Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Public Cyberattack Attribution And Domestic Political Considerations: An Analysis Of State Decision Making, Ella M. Devey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

When a country is targeted with a cyberattack, what compels its government to publicly attribute the perpetrators of the attack rather than keep their attribution private? Cyberattacks are an increasingly utilized weapon of international conflict by governments, groups, and individuals. Following a cyberattack, the target of the attack may investigate the origin of the attack and may choose to share their findings with the public; alternatively, they may choose not to publicly share their findings.

While we know that forensic capabilities and international political factors contribute to the decision of governments to make public cyberattack attribution, domestic political circumstances may …

Coming Out Experiences Related To Improved Well-Being Among Religious Sexual And Gender Minorities, Samuel Skidmore

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Sexual and gender minorities (SGMs; individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ and/or who do not identify as cisgender and heterosexual) often come out to others as a way to improve their connections, feel more authentic, and improve their mental health. However, coming out is often a frightening and stress-inducing process, and SGMs’ overall well-being may depend on how they approach these conversations and how others respond. In an effort to better understand these experiences and to provide a scientifically-validated “guide” to SGMs and those to whom they come out, we conducted three studies that examine when coming out goes well and …

Online Deception: The Impact Of Language In Text-Based Deception Detection, Stephanie Dayle Avila

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

In today’s digital age, spreading false information online can have serious consequences, from affecting elections to undermining public health efforts. Despite the issue's importance, there’s been relatively little research into better understanding how people make decisions about lies and misinformation online. My project dives into this challenge by exploring how specific language cues, like grammar errors or unusual word choices, influence people’s perception of statements in terms of deceit online. I examined how people react to these cues through three separate but related studies when reading truthful and deceptive statements. The first two studies showed that true statements with grammatical …

Using An Interactive Computer Training To Train Teachers In Function-Based Assessment And Intervention, Kristin R. Griffith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Since many educators receive little-to-no formal training in evidence-based classroom management strategies, it may be helpful to train general education teachers in strategies that direct them to the underlying causes of problem behavior. One such strategy is functional behavior assessment, which is the process of gathering information to determine the function of problem behavior, or why behavior is occurring. One potentially effective way of training teachers in this process may be to use an interactive computer training, which has previously been used to train a variety of complex behavior analytic skills with other populations. In the current study, we trained …

Factors Shaping Charter School Leaders’ Student Recruitment Practices In Southern Nevada, John E. Aydogdu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Charter schools have witnessed significant growth in the United States, accompanied by increased diversity among student populations. However, Southern Nevada charter schools diverge from national trends, enrolling a less racially and socioeconomically diverse student population. This study examined factors that shape charter school leaders’ student recruitment practices in Southern Nevada. In addition to addressing the lack of literature coverage on Southern Nevada charter schools’ demographics, this study also introduced new research regarding the predicament of charter school demographics in Southern Nevada. Using a case study approach, data from 16 charter school leaders and staff members across four identified charter schools …

Using Student Voices To Inform Educational Reform: Exploring High School Educational Desires To Improve Curricular Decisions, Anna Colquitt

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In the education system, the integration of student perspectives into effective pedagogical strategies is gaining momentum. This dissertation delves into the concept of 'Student Voice' and its role in shaping educational frameworks. Recognizing the growing gap in soft skill proficiency among newly recruited employees, contrasted with the emphasis on hard skills within current educational standards, this study analyzes what those skill gaps are in the education and what skills students perceive are necessary to integrate into a high school education to better prepare students for life, the workforce, and higher education. Focused on recent high school graduates in Nevada, the …

“Sex Is Fun”: A Study Of Hook Up Behaviors And Experiences Of Post-College And Middle-Aged Adults, Joshua Corum

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research is a qualitative study of the hook up and casual sex behaviors and experiences of those in full adulthood, focusing on their motivations to hook up and the subsequent outcomes of those casual sex activities. Most of the existing scholarship on hooking up and casual sex primarily investigates the behaviors, attitudes, and experiences of college students within emerging adulthood. Little consideration is made for the ways in which adults negotiate hooking up and casual sex in other stages over the life course and after major life transitions. In this dissertation, I asked three questions: 1) How do adults …

Voices Of Change: Oral Histories Of Ethnic Studies Leaders In Racialized Organizations, Bucket Manyweather

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study of implementing California Assembly Bill 1460, or mandatory Ethnic Studies (ES) in the California State University System (CSU), investigates the leadership decisions made within a set of self-governing campuses with varied institutional resources and responsibilities. This research uses an Oral History methodology, which situates personal experiences in history to illustrate how Ethnic Studies staff, faculty, and administrators navigate a racialized organization as they institutionalize a critical race curriculum and mandate within the context of individual campus histories, cultures and governances.

