Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Policy Of Preservation: A Continent On The Brink Of Unanimity, Matthew B. Reecer

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Local Government-Citizen Relationships: Using The Coorientation Approach To Analyze Relationship Effectivness, Melissa Wooten Graham

Doctoral Dissertations

One of the current debates in public relations scholarship surrounds how to evaluate and measure the effectiveness of public relations practitioners and programs and the value they add to an organization. Known as the ROI, or return on investment, in public relations, this concept is often hard to define. However, as management demands become stronger for more accountability from public relations departments, the need to effectively address this concern continues to grow. Previous research has shown that a strong indicator of the effectiveness of public relations is the relationship that exists between an organization and its publics.

This study details …

Exploring Biculturality And Beauty Standards Through Breast Discourse And Breasted Experience Of Sexual Minority Women, Christine Laura Beck

Masters Theses

Body satisfaction and embodied experience are fundamental components of women’s mental health. This is especially true for sexual minority women (SMW) who experience the complex demands of biculturality, as they must attend to the appearance ideals of both mainstream and SMW subculture. The current study aimed to investigate SMW’s bicultural experiences of body satisfaction and beauty pressures through a focused exploration of SMW’s breast discourse and breasted experience. Specifically, we hoped to discern more conclusive findings on whether the SMW subculture acts to protect SMW from the negative effects of mainstream, heteronormative beauty standards as proposed by previous research findings. …

A Multidimensional Analysis Of The Great Green Wall: The Environmental And Social Effects Of Reafforestation In Senegal, Anna Eugenia Alsobrook

Masters Theses

The north-central region of Senegal is home to the Great Green Wall (GGW)—a reafforestation project aimed at restoring decades–old, degraded land conditions by establishing tree belts and community gardens. Its presence on the ground has changed the local landscape and altered the social institutions governing the daily lives of the people it aims to protect.

My study is an in-progress assessment of the GGW towards its two major goals: 1) improving the lives of the people of the Sahel and increasing their capacity to adapt to climate change and drought, and 2) improving the state of the ecosystem and increasing …

"It Starts With Having A Conversation": Lesbian Student-Athletes' Experience Of U.S. Ncaa Division I Sport, Jamie Fynes

Masters Theses

According to Griffin (1998), the U.S. NCAA Division I sport environment is not very welcoming for lesbian student-athletes because of existing negative myths and stereotypes. In addition, the experiences of both current and former lesbian collegiate athletes is an underrepresented research topic. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of 10 former U.S. NCAA Division I lesbian student-athletes using a semi-structured personal identity interview guide (Fisher, 1997) and Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) (Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997). Five domains, 19 categories, and related core ideas were found in the transcribed interviews. In Domain I: Stereotypes and …

Exploring Institutional Responses To Climate Change: A Case Study Of Adaptation And Vulnerability In Hampton Roads, Virginia, Jamie Allison Haverkamp

Masters Theses

This research was undertaken to understand the role institutional actors play in shaping the social process of adaptation to climate change. Through a case study of coastal adaption in Hampton Roads, Virginia, I investigated the socio-political landscape in which institutional adaptation activities (e.g. planning, and formal and informal decision-making) are occurring. Using a qualitative methodological approach, data were gathered from semi-structured interviews with key actors, direct observation at regional Adaptation Forums, and content analyses of local and federal level adaptation planning documents. In this research, I examine the case of adaptation in Hampton Roads through a political ecology lens and …

An Analysis Of The Patterns Of Crime And Socioeconomic Status Visualized Through Self-Organized Maps, Jason Carlin Kaufman

Masters Theses

This work is research to explore the association of spatial patterns between crime and socioeconomic status (SES) through the use of self-organized maps (SOM). It had been found that the spatial patterns of crime could be associated with those of socioeconomic, and this work sought to further these analyses in order to better understand how crime patterns and SES were related. To explore this association, patterns of crime and SES were examined in three cities: Nashville, TN; Portland, OR; and Tucson, AZ. Three SOMs were used in each city: one to analyze the patterns of crime, a second to analyze …

Successful Asians Sabotage Peers’ Legitimate Self-Enhancement, Shi Liu

Masters Theses

This research examines how Asian students react to peers’ self-enhancement. I found that even totally legitimate self-enhancement (i.e., agreeing to publish one’s high score) will get an Asian sabotaged by other successful peers in their society. In Study 1, I found that Asian students who succeeded, rather than who failed or in the control condition, were more likely to sabotage a slightly self-enhancing target person who agreed to publish his/her success. In Study 2, I replicated the results when participants and the target person were in different domains of success.

