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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Predicting Self-Esteem Based On Perceived Parental Favoritism And Birth Order., Kristy Lynn Adkins May 2003

Predicting Self-Esteem Based On Perceived Parental Favoritism And Birth Order., Kristy Lynn Adkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Parental favoritism is the preference or perception of preference of a parent for one child over another. The present study examines parental favoritism as well as the effects perceived favoritism has on one's self-esteem and if the effects are based on birth order. Participants were 325 undergraduate college students enrolled in introductory level classes. The mean age of the participants was 21.4 with 60% being women and 40% being men. Participants completed a parental favoritism questionnaire developed by the experimenter which assessed if the participant thought his/herself to be favored by a parent compared to a sibling. Self-esteem was assessed …


Expected Happiness, Love, And Longevity Of Marriage: Effects Of Wedding Type Preference, Gender, And Location Of The Wedding Ceremony., Karen Sue Rudd May 2003

Expected Happiness, Love, And Longevity Of Marriage: Effects Of Wedding Type Preference, Gender, And Location Of The Wedding Ceremony., Karen Sue Rudd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gender and wedding type preference affect views of those who get married in a courthouse as opposed to a church. The participants for this study consisted of 198 unmarried, undergraduate students that planned to marry someday. Participants responded to a wedding location scenario then completed a wedding type preference questionnaire, the Life Orientation Test Revised, and a demographics questionnaire. Results revealed that group 1 (participants who were high on traditional wedding preference and received the scenario of courthouse wedding ceremony), rated the hypothetical couple as having a higher chance of being happy after 25 years of marriage and being more …


Perceptions Of Cosmetic Alteration In Different Sized Attractive Women., Deborah Suzanne White May 2003

Perceptions Of Cosmetic Alteration In Different Sized Attractive Women., Deborah Suzanne White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Two experimental phases examined the characteristics impacting the physical attractiveness stereotype and a potential stereotype shift. From reading a description of a hypothetical target, Phase 1 of this study revealed that participants considered an overweight attractive woman significantly more likely to help a friend in need and significantly more likely to become a friend than an underweight attractive woman. These findings provide understanding of how particular stereotypes may provide social benefits. In Phase 2, knowledge of the woman's plans for liposuction, which was disclosed in a second description of the target, dramatically lowered the participants' evaluations of her physical attractiveness, …


Misguided Instructions: Do Jurors Accurately Understand The Law In Death Penalty Trials?, Chasity Anne Stoots-Fonberg May 2003

Misguided Instructions: Do Jurors Accurately Understand The Law In Death Penalty Trials?, Chasity Anne Stoots-Fonberg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees individuals’ right to trial by an impartial jury. However, empirical research indicates that the jury system is flawed, especially regarding judicial sentencing instructions. More specifically, jurors frequently misunderstand or misinterpret State patterned instructions. On a more encouraging note, there is evidence that comprehension of jury instructions can be improved. Thus, this research assessed improvement in juror comprehension using revised sentencing instructions. For the current investigation, participants included 201 volunteers called for jury duty in Western Tennessee. Data were generated via a questionnaire, which allowed for the collection of information relating to participants’ …


An Analysis Of Air Pollution From Recreational Vehicle Use In Maine, Erin R. Bock May 2003

An Analysis Of Air Pollution From Recreational Vehicle Use In Maine, Erin R. Bock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recreational vehicles produce a significant amount of air pollution. Despite this fact, only recently has regulation been placed into effect by the EPA on air emissions from these sources. Maine has a high amount of recreational vehicle use, and many people travel fiom out of state to utilize Maine's resources in this manner. Until now, there has been no research done to examine the impact of Maine's recreational vehicle sector on air pollution. This thesis focuses on air emissions from several types of recreational vehicles. These are gasoline-powered snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), and noncommercial watercraft. There were several goals that …


Lessons From Ellen: A Case Study Investigation Of Comprehension Strategy Instruction In Action, Suzanne Kaback May 2003

Lessons From Ellen: A Case Study Investigation Of Comprehension Strategy Instruction In Action, Suzanne Kaback

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the past ten years, reading comprehension instruction has received significant attention from educational researchers. Drawing on studies from cognitive psychology, reader response theory, and language arts research, current best practice in reading comprehension instruction is characterized by a strategies approach in which students are taught to think like proficient readers who visualize, infer, activate schema, question, and summarize as they read. Studies investigating the impact of comprehension strategy instruction on student achievement in reading suggest that when implemented consistently the intervention has a positive effect on achievement. Research also shows, however, that few teachers embrace this approach to reading …


