Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Ghosts Of Grief: An Exploration Of Gothic Influence In 2010s Horror Cinema, Halen Gifford

Senior Independent Study Theses

The purpose of this project is to examine gothic influences in contemporary horror cinema of the 2010s. To fulfill this purpose, the study employs comparative film analysis methods to analyze The Babadook (2014), The Invitation (2015), and Crimson Peak (2015) in order to identify intertextual gothic references in the cinematography, mise en scène, and narratives of the films. Specifically, this project examines the haunted house trope in the horror genre as characterized by the presence of ghosts and the personification of the setting. Through this analysis, four common themes emerged: “Houses with Personality,” “Tragic Losses,” “Memories and Ghosts,” and “Isolation.” …

Political Identity Rules: Support Of Renewable Energy Jobs And Attitudes On Soil Conservation In Northeastern Ohio, Leah H. Jorn

Senior Independent Study Theses

The purpose of this study was to look at the support of a proposed Act and renewable energy jobs as it paired with endorsement from elite Republicans. This was tested across political groups but mainly focuses on Republican responses. The hypothesis was that with elite endorsement Republican approval will increase for both the Act and renewable energy jobs. This study also focuses on attitudes of local farmers in Northeastern Ohio on soil conservation and how Republican values and identity politics affect this. This was studied through both a survey of approximately 450 people and through archival work. The results indicate …

"The Refugees Are Better Off Than We Are": Evaluating The Impact Of Syrian Refugees On Jordanian Labor Markets, Maggie Dougherty

Senior Independent Study Theses

This thesis analyses the labor market impacts associated with hosting Syrian refugees in Jordan through the Syrian conflict. We provide a critical analysis of the sentiment that ‘the refugees are better off than we are.’ This sentiment derives from the perception that the poor economic conditions are the fault of refugees, because they take jobs from native citizens, or because of the international humanitarian aid that refugees receive. We suggest that this perception is a ‘false narrative’ which does not accurately describe the many causes of economic hardships in Jordan, thereby misplacing blame on refugees. The article analyzes the structural …

“Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves”: Creating A Financial Literacy Workshop For College-Aged Women On The Relationship Among Spending, Saving, And Investing, Lesley Chinery

Senior Independent Study Theses

The purpose of this study is to create a financial literacy workshop for college-aged women to increase understanding of the relationship among spending, saving, and investing. Utilizing relevant scholarship on gender and economics, the Elaboration Likelihood Model, and interviews with experts in economics and with facilitators of financial literacy workshops, I created a virtual workshop for college-aged women. This research found that successfully enabling both central and peripheral processing routes plays a significant role in attracting potential participants to workshops and in turn, cognitively engages them during workshops. Moreover, planners of workshops need to ensure consistent appealing messaging in communication …

Peace Be With You: An Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of Interfaith Versus Single-Faith Peacebuilding Programming At Reducing Violence In Religious Conflict, Sydney Maureen Hanes

Senior Independent Study Theses

This study seeks to analyze the effectiveness of interfaith versus single-faith peacebuilding programming at reducing levels of violence in instances of violent religious conflict. After reviewing the literature, I used contact theory and constructivism to form my hypothesis that interfaith programming is more effective compared to single-faith programming at reducing violence. Using a mixed-methods approach, I conducted a most similar systems case study design to analyze the effectiveness of different forms of faith-based programming within the conflict in Northern Ireland. I also analyzed geographical data to test for relationships between the types of programming and conflict violence. Although there was …

Corporate Pressure Makes Regime Diamonds: An Analysis Of The Impact Of Multinational Corporations On International Environmental Regime Effectiveness, Katie Harvey

