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Electronic Theses and Dissertations

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Modeling Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Victimized Women On Probation And Parole : Examining The Impact Of Childhood Victimization., Katherine M. E. Winham May 2015

Modeling Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Victimized Women On Probation And Parole : Examining The Impact Of Childhood Victimization., Katherine M. E. Winham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Women are the fastest growing segment of the criminal justice population in the United States (Minton, 2013; Pew Center on the States, 2009). Research is needed to understand Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among women involved with the criminal justice system to inform prevention and rehabilitation efforts. Despite findings suggesting that a mental health diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common among women in this population (Lynch, DeHart, Belknap, & Green, 2012; Salina, Lesondak, Razzano, & Weilbaecher, 2007), little research has examined the presence of this disorder among women involved with the criminal justice system with experiences of childhood victimization. …

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An Electronic Theory Of Democracy : House Members On Their Computers., Doug Murdoch May 2015

An Electronic Theory Of Democracy : House Members On Their Computers., Doug Murdoch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper analyzes the use of the Twitter use of all House of Representative members in the 111th Congress. The data used is a secondary dataset originally created by Gainous and Wagner (2014). This paper aims to demonstrate the methods members of Congress to create a public image. In traditional campaign literature, campaign statements are divided into four mutually exclusive categories: positive competitive, negative competitive, substantive, and information dissemination. This paper seeks to add a fifth category to the discussion, the presentation of self. The presentation of self is not a traditional form of campaigning. Rather, it is the strategy …

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Food Safety : Analyzing The Connection Between Government And Industrial Influence., Jennifer Lee Hall 1983- May 2015

Food Safety : Analyzing The Connection Between Government And Industrial Influence., Jennifer Lee Hall 1983-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the leaders within the U.S. food safety agencies and the top U.S. food producing companies, including meat, grain, and seed, and determine the presence of connectivity between the separate organizations. This involved looking at detailed biographical information on each leader, including previous and current employment, educational background and board memberships. Following identification of the agencies, companies, and their leaders, social network analysis was utilized to locate visual and quantitative links. Using the theories of C. Wright Mills and William Domhoff, the results showed a powerful argument that the power elite is still …

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Provisions Of Labor : Prehistoric Evidence For Economic Behavior At Ghost Ranch, New Mexico., David Alan Hoefer 1959- May 2015

Provisions Of Labor : Prehistoric Evidence For Economic Behavior At Ghost Ranch, New Mexico., David Alan Hoefer 1959-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Excavations at Ghost Ranch of two hunter-gatherer rock shelters, GR-2 and GR-145, offer new opportunities for assessing prehistoric land-use in the Piedra Lumbre Basin of northcentral New Mexico. Intersite analysis of these remains provides new data for understanding subsistence organization during the Southwestern Archaic and Formative periods. Faunal and floral assemblages from the two sites, located five km apart and overlapping chronologically, suggest divergent patterns of resource collection, processing, and use by groups taking up temporary residence in a seasonal round. I argue that economic agency provides the best explanation for the sites’ differentiated remains. Furthermore, I propose that, based …

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Capital? Child Rape : Does Public Opinion Support The Use Of The Death Penalty On Child Rapists?, Charlene Kaye Chudacoff 1987- May 2015

Capital? Child Rape : Does Public Opinion Support The Use Of The Death Penalty On Child Rapists?, Charlene Kaye Chudacoff 1987-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For many years scholars have quested to determine public support for the death penalty while achieving varying degrees of accuracy. Some studies have asked respondents to rate their level of agreement with the imposition of the death penalty for the crime of murder while others simply ask respondents if they agree with the use of the death penalty at all. The purpose of this thesis is to challenge oversimplification of death penalty polls while testing citizens’ willingness to impose the death penalty for the crime of child rape. Two surveys were administered, one survey with statements of five different crimes …

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The Impact Of Victimization On The Disabled., Derek James Allen May 2015

The Impact Of Victimization On The Disabled., Derek James Allen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To date victimizations amongst the disabled has been researched, but the literature tends to group these victimizations amongst disabled as a whole. This research is also limited for this particular population and this review tries to outline, expand, and attempts to explain improvements for research by identifying the disabled into specific groups rather than all as one group. For example, individualizing policies and research for the blind specifically or any disability in an individualized approach. In the following an intensive online search of literature regarding different victimizations rates, types of disabilities and correlative victimizations, and the relationship these disabled individuals …

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Identity As A Buffer Against Negative Outcomes Of Public Stigma Among Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Individuals, Emma G. Fredrick May 2015

