Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

In Pursuit Of Innocence: A Study Of Race And Ethnicity Differences In Time To Exoneration., Virginia E. Braden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wrongful convictions take years from an individual’s life, rob them of the comfort and presence of their family, rip them from their place in the community, and subject them to the harsh pains of imprisonment. Exonerees can spend years and even decades in the pursuit of proving innocence and obtaining an exoneration. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of race and ethnicity upon time-to-exoneration through the lens of focal concerns theory. Focal concerns theory has been used to demonstrate that criminal justice actors are influenced by legal and extralegal factors in decision making and rely on …

Reviewing The Review Process: Designing Better Review Forms For Student Editors Of Undergraduate Research Publications, Meluso Rosaria Meluso

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

In 1998, the Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University suggested that undergraduate students should be involved in research to improve their learning. Undergraduate research publications arose partially as a response to this suggestion because they allow students to engage in experiential learning. They also allow students to see research as serving a larger purpose rather than simply satisfying a requirement for a grade. Students, especially undergraduates, often serve as editors on undergraduate publications, but it is unclear what they understand about research, both as it applies to their own work as well as work from different disciplines, …

Changes In Big Five Personality Characteristics During Law Enforcement Academy Training, Randi A. Mitchell

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Personality is considered a relatively stable construct. However, research indicates personality is more malleable when facing adverse life events and as an individual ages across the lifespan. Some research suggests personality could be used to predict performance. The current study seeks to examine changes in personality characteristics following law enforcement academy completion. Given the demands of a job in law enforcement, one would expect certain changes to occur. The law enforcement academy curriculum includes topics such as, justification-use-of-force, confessions, and arrests, in the first week alone. The curriculum reflects the reality law enforcement professionals will face. It is a dangerous …

The Effect Of Sex Education Programs On Rape Culture, Logan J. Griffin

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Although schools in the United States primarily present abstinence only or comprehensive sex education programs, neither of these programs discuss the topic of sexual consent. In addition, these programs reinforce negative ideologies regarding rape-myths and victim blaming. The purpose of the current study is to determine if the prior type of sex education effects participants’ beliefs in rape-myth acceptance, sexism, willingness to help, and importance of consent, and if the sex education priming effects the participants’ likelihood to victim blame, express victim empathy, and their bystander behavior. The data reflected that those participants who received abstinence only sexual education did …

Evaluating The Effects Of A Remote Act-Based Intervention Designed For Children With Parent-Child Dyads, Crystal K. Tracy

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The current study evaluated a remote Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)-based intervention designed for children implemented with parent involvement. Each parent-child dyad completed a total of nine sessions, which included an introductory session, one baseline session, six ACT-based intervention sessions, and one follow-up session. The study was conducted using a multiple-baseline across participants design. The effects of the intervention on both the parent and child well-being were evaluated using between sessions measures that measured values-based behavior and challenging behaviors. Pre- and post-test measures were taken on psychological flexibility, parent stress, and child behavior. Although the present intervention is designed for …

Meaning In Life And The True Self: A Construal Level Theory Approach, Lydia M. Needy

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

People have higher ratings of meaning in life when they feel like they know their true self. This study examines whether one’s thoughts about their true self and meaning in life are consistent with a high-level construal. According to Construal Level Theory (CLT), the type of mental construal (i.e., low-level versus high-level) used depends upon how much psychological distance there is between the self and the object one is mentally representing. Objects perceived as far from the self use a high-level construal, which is more abstract, simple, and schematic. Objects perceived as close to the self use a low-level construal, …

Multiracial Identity: Membership And Cultural Representation, Bethanne Grover

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

What follows are two methods woven together to investigate multiracial identity and membership. The first section investigates the role of ethnographic research as the methodological tool of choice for a multiracial who positions herself along the liminal perspective through experimental autoethnographic tales of ambiguous embodiment. The tales weave in and out of the text and work to articulate multiracial identity through a critical race standpoint rooted in amorphousness. The second section applies a traditional qualitative approach, including narrative interviews of multiracial participants – focusing on intercultural communication. Identity negotiation theory and communication accommodation theory guide my investigation into intergroup communication/coping …

