by studying behaviors and motivations. There are no published studies focused on mountain biking in West Virginia, and therefore a need to fill …

A Multi-Method Examination Of The Effects Of Students’ Unconscious Biases On Student Evaluations Of Instructors, Brittany M. Kowalski

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this dissertation, I complete three studies to evaluate potential reactions to target role congruity, especially gender role congruity, through an examination of Student Evaluations of Instructors (SEIs). Target role congruity refers to assessments an observer makes of whether or not the various roles a target person fills “fit” with one another. For example, a woman surgeon may be perceived as being in an incongruent role due to the masculine characteristics associated with the occupation and the continued dominance of men in the field. Researchers utilizing congruity theories has shown that both women and men in roles that are incongruent …

Love At First Profile: An Experiment Exploring If Previously Incarcerated Individuals Are Less Desirable While Online Dating, Carina L. Perrone

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Incarceration is a rapidly increasing occurrence in the United States with more than 1.4 million people incarcerated and more than 2 million on some form of restricted confinement. While men are incarcerated at a much higher rate than women, women are still at a steady incline of incarceration as well. Also, people of color disproportionately make up a large number of those incarcerated while accounting for a small percentage of the general population. Previous research on people who have been incarcerated focuses on it affects education, employment, and marriage. Little research has attempted to explore how incarceration effects dating, a …

Replication Of A Nonsequential Renewal Model And Investigation Of Extinction Cues For Attenuating Renewal, Brianna G. Sarno

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Laboratory models of renewal are critical to inform clinical practice to reduce the occurrence of relapse and facilitate the maintenance of treatment gains. Nonsequential renewal is a modified procedure developed by Sullivan et al. (2018) that provides an alternative arrangement to study operant renewal in a manner more consistent with clinical experience. Experiment 1 replicated the procedure of Craig et al. (2019) to compare renewal of target responding in rats that were exposed to the nonsequential or sequential renewal procedure. Experiment 2 investigated the use of an olfactory extinction cue in mitigating renewal. In Experiment 1, the Nonsequential Group displayed …

“Where Did Your Christ Come From”? Exploring The Significance And Prevalence Of The White Jesus Phenomenon Among Black Baptist Women And Men, Stephanie Marshelle House-Niamke

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Berger's theory of religion and world construction fails to consider the critical issue of power and who is allowed to construct their own reality and thus, does not adequately capture the experience of Black Christians and the Black religious experience. I use White Jesus as a case study to analyze this process. Though the White Jesus phenomenon has been more readily explored in theological and historical fields, very little sociological research discusses this phenomenon. I argue that a Europeanized Jesus has had harmful sociocultural effects on Black Christians and Black people, in the form of cultural trauma. Yet, the White …

Validity Evidence For The Male Depression Risk Scale-22 (Mdrs-22) In Younger And Older Adult Males, Montgomery T. Owsiany

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Men are two times less likely to be diagnosed with major depressive disorder than women. However, suicide rates are nearly four times higher in men than women, increasing to six times when comparing older men to older women. Given that affective disorders are present in most individuals who die by suicide, investigators have begun researching the possibility that depression presents differently in individuals who adhere to traditional masculine norms, leading to the conceptualization of masculine depression. Presently, one assessment for masculine depression shows strong reliability and validity evidence: the Male Depression Risk Scale-22 (MDRS-22). Despite burgeoning validity evidence for the …