Identity As A Buffer Against Negative Outcomes Of Public Stigma Among Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Individuals, Emma G. Fredrick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sexual minority individuals suffer stigmatization which often predicts negative mental health outcomes and low self-esteem. However, specific dimensions of identity have been shown to buffer against negative outcomes in racial minorities and other stigmatized groups. Yet, limited research has examined identity as a buffer for sexual minorities. This thesis aimed to explore the moderating role of identity characteristics between sexual stigma and mental health outcomes. Findings in a sample of 209 gays, lesbians, and bisexuals suggested that public stigma, centrality, and private regard predict psychological distress. Private regard also emerged as a predictor of self-esteem. Additionally, centrality and public stigma …

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In The Shadows Of Dominion: Anthropocentrism And The Continuance Of A Culture Of Oppression, Christopher A. Shields May 2015

In The Shadows Of Dominion: Anthropocentrism And The Continuance Of A Culture Of Oppression, Christopher A. Shields

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The oppression of nonhuman animals in Western culture observed in societal institutions and practices such as the factory farm, hunting, and vivisection, exhibits alarming linkages and parallels to some episodes of the oppression of human animals. This work traces the foundations of anthropocentrism in Western philosophy and connects them to the oppressions of racism, sexism, and ethnocentrism. In outlining a uniform theory of oppression detailed through the marginalization, isolation, and exploitation of human and nonhuman animals alike, parallels among the groups emerge as the fused oppression of each exhibits a commonality among them. The analysis conducted within this work highlights …

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Gender, Personality, And Self Esteem As Predictors Of Social Media Presentation, Heng Zhang May 2015

Gender, Personality, And Self Esteem As Predictors Of Social Media Presentation, Heng Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In an age when people make and maintain relationships in online environments, creating and sustaining impressions online becomes equally important. For a better understanding of social networking sites usage, the present study examines the influence of gender, personality, and selfesteem on social media presentation. The goal of this study is to investigate individuals‘ expressions through social media in order to determine if they reflect the author‘s gender, personality, and levels of self-esteem. Quantitative analysis was used in this study through survey and SPSS content analysis. The researcher found that neuroticism was related to selfpresentation, and agreeableness is related to Facebook …

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O Brother, Where Art Thou? Understanding Culturally-Produced Limitations On Gay Male Community Formation In South Central Appalachia, Michael Brandon Brewer May 2015

O Brother, Where Art Thou? Understanding Culturally-Produced Limitations On Gay Male Community Formation In South Central Appalachia, Michael Brandon Brewer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research examines limitations presented to gay men living in south central Appalachia that are produced by Appalachian culture itself, in regard to community formation. This qualitative study intersects existing scholarship on rural sexualities, gay communities and Appalachian culture in order to gain insight into the complexities that effect men in the region. The data is synthesized through a contextual dialectics framework in order to position both the Appalachian culture in its entirety, and gay men residing in the region, as agentic actors that are simultaneously informed by and produce tensions between the two. This study explores ways in which …

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I Had To Learn That On My Own : Successful First-Generation, Low-Income College Students From Rural Areas At An Urban Institution., Aaron Phillips May 2015

I Had To Learn That On My Own : Successful First-Generation, Low-Income College Students From Rural Areas At An Urban Institution., Aaron Phillips

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

First-generation and low-income college students have been at a greater risk of attrition and have graduated at lower rates compared to other students for some time. Despite this, however, there are first-generation and low-income students who have been successful and have graduated. Unfortunately, there has been a lack of research focused on successful students, particularly those who are also from a rural background. The purpose of this study is to reveal what strategies, practices, actions, and behaviors low income, first-generation students from a rural background employ and engage in to persist and be academically successful. A qualitative methodology was chosen …

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Knocking On The Door : Police Decision Points In Executing Search Warrants., Brian Patrick Schaefer May 2015

Knocking On The Door : Police Decision Points In Executing Search Warrants., Brian Patrick Schaefer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research indicates that search warrants raids increased during the 1990s and continue to be a common enforcement tool for law enforcement. The extant literature does not provide a detailed understanding of why police departments are increasingly using search warrants and in particular why plainclothes detectives are conducting these raids at a higher rate. Furthermore, the research does not provide an understanding for how search warrants are secured and executed by police departments. This research examines the social constructions detectives use to justify and carry out the various stages of the search warrant process. Ethnographic research was used to observe 73 …