Senior Independent Study Theses

Despite the tendency for multinational corporations to overexploit natural resources and pollute the Earth, the immense power of capital in a globalizing world has presented a unique opportunity for corporations to become drivers for positive global environmental change. To make sense of this puzzle, this study asks how does an international environmental regime’s relationship to the economic marketplace impact its institutional and ecological effectiveness? Through a small-n case study, this project analyzes the historical context, market interactions, and regime outcomes of four distinct instances of global environmental governance: the stratospheric ozone regime, the climate change regime, the global oceanic regime, …

A Case Of Mistaken (Ethnic) Identity: Rethinking Civil War Duration, Ethnic Saliency, Terrorism, And The Real Factors Discouraging Resolution, Angie Bittar

Senior Independent Study Theses

The field of political violence has consistently emphasized understanding the way that civil wars end, with less emphasis placed on the circumstances which elicit extended civil war duration. This analysis shifts the focus of study on to the internal factors of civil war, following the question: What are the domestic factors of civil war that cause some wars to be more durable and resistant to resolution than others? Building off of several prominent theories within the field of political violence and the anthropological study of ethnic saliency, I hypothesize that civil wars that are characterized as identity based will be …

The Great Outdoors, Indoors: An Evaluation Of Green Spaces And Housing Prices In Pittsburgh, Pa, Will Mccullough

Senior Independent Study Theses

Green spaces, or public parks, playgrounds, and athletic fields, are a community hub. Many studies have highlighted the benefits of green space on surrounding neighborhoods. However, comparatively little research has assessed the relationship between park proximity and housing sales price. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, city officials have shown a renewed interest in increasing park access and quality, although no economic literature has examined role of green space in the housing consumption decision in the city. I develop a theory of green space preference in a consumer maximization framework to hypothesize that home prices will increase with proximity to green space. I …

Breaking News: Sustainable Fashion Is In And Fast Fashion Is Out; Constructions Of Sustainable Consumption In Fast Fashion Advertising, Camryn Eve Rosenstein

Senior Independent Study Theses

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the pivotal role advertising plays in fast fashion consumption and shaping young consumers ideas and values about the fashion industry, fast fashion, sustainable consumption, and sustainability. This study contributes to limited research into greenwashing and consumer perceptions and attitudes towards sustainable consumption. Moreover, this study highlights the increased relevance of the sustainable fashion movement in mainstream society. The researcher recruited 30 college students to participants in focus group sessions and individual interviews. An H&M advertisement and a video clip from a documentary, The True Cost, were shown to participants, so …

Market Structure And Quality Of Service: Investigating Oligopolies And The Quality Of Nursing Home Care In California During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Tessa Ireton

Senior Independent Study Theses

Quality-of-service outcomes in nursing homes are of great social and human importance. However, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, consistently maintaining markets with high quality care has been a pervading issue in the American nursing home industry. Furthermore, the industry is strongly characterized by oligopolies, a market structure that literature indicates may be less compatible with quality service than competitive markets. With this paper, I aim to investigate the possible intersection of oligopolist market structures and the quality of nursing home care during the COVID-19 pandemic. I start by describing quality of care in nursing homes, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, …

Mapping Out Learning: How Aerobic Exercise, Sex And Alzheimer's Disease Impact Learning, Grace G. Bouker

Senior Independent Study Theses

Exercise has the power to ameliorate the outward symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) by rescuing hippocampal-dependent learning and memory. The goal of this research was to map out how exercise and sex impact behavioral learning in AD mouse models by looking outside of the traditional measurements in the Morris water maze (MWM), as they fail to describe the process of learning itself. I calculated heading error at maximum velocity, manually categorized search strategy in the MWM across trials, and determined flexibility in the probe trial for transgenic and wild-type mice who were exposed to exercise or control housing. Mice significantly …

The Development Of A Procedure For The Pxrf Analysis Of Soil Cation Exchange Capacity In Collaboration With Colorado Farmers, Claire E. Wineman

