Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Improved Biochar Based Controlled-Release Nitrogen Fertilizers For Sustainable Corn Production, Robiul Islam Rubel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is an essential factor to increase crop yield. When conventional nitrogen fertilizer (e.g. Urea, Ammonium Sulphate, etc.) is applied in the field, generally over 50% of the N of these fertilizers may lose into the air due to vaporization, or run-off and leaching in rivers and lakes. The N losses lead to not only low NUE but also serious environmental problems. The consequence of N losses results in insufficient N available to meet the demand of crop growth at the growing stages. Lack of sufficient N for crop growth puts a threat of nutrient deficiency and …

Downtown Condos For The Rich: Not All Bad, Michael Lewyn

Scholarly Works

Some new condominiums in urban neighborhoods are too expensive for anyone but the very wealthy. Buyers of these high-cost units include not only wealthy city residents, but also nonresidents who wish to use housing as an investment rather than a residence. Some commentators use this apparent fact as an argument against new market-rate housing generally; they claim that new housing will be purchased by out-of-town investors rather than used by local residents and that those investors will leave housing units empty, rather than renting them out. A related argument is that, even if market-rate condos are purchased by local residents, …

Will Zoning Fix Itself?, Michael Lewyn

Scholarly Works

Typically, zoning artificially limits housing supply, thus increasing housing costs. One possible defense of this system is that zoning can fix itself- that is, that when rents and housing costs become unusually high, politicians will deregulate and thus reduce housing costs. This article suggests that such a happy result is unlikely; instead, where housing costs spiral out of control, voters and politicians are likely to make regulation even more strict out of a fear of gentrification.

Exploring Spatial Patterns Of Virginia Tornadoes Using Kernel Density And Space-Time Cube Analysis (1960-2019), Michael J. Allen, Thomas R. Allen, Christopher Davis, George Mcleod, Wolfgang Kainz (Ed.), Dean Kyne (Ed.)

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

This study evaluates the spatial-temporal patterns in Virginia tornadoes using the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center’s Severe Weather GIS (SVRGIS) database. In addition to descriptive statistics, the analysis employs Kernel Density Estimation for spatial pattern analysis and space-time cubes to visualize the spatiotemporal frequency of tornadoes and potential trends. Most of the 726 tornadoes between 1960–2019 occurred in Eastern Virginia, along the Piedmont and Coastal Plain. Consistent with other literature, both the number of tornadoes and the tornado days have increased in Virginia. While 80% of the tornadoes occurred during the warm season, tornadoes did occur during each month …

Biblical Principles Of History And Government, Kahlib Fischer

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Occupation-Focused Learning And Personal Development Through Service-Learning, Sarah Quinn, Katie Cremin

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Experiential learning is not without its challenges. Following a pilot examination of student feedback on practical and learning difficulties they encountered, students’ experiences of their occupation-focused, service-learning module was systematically explored using a case study design. Concurrent mixed methods were employed to collect data with emphasis on qualitative data gathered through weekly, guided reflective journals and online forums. Students were also surveyed pre and post module to validate data on their experiences regarding their concerns, perceived learning, and evaluation of the module. Four themes were identified. These related to students’ increased understanding of the use and value of occupation; their …

Pandemic And Protest In 2020: Questions And Considerations For Social Work Research, Kimberly D. Hudson, Gita Mehrotra

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

The convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and social/political protest concerning structural anti-Black racism marks a moment for deep reflection and revision of many taken-for-granted assumptions about our research and academic lives as social work scholars. In this reflexive essay we, as two non-Black qualitative social work scholars, explore some of the questions and considerations for social work research that have surfaced since the emergence of these complex social, political, and economic crises. We organize our reflection around what we study, why, and how we go about studying it. We then offer a discussion of various constraints and challenges that emerge …

Biopolitics' New Iteration: Gay Men, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis And The Pharmaco-Pornographic Imagination, Rory David Crath, J. Cristian Rangel, Adam Gaubinger

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

This article builds upon Paul Preciado’s conceptualisation of pharmaco-pornographic power to understand the ongoing affects and effects of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) on queer men’s sexual socialities and subjectivities. Drawing from a new-materialist epistemology, we analyze data from a sexual health pilot study in NYC to trace the techno-sexual health assemblages forming in queer life worlds. Our analysis suggests that these assemblages, entangling PrEP and other pharmacological substances, pornographic imaginaries together with mediatic technologies and public health rationalties, are creating paradoxical desires and practices of intimacy that are both normative and exceed rational health-actor logics and normative understandings of risk. These …

Extension Of Marriage Benefit To Long-Distance Relationship: Comparative Evidence From East Asia, Tidarat Puranachaikere, Bahareh Sahebi, Christine M. Aiello, Shveta Kumaria, Tamara G. Sher

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

Background: Being married is related to better physical and mental health compared to being single or in an unmarried relationship. For those in long-distance relationship (LDR), there are mixed findings in psychological and physical health outcomes when compared to individuals in proximal relationship (PR).