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Intimate Partner Psychological Abuse And Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms : The Role Of Shame During Recall Of Psychological Abuse Memories., Kimberly N. Fleming May 2015

Intimate Partner Psychological Abuse And Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms : The Role Of Shame During Recall Of Psychological Abuse Memories., Kimberly N. Fleming

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To help understand why intimate partner psychological abuse has been associated with posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms in past studies, two studies of college-aged individuals tested a mediational model in which shame during recall was hypothesized to mediate associations between psychological abuse memory recall and PTS symptom severity. The model was partially supported. Experiment 1 established the first piece of the model by linking recall of a psychological abuse memory to increases in state shame from pre- to post-recall. Consistent with the hypothesis, there was a statistically significant interaction between memory condition (psychological abuse memory, non-abuse relationship memory) and time of …

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Contentious Spaces : A Comparative Analysis Of Latin American Resistance Campaigns, 1956-2006., Sean Lee Welch May 2015

Contentious Spaces : A Comparative Analysis Of Latin American Resistance Campaigns, 1956-2006., Sean Lee Welch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Why do resistance campaigns have different outcomes? Specifically, why do some resistance campaigns succeed, while others fail or fall somewhere between success and failure? Examining Latin American resistance campaigns between 1956 and 2006 through a theoretical lens of spatial agency, the varying outcomes of resistance campaigns (success, partial success, and failure) could be explained schematically by the same conditions. Generally, successful campaigns had the same conditions present, which include: facing an authoritarian regime; the ability of the campaign to build cross-class alliances that included urban elements; military shifts through defection, desertion, or open rebellion; the United States’ withdrawal of support …

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The De-Feminization Of Femininity : Exploratory Content Analysis Of Gay Male Fashion Magazines., Christopher J. Vincent May 2015

The De-Feminization Of Femininity : Exploratory Content Analysis Of Gay Male Fashion Magazines., Christopher J. Vincent

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis project is an exploratory content analysis that seeks to measure the ways in which gay male fashion magazine de-feminize their representations of feminine performing gay men. 125 images across five summer editions of Instinct Magazine, from 2010-2014, were randomly selected and were measured along the lines of race/ethnicity, fitness of clothing, build, touch, gaze, and body curvature. The research confirmed that gay male fashion magazines do in fact de-feminize their representations of femininity along these variables. The research also reflects pre-conceived ideas of representation along the boundaries of race. Using Michael Warners theory of Publics and Counterpublics as …

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Atheists In The Media: How Public Figures And Fictional Characters Affect Public Perceptions Of Atheists, Joseph Michael Stepniewski May 2015

Atheists In The Media: How Public Figures And Fictional Characters Affect Public Perceptions Of Atheists, Joseph Michael Stepniewski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated how media depictions of atheists might influence perceptions of them based on media theories of cultivation and priming. Severe distrust and dislike of atheists found in the literature indicated a need for the study. The measurement instrument used in the study asked a sample of 195 respondents to report their media consumption habits, including news sources, television shows, and movies, as well as identify real atheists in the public eye. Respondents were then asked to rate positive and negative statements about both atheists and religious people on a Likert scale and provide basic demographic information about themselves. …

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Toward Context-Sensitive Statebuilding For Development: State-Local Complementarity In Rural Guatemala, Matthew Thornton Klick Mar 2015

Toward Context-Sensitive Statebuilding For Development: State-Local Complementarity In Rural Guatemala, Matthew Thornton Klick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Developing countries emerging from conflict often feature enduring, destitute poverty amid often fast-growing economies at the national level. This dissertation explores a critical question: What accounts for variation in human development levels across similar communities in conflict-affected countries? In particular it explores how some equally poor, indigenous, highland communities in Guatemala have made advances in health and education, while others have stagnated or regressed. These results are demonstrated through a quantitative analysis of all of Guatemala’s 334 municipalities, utilizing difficult to access data from myriad sources, combined with the results of qualitative field methods – including over 250 key informant …

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Women On The Line: A Qualitative Study Of Women's Experience Of Work In The Meat Industry, Jessica Jacques Jan 2015

Women On The Line: A Qualitative Study Of Women's Experience Of Work In The Meat Industry, Jessica Jacques

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the experiences of women who work in the meat industry. Drawing from symbolic interaction and standpoint theory frameworks, this research focuses on how gender, race, and nationality influence work experiences and family life for women in comparison to men in the meat industry. This study is based on 15 in-depth interviews with men and women who work in management positions and in the processing rooms of meat companies where non-human animals are disassembled in the production of food. Data collection and analysis were performed using grounded theory methods of inquiry. Participants' stories highlight women's experience in adapting …

