Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Distinctly Average: Analysis Of The Musician Celebrity's Persona Shift, Cole J. Belcher

Masters Theses

Shifting genres is not an entirely new concept for any celebrity, however, it is something that can severely impact the connection that they share with their audience members who have formed parasocial relationships with them. This study which focuses on the uses and gratifications within the parasocial connection between audience members and musician celebrities sought out to better understand how negotiations are conducted when expectations placed on the relationship are violated during a shift in celebrity persona. During this time, there are competing ideologies at play which determine whether or not this change in the foundations of the relationship will …

Assessing The Knowledge On Sustainability And Barriers To Daily Sustainable Practices Among Faculty And Students In Higher Education: The Case Of Eastern Illinois University, Joel Edem Holison

Masters Theses

The concept of sustainable development gained prominence with the publication of the Brundtland Report, which emphasized economic progress without jeopardizing future generations' well-being. Following that, the Education for Sustainability (EfS) program was created by the United Nations to raise sustainability awareness. However, the transition to sustainable living is fraught with difficulties, including a lack of knowledge, financial constraints, infrastructure gaps, and political ideologies. This study focuses on sustainable practices among Eastern Illinois University (EIU) students and faculty, as well as the barriers to daily sustainable behaviors. As independent variables influencing sustainable practices, the study evaluates sustainability knowledge/awareness, personal financial situation, …

U.S Fans’ Identification With La Liga Teams, Pilar Barrio Sánchez

Masters Theses

This study explores LaLiga fandom in the U.S. by examining fan identification, loyalty, and commitment to their favorite LaLiga team. Moreover, the study explored the reasons why fans first choose their favorite team to support as well as their motives to watch or attend soccer games. To do so, a mixed method approach was used in which participants from LaLiga teams around the U.S. were asked to complete a survey questionnaire and participate in an in-depth interview. Based on the findings, the discussion identifies key strategic considerations and needs of future research for LaLiga to better adjust its communication strategies …

A Preliminary Investigation Of A Brief, Virtual, Behavioral Parent Training Program On Parents’ Self-Efficacy And Young Children’S Behavior, Taylor Daniels

Masters Theses

A single-case, multiple-baseline research design was used to evaluate the effects of a two-session, virtual behavioral parent training program on parents’ self-efficacy and their children’s compliance and appropriate behavior. Participants included five parent-child dyads recruited from a grant-funded preschool program in Northern Illinois. When the parent training program was implemented, parent self-efficacy increased across four of the five parent participants (using daily behavior ratings). Effect size comparisons for self-efficacy reflected large effects for three parents. Further, child compliance increased across four of the five child participants and child appropriate behavior increased across three of the five child participants (using daily …

Social Anxiety, Worry, And Intolerance Of Uncertainty, Yu-Jin Eun

Masters Theses

Numerous cognitive aspects of social anxiety have been examined. For example, the Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE) has been incorporated into the cognitive-behavioral model of Social Anxiety (Rapee & Heimberg, 1997), and more recently the Fear of Positive Evaluation (FPE) has received great interest (c.f., Weeks et al., 2008). Other relevant cognitive aspects of social anxiety have received less attention. Of interest, intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is highly related to worry but also to social anxiety (e.g., Boelen & Reijntjes, 2009; Dugas et al., 2001). However, no research, to our knowledge, has examined whether social anxiety or worry accounts for …

Excess Capacity In The Banking Sector And Its Effects On The Sub-Saharan Economy, Fu-Ad Wumpaeh Alhassan

Masters Theses

The banking sector plays a critical role in driving economic growth and financial stability in any region. However, the issue of excess capacity within this sector can have a profound effect on the overall health of the economy. This study investigates the excess capacity in the banking sector within the context of the Sub-Saharan region and explores its implications on the economic performance of countries within this area.

This research employed a mixed methods approach that combines both quantitative and qualitative analyses. Firstly, a review of existing literature on excess capacity in the banking sector and its impact on economies …

Predictors Of Attitudes About Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd), Claire Sullivan

Masters Theses

Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are far less likely to enroll in secondary education than neurotypical students and students with disabilities (White et al., 2016). There is little research on the factors contributing to the reluctance of young adults on the autism spectrum to seek higher education. This study aims to answer two research questions. The first research question aims to determine if there is a predominance of negative attitudes towards ASD amongst present undergraduate college students. The second research question explores whether this could be a determining factor in a college determination for students with ASD. This current …

Personal Branding, Reality Television, And Social Media: How Former Big Brother Contestants Create, Maintain, And Alter Their Public Image, Justin L. Richards