Objective: To explore the health differences between those in LDRs and PRs in a larger and non-Western sample with more health behaviors than had been previously assessed.

Materials and Methods: The present study analyzed the data from the East Asian Social Survey (EASS) comparing health variables and health habits between LDR and PR participants. There were …

The Immigrant In Our Head: Skin Tone, Social Categorization, And Support For Policy, Patrizia Chirco

All Master's Theses

Researchers in diverse fields such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, and geography have extensively researched push and pull factors that lead to migrations (Castles et al., 2014) as well as the political and economic consequences that migrations have on both sending and receiving countries (Golash-Boza, 2015). However, relatively little research is published on whether markers of racial categorization affect the social classification of immigrants, their legal status, and the relationship between support for immigration policies and specific patterns of categorization. In the current research, I investigated whether social categorizations of individuals as undocumented immigrants depend on phenotypes (i.e., skin tone), and …

Appropriation Vs. Authenticity: The Use Of Black Vernacular English By White Speakers, Tamara Petrov

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

This research investigates the authenticity of white speakers of Black Vernacular English (BVE). The scope of the paper is limited to white speakers of BVE in America, including European immigrants. The paper explores how authenticity is determined, revealing a complex vetting process performed by Black, in-group speakers. Research indicates that many of the white BV users exhibit appropriate use, wherein the speaker employs a speech pattern from a community to which they do not belong. The paper supports that the root of white appropriation of BVE is the desire to project characteristics of “toughness” associated with stereotypes of Black masculinity. …

Ua102 Alan Francis Sports Collection, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Baseball and basketball score books created by Alan Francis for WKU men's and women's basketball, baseball and the Kentucky girls high school sweet sixteen tournaments.

Ua12/2/67 Alpha Kappa Alpha, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Ua12/2/68 Sigma Nu, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about Sigma Nu fraternity.

Ua64/4 College Of Education & Behavioral Sciences Human Relations Center, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about the Human Relations Center.

Ua1c11/109 Linda Johnson Photo Collection, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Photographs removed from athletic scrapbooks.

• 1987 WKU Athletics Scrapbook, D7003
• 1968-1985 WKU Athletics Scrapbook, D7004
• 1985-1987 WKU Athletics Scrapbook, D7005

Ua1c11/103 - Wku President's Office Photo Collection, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Photographs removed from WKU President's Office papers.

Ua88 Wku Women's Alliance, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Unprocessed records created by the WKU Women's Alliance.

Ua1c11/13 Paul Garrett Photo Collection, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Photos removed from WKU President's Office - Paul Garrett papers.

Drinking Water Affordability In Georgia. Are Water Rates Affordable In Georgia And Is Infrastructure Investment Influencing Rates?, Guyer Boyle

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Abstract

This research project starts with a review of the literature that addresses the challenges facing public drinking water utilities and the impact these challenges are having on rate affordability. The degree and frequency at which water infrastructure is failing has escalated over the past few decades. These infrastructure failures along with the increased costs of operating a water utility have put enormous upward pressures on water rates charged by utilities for service.

In the state of Georgia, a large percentage of the population is living at or below the federal poverty level and many of the poorest are minorities. …

Image Source Identification Using Convolutional Neural Networks In Iot Environment, Yan Wang, Qindong Sun, Dongzhu Rong, Shancang Li, Li Da Xu

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

Digital image forensics is a key branch of digital forensics that based on forensic analysis of image authenticity and image content. The advances in new techniques, such as smart devices, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial images, and social networks, make forensic image analysis play an increasing role in a wide range of criminal case investigation. This work focuses on image source identification by analysing both the fingerprints of digital devices and images in IoT environment. A new convolutional neural network (CNN) method is proposed to identify the source devices that token an image in social IoT environment. The experimental results …

Activism As A Coping Strategy Among Parents Of Children With Cancer, Alexandra Neenan

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Childhood cancer is a lifelong, whole-family diagnosis. The coping strategies employed by parents of children with cancer have implications for the family system both during and after their diagnosed child’s treatment. The current study found that activism, or actions taken on behalf of the greater childhood cancer community by individual parents, is an activity that parents (N = 67) universally engaged in after their child was diagnosed with cancer. Consistent with study hypotheses, activism was positively associated with aspects of well-being such as hope and resilience, and it was also positively associated with an active coping style. Activism was …

Predominantly White Institution Or Historically Black College/University: Racial Composition Of School Environment And Perceived Racism On African American Students’ College Experiences, Taylor Garland

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The current study explored perceived racism, mental health, and coping to see how those concepts might influence how African American students evaluate their college experiences. Additionally, this study explored how school environment (i.e., predominantly White institution [PWI] vs. historically Black college/university [HBCU]) impacted the hypotheses. All participants completed an online questionnaire. Findings for the key hypotheses of this study were mixed. For example, regardless if African American students attended a PWI or HBCU, they were both likely to report similar experiences of perceived racism and negative affect. Despite these and a few other relevant hypotheses not being supported, two significant …

Book Review: Christopher I. Beckwith. The Tibetan Empire In Central Asia, Constance Wilkinson

Comparative Civilizations Review

The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia was brought into being by polyglot polymath philologist MacArthur Fellowship recipient and stupefyingly wide-ranging medieval Central Asian civilizations-ist scholar Christopher I. Beckwith as the "first detailed narrative history of the Tibetan Empire in Central Asia written in any language" (vii). By 1993, Princeton University Press had released a 4th printing/1st paperback edition (with a new afterword by Beckwith), suggesting a widening readership for what some might regard as a rarified subject.