I reviewed the literature and documented the history of the first College of Ethnic Studies, the movement's impact, …

Mixed Methods Approach To Assess ‘Placental Opioid-Enhancing Factor’ Activity Within ‘Alternative’ Health Contexts Of Human Maternal Placentophagy, Jacob C. White

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Rats with elevated opioid levels experience an even greater increase in pain threshold after placenta or amniotic fluid consumption via placental opioid-enhancing factor (POEF) in the afterbirth. POEF only enhances opioid hypoalgesia; it cannot produce hypoalgesia alone. Although the POEF molecule remains unidentified and its efficacy in humans is unknown, it could be a safe, novel pain treatment. People who consume placenta as an alternative postpartum health practice are ideal for testing POEF bioactivity. Though rat models show that bioactive POEF is highly sensitive, some forms of the practice in humans may conserve POEF.

This project is the first attempt …

Organizational Attributes And Supervision Officer Role Orientations: What Factors Influence Supervision Officer Behaviors?, Makayla Butler

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

While past research has suggested the importance of probation and parole officer (PPO) role orientations for impacting officer behavior and client outcomes, limited work has examined factors that influence how supervision officers approach their work. This study sought to contribute to this body of research by examining the influence of officer characteristics, attitudes towards their organization, and attitudes towards their clients on their professional role orientations and supervision behaviors. Using self-reported survey data collected from PPOs in a Midwest state (n = 50), this study examined how various individual and organizational-level factors impacted PPOs role orientations, and how those role …

Examining The Sexual Assault Grievance Process Through The Lens Of Title Ix Personnel On College Campuses, Kate Law

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Institutions of higher education (IHEs) have been federally mandated to prevent and respond to reports of sexual violence on campus via Title IX for over 30 years as the trauma that results from campus sexual assault is considered prohibitive to accessing education. Yet, students may not be the only parties harmed when sexual violence is perpetrated. Title IX personnel tasked with responding to campus sexual assault are also at risk of experiencing the negative effects of campus sexual assault in fulfillment of their job. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how Title IX personnel talk about their …

Inland Water’S Challenges In Ungauged International Basins: Identifying The Desiccation Drivers Of Endorheic Hamun Lakes, Arash Modaresi Rad

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Inland waters face unprecedented pressures from climatic and anthropogenic stresses, causing their recession and desiccation globally. Climate change is increasingly blamed for such environmental degradation, but in many regions, direct anthropogenic pressures compound, and sometimes supersede, climatic factors. This study examined a human-environmental system – the terminal Hamun Lakes on the Iran-Afghanistan border – that embodies amplified challenges of inland waters. Satellite and climatic data from 1984-2019 were fused, which documented that the Hamun Lakes lost 89% of their surface area between 1999 and 2001 (3,809 km² versus 410 km²), coincident with a basin-wide, multi-year meteorological drought. …

Patterns Of Non-Consumptive Public Land Users: How Do Birders Value Species And Make Foraging Decisions, Rebecca (Bekki) Ann Waskovich

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Non-consumptive wildlife-associated recreation has grown by over 1000% since 1970. While the number of consumptive users has remained largely unchanged. Behavioral ecology and foraging theory can help to explain birder behavior to ascertain recreationists’ values and motives while on the landscape. During the Christmas Bird Counts of December 2022, 68 participants from Boise, Bruneau, and Nampa, Idaho counts were surveyed. A subset of those participants (29) volunteered to be interviewed further. Rarity and native species were found to be a top value for birders with 127 unique species with low encounter rates across all sites appeared in the top ranked …

Does Diversity Ideology Moderate Participants’ Perceptions Of Therapists Who Do And Do Not Broach?, Emily Allen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Introduction. The literature has grown considerably regarding the act of broaching racial, ethnic, and cultural factors in therapy. Many have highlighted its positive impact on the therapeutic alliance, but little empirical work explores how individual differences influence a client’s response to broaching. This study assessed the effects of participant diversity ideology and therapist broaching behavior on perceptions of a therapist’s effectiveness. I hypothesized that participants in the therapists broaching condition would perceive the therapist to be more effective than participants in the no broaching condition. I also hypothesized that participants’ colorblind diversity ideology and therapist broaching condition would interact, such …

News Framing Of The Ukrainian-Russian War: A Comparative Analysis Of Russian And American News Media, Alina Rudakova

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted with the goal of exploring ways in which American (The New York Times) and Russian (TASS) print news media frame the Ukrainian-Russian War. Along with examining the differences and similarities in primary framing techniques used by American and Russian news, the focal point of this study was to identify who is portrayed as an aggressor and who is illustrated as a victim in this conflict. Informed by the news media framing literature and construction of the social problems perspective, this study was led by two research questions: (1) How do the American and Russian news media …