Senior Independent Study Theses

Discrepancies between farmers’ and scientists’ knowledge systems and experiences have long prevented the success and mutual beneficiality of collaborative research efforts between these two groups. The development of agricultural technologies, such as portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) for the analysis of soil cation exchange capacity in the field, creates a promising overlap point for farmers and scientists to cooperatively study issues within their sociocultural context and with access to institutional resources. In this study, the generation of an in-field PXRF method in collaboration with Colorado farmers helps to provide a prospective model for scientists and farmers looking to use collaborative research …

An Exploratory Analysis Of Conflict In African Immigrant And African American Marriages, Cornelius Ayodeji Osuntade

Dissertations

Problem

There has been a high level of marital conflict in immigrant families from patriarchal cultures. There are negative attitudes toward women that contribute to couple conflict. Coupled with this are issues relating to immigration challenges that confront marriage stability among immigrant couples in North America. In the same vein, African American couples experience conflicts that militate against the stability of their marriages. Most of these marital upheavals stem from historical antecedents relating to this ethnic group, as well as the societal dialectics confronting them. By and large, regarding couple conflict, a better understanding of the challenges facing African immigrant …

Can It Be Done? Examining Stereotype Threat With Fake Stereotypes, Jessica Hodges

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Stereotype threat refers to the risk of conforming to a stereotype regarding a group one belongs to. This threat has been heavily studied with negative stereotypes on performance-based tasks (e.g., math), and encompasses the anxiety one may feel due to being associated with the negative stereotype (Steele & Aronson, 1995). The present project sought to expand upon current literature in several ways. First, this project sought to assess whether fake stereotypes elicit stereotype threat like real stereotypes do. Second, this project examined whether fake stereotype threat works with positive stereotypes as well as negative. Third, this study examined how group …

Identifying Football Conflict Using Soft-Set Theory In Indonesia Super League, Kukuh Wahyudin Pratama

Student Works (2020-2029)

There are several mathematical formal models that handle conflict situations and the most popular one is a rough set theory. With the ability to handle vagueness from the conflict data set, rough set theory has been successfully used in many research. This research used an alternative approach as a method to handle conflict situation in Indonesia Super League. This method was implemented on the respondents or agents who were involved with football club management, match inspector, organizing committee, referees, supporters and players. The novelty of the proposed approach is discussed in rough set theory that include decision rules. It is …

Political Systems And Revolution: The Cases Of Egypt And Tunisia, Ibrahim S.I Rabaia

Student Works (2020-2029)

Revolution in MENA is a long-term process needing a long time to correct the structural failures of the existing political systems. In other words, revolutions were created to change the status quo, pave the way to a breakthrough in the political system, and open the political sphere by introducing a more inclusive and dynamic process for entering these systems. The mismatch between inputs and outcomes in the Egyptian and Tunisian political systems produced failures in dealing with the political, economic, and social demands of the revolutionary powers in both countries. Such a failure increased the chances of success for the …

Forensic Experts’ Perspectives On Australian Indigenous Sexual Offenders And Factors Important In Evaluating The Risk Of Recidivism, Alfred Allan, Cate L. Parry, Hilde Tubex, Caroline Spiranovic, Frank Morgan

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Law and ethics require that risk assessment should be cross-culturally valid and fair, but Australian research in this regard is underdeveloped. A logical first step in progressing the work required to build a strong evidence base on culturally sensitive risk assessment in Australia is to determine the expert views of those in the field. We interviewed 13 Australian evaluators who assess Indigenous sexual offenders’ recidivism risk to determine their perceptions of the risk assessment instruments they use and the attributes they believe evaluators doing cross-cultural assessments should have. Our central findings are that evaluators use the available instruments because they …

Mental Health Consequences Of Covid-19 Media Coverage: The Need For Effective Crisis Communication Practices, Zhaohui Su, Dean Mcdonnell, Jun Wen, Metin Kozak, Jaffar Abbas, Sabina Šegalo, Xiaoshan Li, Junaid Ahmad, Ali Cheshmehzangi, Yuyang Cai, Ling Yang, Yu Tao Xiang

