Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Hosting An International Exchange Youth: The Influence On The Family, Mark Mains

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

This study explores how hosting an international exchange youth influences families. Participants in the study took part in a four-week summer exchange by hosting a middle school aged Japanese youth through the Kentucky 4-H/Labo program. Labo is a Japanese club program that encourages youth to learn about American culture through international travel. As society becomes more globalized, the skills and abilities associated with international travel are increasingly important (Anderson, Lawton, Rexeisen & Hubbard, 2006). Hosting international youth through exchange programs is one method of developing these skills and abilities. This qualitative study uses thematic analysis to analyze three primary data …

"Don't Have Sex, You'll Get Pregnant And Die!": Female University Students' Experiences With Abstinence-Only Education, Jillian Grace Norwick

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Based on the various changes in sexual education, many schools throughout the United States still teach abstinence-only education. There is a plethora of literature on the effectiveness of sexual education programs as well as adolescent sexual practices. However, there is a deep gap in literature on students' perspectives of their sexual education and the possible effects it has on their experiences while in college. Therefore, this phenomenological study aims to explore and describe the essence of the experience female university students have regarding the abstinence-only education they received during secondary schooling. The informants (n=12) were 19-22 year old female university …

Secrecy In The Context Of Romantic Relationships, Kristyn Marie Jackson

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The studies included in this dissertation investigated the experiences of individual romantic partners as secret keepers and couples as collective secret keepers. Study 1 investigated the topics of secrets kept by individual romantic partners and public perception of secret keeping in the context of romantic relationships via qualitative content analysis. The analysis of secret topics resulted in the following themes: (1) secrets about the Redditors’ relationship, (2) secrets about the Redditor, and (3) a discussion of secrecy. The analysis of public perception resulted in the following themes: (1) normalization, (2) advice, (3) comfort, (4) personal reactions, and (5) a request …

Characteristics And Ethics Of E-Therapy Websites With Marriage And Family Therapists, Zuzana Gassova

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The current survey of 83 e-therapy websites with marriage and family therapists examined what consumers seeking online therapy or therapy over the phone might find on the Internet. The study explored how e-therapy websites characterize their services and comply with the ethical guidelines of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. Furthermore, differences in compliance with ethical guidelines among the three types of the websites (individual practice websites, group practice websites, and independent contractor websites) were analyzed. Results indicated that a majority of the websites lack information regarding several major areas (e.g., crisis resources, terms of service, procedures to …

How Therapists Use And Choose Mindfulness To Treat Trauma, Jessica M. King

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

This qualitative study used the phenomenological method to examine how therapists use mindfulness therapies and interventions to address trauma-salient issues with their clients. Specifically, it explored therapists’ use of and choices about mindfulness-based treatments when addressing post-traumatic stress symptoms, and trauma-relevant emotion dysregulation and attachment injury. Informants were associate and fully-licensed local therapists, recruited using convenience sampling and snowball sampling by word-of-mouth referrals. Data was collected by semi-structured interviewing. Interview data was analyzed with Moustakas’ (1994) recommended procedures for analysis of phenomenological data. Results, Discussion, Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research are described at the end.

Three Essays On Unemployment Insurance In The 21St Century, Lewis H. Warren

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

My dissertation consists of three essays focusing on unemployment insurance (UI) and how it affects recipients. The first essay examines how UI generosity affects the search intensity of recipients through matching American Time Use Survey respondents to all of their observations in the Current Population Survey (CPS), the population from which they are drawn. Earnings from the CPS are then run through a benefit calculator that determines eligibility and benefit amounts which are used to determine how UI generosity affects search times. The second essay uses the Survey of Income and Program Participation to examine how lesser known policies affecting …

Construction And Validation Of A Holistic Education School Evaluation Tool Using Montessori Erdkinder Principles, Anthony Philip Setari

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

The purpose of this study was to construct a holistic education school evaluation tool using Montessori Erdkinder principles, and begin the validation process of examining the proposed tool. This study addresses a vital need in the holistic education community for a school evaluation tool. The tool construction process included using Erdkinder literature to justify the development of each item through the use of an item matrix, ultimately leading to the development of the 23 item formative Montessori Erdkinder School Evaluation Survey. The validation process included a series of three Rasch Rating Scale Model analyses with data from a sample school. …

Communicative Action And Citizen Journalism: A Case Study Of Ohmynews In South Korea, Seungahn Nah, Deborah S. Chung

Information Science Faculty Publications

Drawing on Habermas’s theory of communicative action, this case study of OhmyNews in South Korea examines how citizen journalism operates in a broad organizational and social context. Through in-depth interviews with professional and citizen journalists, the study reveals that citizen journalism can be well understood at the intersection between the lifeworld and systems. Specifically, the study finds a coexistence mechanism by which citizen journalism competes, collaborates, coordinates, and compromises with professional journalism through communicative action, such as mutual understanding, reason-based discussion, and consensus building.