Well-Being Behaviors And Outcomes In Arkansas Teachers: A Qualitative Analysis Of Teachers In Arkansas During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Ashton Elizabeth Human

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic introduced new challenges to teachers and emphasized those already existing in the education system. The increased reliance upon technology and lack of administrative support perceived during distance learning led to lower levels of commitment to teaching and increased levels of teacher burnout. Burnout risk is associated with an increased workload, exhaustion from job demands, cynicism toward the professional community and has been shown to have a negative relationship with well-being. Teachers experiencing burnout are unable to establish positive relationships with students, understand students’ needs, stay in contact with trends in the education field, or provide pedagogically …

Examining The Impact Of Parental Punishment And School Punishment On Delinquency And Criminal Justice Contact, Mia Robert

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prior research states the important role that both parents and schools play in setting children up for success. However, few researchers have studied how parents and schools work in tandem to achieve these outcomes. The current study aims to fill this gap by understanding the relationship between parental harshness and exclusionary discipline at age 9, specifically suspension, and how it affects delinquency and later criminal justice contact at age 15. Using longitudinal data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), this study aimed to answer the following two research questions: 1) Does increased parental harshness and harsh …

Exploring The Intersection Of Masculinity, Mental Health, And Mass Shootings, Kaitlyn Campbell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Few studies have explored how intersecting challenges to masculinity and mental health can precipitate mass shootings. This study examines how responses to strained masculinity and mental health disorders combine across varying situational and social contexts to explain why and how offenders commit mass shootings. Data come from the U.S. Extremist Crime Database, Bias Homicide Database, and other open-source data on mass shootings. Drawing from Allison and Klein’s (2021) concept of “strained masculinity”, this study utilizes a qualitative narrative approach to uncover themes of strained masculinity and mental health issues among perpetrators of mass shootings. Different storylines emerge capturing ways some …

The International Experience: Foreigners In Fayetteville, Khadn Blaine Adderley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project is aimed toward showcasing the stories of some international students who currently attend or recently attended the University of Arkansas and have lived in Fayetteville, Arkansas. With the University of Arkansas being home to a range of international students from all over the world, it’s important to get an understanding from some of those students who leave their home country to spend the next four years as a member of the Fayetteville community. This project is a podcast that is split up into four episodes, highlighting the experiences of international students, University of Arkansas employees who assist with …

Understanding Young Adult Consumers’ Attitudes And Intentions Towards Showrooming Behavior, Juliana Marconi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the rapid advancement in information technologies, retailers integrate omnichannel marketing strategies to provide consumers with low prices, good products, and unique shopping experiences. Omnichannel retailing brings changes to consumer decision-making processes. Consumers use all channels (online and offline) simultaneously at the same time during the product search, purchase, and aftersales stages. Some consumers prefer to check out a product in a brick-and-mortar store, but purchase it online. This is referred to as showrooming. Since the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the use of mobile devices and smartphones in shopping, consumers search e-commerce sites using mobile devices while they shop in …

Can Confidence Influence Persuasiveness In Disagreements By Conveying Competence Versus Dominance? The Moderating Role Of Competitiveness, Laura Rees, Ming-Hong Tsai, Shirli Kopelman, Hsiu-Hua Hu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Research has demonstrated that confident individuals gain social influence because their confidence signals competence rather than dominance in settings in which they do not experience a disagreement with others. We extend this research by exploring felt competitiveness, as reflected by perceptions of goal opposition between perceivers and others. In settings where people experience a disagreement, we explore the impact of felt competitiveness on the association between expressed confidence and social perceptions of the expresser’s competence and dominance, and how these shape persuasiveness. We conducted a field study examining dyadic interactions between coworkers (Study 1) and two experimentsmanipulating competitiveness and confidence …

Improving Access To Information On Health Hazards Of Telecommunications Masts By Residents In Zaria Local Government Area Of Kaduna State, Abdulkadir Tanko Isah, Jibrin Abdulrahaman, Irewole Dorcas Ibinaiye

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

No abstract provided.

