Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Restoring Relationship: How The Methodologies Of Wangari Maathai And The Green Belt Movement In Post-Colonial Kenya Achieve Environmental Healing And Women's Empowerment, Casey L. Wagner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The effects of the colonial project in Kenya created multi-faceted damages to the land and indigenous people-groups. Using the lens of ecofeminism, this study examines the undergirding structures that produce systems such as colonization that oppress and destroy land, people, and other beings. By highlighting the experience of the Kikuyu people within the Kenyan colonial program, the innovative and ingenious response of Wangari Maathai's Green Belt Movement proves to be a relevant and effective counter to women's disempowerment and environmental devastation in a post-colonial nation. The approach of the Green Belt Movement offers a unique and accessible method for empowering …

Assessing Moral Injury And Existential Well-Being In Returning Servicemembers Using The Spiritual Attitudes Inventory - Revised (2010)., Leann E. Armes-Bruce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Military personnel returning from deployment often report a variety of distressing symptoms stemming from exposure to prolonged, extreme deployment stress, and traumatic experiences. In addition to reporting symptoms consistent with the diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, they are also known to report struggling with existential angst often leading to great despair and a sense of profound changes in the core of their being. While this phenomenon, referred to herein as Moral Injury, has traditionally received little attention, it is beginning to emerge as a potentially viable construct in practice and research and may assist in explaining the effects of war …

Residual Feed Intake And The Relationship With Performance, Temperament And Carcass Traits In Growing And Finishing Steers, Courtney R. Branton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Two trials were conducted with Santa Gertrudis steers, trial 1 (n = 115) and trial 2 (n = 118), were fed a roughage-based diet during the growing phase and high-grain diet during the finishing phase. Steers were weighed at 14-d intervals and dry matter intake (DMI) measured for 70 d during both phases. Residual feed intake (RFI) is the difference between actual DMI and DMI predicted from linear regression of DMI on mid-test metabolic body weight. Ultrasound carcass measurements were measured on day 0 and 70 of the growing phase. Steers were harvested after finishing phase and carcass cooler traits …

Experiences Of Credibility: Female Instructors Of Color At Faith Based Universities, Jamilah L. Spears

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research shows that the credibility of instructors of color is often questioned by White students, while other studies prove that male instructors are also perceived as more credible than female instructors (Hendrix, 1997; Perry, Moore, Edwards, Acosta, & Frey, 2009). When these two findings are coupled, it seems that there might be a significant barrier to overcome for female instructors of color in their everyday instruction. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore perceived credibility for female instructors of color at faith-based universities, namely, Evangelical Christian universities. Based on my analysis of the interview data, these six female …

Improving The Performance Of Ice Sheet Modeling Through Embedded Simulation, Christopher G. Dufour

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the impact of global climate change is a critical concern for society at large. One important piece of the climate puzzle is how large-scale ice sheets, such as those covering Greenland and Antarctica, respond to a warming climate. Given such ice sheets are under constant change, developing models that can accurately capture their dynamics represents a significant challenge to researchers. The problem, however, is properly capturing the dynamics of an ice sheet model requires a high model resolution and simulating these models is intractable even for state-of-the-art supercomputers.

This thesis presents a revolutionary approach to accurately capture ice sheet …

Social Ecological Food Systems: Sustainability Lessons From Maine Dairy Networks, Julia B. Mcguire

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Milk production has played an integral role in the culture, landscape, and economy of Maine’s agriculture. Maine dairy farmers have faced numerous sustainability challenges to economic, environmental, and social aspects of their industry. Like many other complex social ecological systems, the Maine dairy industry faces a gap between scientific knowledge and actionable management or policy. A cultural dichotomy exists between conventional and organic farming. Shifting the focus from this binary, metrics such as social capital may play a key role in solving sustainability issues. Difficulties arise in the governance of complex social ecological systems when the scales of assessment, management, …