Masters Theses

This study interrogated how these theories were potentially used, or aspects of the theories used to create, alter, or maintain, the contestant’s personal brands on two social media platforms. Informed by previous literature on personal branding and impression management, 1,021 pieces of social media communication were analyzed, 499 pieces of communication from Taylor Hale, and 522 pieces of communication from Paulie Calafiore. This study determined that there were up to five different patterns on the kind of content produced that still qualified under these theories for Taylor Hale, and up to four different patterns for Paulie Calafiore. Some patterns appeared …

Effects Of Development On Hpa Function Following Pubertal Stress, Brittany D. Elliott

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

For women, two of the greatest risk factors for affective disorders are adversity experienced during puberty and later becoming pregnant. We have created a translationally relevant mouse model where we address these complex risk factors. Previously, we discovered that pregnant mice (dams) that experienced chronic variable stress (CVS) during puberty display a blunted hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) response when exposed to an acute stressor. Interestingly, this alteration only first becomes apparent during pregnancy, which is a sensitive period for these effects due to normative neuroendocrine changes. Further investigation of the mechanisms underlying this dysfunction revealed altered gene expression in the paraventricular nucleus …

A Case Study Of Makerere University In Uganda Through The Lens Of U.S. Land-Grant Higher Education, Christina L. Hand

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This case study examines Makerere University through the lens of U.S. land-grant ideal and normative domains in order to provide a deeper understanding of global higher education. A case study uses multiple types of data to create a holistic perspective. As well as interviewing Makerere stakeholders representing diverse sectors, numerous documents and different types of media were analyzed enabling a triangulation of data. Six major themes emerged focusing on Makerere’s aspiration to be a research-led institution, the impact of neoliberalism, challenges in undergraduate education, the importance of reputation and saga, the ever-present role of the Ugandan government, and the continuing …

Exploring Early Childhood Educators’ Attitudes About Addiction And Their Association With Student-Teacher Relationships, Megan E. Mikesell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This project aimed to address significant gaps in literature around addiction-related attitudes by identifying early childhood educators’ addiction-related attitudes and how these attitudes associate with their relationships with students who come from homes with addiction. A sample of 501 ECEs completed an online survey which included the Public Attitudes About Addiction Survey (PAAS; a 54-item measure used to identify a person’s beliefs about addiction across five models), the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS; a 15-item scale used to measure the level of closeness and conflict), and various demographic and community questions. Path analysis revealed that both moral and nature aligned attitudes …

Analysis And Performance Of Osvaldo Golijov’S Hebreische Milonga, Gerardo Sanchez Pastrana

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov is one of the most important and well-recognized composers of the 21^st century. His works are unique because of the diverse mixing of styles due to the interculturalism present in his music. In the program notes of his Hebreische Milonga, Golijov mentions that this piece can connect his Argentinian and Jewish roots as well as the influence of Astor Piazzolla’s music. In addition, there is a connection between the tango and the Jewish people residing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that is not addressed frequently when discussing the history of the tango. This research begins …

What Gives? Leveraging Marketing Knowledge To Increase Consumers’ Charitable Giving, Caitlin Michael

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Marketing plays a central role in nonprofit organizations that compete for the donations of individual consumers to achieve their respective missions. To this end, marketing researchers and practitioners have devoted much attention to the antecedents of charitable giving and ways in which solicitations may be made more effective and efficient. This gives rise to the questions: “What has the field learned?” and, relatedly, “What novel effects have not yet been explored?” Within this dissertation, three essays address these questions through the use of multiple methodologies.

The first essay seeks to outline what the marketing field has learned about consumers’ charitable …

Undocumented Students’ Voice, Mtss, And School Counselors’ Mental Health Advocacy: A Transformative Mixed Methods Study, Oliver Camacho

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Many young undocumented students are experiencing mental health issues in K-12 schools. Researchers have found a myriad of psychological stressors that add to the complexity of being an undocumented student in the United States. Educators have noted an increased concern in undocumented students expressing concerns of fears at school, acculturation stress, migratory stress, heightened reports of depression, increased anxiety, and a proclivity towards emotional and behavioral problems. There is limited research that reviews mental health supports in schools for undocumented students that includes the voices of school counselors and undocumented students in a transformative paradigm. This study seeks to inform …

Efficacy Of A Brief Mindfulness Intervention For Not-Just-Right Experiences, Samuel Richard Cares

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The obsessions and compulsions that define the diagnosis of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) traditionally have been characterized by harm avoidance. However, harm avoidance is neither specific to OCD nor does it comprehensively explain all symptoms with which individuals with OCD present. Emerging research has focused on incompleteness—and its manifestation through the phenomenon of not just right experiences (NJREs)—as a potential motivating factor for OCD symptoms. Whereas Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is conceptually relevant to—and empirically supported for treating—symptoms characterized by harm avoidance, there is an unclear connection between ERP and symptoms characterized by incompleteness. Research has begun to explore ways …

Structural Violence And Cooperation For Survival: Exploring Livelihood Strategies In Rural Mexico, Luis Chavez