Search, Explore, Connect: Using Ohms To Enhance Access To Oral History, Douglas A. Boyd

Library Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Spaces Of Solidarity: Negotiations Of Difference And Whiteness Among Activists In The Arizona/Sonora Borderlands, Carrie Mott

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

Interpersonal conflict poses a serious threat to social justice activism. In the context of multi-racial solidarity activism in southern Arizona, conflicts are often born of the challenges accompanying differentials in social privilege due to differences in race and ethnicity relative to white supremacist settler colonialism. We can see these tensions topologically through the very different relationships white, Latin@, Chican@, and indigenous activists have to on-going processes of white supremacy. This dissertation explores the factors contributing to successes and failures of multi-racial activist ventures in the context of the Arizona/Sonora borderlands, particularly the challenges of negotiating social difference among communities of …

The Working Lives And Spatial Practice Of Digital Media Developers In San Francisco, Daniel G. Cockayne

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

In this dissertation I examine work practices in the 21st Century, looking in particular at how categories such as labor and value are changing in the context of technological shifts and the valorization of entrepreneurial work. I take the example of digital media workers in San Francisco to show how work is changing in relation to correlative changes in the capitalist mode of production and the devaluation of labor under neoliberal models of reason. This approach interrogates how attachments toward work are produced and reproduced to ask why work has become such a naturalized and unquestionable category in everyday life. …

Chaos Theory And Emergent Behavior: How Ephemeral Organizations Function As Strange Attractors Through Information Communication Technologies, Morgan C. Getchell

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Chaos theory holds that systems act in unpredictable nonlinear ways and that their behavior can only be observed, never predicted. This is an informative model for an organization in crisis. The West Virginia water contamination crisis, which began on January 9, 2014, fits the criteria of a system in chaos. Given the lack of appropriate response from the established organizations involved, many emergent organizations formed to help fill unmet informational and physical needs of the affected population. Crisis researchers have observed these ephemeral organizations for decades, but the recent proliferation of information communication technologies (ICT’s) have made their activities more …

Do Black Lives Matter In American Mainstream News Media? Two Case Studies Of Police-Involved Shootings Of Black Men Explaining A Racist Media Environment, Alfred J. Cotton Iii

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

This dissertation examines two cases of fatal police-involved shootings of Black men in order to expose the power structures perpetuated through racist media narratives assuming the officers’ behavior was justified and the unarmed men the officers killed somehow were complicit in their death. In reporting on police-involved shootings, mainstream media practices that privilege elites and officials as primary sources of information may produce a dominant media narrative that masks the marginalization and mistreatment of minorities at the hands of these officials and their institutions. The two cases under consideration here examine the “floating signifier” of race in media coverage of …

Farmed And Wild-Caught Shrimp In Kentucky And South Carolina: Consumer Preference For Homegrown By Heroes, Community Supported Fishery, And Other Quality Attributes, Graham T. Soley

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

As information regarding origin, production method, and environmental certifications characterize a progressing seafood market, scare analysis has been made to understand market responses. This study focuses on consumer preference for wild-caught and farm-raised shrimp with several attributes. These include the Homegrown By Heroes label and Best Aquaculture Practices certification, as well as other existing attributes including the Marine Stewardship Council and each state’s local label. Also considered are hypothetical labels including Community Supported Fishery (CSF) and National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This study surveys consumers in Kentucky and South Carolina while utilizing a choice experiment to elicit willingness-to-pay measures …

Income And Physical Activity Choices: A Comparison Between United States And China, Xiaowen Hu

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

The low income population often appears to make poor health choices, including physical activity deficiency. Since outdoor physical activity does not have to be monetarily costly, one explanation for this phenomenon is related to the idea of time preference. Briefly, the benefit of future good health appears to be valued less by those with low income, and they face a choice between consumption today and better health in the future. The objective of this study is to further investigate the determinants of participation in physical activity with an emphasis on the effect of annual household income. This dissertation consists of …

An Examination Of A Yoga Intervention And Elementary Students’ Selective Attention And Executive Function In The School Setting, M. Jill Rogers

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of yoga on children’s executive function and selective attention. There were three primary aims of this study. The first aim was to examine whether yoga would have a positive effect on children’s selective attention in a school setting. Another aim was to explore if teachers will report an improved change in children’s executive function in the classroom. The final aim was to determine if yoga would be a socially acceptable intervention to teachers and students. Participants included three fifth grade students and two teachers. Mixed methods were used to visually …

The Making And Remaking Of Portland: The Archaeology Of Identity And Landscape At The Portland Wharf, Louisville, Kentucky, Michael J. Stottman

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

The town of Portland, Kentucky was founded over 200 years ago as a speculative venture to profit from its advantageous location at the base of the Falls of the Ohio River. The Portland Wharf was the economic and cultural heart of the town. Throughout its history, the community has experienced much change. These changes are visible in the landscape of the Portland Wharf which reflected changes in the community’s identity.