The Effects Of Stress Induction On Pre-Attentive And Attentional Bias For Threat In Social Anxiety, Kristen M. Maki May 2003

The Effects Of Stress Induction On Pre-Attentive And Attentional Bias For Threat In Social Anxiety, Kristen M. Maki

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current investigation is a test of the vigilance-avoidance model of attentional processing in a socially anxious sample (Mogg, Bradley, de Bono, & Painter, 1997). The theory proposes that individuals with social phobia possess a pre-attentive bias for social threat cues in their environment, however, they subsequently fail to process this information due to strategic cognitive avoidance, that is, conscious efforts to disengage attention from threatening information. A combined subliminal/supraliminal emotional Stroop paradigm was employed in order to examine patterns of pre-attentive and attentional processing of threat cues in an analogue sample of undergraduate students with high versus low levels …


Friendship Formation And Maintenance: Examining Friendship Patterns Of Homosexual Men And Heterosexual Women In Close Relationships, Amanda G. Goodwin May 2003

Friendship Formation And Maintenance: Examining Friendship Patterns Of Homosexual Men And Heterosexual Women In Close Relationships, Amanda G. Goodwin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study of friendship has focused on various types of relationships involving same-sex and cross-sex friends. Heterosexuality has usually been assumed in these relationships, although recently research has been done involving homosexual friendships. The present study provides a quantitative analysis of personal-social characteristics and relational expectations, and a qualitative analysis of friendship formation, maintenance strategies, and relational importance of homosexual men and heterosexual women in close relationships with each other. These analyses help in understanding why and how close friendships between homosexual men and heterosexual women are formed and maintained. A questionnaire combining elements of one developed by Savin-Williams (1990) …


The Relationship Between Participation In Goal Setting, Company Size And Performance, Commitment, Acceptance And Job Satisfaction In The United States And Macedonia., Kristin Michelle King May 2003

The Relationship Between Participation In Goal Setting, Company Size And Performance, Commitment, Acceptance And Job Satisfaction In The United States And Macedonia., Kristin Michelle King

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While some researchers have suggested that participative goal setting increases performance, acceptance, commitment, and satisfaction, others have suggested that it does not. Additionally, much research on goal setting has been done in the US while none has been done in Macedonia.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between participation in goal setting and company size on these variables and to determine if there are differences in the effects of participation in goal setting in the US and Macedonia. The independent variables were country, company size, and type of participation and dependent variables were performance, commitment, acceptance, …


Employability Of Individuals With Varying Disabilities And Costs Of Needed Workplace Accommodations., Bram Cassidy Bevins May 2003

Employability Of Individuals With Varying Disabilities And Costs Of Needed Workplace Accommodations., Bram Cassidy Bevins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the relationship between an individual's disability and needed workplace accommodations and employability. The participants for this study were businessmen and businesswomen in Southwestern Virginia who possessed the ability to hire employees. Results indicated that an individual with a physical disability was thought of as more employable and favorable than a nondisabled individual, a blind individual, and an obese individual. Results also indicated that a physically disabled individual would be hired before a blind individual and an obese individual when workplace accommodations were needed. One possible explanation for these findings is that it is desirable to hire …


An Exploratory Look At An Evolving Tourism Industry: Maine's Nature-Based Tourism Industry In Transition, Marc Edwards Jan 2003

An Exploratory Look At An Evolving Tourism Industry: Maine's Nature-Based Tourism Industry In Transition, Marc Edwards

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Maine's natural resources have been attracting visitors to the State for more than 150 years, from artists drawn to the beauty and wildness of the coast, such as Thomas Cole in 1844, to Henry David Thoreau's well-documented trip to Katahdin popularized in his collection of essays The Maine Woods. Early artists like Cole lodged with local farmers and Thoreau's journeys into the Maine woods were aided by Native American and local guides. These early artists and adventurers could be said to be among the first nature-based tourists in Maine, while those who provided lodging and guide services were among the …


Future Of South Korean National Parks -- A Delphi Study, Byung-Kyu Lee Jan 2003

Future Of South Korean National Parks -- A Delphi Study, Byung-Kyu Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In a three-wave Delphi survey of a panel of 40 key experts of Korean National Parks conducted between February 2001 and March in 2002, four major issues -- (A) Park philosophy not clearly articulated; (B) Inadequate emphasis on ecosystem protection; (C) Widespread deficiency of management tools; and (D) Visitor services needed -- were asked to get the panel's opinions regarding 'importance' (1 = most important; 4 = least important) and 'likelihood' of being resolved (1= resolved in 5 years; 4 = not resolved in 5 years) of these four issues in Wave 3. In terms of 'importance,' Issue A (Park …