Jennifer E. Sessions. By Sword And Plow: France And The Conquest Of Algeria, Thomas Deltombe, Manuel Domergue, And Jacob Tatsitsa. Kamerun! Une Guerre Cachée De La Françafrique (1948-1971), Thomas Deltombe, Manuel Domergue, And Jacob Tatsitsa. La Guerre Du Cameroun: L’Invention De La Françafrique 1948-1971, Leland Conley Barrows

Comparative Civilizations Review

The legacy of the colonial period continues to weigh on France. Recently, President Emmanuel Macron called for the creation of a “Memories and Truth Commission” to lay to rest the lingering questions, bitterness, and controversies surrounding the French occupation of Algeria, the independence war, and the country’s accession to independence. Questions regarding the brutality of French colonial conquests and colonial rule in tropical Africa are also being raised. Immigration from Algeria and other formerly French territories is provoking controversy as is also the fact that France has the largest Muslim population of any European country. Many French citizens, particularly those …

Do Gender, Anxiety Sensitivity Level, And Timing Of Anxiety Sensitivity Assessment Predict Heart Rate Variability?, Jordan Sieja

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Anxiety sensitivity (AS), or the fear/belief that anxiety symptoms and sensations will have negative outcomes, is a strong predictor of future psychopathology. AS is divided into three factors: physical, cognitive, and social. Reduced heart rate variability (HRV), or the variation in intervals between heartbeats, is associated with various psychological disorders. Current research findings disagree as to whether AS predicts HRV outcomes. The present study sought to examine data from a previous research project as results of relationships between AS and HRV were contrary to expectations. The current study examined potential predictors of HRV, such as the relationship between high-frequency (HF) …

An Experimental Analysis Of The Classic Overjustification Effect In Rats: Does The Removal Of “Expected” Rewards Alter Behavior In Rats As It Does In Humans?, Eleah Sunde

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The overjustification effect posits that rewards undermine intrinsic motivation, such that an individual’s engagement in previously intrinsically motivating tasks will decrease when a previously reliable reward is withdrawn. This study aimed to determine if this overjustification effect can be demonstrated in rats, with typical confounds related to social and verbal aspects of reward delivery controlled for. Baseline “intrinsic” wheel-running rates of seven SpragueDawley rats were compared to rates that followed administration and withdrawal of a contingent sucrose reward, and to rates of rats in control conditions (n = 7). Consistent with the author’s hypothesis, the reward group’s wheel-running did not …

The Mediating Role Of Sensitivity To Criticism On The Relationship Between Vulnerable Narcissism And Negative Affect, Sneha Shankar

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Researchers have examined the interpersonal correlates of narcissistic traits through ego-threats precipitated by experiences of external rejection or criticism. However, few studies have empirically investigated the role of sensitivity to criticism in the relation between vulnerable narcissism and negative affect. This study sought to examine this relation through comparing the mediating and moderating effects of sensitivity to criticism to shame and psychological inflexibility within three feedback conditions (positive, negative, and none). Three samples were utilized to assess these trait and state associations. Sensitivity to criticism demonstrated only moderating effects on the relation between vulnerable narcissism and situational anger in the …

Exploring The Food Landscape In Ann Arbor And Ypsilanti, Mi: Neighborhood Racial Characteristics And Food Availability, Sara L. Srygley

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The neighborhood retail food environment is an indicator of short- and long-term health conditions. Disparities in Covid-19 health outcomes have been identified as specifically impacting minority populations in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, MI. This study explores these cities' neighborhood retail food environments alongside neighborhood racial composition with three measures: Modified Retail Food Environment Index (mRFEI), Grocery Store Density, and Fast-Food Density. This study's purpose is to determine whether racial composition predicts the food environment and therefore may contribute to poor health outcomes. The results indicate that high Asian population has a significant relationship to healthier food environments while high Black …

Jackpot Reinforcers And The Operant Behavior Of Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta Splendens), Jackson Carter Fox

Capstones and Honors Theses

Jackpot reinforcers are an intriguing yet seldom studied area of operant conditioning with many potential applications in the scope of behavioral research. In this study, two Siamese fighting fish (Betta s.) were presented with the visual stimulus of a mirror upon completion of a target response, providing the opportunity to display an agonistic behavior towards their own mirror image. This opportunity for agonistic display to the mirror served as the primary reinforcer of the target response, which was simply swimming in a particular direction over a bar suspended in the center of the tank. This over-the-bar swimming was …