Examining High Status Via Resource Control Strategies, Emotional Intelligence, And Empathy, Rebekkah Ann Wall

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The innate drive for human belongingness in cooperative societies is coupled with strategies they use to gain resources. Individuals in high social status use specific strategies to gain their status. Emotional intelligence and empathy are also factors that enable status acquisition as they facilitate connectedness and the ability to relate to others, which can be important for the development of humans as social beings. High status, or popularity among peers, is usually examined via peer-reports of sociometric and perceived popularity, however, they may be evaluated via likability or social dominance respectively due to shared characteristics. This study examined self-reported social …

The Development And Validation Of Implicit Measures Of Job Satisfaction For Students, Xin Wei Ong

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Job satisfaction is one of the most researched topics in industrial-organizational psychology and explicit (self-report) measures are the most common assessment method. However, self-report measures are contaminated by inaccurate self-knowledge and impression management artifacts, which may weaken the predictive validity of the measures. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) might address these limitations because the procedure is based on reaction times in classification tasks. This research developed personalized implicit measures of job satisfaction using IATs and investigated their construct validity in a college sample. The construct validity of the measures was investigated with a multitrait-multimethod design. Results indicated problems with some …

Defining A Region, The Great River Road, Evan Arthur Telle

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The Great River Road (GRR) is a set of scenic byways connecting the headwaters of the Mississippi River in Minnesota to its mouth in Louisiana. This route follows both the East and West banks of the river through the heartland of the United States. Since the 1970s, the GRR has been established as a tourism corridor for both domestic and foreign travelers. The GRR’s intended purpose is to enhance local economic development through showcasing the Mississippi-regional culture and its natural environment. Chapter One analyzes data based on industry, occupation, education, and demographics to attempts to identify the economic and social …

What Is A Podcast?, Junior Tidal

Publications and Research

Podcasting: A Practical Guide guides librarians through the process of creating a podcast. It will help librarians digitally record their podcasts, which can highlight library collections, connect with patrons, provide library instruction, and market library services across the Internet.

Highlights include

• Step-by-step guidance for how to record a podcast specifically tailored for libraries and librarians.
• Specifications on what kind of equipment, software, and hardware, is necessary to record their own episodes.
• Pre-production techniques including script writing, storyboard creation, and how to find guests will be explored.
• Coverage of the post-production stage including, audio editing, incorporating music and effects, and mixing …

Socializing Vacancy: An Architectural Thesis, Greg Winawer

Architecture Senior Theses

A large portion of office space has been left vacant, and thus provides no beneficial program to its remaining occupants or the local urbanity it is surrounded by. When considering what can be done with this vacant space, the primary motivation should be to integrate a program which does the opposite: a program which positively disrupts its existing context to hybridize and improve the current outdated programmatic arrangement. To insert a residential program into an existing office tower both disrupts and enhances the rigorous flows of our working and our domestic lives. The predefined universal concept of the ‘working-day’ is …

What's In A Name: Examining What Sports Team Names Communicate, Bridget Danielle Lewis

Masters Theses

For years, there have been controversy and discussion regarding high school, college, and professional sports team name changes. Professional sports teams have gained the most attention regarding team name changes or lack thereof. This study can bring an understanding of the message communicated through the chosen names and logos of sports teams as well as the effects of financial, political, and fan base changes on team name changes in the sports industry. Extensive research is provided to show the previous content on the topic as well as areas where further research would be beneficial. This includes previous and current sport …

Capturing The Digital Dollar: How Religious Nonprofits Are Adopting Social Media For Adoption, Engagement, And Community, Hannah Xiang Mei Rotter