A Comparison Study Of Children's Cognitive Understanding Of Conception And Birth: England, Sweden And The United States, Carie Jo Ahigrim Jan 2003

A Comparison Study Of Children's Cognitive Understanding Of Conception And Birth: England, Sweden And The United States, Carie Jo Ahigrim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the extent to which early childhood understanding of conception and birth is increased by early sexuality education. The present study compares conception and birth understanding of primary-aged children in America with children in other countries. Specifically, this study compared prompted drawings done by 6 year-old children from England, Sweden, The Netherlands, and the United States. Prompts used to elicit these drawing were: "Where do babies come from?" and "How are babies made?" Controlled comparison data of the children's knowledge of conception and birth, were obtained through the application of the "Children's Sexuality Awareness Scale" (Koch 1974) and …


The Well-Being Of Children As Viewed Through Their Conceptions Of Death, Jennifer Kampmann Jan 2003

The Well-Being Of Children As Viewed Through Their Conceptions Of Death, Jennifer Kampmann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An explorative study was conducted to try and understand how young children’s emerging death concepts form including, (a) what family demographics and child factors contributed to family well-being, (b) did family well-being influence children’s social competence, and (c) did family well-being and children’s social competence influence children’s death conceptions. Although the subject of death contains many unique characteristics, it is not easily separated from other aspects of life; death is inseparable from the whole human experience (DeSpelder & Strickland, 2002). It was the assumption of this paper that children develop their conceptions of death based on the appreciation they hold …


The Domestic Violence Myth Acceptance Scale: Development And Psychometric Testing Of A New Instrument, John Peters Jan 2003

The Domestic Violence Myth Acceptance Scale: Development And Psychometric Testing Of A New Instrument, John Peters

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since 1980, researchers and practitioners have had access to valid and reliable measures of myths about rape (Burt, 1980) and child sexual abuse (Collings, 1997). Despite the utility of such measures in research and program evaluation, no such measure of domestic violence myths currently exists. The present study was undertaken to fill this gap. In this study, domestic violence myths were defined as stereotypical attitudes and beliefs that are generally false but are widely and persistently held, and which serve to minimize, deny, or justify physical aggression against intimate partners. Based on defensive attribution and radical feminist theories, these myths …


12,000-Year Record Of Lake-Level And Vegetative Change At Mathews Pond, Piscataquis County, Maine, Usa, Andrea Masterman Nurse Jan 2003

12,000-Year Record Of Lake-Level And Vegetative Change At Mathews Pond, Piscataquis County, Maine, Usa, Andrea Masterman Nurse

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study of late-glacial and Holocene changes in lake-level and vegetation at Mathews Pond contributes new information about Holocene environments in northeastern North America. The research establishes a 12,000-year record of paleohydrology for the watershed adjacent to Big Reed Forest Reserve, the largest stand of old-growth forest in the northeastern United States. Mathews Pond is a 7.4 ha, closed-basin, groundwaterseepage lake located in an upland, forested region of the Aroostook River drainage system. Glacial meltwater briefly filled the basin - 13.0 ka (1 ka = 1000 I4C yr BP)). The lake existed as a shallow pool in the deep area …


Why Does He Hit Her? Content Analysis Of Protection From Abuse Orders, Robin Y. Brown Jan 2003

Why Does He Hit Her? Content Analysis Of Protection From Abuse Orders, Robin Y. Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to FBI statistics, each year 3.3 million wives and 250,000 husbands receive severe beatings from their spouses. This research tries to answer the question of why one human being would want to abuse another. More specifically, what is the function, purpose, or pay off of all this violence? This research identifies key features in Protection from Abuse Order Affidavits that are indicative of motives underlying interpersonal abuse. This was done by using content analysis that will aim to uncover such motives by relating the abusive behavior to the circumstances under which the perpetrator enacted them and the personal and …


Local 21'S Quest For A Moral Economy: Peabody, Massachusetts And Its Leather Workers, 1933-1973, Lynne Nelson Manion Jan 2003

Local 21'S Quest For A Moral Economy: Peabody, Massachusetts And Its Leather Workers, 1933-1973, Lynne Nelson Manion