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This research investigates the effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement on trade between Canada, Mexico, and the United States. As a result of increased competition in the agricultural sector, households in El Fresno, Michoacán, and El Paso de Piedra, Jalisco in Mexico had to compete with conventional agriculture from the United States. This ethnography studies how community members cooperate and work together to overcome difficulties caused by open markets. The research involved conducting twelve interviews in El Fresno and El Paso de Piedra using the framework of sustainable livelihood approach to understand how households use their resources to …

Evaluating The Attention Training Technique As A Transdiagnostic Intervention For Fear-Based Psychopathological Symptoms: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Benjamin John Ellem

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Recent research indicates that fear-related psychological disorders are a distinguished class of psychopathology, all of which share the underlying endophenotype of maladaptive acute fear responding. The relationship between maladaptive fear responding and psychopathology has been found to be moderated by executive functioning capacity—most notably attentional control. However, the current psychopathological nosology does not link fear-based disorders together. As a result, many fear-based disorders are treated separately with different evidence-based psychotherapies. These psychotherapies tend to focus on reducing phenotypic behaviors or self-reported experience of symptoms. Individuals with fear-based disorders may be better served by treatments that focus on the aforementioned endophenotypes …

Three Essays On The Effects Of Parental Income And Labor Supply On Child Health And Labor Market Outcomes., Kassahun Mamo Geleta

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation constitutes three separate essays on labor and health economics using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) dataset. The first essay examines the long-run effect of childhood poverty on labor market outcomes using propensity score matching (PSM) and average causal mediation effect (ACME) methods. The results show that persistent childhood poverty significantly decreases average annual labor income and hours worked, whereas it increases the number of weeks unemployed per annum during adulthood. The study also shows that a significant portion of the total effect of childhood poverty on labor market outcomes passes indirectly through its negative effect on …

Grey To Green: The Impact Of Environmental Policy On Us Crime Rates, Kassandra Gonzalez

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study explores the social implications of climate change and environmental degradation on deviant and criminal behavior. This study employs general strain theory to examine the effectiveness of city-level climate change mitigation actions in reducing crime rates. Through a systematic approach, this study reviews literature on environmental harms and community strain and explores the impact of local pro-environmental policies on crime reduction. Focusing on the United States, UCR crime rate reports and UN-guided Sustainable Development Goal data are analyzed at the US county level. The findings suggest that sustainable practices, especially those related to local infrastructure and community engagement, could …

A Test And Extension Of Workplace Inclusion Theory: Clarifying Relationships Among Organizational Inclusion Practices, Employees’ Feelings Of Inclusion, And Associated Well-Being And Work Outcomes, Robert T. Keating

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Despite the growth of workplace inclusion research and practice over the last 20 years, conceptual clarity and theoretically grounded research have lagged. The current study used baseline data and twice-daily measurements over a two-week period to test and extend a prominent model of workplace inclusion (i.e., Shore et al. 2011). This involved testing bivariate and indirect relationships between inclusion practices (work involvement, inclusive leadership, and diversity climate), felt inclusion, and well-being and work outcomes (affect, organizational commitment, work engagement, and citizenship behavior), as proposed in the original model. I extended the model to test individual differences in the need for …

Ocd And Scrupulosity Symptoms In The Lgbtq+ Community, Katherine Hurley Mangen

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Research related to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in the LGBTQ+ community has been limited to date. However, at least one previous study has indicated that the "unacceptable thoughts" symptom dimension of OCD may be particularly relevant to this population. The current study sought to examine whether LGBTQ+ individuals report greater levels than non-LGBTQ+ individuals of scrupulosity symptoms, or religious- and/or moral-based OCD symptoms that often are grouped into the unacceptable thoughts dimension. Participants completed a battery of questionnaires measuring several constructs, which the author proposed may be particularly relevant to the development and maintenance of scrupulosity symptoms among members of the …

Intergenerational Transmission Of Parenting: Does Emotion Regulation Buffer The Effect Of Negative Early Care Experiences On The Cortisol Stress Response And Subsequent Caregiving?, Erin Rochelle Mckay

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

A phenomenon known as the intergenerational transmission of parenting, where children tend to parent their children in a manner similar to how their own parents provided care, has received notable attention within developmental research. While several mechanisms focusing on cognitive and psychological factors have been proposed, there is less research examining biological mechanisms within the intergenerational transmission of parenting framework, especially when considering caregiving behavior exhibited in the context of child distress. Further, few studies have examined parent attributes which may disrupt the intergenerational transmission of parenting. The current study seeks to examine the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis stress response as …