Masters Theses

The objective of this thesis was to quantify the impact of religious, media-related nonprofit adoption rate, online presence, and online giving technology. Specifically, this thesis focuses on the nonprofits’ adoption, use, and interactivity on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. This thesis study was rooted in Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations Theory, and its constructs were used to best understand the adoption and impact of use within the religious nonprofit sector (Rogers, 2003). First, the researcher defined and evaluated the nonprofit’s active online presence, sophistication of technology integration, and impact of these findings. Second, the researcher quantitatively examined audience interactivity. Targeting a …

Tight Trip Vs. Loose Grip On Russian Kettlebell Swing Work Capacity, Austin Deshner, Abigail Mccarty, Jerrell C. Campbell, Andrew Fields, Will W. Peveler

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a tight grip(TG) and a loose grip(LG) on work capacity while performing Russian kettlebell swings(KBS). It was hypothesized that LG would result in an ability to perform more work. Thirty fit adults (16 male; 14 female) were tested. Two (TG and LG) separate counterbalanced trials for each subject were collected, counting the number of repetitions completed until volitional exhaustion. RPE for forearms and overall exhaustion were collected post-trial. SPSS was used to run a paired samples t-test. There was a significant difference between the two grips (p = 0.013)(TG …

The Vote: Gender Identification In The Women's Suffrage Movement Through The Rhetoric Of Carrie Chapman Catt, Sarah Perkins

Masters Theses

Throughout the women’s suffrage movement, rhetoric was used as a powerful tool of persuasion to convince men that women should have the right to vote. It was also used as a tool of persuasion to convince women to join the fight for suffrage. One of the most influential rhetoricians in the movement was suffragist, Carrie Chapman Catt, who was able to use both.

This study aims to determine how women’s suffrage leader, Carrie Chapman Catt, used persuasion through her speeches to win the 19th amendment. This study specifically investigates one speech to the all-male United States Congress and the other …

An Inclusive Leadership Model To Integrate Organizational Dynamics, Change Management, Change Leadership, And Diversity And Inclusion Needs For The Successful Implementation Of Business Transformations, Jarrod A. Combs-Harris

Full-Text Theses & Dissertations

This paper explores Change Management and Change Leadership theories in-depth, along with an analysis of how Diversity and Inclusion drivers play a significant role in how businesses can sustain successful transformations. In the past, experts focused on how change initiatives can help transform businesses on a macro level, regardless of employee factors. In most recent times, the world has evolved to include diversity and inclusion initiatives that will consider broader perspectives from communities who were once silent.

Historically, change management theories of yesteryear focused on how to execute change in a myriad of ways. Some theories were more tactical in …

Proposal For A High Tunnel At Delaney Community Farm, Michael Rh Pham

City and Regional Planning

This paper is a case study of an urban agriculture operation in Aurora, Colorado that focuses on providing refugees with food and work that contributes to a sense of community connectedness and pride. The paper is also a proposal for a high tunnel system that could extend the growing season of the farm and provide unique opportunities for urban farmers to learn about emerging resiliency based food production practices.

Police Homicide: Race And Ethnicity, Christine Henderson, Aimee Quinn, Charles E. Reasons, Veronica Salas, John Vinson, Brittney Warf

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

During the pandemic, routines were interrupted lives were changed and during this time, many individuals spent more time watching the news to learn more about how long it would take to resume normalcy. When George Floyd was murdered by four police officers, time stood still and the world watched. Outrage was immediate. The pandemic offered everyone the opportunity to witness tragedy unfold in front of them a brutality which happens every day, yet is easily ignored. This article examines the incidence of police homicides of people of color, the lack of law enforcement to seek solutions to their own internal …

An Examination Of Chinese Private College Students’ Intercultural Competence, Li Li

Education (PhD) Dissertations

With globalization being a focus of the 21st century, the primary approach for responding to global challenges for higher education institutions is to adopt an internationalization strategy and accelerate the internationalization pace. To cultivate “global-ready” graduates, developing students’ intercultural competence (IC) has become one of the core missions of international and Chinese higher education institutions. Given the scarcity of quantitative studies on Chinese private college students’ IC and inconsistent findings on the relationships between foreign language capability, international experience, and IC in the extant literature, a quantitative study was conducted in a Chinese private college to explore 1,983 undergraduate students’ …