Identity and landscape are topics that have been of great interest to archaeologists and this dissertation builds on previous works to examine identity as something that is reflected in the …

Is There A Trade-Off? Infant Health Outcomes And Managed Care Competition, Shana L. Moore

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

This study offers insights into the impact of competition among Managed Care organizations (MCOs) on infant birthing charges and birth outcomes. Kentucky provides one of the nation’s first case studies to determine successes and failures of Medicaid MCOs, and by doing so, provides a prediction of the impact of Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (PPACA) competition on healthcare costs and birth outcomes. An analysis of a natural policy experiment in the state of Kentucky reveals that infants insured by a Medicaid MCO stay longer in hospitals, are less healthy, and cost more than those insured under Traditional Medicaid prior to …

Web Of Ties: The Effect Of Relationship Ties On Government Funding For Nonprofit Organizations, Anthony Heath Rico

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Chapter 1 raises the research question guiding this study. Do relationships that board members of nonprofits have to officials in other agencies affect the likelihood of acquiring grants? The objective of this study was to examine the role that relationship ties played in the nonprofit sector’s ability to receive grants.

Chapter 2 ties the research agenda to existing research. Nonprofit organizational and financial behavior was explained in terms of resource dependence. Since nonprofit organizations face uncertainty in resource allocation, the behavior of the organization and the board members change in reaction to uncertainty. The relationships that board members possess serve …

Empirical Advances In The Study Of Revenue Diversification In The U.S. States, Cole E. Rakow

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

This dissertation seeks to make significant progress in the quantitative study of public revenue diversification. In the past, this phenomenon has been studied in various and disparate contexts, using a variety of empirical methods. In particular, two different hypotheses, from different subfields of public finance, have been advanced. One of these perspectives, coming from political economy, holds that revenue diversification is a tool for opportunistic policymakers to artificially expand public revenues (and thus expenditures) for electoral gain. The other, from a public financial management tradition, holds that revenue diversification is a constructive management tool which facilitates greater revenue stability for …

The People Of Stone: A Study Of The Basalt Ground Stone Industry At Tres Zapotes And Its Role In The Evolution Of Olmec And Epi-Olmec Political-Economic Systems, Olaf Jaime-Riveron

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This dissertation analyzes the basalt ground stone industry at the archaeological site of Tres Zapotes, Mexico. Artifacts and by-products were recovered in the excavations conducted by a University of Kentucky project directed by Christopher Pool. All contexts were examined, and the corpus of this study comprises the whole sequence of production, use, and discards of basalt such as by-products of manufacture, unfinished and finished tools, and discarded artifacts. In this opportunity was possible to study over time a change from the Early/Middle Formative period (Olmec occupation) a centralized and exclusionary political economic system to the Late/Terminal Formative period (Epi-Olmec occupation) …

Healthy Reintegration: The Effectiveness Of Military Teen Adventure Camp Participation On Adolescent Perceptions Of Self-Efficacy, Cortnie S. Baity

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Perceived self-efficacy plays a key role in healthy reintegration post-deployment. Reintegration is characterized as the final stage in the deployment cycle, including returning home from combat and reassuming home-front roles and responsibilities. The objective of this study is to describe a program, specifically the Military Teen Adventure Camp (MTAC), and evaluate the program’s effectiveness in increasing perceptions of self-efficacy among adolescents who have experienced the deployment of at least one parent. The findings suggest participating in Military Teen Adventure Camps have a positive effect on adolescent perceptions of self-efficacy, which could decrease family distress during reintegration.