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2021, The Author(s). During global pandemics, such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), crisis communication is indispensable in dispelling fears, uncertainty, and unifying individuals worldwide in a collective fight against health threats. Inadequate crisis communication can bring dire personal and economic consequences. Mounting research shows that seemingly endless newsfeeds related to COVID-19 infection and death rates could considerably increase the risk of mental health problems. Unfortunately, media reports that include infodemics regarding the influence of COVID-19 on mental health may be a source of the adverse psychological effects on individuals. Owing partially to insufficient crisis communication practices, media and news …

Using Social Media In Health Literacy Research: A Promising Example Involving Facebook With Young Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Males From The Top End Of The Northern Territory, James A. Smith, Anthony Merlino, Ben Christie, Mick Adams, Jason Bonson, Richard H. Osborne, Murray Drummond, Barry Judd, David Aanundsen, Jesse Fleay, Himanshu Gupta

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This brief report describes three key lessons learned during a health literacy research project with young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males from the Top End of the Northern Territory (NT), Australia. More specifically, it is a methodologically focused paper that discusses processes associated with using a combination of yarning sessions and social media content as tools to unpack conceptualisations of health and well‐being among this marginalised population. The lessons discussed include (a) the utility of using social media in providing an authentic window into the lives of a hard‐to‐reach populations; (b) the need to carefully consider ethical implications; and …

For The Children? A Mixed Methods Analysis Of World Bank Structural Adjustment Loans, Health Projects, And Infant Mortality In Latin America, Shiri Noy

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Physical Intimate Partner Violence, Childhood Physical Abuse And Mental Health Of U.S. Caribbean Women: The Interrelationship Of Social, Contextual, And Migratory Influences, Krims K. Lacey, Regina Parnell, Sasha R. Drummond-Lewis, Maxine Wood, Karen Powell Sears

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Post Covid-19 Tourism: Promoting The Holy Family Trail As A Niche Religious Tourism Destination/ الترويج ل مسار العائلة :Covid- السياحة بعد 19 المقدسة كوجهة للسياحة الدينية, Hend Elbehary, Mona Elsayed, Nada Abdelghany, Yasmine Mandour

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

The tourism sector constitutes significant importance for the Egyptian economy, with a contribution of 11.9% to the GDP and total employment of 2.49 million in 2018. The sector has different segments including both mass and niche tourism, where Egypt is heavily dependent on the former. Over the past 10 years, the sector was hammered by several internal and external intermittent hits, resulting in instability in the sector and fluctuations in its revenues that have consequently pulled down the foreign currency reserves. The current challenge of COVID-19 has introduced a new global norm that hurdled the mobility of mass tourist groups …

Water Security In Egypt Issues And Perspectives/ الأمن المائي في مصر: المشاكل والآفاق, Kareem Mostafa, Mariam Allam, Sarah El-Fiky, Seba Issa, Sherif Mohyeldeen

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

Under the looming threat of water scarcity, the government of Egypt (GoE) must impose effective policies that promote water conservation to ensure water security for the future of its population. This policy paper seeks to define, survey, evaluate, and recommend prospective policies that can address the problem of current water scarcity and achieve water security. This paper focuses on two research sub-questions: 1) How can the government implement policies that can help Egypt's water conservation? 2) How can Egypt create alternative water sources?

Startups And Human Capital Management In Egypt: In Search Of Decent Jobs, Maryham Abdel Malak, Ibrahem El Sayed Hassan, Fayrouz El Dabbagh, Laila M. El Baradei

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

While startups are considered an important potential contributor to Egypt’s economic growth, they encounter myriad challenges that hinder their ability to reach their potential, sustain their market presence, and their capacity to provide decent job opportunities. Challenges include the difficulty of locating and sustaining funding, the complicated legal and regulatory framework that governs them, the conservative social norms and culture, and the lack of data and information regarding market dynamics and existing opportunities. The research findings revealed that many startups face challenges with their Human Capital Management (HCM), in the planning, acquisition, development, or sanction functions. This policy paper examines …