Safety, Recreation, And Visitation: An Economic Analysis Of Decision-Making On Coastal Beaches, Abigail Kaminski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Coastal beaches are important economic, social and cultural assets, hosting a variety of recreation activities ranging from wading in calm shallows to surfing in rough waters. Those who recreate on beaches often travel great distances to visit, suggesting that they place a high economic value on these resources. Despite the economic and cultural significance of beaches, little is known about the diversity of beachgoers and the ways they seek out safety information and make decisions on and between beaches. Safety risks are experienced differently across groups of beachgoers; those at higher risk of illness or injury include children, the elderly, …

The Role Of Electronic Communication Processes Across The College Transition: Relations To The Maintenance And Formation Of Friendships, Psychological Well-Being, And College Adjustment, Patricia E. Dieter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Friendship experiences play a vital role in the adjustment of adolescents. Late adolescents transitioning to college negotiate the important developmental tasks of both maintaining close hometown friendships and developing new college friendships. Electronic communication has become a prevalent way to quickly and easily communicate, and friendships that incorporate electronic communication with in-person communication are higher in quality (Baiocco et al., 2011). For some adolescents, however, Internet use becomes excessive and problematic (Ha et al., 2007).

The purpose of this investigation was to examine how individuals use different communication technologies with their existing hometown friends and their newer college friends, and …

Anxiety Sensitivity And Decision Making: Positive And Negative Risk Taking In Laboratory And Naturalistic Settings, Amanda Kutz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As a group, anxiety disorders represent the most prevalent mental health condition. A hallmark feature of anxiety disorders is avoidant behavior. Along with this, anxious individuals have been shown to exhibit a risk aversion in decision making. However, anxiety disorders are simultaneously highly co-morbid with substance use disorders (e.g., Grant, Stinson, Dawson, & Chou, 2004), suggesting that certain individuals with anxiety disorders engage in particular forms of risk taking. However, much of the current literature on anxiety and risk taking has focused on risk aversion in anxiety, presupposing an inhibited model of anxious responding. In addition, there is little literature …

Predicting Relationship Satisfaction In Same- And Cross-Sex Friendships, Hannah Ford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Friendships between members of the opposite sex become more common and increase in importance across adolescence (e.g., Kuttler, La Greca, & Prinstein, 1999); however, little research has examined these relationships. Of the limited research, most has focused on comparing mean-level differences in friendship features between cross-sex (CS) friendships and same-sex (SS) friendships. Overall, this research has suggested that CS friendships are lower in positive quality compared to SS friendships. These findings offer little insight into why CS friendships continue to be valued and maintained.

The current study used two approaches to better elucidate the value of CS friendships in a …

An Analysis Of Farm Profitability, Exit Decision, And Price Supports In The Maine Dairy Industry, Dylan D. Bouchard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper is separated into three distinct chapters investigating different aspects of the Maine dairy industry. First, the paper provides a broad overview of the United States dairy industry with an emphasis on New England dairy farms. Structural industry changes, dairy legislation, and milk prices are topics of focus. The second chapter considers farm profitability and economies of scale among Maine dairy farms and compares the findings with similar studies from other states and previous studies of Maine dairy farms. The third chapter seeks to estimate the benefits of Maine’s Dairy Relief Program in terms of industry sustainability.

The first …

Factors Contributing To The Economic Self-Sufficiency Of At-Risk Foster Youth Who Have Aged Out Of Care, Alexzandra M. Hust

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Foster youth aging out of care encounter many struggles upon transitioning into adulthood, resulting in an increased risk of homelessness and adverse social, health, and financial outcomes. This study aimed to determine if various factors (environmental factors: education, mental health service, social support and personal factors: incarceration, substance abuse referral, and unplanned parenthood) were associated with indicators of economic self-sufficiency (full-time and part-time employment, housing stability, and use of financial, food, and housing assistance). Multiple logistic regressions were conducted to explore risk and predictive factors of each indicator of economic self-sufficiency with a sample of 265 19 year old foster …