The Western Tennessee Shell Mound Archaic: Prehistoric Occupation In The Lower Tennessee River Valley Between 9000 And 2500 Cal Yr Bp, Thaddeus Geoffrey Bissett

Doctoral Dissertations

Data from seven Middle and Late Archaic sites in western Tennessee dating to ca. 8900 – 3200 cal BP are used explore how shell middens and mounds were created and used. The study sites – Eva (40BN12), Big Sandy (40HY18), Kays Landing (40HY13), Cherry (40BN74), Ledbetter Landing (40BN25), McDaniel (40BN77), and Oak View (40DR1) – were excavated during the Great Depression prior to the construction of the Kentucky Dam by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

A high-resolution chronology of site use was developed, based on existing older radiocarbon assays and 50 new AMS determinations. These chronological data were used in conjunction …

What Constitutes "Success" For Professional Musicians?, Jonathan M. Brown

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

A Not-So-Beautiful Campaign: A Feminist Analysis Of The Dove Campaign For Real Beauty, Caitlin M. Mccleary

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

The Implications Of Distance And Envy In Organizations: An Exploration Of Leader-Member Exchange And Organizational Citizenship Behaviors, Taylor K. Odle

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

L2 Spanish And The Subjunctive: An Analysis On Current Intermediate Level Spanish Curricula In Light Of Past And Current Research On The Subjunctive, Ryan Thomas Eckerson

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of The Politics And Economics Of Allowing Wine In Grocery Stores In Tennesssee, James Scott White

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Migrant Labor In The Arabian Gulf, Sara Hamza

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Institutional Setting And Carrier Viability In The Airline Industry: A Continuing Review Of The Post-Deregulation Experience, Sean W. Sullivan

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Investigating Patterns Of Domestic Violence In The Marginally Urban Communities On The Outskirts Of Siem Reap, Cambodia, Sean M. Smith

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Soccer Participation And Youth Obesity In The United States, Lee Schober

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Laterality And Handedness: Analysis Of Metacarpal Cross-Sectional Geometry In Archaic Populations, Sarah A. Hall

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Tense Positioning: Labeling And Tension In Kofuku No Kagaku's Development, Jackson Layne Hale

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Electrophysiological Cross-Modality Comparisons Of Infant Individual Differences In Holistic Processing And Selective Inhibition, Matthew Singh

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Is There Variation In The Effects Of Primate Size As Seed Dispersers?: Seed And Seedling Performance After Gut Simulation Treatments In Hydrochloric Acid, Denise Chac

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Olympic Caliber Countries: How Macroeconomic Factors And Previous Performance Impacted The 2012 London Olympic Games, Adam C. Watkins

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

The Future Of Bitcoin: Mapping The Global Adoption Of World’S Largest Cryptocurrency Through Benefit Analysis, James K. Darlington Iii

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Implicit Testing And Men's Health Attitudes, Autumn Lea Manning

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

4 Grandparents, 2 Parents, 1 Daughter: The One Child Policy's Restructuring Of Chinese Families And Its Positive Impact On Gender Equality, Lisa Dicker

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Do Plants Play A Part In Student Satisfaction?, Amanda Diane Plante

Masters Theses

Environmental psychologists have found relationships between plants, nature and satisfaction. Student satisfaction is important across grade levels. Two studies were conducted to determine the effect of spending time with live plants on student satisfaction and academic performance. In the first study, a quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design was used to determine how participation in garden labs would affect high school student satisfaction with school and academic performance. Ecology students in the variable group participated in ten gardening labs during the semester. During labs, students did hands-on gardening activities in the school greenhouse and garden. Students in the variable and control …

Perceived Racial Discrimination By Students Of Color Among Social Work Programs In The United States: A Cross-Sectional Study, Mira Hanna

Masters Theses

Social work is a profession that is based upon principles such as social justice and dignity and worth of the person. As such, social work education ought to reflect those values by ensuring that all students receive an adequate education in an environment characterized by fair and equal treatment of all students, including students of color. There is a lack of research, however, that addresses the experiences of students of color in colleges of social work across the United States. This study addresses this gap in literature by conducting a secondary data analysis of the data gathered using the Bowie-Hancock …

Two Essays On The Application Of Ordered Probability Model, Jun Zhang

Masters Theses

This thesis includes two essays on health issues of mental health and household food insecurity, and how socioeconomic, demographic, and other factors may influence these health issues are explored. The first essay investigates the effects of regular physical activity and socio-demographic factors on depressive symptoms for both men and women. Data for this study come from the 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and an ordered probability model with binary endogenous physical activity is developed to accommodate the ordinal nature of depression outcomes. Results suggest that physical activity is most beneficial for mild and moderate depressed individuals and the …

Stable Isotope Analysis Of Lake Sediments From Laguna Santa Elena And Laguna Azul, Costa Rica, Matthew Timothy Kerr

Masters Theses

Lake sediments are increasingly important archives of human-environment interactions and paleoclimate in the neotropics. In Costa Rica, Anchukaitis and Horn (Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 221: 35–54, 2005) established a land-use history for Laguna Santa Elena (8.9306 N, 82.9275 W, 1055 m elevation), a small lake in the Diquís archaeological region, based on pollen and charcoal analyses of a 7-meter sediment core. I carried out stable carbon and nitrogen isotope and loss-on-ignition analyses at higher resolution to extend the existing 2000-year record. The new geochemical data parallel major trends in botanical proxies but also reveal aspects of human and environmental dynamics …