The Social Dimension In Transportation Planning/ البعد الاجتماعي في نظام تخطيط النقل العام في مصر, Ahmed Hamdy, Fatma Rashad, Lama Atef

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

Public transportation is a main player in Egyptians’ daily lives. It links production and consumption areas in many vital aspects, including economy, construction, and social development. Accordingly, the accessibility of citizens to public transportation and its services has been adopted as a social dimension for it in this paper, as it affects the lives of many segments of Egyptians.

The Antithesis Of ‘Business As Usual’: Youth, Class, And Volunteer Organizations In Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, Chelsea Cutright

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

Youth in Tanzania make up the majority of the current growing population and therefore are increasingly a focus of local and international development concern, specifically as the rates of urban growth and unemployment are also increasing. This research builds upon existing anthropological literature, which largely addresses contemporary and urban African youths as “problems” in dire need of governmental intervention and international solutions. Through explorations of the ways in which Tanzanian youth are actively and creatively working to improve their own futures, utilizing their own agency to create opportunities, and solving their own problems in the absence of successful external intercessions, …

Producing Possibilities: Envisioning And Mediating Youth, Identities, And Futures In Central Appalachia, Tammy Lynn Clemons

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This dissertation, based on anthropological research between 2015 and 2020, focuses on young people in different yet interconnected social contexts in Central Appalachia and how they envision, construct, and act upon possibilities for themselves and the region through multimodal cultural production processes like visual art, performance, and multisensory media. The research question focusing this project was: How do the social contexts of young Appalachians’ engagement in media consumption and production practices shape the possibilities they envision for themselves, others, and their region? I found that the specific contexts were less important than the interconnected mentoring conversations across sites and generations …

"It's About More Than Just Animals": Environmental Politics Of Zoo-Adjacent Conservation(Ists) In The U.S., Dayton D. Starnes Ii

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This research explores the influences of diverse environmental politics in shaping zoo-adjacent conservation activities in the United States. Based upon 13 months of multi-sited ethnographic research, conducted with conservation actors across six states, the researcher investigates and documents how conservation professionals—operating in contexts adjacent to zoological institutions—experience and respond to the socio-environmental implications associated with the cascading effects of global environmental change. In the face of current challenges and uncertain environmental futures—shaped by habitat alterations, ecological transitions, and species declines/extinctions—conservationists are undergoing their own processes of reassessment and reconfiguration of their underpinning philosophies and body of practices that inform their …

"Roses Remind Me Of Aleppo": Ironic Home, Beckoning States, And Memories Of Syrian Armenian Women In Yerevan, Armenia, Anahid Matossian

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This project contributes to anthropologies of the state, (diasporic return) migration, belonging, home, and conflict, including genocide and war. It intervenes in the anthropology of home by focusing on both the social and physical aspects of home, its pain, joys, and ironies, and it speaks to the anthropology of genocide by showing how a population a century removed from a genocide uses it to interpret their experience. This dissertation also deals with state constructions of ideal citizen formation--one of obligation and devotion to the socially constructed ancestral homeland, where descendants who share an ethnic identity have a role to play …

Reimagining Care: Surviving And Thriving Among Lgbtq African Americans In Birmingham, Alabama, Stacie Lynn Hatfield

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This dissertation draws on fieldwork with Black LGBTQ identifying individuals and communities in Birmingham, Alabama conducted from 2015-2019 as part of a project that reimagines theories of care. Informed by scholars of Black and feminist studies, I conceive of forms of care as negotiations of survival and tactics of thriving that are worked out in everyday practices and discourses among LGBTQ African Americans. I show how histories of racial inequality and centuries of resistance, surviving, and thriving among communities of African descent intersect with LGBTQ politics, space, and identity to create strategies and places of individual and community care. My …