The Forgotten Signature: An Observational Study On Policy Of Securing Identity In Prevention Of Identity Theft And Credit/Debit Card Fraud At Retail Store Pos Terminals, Belinda R. Wilson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identity theft and credit and bank card fraud is increasing in America and worldwide. Given the current statistics of its prevalence and practices around the world, many in government are starting to take critical notice due to its impact on a nation’s economy. Limited amounts of research have been conducted regarding the practices of applying the Routine Activities Theory (Cohen & Felson, 1979) to better equip store managers in understanding the critical need for capable and effective point of sale guardianship for in-store prevention of credit or bank card fraud due to identity theft. This research has used qualitative observational …

Psychometric Testing Of The Presence Of Nursing Scale: Measurability Of Patient Perceptions Of Nursing Presence Capability Of Nurses In An Academic Medical Center, Rebecca L. Turpin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Nursing presence occurs when nurses expend themselves on the behalf of a unique patient. This phenomenon requires further research to develop instruments. The Presence of Nursing Scale (PONS) measures the patient’s perspective (Kostovich, 2012). Psychometric testing of PONS-Revised using exploratory factor analysis is warranted to further develop a reliable and valid measure of nursing presence. Contextual workplace variables need exploration in inpatient settings for correlation with nursing presence.

Method(s): A convenience sample of 122 adult inpatients from ten acute-care nursing units in a Southeastern Magnet hospital were surveyed to conduct the first psychometric testing of this revised instrument using …

Aaaneurysm Outreach Screening Data And Emergency Healthcare Accessibility In Louisiana: Identifying High-Risk Populations For Targeted Interventions, Amy M. Poole

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abdominal aortic aneurysms are the third leading cause of sudden death in men 60 years and over. AAAneurysm Outreach provides free screenings to residents of Louisiana and beyond. Service areas were calculated for each AAAneurysm Outreach screening event location and stroke center. Data provided by the 2010 U.S. Census, the American Community Survey, and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were used to describe demographics of the underserved populations and to identify high-risk areas for targeted interventions. Twenty-five percent of age-eligible Louisianans reside outside optimal drive-time-to-screening-event zones but within spatially clustered areas of increased prevalence rates. The maximum drive-time-to-treatment zones …

Tornado Density And Return Periods In The Southeastern United States: Communicating Risk And Vulnerability At The Regional And State Levels, Michelle Bradburn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Tornado intensity and impacts vary drastically across space, thus spatial and statistical analyses were used to identify patterns of tornado severity in the Southeastern United States and to assess the vulnerability and estimated recurrence of tornadic activity. Records from the Storm Prediction Center's tornado database (1950-2014) were used to estimate kernel density to identify areas of high and low tornado frequency at both the regional- and state-scales. Return periods (2-year, 5-year, 10-year, 25-year, 50-year, and 100-year) were calculated at both scales as well using a composite score that included EF-scale magnitude, injury counts, and fatality counts. Results showed that the …

Improving The P300-Based Brain-Computer Interface By Examining The Role Of Psychological Factors On Performance, Samantha A. Sprague

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The effects of neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic-lateral sclerosis (ALS) eventually render those suffering from the illness unable to communicate, leaving their cognitive function relatively unharmed and causing them to be “locked-in” to their own body. With this primary function compromised there has been an increased need for assistive communication methods such as brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). Unlike several augmentative or alternative communication methods (AACs), BCIs do not require any muscular control, which makes this method ideal for people with ALS. The wealth of BCI research focuses mainly on increasing BCI performance through improving stimulus processing and manipulating paradigms. Recent research …

Exploring Protective Factors Among Lesbians, Gays, And Bisexuals: A Framework For Psychological Well-Being And Relative Influence, Sheri Laduke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals must regularly navigate stigma, or social situations in which they are devalued because of their sexual orientation. The research has well established minority stress processes which link situations of stigma to reports of poor psychological well-being. However, protective factors leading to healthy psychological well-being are relatively understudied. This dissertation is a review of protective factors that have already emerged in the research and an assessment of these protective factors simultaneously to better understand how they influence psychological well-being. I recruited adult sexual minority participants using a comprehensive social media approach. I then tested mastery, problem-solving …