Using A Dual-Factor Model To Understand The Mental Health Of Students With School Refusal Behavior, Zachary D. Maupin

Education (PhD) Dissertations

Students with school refusal behavior (SRB) often present complex cases that include variations of internalizing (anxiety and depression) and externalizing (opposition and defiance) mental health struggles. Historically, incongruent classification methods and terminology have hindered the progress of effectively or consistently assessing SRB. Consequently, practitioners face several obstacles in the process of identifying and understanding these students. Despite guidance from past literature, several questions about how SRB interacts with students' mental health are left unanswered. The present study used data from over 100,000 student responses on the California Healthy Kids Survey-Secondary Core Module. A review of attendance questions from this survey …

Self-Continuity In Adolescence: A Buffer Against Decreases In Self-Esteem Due To Vicitmization, Gabriela Alvarez

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The purpose of this research was to explore how components of self-esteem, such as social, cognitive and physical competence, can explain the buffering effect of self-continuity. Self-continuity explains the associations between individuals themselves in both past and present and perceived sameness, despite growth and development of the self. As self-continuity becomes more complex throughout adolescence, children may find themselves lacking a sense of identity. Previous research shows that negative views of the self may later represent themselves in adulthood. There is evidence that suggests self-continuity protects against the negative effects of peer victimization by providing positive connections between one another. …

Three Essays On International Trade, Renjing Chen

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

In the first chapter, we develop an estimation procedure to identify the partial (direct) effects of the GATT/WTO membership on variable and fixed trade costs, respectively. This procedure extends the techniques of Anderson and Van Wincoop (2003) on the structural relationship of multilateral resistance terms and of Helpman, Melitz and Rubinstein (2008) on the structural modeling of trade incidence. We then develop a general equilibrium framework (that allows for the presence of zero trade) to simulate the impact of variable, fixed, and total trade cost changes on the firm-level trade structure (including the bilateral export productivity cutoff, the weighted/unweighted extensive …

Ms 202 Guide To The Richard E. Wainerdi, Ph.D Papers (1984-2013), Richard E. Wainerdi (1931-2021)

Manuscript Finding Aids

This collection consists of the administrative records and other materials of Dr. Richard Wainerdi who was president of the Texas Medical Center, 1984-2012. See more at MS 202.

Applying Human Factors Heuristic Evaluation Tools To Improve Aviation Weather Displays: A Mismatch, John Kleber, Paige Lawton, Beth Blickensderfer

General Aviation Weather Display Interpretation

The evaluation of current Heuristic Evaluation Tools for use in assessing Aviation Weather Displays.

Bursting Stereotypes, John Kendall, Alyssa Gehrke

Goal 3: Interpersonal Intelligence Narrative

Purpose:

The purpose of this program is to educate others on what stereotypes are and how individuals don’t relate to those stereotypes.

Mamba Mentality: A Blueprint For Success, Josiah Payne

Goal 2: Life Skills Narrative

Purpose:

The purpose of this program is to help students develop a mindset and habits that will facilitate success in pursuing their interests.

Learning Styles And Study Methods, Brenda Perez

Goal 2: Life Skills Narrative

Specific Lesson Outcomes:

• Students will find what learning styles work best for them.

• Students will understand how to use these learning styles in their study habits, presentations and school work.

• Students will be able to locate resources to best help their learning style.

Professional Confidence, Mia Pidlaoan

Goal 2: Life Skills Narrative

• Students will display effective interpersonal communication skills such as effective conflict resolution strategies, verbal and nonverbal reactions in social situations, and how they differ amongst individuals.

• Students will develop effective leadership skills

How To Responsibly Shop For Groceries For Yourself!, Rafael Gonzalez

Goal 2: Life Skills Narrative

Purpose: Students will learn about tips for buying personal groceries that will help them in the future, more specifically when they begin college and living on their own.