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Differential Parenting And Parents' Perceptions Of Their Children: Can Attachment Help Explain This Relationship?, Meagan Mcswiggan Jan 2015

Differential Parenting And Parents' Perceptions Of Their Children: Can Attachment Help Explain This Relationship?, Meagan Mcswiggan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has suggested that the differential experiences of children in the same family were often greater than those of children across different families. Although studies identified potential moderators (e.g., age, gender) associated with differential parenting, there has been less investigation of mediators. The current study examined attachment as a mediator in the relationship between differential parenting and parents' perceptions of their children. As part of this study, 132 culturally diverse mothers with children who ranged in age from 2- to 10-years rated how differently they treat their own children, their children's attachment, their parenting characteristics, and their children's functioning (i.e., …

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Temperament, Emotion Regulation, And Distress Tolerance As Related Correlates Of Psychological Symptoms, Catherine Pearte Jan 2015

Temperament, Emotion Regulation, And Distress Tolerance As Related Correlates Of Psychological Symptoms, Catherine Pearte

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have postulated that those with difficult temperament are at risk for difficulties with regulating emotions, are less tolerant of distressing stimuli, have characteristic difficulty coping with distress, and are (at some periods of development) more apt to experience clinically significant psychological symptoms. This study used exploratory factor analyses and structural equation modeling to compose and test a model that explained how emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and coping skills interact to explain how certain temperament features translate into psychological symptoms. Because those with difficult temperament were thought to be at a unique risk for psychological maladjustment, mean-based criterion were used …

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The Subjective Gameplay Experience: An Examination Of The Revised Game Engagement Model, Katelyn Procci Jan 2015

The Subjective Gameplay Experience: An Examination Of The Revised Game Engagement Model, Katelyn Procci

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study of the subjective gameplay experience spans multiple disciplines, from teachers who want to harness the power of gameplay to enhance instruction to game developers hoping to create the next big hit. Despite decades of interest, little agreement has been found regarding the way constructs—such as immersion, involvement, presence, and flow—are used to describe the subjective gameplay experience. Without the consistent usage of well-defined constructs, it becomes impossible to further scientific understanding of this domain. This dissertation examined the theoretical evolution of the key subjective gameplay experience constructs. From this, definitions for immersion, involvement, presence, and flow were extracted. …

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Millennials Making Meanings: Social Constructions Of Sexual Harassment Regarding Gender And Power By Generation Y, Nicole Stark Jan 2015

Millennials Making Meanings: Social Constructions Of Sexual Harassment Regarding Gender And Power By Generation Y, Nicole Stark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The term sexual harassment was brought to light by legal scholar Catharine MacKinnon during the second wave feminist movement in the 1970s, and has since changed in its meaning over the past four decades, influencing policy, legal action, and the way we, as a society, treat this social problem. Millennials, or those born between 1980 and 2000, will be the next generation of working adults that will influence the way sexual harassment is understood and defined both legally and socially. The Millennial generation is typically considered liberal and socially conscious, prompting the research question of “How do Millennials socially construct …

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Layers Of Identity & Privilege In Legislation: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Senate Bill 744, Jessica Hewkin Jan 2015

Layers Of Identity & Privilege In Legislation: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Senate Bill 744, Jessica Hewkin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research examines Senate Bill 744 (S.744) from the 113th Congress of the United States, and its findings will be used as a model to reveal problems in similar legislation. Senate Bill 744 was proposed by the 113th Congress in an attempt to accomplish bi-partisan immigration reform. The bill was viewed (and still is) as a comprehensive compromise, in that neither Democrats nor Republicans were completely satisfied with its result. The outcome was that the legislators who were involved in S.744*s creation were satisfied that something on the topic of immigration reform had been accomplished (the bill passed the Senate, …

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Psychometric Issues Related To The Tinker Toy Test, Daniel Guzman Jan 2015

Psychometric Issues Related To The Tinker Toy Test, Daniel Guzman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An evaluation of executive functioning is a critical component of a comprehensive assessment of higher cerebral functioning. The Tinker Toy Test (TTT) was introduced in 1982. This test allows an individual to demonstrate the extent of their executive capacities by permitting them to initiate, plan, and structure a potentially complex activity and carry it out independently in an unstructured fashion and administration is simple. This is a departure from more complex and structured tests of executive function. There is a dearth of research on the TTT and this study seeks to examine some of the psychometric properties of this instrument; …