Care, Constraint, And Collaboration : Situating Gender And Power Among Multidisciplinary Human Service Organizations., Christa Jane Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study incorporated a feminist approach to the use of multiple qualitative methods by conducting participant observation, focus group interviewing, and in-depth interviewing of women and men affiliated with a diverse representation of human service organizations. An applied research partnership with a multi-county human service organization provided entrée to the study population. Through analytic induction using a grounded theoretical approach the study explored perceptions of power, authority, gender, inequality, and bureaucratic constraints that emerged during organizational processes of interagency collaboration among multidisciplinary human service organizations (Charmaz 2014; Corbin and Strauss 2014). Findings indicate that establishing relationships is critical for interagency …

Sex, Sexuality And Sexual Practice For Trans Individuals And Their Romantic Partners., Kinton Rossman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Transgender populations demonstrate significant sexual diversity, with over three-fourths (77%) of transgender individuals identifying as sexual minorities (Grant et al., 2011); however, a majority of research on sex, sexuality, and sexual practice has focused exclusively on cisgender and heterosexual individuals and, perhaps more importantly, addressed these issues a heteronormative and cisnormative perspective (Nichols, 2014). Such frameworks have created significant gaps in research about sex, sexuality, and sexual practice for trans individuals including understanding how gender transition influences sex and sexuality and how trans individuals and their partners engage in sexual practice. The current study addressed these omissions in the literature …

Life Balance In Adult Healthy Siblings Of Individuals With Childhood Cancer., Yolanda Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Siblings of children who were diagnosed with cancer in childhood experience significant stress and psychological difficulties as a result of the cancer. Furthermore, the needs of siblings have often been overlooked in the cancer literature, prompting the need for more studies. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the life balance and social support outcomes of adults who grew up in the household with a sibling that was diagnosed with cancer. The study sample consisted of 120 adult healthy siblings who grew up in a household with a sibling that was diagnosed with cancer prior to age 19. Participants …

Global And Specific Attachment Patterns In Romantic Relationships : Distinct And Interactional Functions., Megan Manthos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Attachment theory conceptualizes emotional regulation and relational behavior as developmental processes grounded in early relationships with caregivers. Attachment has been researched extensively, however, there is not consensus about the mechanism of attachment across different relationship types (e.g., friends, family, romantic partners). Research suggests that attachment can be organized as an overarching global pattern of relating under which relationship-specific patterns emerge and vary distinctly. This study seeks to better understand the nature of global attachment patterns vs. romantic attachment patterns using self-report responses from a sample of 302 adults in serious romantic relationships. We hypothesized that psychological outcomes more referential to …

Using The Theory Of Planned Behavior To Predict Executives’ Intentions To Hire Psychologists In Federally Qualified Health Centers, Robert M. Tolliver

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Health psychologists with training in integrated care are ideal candidates to work in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). However, despite the large documented need for more behavioral health providers in FQHCs, psychologists are underrepresented in this setting compared to other behavioral health professions. The purpose of this study was to: 1) examine the specific beliefs that are most relevant to executives’ intentions to hire psychologists, 2) determine how executives’ perceived control over hiring psychologists varies by several demographic variables, and 3) examine how well the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) predicts executives’ intentions to hire psychologists. Method: Executives (N …

Awareness, Perception, And Self-Reported Purchasing Behaviors Of College Students Regarding Front-Of-Package Nutrition Labeling Systems And Symbols, Audrey L. Kessler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Traditional students enroll in post-secondary institutions during emerging adulthood. College enrollment is increasing and adult weight gain occurs most rapidly during the college-age years, with poor food decisions as a potential contributing factor. The present study examined the awareness, perception, and self-reported purchasing behaviors of college students regarding four front-of-package (FOP) nutrition labeling systems and symbols. Students were sent a 24-question web-based survey, with 908 completed surveys that met the research criteria. There were 888 (98.3%) respondents who recognized at least one of the four presented FOP nutrition labels. There were no significant differences between the groups that recognized one …