“The Digital Renaissance A Study Of India’S Print Media And Literary Trends”, Sudhanshu Bajpai, Kamal Bajpai

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

India's digital landscape has experienced significant growth, boasting 692 million active internet users and 467 million social media users as of February 2023. The surge in online news consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the population's reliance on digital platforms for information. Analysis reveals varying engagement levels between rural and urban areas, with online platforms dominating news access. Educational qualifications influence news source preferences, with YouTube emerging as the dominant platform. Visual and interactive content formats gain prominence, highlighting the need for adaptation to evolving consumer preferences. The data underscores a diverse range of interests among digital news consumers, emphasizing …

School Counselors’ Perspectives On Preparing Students Experiencing Homelessness For College, Stacey A. Havlik, Dana Brookover, Patrick Rowley

Journal of College Access

The purpose of the study is to investigate school counselors’ support of youth experiencing homelessness going to college. Using survey methods, school counselors reported their knowledge, perceived competence, advocacy, and actions related to supporting students experiencing homelessness in their college preparation. The results suggested that training and the number of students experiencing homelessness on counselors’ caseloads were significantly related to their knowledge and competence. Knowledge, competence, and advocacy all impacted the number of interventions utilized by participants. The implications of these results for school counselors and counselor educators are discussed.

(Non)Cognitive Dissonance? A Stakeholder-Based Exploration Of The Consideration Of Graduate Admissions Applicants' Personal Skills And Qualities, Reginald M. Gooch, Joseph H. Paris, Sara B. Haviland, Jose Sotelo

Journal of College Access

Prospective graduate students’ noncognitive attributes are commonly evaluated as a part of a holistic review of their admission applications. Yet it is difficult to determine which noncognitive attributes are considered by those who evaluate graduate admissions applications and what approaches they take to measure applicants’ noncognitive attributes. It is even less clear to what degree prospective graduate students understand how they are evaluated for graduate admissions and how the evaluation of their noncognitive attributes factor into admissions decisions. Drawing on surveys of graduate enrollment management (GEM) professionals and prospective graduate students in the United States, our study investigates the noncognitive …

Measuring Inclusive Leadership In Nonprofit Performing Arts Organizations, Thomas Abruzzo

Dissertations

Inclusive leadership is undoubtedly a practice to strive for, and few would argue against the value of leading inclusively. Yet, empirically, little is known about what constitutes effective inclusive leadership, especially in the context of nonprofit performing arts organizations. This sector is a particularly apt place to study and practice inclusive leadership because, in addition to the many benefits it provides, the nonprofit arts sector has problematic roots in terms of privileging a dominant social class by prioritizing certain art forms over others. For example, the popularity of the nonprofit form in the arts sector, when compared to for-profit or …

California School Psychologists’ Assessment Practices With Cld Students: A Phenomenological Study, Hector Manuel Teran Jr.

Dissertations

School psychologists are tasked with assessing students to qualify them for special education, typically using standardized tests. Standardized testing, like IQ testing, routinely used in the psycho-educational process, serves to justify prejudices, as they often mark people of color as intellectually inferior to White people. A closer look at school psychologists’ assessment practices with culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students is necessary, as these students have historically been placed in special education at a higher percentage, likely due to misperceptions related to their race, ethnicity, or linguistic background. While IQ tests are regarded as tools that identify the needs of …

Better The Devil You Know: Improved Forecasts From Imperfect Models, Dong Hwan Oh, Andrew John Patton

Research Collection School Of Economics

Many important economic decisions are based on a parametric forecasting model that is known to be good but imperfect. We propose methods to improve out-of-sample forecasts from a misspecified model by estimating its parameters using a form of local M estimation (thereby nesting local OLS and local MLE), drawing on information from a state variable that is correlated with the misspecification of the model. We theoretically consider the forecast environments in which our approach is likely to offer improvements over standard methods, and we find significant forecast improvements from applying the proposed method across four distinct empirical analyses including volatility …

Allocating Vehicle Registration Permits, Massimiliano Landi, Domenico Menicucci

Research Collection School Of Economics

We compare social welfare, consumer surplus and profits in two different institutional settings in which an item whose quantity is fixed and controlled (vehicle registration permit) is allocated to the buyers of a complementary good (car). In the first setting, which resembles the way in which vehicle registration permits are allocated in Singapore, the central planner runs a uniform price auction for permits in which the consumers who bid the highest receive the permits and pay the highest losing bid. Then each winning consumer purchases a car from a seller. In the alternative setting, the central planner first allocates the …

The Balance Of Concessions In Trade Agreements, Mostafa Beshkar, Pao-Li Chang, Shenxi Song

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper introduces a quantitative framework to analyze the WTO’s reciprocity principle. Utilizing two polar bargaining environments, we measure terms-of-trade concessions among WTO members and examine how shifts in applied tariffs and economic fundamentals affect bilateral and multilateral balance of concessions. We find significant disparities in concessions, largely driven by the rise in trade imbalances since the early 1990s. Notably, although US-China bilateral tariffs suggest considerable terms-of-trade benefits for China, under a hypothetical balanced trade scenario, their relationship evolves towards near reciprocity following China’s accession to the WTO. Furthermore, in contrast to the significant gains in its relationship with the …