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Undergraduate Prescription Stimulant Misuse: The Impact Of Academic Strain, Social Norms, And Gender, Lauren Norman Jan 2015

Undergraduate Prescription Stimulant Misuse: The Impact Of Academic Strain, Social Norms, And Gender, Lauren Norman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the misuse of prescription stimulants among undergraduates for a variety of different purposes, including: academic, other instrumental, and recreational. This research is important as existing literature as well as national level surveillance data indicates a substantial increase in this type of prescription drug misuse, especially among young adults aged 18-25. Drawing from several theoretical frameworks, this research focuses on how academic strain, social norms, and gender influence prescription stimulant misuse among undergraduates. Roughly 900 quantitative surveys were collected that specifically address undergraduate prescription stimulant misuse. The results indicate that college students are at an increased likelihood of …

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Domestic Violence & No-Drop Policies: Doing More Harm Than Good?, Jolene Vincent Jan 2015

Domestic Violence & No-Drop Policies: Doing More Harm Than Good?, Jolene Vincent

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the past few years, much debate has been centered on domestic violence, also known as intimate partner violence (IPV), and how it should be handled in our society and criminal justice system. In previous years, domestic violence has been seen not only as a private family matter, but a situation in which no outsiders should intrude. In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control stated that intimate partner violence is a public health problem with 27% of women and nearly 12% of men who have had some sort of experience with sexual or physical violence at the hands of an …

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American Indian Homicide; A County Level Analysis Utilizing Social Disorganization Theory Revisted, Kayla Ward Jan 2015

American Indian Homicide; A County Level Analysis Utilizing Social Disorganization Theory Revisted, Kayla Ward

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lanier and Huff-Corzine's (2006) article "American Indian Homicide: A County-Level Analysis Utilizing Social Disorganization Theory" has been referred to as a highly influential piece of literature on American Indian homicide. The study looked at American Indian homicide victimization incidents by county between 1986 and 1992 in the continental United States using the framework of social disorganization theory. Despite the violent crime drop in the 1990s, little research exists that examines current dynamics of American Indian homicide. This study provides an updated replication of Lanier and Huff-Corzine (2006) by examining the impact of social disorganization on American Indian homicide victimization between …

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Team Interaction Dynamics During Collaborative Problem Solving, Travis Wiltshire Jan 2015

Team Interaction Dynamics During Collaborative Problem Solving, Travis Wiltshire

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation contributes an enhanced understanding of team cognition, in general, and collaborative problem solving (CPS), specifically, through an integration of methods that measure team interaction dynamics and knowledge building as it occurs during a complex CPS task. The need for better understanding CPS has risen in prominence as many organizations have increasingly worked to address complex problems requiring the combination of diverse sets of individual expertise to achieve solutions for novel problems. Towards this end, the present research drew from theoretical and empirical work on Macrocognition in Teams that describes the knowledge coordination arising from team communications during CPS. …

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Friendship And Informant Characteristics Associated With Agreement Among Adolescent And Friend Ratings Of Behavior Problems., Brea-Anne Lauer Jan 2015

Friendship And Informant Characteristics Associated With Agreement Among Adolescent And Friend Ratings Of Behavior Problems., Brea-Anne Lauer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although teacher and parent informants often are used to gather information regarding adolescents* emotional and behavioral functioning, research has suggested that agreement among these raters and adolescents* self-ratings tends to be low to moderate. Given that friends typically play an important role in the lives of adolescents, the present study sought to determine the relative agreement amongst adolescent self-reports and those of their friends as well as factors that might impact this agreement. In particular, a sample of 207 culturally diverse high school students were matched based on perceived friendship closeness and asked to provide ratings of their own emotional …

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Gender And Social Capital: Implications For Women's Civic Engagement In Ecuador And Peru, Pamela Medina Jan 2015

Gender And Social Capital: Implications For Women's Civic Engagement In Ecuador And Peru, Pamela Medina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Civic engagement is a fundamental component of a healthy democracy, contributing to higher government accountability and overall improvement in "good governance". Civic engagement is particularly critical to subgroups which are under-represented in formal political structures, such as women, as it affords these groups the opportunity to voice their unique concerns. However, women participate less in many important forms of civic engagement. The United Nations and other international organizations have emphasized the importance of increasing women's voice and empowerment in an attempt to improve women's overall well-being, particularly in the developing world. Individual and contextual factors have demonstrated contributions toward influencing …

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