Spatio-Temporal Analysis Of Point Patterns, Abdul-Nasah Soale

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, the basic tools of spatial statistics and time series analysis are applied to the case study of the earthquakes in a certain geographical region and time frame. Then some of the existing methods for joint analysis of time and space are described and applied. Finally, additional research questions about the spatial-temporal distribution of the earthquakes are posed and explored using statistical plots and models. The focus in the last section is in the relationship between number of events per year and maximum magnitude and its effect on how clustered the spatial distribution is and the relationship between …

Mechanisms Responsible For The Development Of Causal Perception In Infancy., Nicholas A. Holt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aim of the current dissertation was to investigate the mechanisms that contribute to the emergence of causal perception in infancy. Previous research suggests that the experience of self-produced causal action may be necessary to promote the development of causal perception (Rakison & Krogh, 2012). The goal of the current study was two-fold: (1) to further explore the roles of self-produced action, haptic, proprioceptive and visual information, and parental interaction on young infants’ understanding of causality. To assess the impact of these factors on infants’ causal learning, 4½-month-olds were randomly assigned to one four conditions. Three of the conditions (Active …

Influences Of Self-Construals And Personality Styles On International Students' Depressive Symptoms., Yu-Yun Liu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The literature suggested that personality styles (i.e., sociotropy and autonomy; Beck, 1983) are vulnerability factors that could – in interaction with stress - trigger mental health concerns. Culturally influenced self-construals (Kashima, Yamaguchi, Kim, Choi, Gelfand, & Yuki, 1995; Markus & Kitayama, 1991) also detect how individuals function in a sociocultural context. While the number of international students in the U.S. increased over the past decades, their reported mental health concerns warrant more attention. This study explored relationships among self-construals, personality styles, domain-specific stressful life events, and depressive symptoms among international students in the U.S. Participants were 579 international students (identified …

Effect Of Migration, Carrying Capacity, And Fecundity On The Formation Of Clinal Patterns During Range Expansions., Neha J. Angal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Range expansions, empirically and in simulations, lead to clinal patterns of genetic diversity. Clines are often used as spatial markers of past migrations. This study investigated the effects of migration, growth, and carrying capacities on clinal patterns during range expansions, using forward-time simulations in Nemo. Initial results show, in the absence of prior population structure, range expansions result in a loss of diversity strongly affected by migration, growth, and carrying capacity. This loss of diversity did not persist to the final generation, corresponding to 10,000 years, indicating clinal patterns are less durable than previously assumed—challenging the utility of clinal patterns …

Learning From Science Lectures : Students Remember More And Make Better Inferences When They Complete Skeletal Outlines Compared To Other Guided Notes., David Bradley Bellinger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is common for students to take notes during lectures, but the accuracy and completeness of these notes is highly questionable. Therefore, instructors must make an important decision – should they provide their students with lecture notes? If so, how complete should the notes be and in what format? The present experiments examined how note format and degree of support impacted the encoding benefit of note-taking. In Experiment 1, undergraduate students listened to brief audio-recorded science lectures (Human blood, N = 42; Human ear, N = 36) and completed skeletal outlines (requiring students to conceptually organize the information using the …

Social Comparison Processes As Contributors To Consistent Physical Activity., Holly M. Knight

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the impact that attention to social comparison (SC) information may have on consistency in physical activity (PA) behaviors across genders. SC factors, including SC frequency, SC direction and trait tendency to compare (SCO) were assessed within the Dynamic Relapse Model (DRM) as markers of PA consistency within men and women. Participants were N=200 individuals engaging in physical activity at YMCA gym facilities. Data collection utilized cross-sectional methods including anthropomorphic data collection at the point of recruitment and online selfreport measures post-recruitment. High adherence to regular physical activity was observed, with participants reporting infrequent slips in PA …