Police Response To Same-Sex Ipv A Qualitative Approach, Lena Fae Mutchler

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The present thesis examines the views that police have towards cases of same-sex IPV(intimate partner violence) in a qualitative sense. An issue highlighted by poor relations and uneven rates of arrest; this study sought to look beyond the usual quantitative approach to the issue. This was analyzed through use of semi-structured interviews with both law enforcement and social service workers in domestic violence organizations. 13 interviews were conducted, 6 with law enforcement, and 7 with social service workers, asking the participants about their views and interactions with same-sex cases, police, and the LGBTQ community as a whole. The results implied …

China’S "Greek Gift" To Africa: A Myth Or Reality, Chibuzo Uchechukwu Victor Obasi

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Two differing perceptions have dominated explanations of the relationship between China and Africa. The first is often held in the West and sees China as an exploitative force that has latched onto Africa's quest for development partnerships to exploit the continent economically. The second considers the China-Africa partnership more positively and views China as a trustworthy ally. Advocates argue that China has no history of colonial ambitions in Africa. Instead, China intervened in Africa to fill the financing gap and tackle the development challenges in Africa with no political strings attached. Perception of which view is mainly correct depends on …

Cybervictimization And Depression In Adolescence: An Analysis Of Anxiety, Social Media Rumination, And Gender, Logan Riffle

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Bullying is not a new phenomenon, however, given the frequent technology use by youth, bullying has taken on a new platform, the internet (i.e., cyberbullying). Those who are victimized online are at risk for various unfortunate outcomes, such as depression. The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies depression as the "single largest contributor to global disability," and the impacts of depression are vast, affecting the daily lives of many. Among a sample of middle school students (N = 126), the current study initially sought to investigate whether symptoms of social anxiety and social media rumination (SMR) serially mediated the association between …

Variation In Growth Over Time Of Minority Religious Groups In The Philippines, Janet Vallejo

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The Philippines has historically been predominantly Catholic due to Spanish colonial rule, but since the early 1900s, there has been an increase in the number of small Christian churches, denominations, and sects. Traditional theories like modernization, religious economy, or ideology fail to explain the varying growth patterns of these minority Christian religions because they do not account for sub-national variation nor fluctuations in adherents over time. The objective of this thesis is to investigate the emergence of minority Christian religions in the Philippines and develop a framework to study their growth trends over time. For the dependent variable, a typology …

Impact Of Text Complexity Effects Across Student Reading Skills, Esther H. Yi

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

A reader’s ability to go beyond their surface-level understanding of words and to build a deeper representation of the text in their mind (i.e., reading comprehension) is predicated on a range of reader- and text-level variables that indicate how well a certain reader can read a certain text. The following study evaluates the extent to which the interaction between the reader characteristics of fifty first graders (e.g., decoding and oral reading fluency skill and demographic characteristics) and the textual characteristics of commonly administered, first grade oral reading fluency passages (e.g., text complexity) may impact the participants’ reading comprehension of the …

Examining Measurement Invariance Of The Pios And Pios-R Across Christian, Jewish, And Muslim Groups, Johanna Anita Younce

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The Penn Inventory of Scrupulosity (PIOS) was developed in a sample of primarily Christian participants. Since scrupulosity is intertwined with religion, it is important to establish that the PIOS and its revised version (PIOS-R) are invariant across the religions with which the measure is primarily utilized: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Additionally, there was inconsistency in the literature as to the factor structure of the PIOS/PIOS-R, so three of the models in the literature each were examined and compared for the PIOS and the PIOS-R. 718 participants were recruited through MTurk and reported affiliation with either Christianity (n = 274), Islam …

Creativity In The Workplace: A Matter Of Chaos Or Cohesion?, Cody T. Gibson

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Prior research has rarely investigated external factors which can improve creative performance, though theory has sometimes suggested environmental factors to be impactful. Much of this hesitancy can be attributed to a misinterpretation of decades-old research which continues to be cited despite recent clarification. The present research investigates the relationships between such external factors (i.e., support for creativity, psychological safety, creative self-efficacy) and creativity. Specifically, psychological safety was expected to mediate the relationship between creative support and creativity, while creative self-efficacy was expected to predict creativity. Ninety-four undergraduate psychology students underwent workplace support for creativity and creative self-efficacy manipulations before responding …

People With Disabilities, Poverty And Social Cash Transfers: The Politics Of Financing Disability-Inclusive Social Protection Systems In Kenya, Tyson Odoo Juma

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

What explains why the Persons With Severe Disabilities Cash Transfer (PWSD-CT) program receives limited financial support for expansion relative to the Older Persons Cash Transfer (OPCT) and Cash Transfer for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (CT-OVC) programs? I interrogate this question by exploring three potential explanations: the political incentive to build a voter base, inadequacy in financial resources and weaker institutional advocacy. Using Kenya as a case study, I rely on key informant interviews, document analysis and a mini-survey to collect data. My theoretical and empirical strategy is two-fold. First, I analyze relevant program documents and interview transcripts to gain insight …