Essays On Farmer Willingness To Participate In Best Management Practices In The Kentucky River Watershed, Hua Zhong

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This dissertation explores the adoption of Best Management Practices (BMPs) in the Kentucky River watershed. Through a survey of farmers in the Kentucky River watershed, chapter two investigates farmers’ current BMP adoption and their willingness to engage in additional adoption incentivized through a proposed Water Quality Trading (WQT) program. This chapter includes two parts: the first part is to investigate the factors influencing farmers’ current usage of BMPs; the second part is to estimate farmers’ willingness to implement BMPs given different levels of compensation specified in the survey. Farmers’ experiences about BMPs are more likely to persuade them to adopt …

A Formative Evaluation Of A Smartphone Application For Couples: The Affectionate Gesture Planner, Patrick Robert Bortz

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The Affectionate Gesture Planner (AGP) is a smartphone application (i.e., “app”) that aims to increase relationship satisfaction for couples in long-term relationships by prompting couples to complete loving acts for each other on a daily basis. The AGP app is informed by concepts from social exchange theory and the investment model (Rusbult, 1983), which predict that increasing the mutual exchange of beneficial investments to the relationship improves the quality and stability of the relationship. The present study is a formative evaluation on the prototype of the AGP app. Based on participant feedback, the AGP app will be improved prior to …

Postpartum Depression: The Effects Of A Video Intervention On Knowledge And Stigma, Lekie Dwanyen

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Postpartum Depression (PPD) has gained well-deserved traction in healthcare policy discourse as a public health concern. Although one in seven American women are believed to experience PPD, mental illness stigma induces feelings of shame and guilt, reduces treatment-seeking behaviors, and ultimately contributes to a low PPD diagnosis rate. Risk of experiencing PPD is associated with various contextual factors, yet little is known about the association between stigma and PPD risk factors. A multiple-segment factorial vignette was used with 1,871 respondents to examine the impact of maternal age, depression history, infant temperament, and diagnosis on attitudes toward PPD. In addition, the …

Straight Time And Scandal: Travesti Urban Politics In São Paulo, Brazil, Christine L. Woodward

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

São Paulo, Brazil is currently pursuing a project of creative urbanism. Though city rhetoric insists this project is rooted in tolerance of sexual diversity, I suggest that city policy effectively perpetuates normative conceptions of family and respectability. Using data gathered through a series of qualitative interviews with transgender and travesti individuals living in São Paulo, I argue that the straight time of São Paulo’s creative urbanism generates exclusionary temporalities and spatialities in the city that render travestis out of time and out of place. Furthermore, I argue that travestis use their capacity to enact shame through scandals to generate temporalities …

A Plural And Uneven World: Queer Migrations And The Politics Of Race And Sexuality In Sydney, Australia, Derek Ruez

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

This dissertation examines how the geographies of sexuality and race shape queer migrants’ experiences of settlement and citizenship in Sydney, Australia. Against a backdrop of economic shifts in the Asia Pacific and Australia's long history of racialized exclusion, I conducted 43 in-depth interviews with queer migrants and '2nd generation' adult children of migrants who reflect the diversity of Australia's migration streams, including historically important migration from Southern and Eastern Europe and increasingly significant movements from South, Southeast, and East Asia. Through those interviews, I examined participants' migration histories, everyday spatial trajectories in the city, and involvement with queer and ethnic …

Three Essays On Export Concentration, International Environmental Agreements, And The Carbon Content Of Trade, Mihai Paraschiv

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

A common finding in the international trade literature is that economic integration leads to export diversification. By documenting a positive link between joining the European Economic and Monetary Union and bilateral export concentration, the leading essay shows that this is not always the case. Using a panel data approach, I find that exports between the Eurozone members are on average more concentrated than those among countries which do not share the euro. Central to this outcome is that some economic integration agreements, such as the European Economic and Monetary Union, may lead to a drop in not only trade but …

Pipelines To Leadership: Aspirations Of Faculty In The Community College Kentucky Community And Technical College System, Erin C. Tipton

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Community colleges are challenged to find their next set of leaders who can respond to the diverse challenges of leading the institution. This study examined the impact of institutional and personal factors on faculty aspirations to leadership roles within the community college through the utilization of the Social Cognitive Career Theory framework. A case study research design utilizing mixed-methods investigated the perceived and preferred organizational culture(s) and the manner in which institutional and personal factors influence faculty aspirations to assume leadership roles at Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College.

The findings of the research indicate that affecting change and being …

Measuring The Levels Of Athletic Identity And Identity Foreclosure Of National Association Of Intercollegiate Athletics (Naia) Student-Athletes, Gavin P. Washington

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

During a person’s college years they are beginning to form identities and develop a sense of self. One of the most salient identities that college student-athletes identify with is their athletic identity. Numerous research studies have been conducted on the saliency of a student-athlete’s athletic identity, however the vast majority of those research studies examined student-athletes participating at the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division I level. This study was designed to extend the previous investigation of athletic identity and identity foreclosure among college students by focusing on athletes participating at the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) level.

By …