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The industrial working class began the middle decades of the twentieth century with unlimited hope and possibility but ended them fraught with disillusionment and dismay. This marked a disjointed experience as optimism for the future gave way to disenchantment. With the ratification of the National Industrial Recovery Act in 1933 and the National Labor Relations Act in 1935, hundreds of thousands of workers across the United States became union members. The euphoria that this initial burst of unionization created, however, could not be sustained throughout the post-World War II years. The Cold War, McCarthyism and later the onset of de-industrialization …


The Rogues Of 'Quoddy: Smuggling In The Maine New Brunswick Borderlands 1783-1820, Joshua M. Smith Jan 2003

The Rogues Of 'Quoddy: Smuggling In The Maine New Brunswick Borderlands 1783-1820, Joshua M. Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Smuggling has been an important problem in American-Canadian relations. Yet the nature of smuggling is little understood; it is by definition an elusive, secretive, and subtle practice. This dissertation explores smuggling as a social force within a border community on the United States-Canada boundary. Smuggling almost always involved the illicit crossing of political boundaries, and as such can be used as a means of studying popular attitudes toward the creation of national borders. Moreover, because smuggling is directly related to the transition to modem capitalism, this study sheds light on the roots of both American and Canadian economic development. The …


Solar And Wind Energy Development In Maine: 1973-1997, Evan Rallis Jan 2003

Solar And Wind Energy Development In Maine: 1973-1997, Evan Rallis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Focusing on how Maine reflected, as well as stood out from national trends in the development of wind and solar energy, this study concentrates particularly on how Maine state government and environmental groups contributed to this development, as well as on the technological progress of these energy sources. It draws primarily on state government documents, newspapers, and periodicals for evidence. The 1973-74 energy crisis, combined with the rise of the environmental movement, led to an increased exploration of alternative energy sources, in particular those that were relatively friendly to the environment like solar and wind energy. Attempts to utilize these …


A Descriptive Study: Selection And Use Of Art Mediums By Sexually Abused Adults: Implications In Counseling And Art Psychotherapy, Frances Harlow Clukey Jan 2003

A Descriptive Study: Selection And Use Of Art Mediums By Sexually Abused Adults: Implications In Counseling And Art Psychotherapy, Frances Harlow Clukey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research was designed to explore what happens in the process of therapy when clients, having persisting symptoms of sexual abuse and having disclosed that abuse, have access to a wide variety of art materials to select and use in treatment. A blend of qualitative and quantitative research in design, the study is an initial step towards a greater understanding of the potentially transformative experience of art making and the role of art mediums in the practice of therapy. Treatment for abuse is a long, complex and arduous process. Persistent aspects of abusive experience remain deeply buried within the body …


People In Nature: Environmental History Of The Kennebec River, Maine, Daniel J. Michor Jan 2003

People In Nature: Environmental History Of The Kennebec River, Maine, Daniel J. Michor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The quality of a river affects the tributaries, lakes, and estuary it feeds; it affects the wildlife and vegetation that depend on the river for energy, nutrients, and habitat, and also affects the human community in the form of use, access, pride, and sustainability. In an age of mass consumerism and materialism, dwindling natural resources and wild spaces, and advanced technology, the ability to make a living and at the same time enjoy the benefits of rural living is increasingly difficult. Using the entire Kennebec River watershed as the scale of investigation with particular focus on the river corridor itself, …


Athletic Participation: A Test Of Learning And Neutralization Theories., Mario Bernard Hankerson Dec 2002

Athletic Participation: A Test Of Learning And Neutralization Theories., Mario Bernard Hankerson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Athletics has been regarded as a means of encouraging youth to build character, discipline, and develop healthy habits. However, literature has emerged that asserts athletics do not prevent deviant behaviors, but instead, influence one to commit deviant acts. As such, this research examined effects of athletics on the commission of deviant behaviors via learning and techniques of neutralization theories.

Subjects for this project included 325 college students from a southern regional university. Data were generated through the use of a self-report questionnaire, which measured variables pertaining to self-reported deviant behaviors including perceptions of peer deviance, neutralizing indicators, and sports participation. …


Artificial Tanning Salon Behaviors, Intentions, And Attitudes In Terms Of Sensuousness And Sensation Seeking., Christopher Jonathan Armes Dec 2002

Artificial Tanning Salon Behaviors, Intentions, And Attitudes In Terms Of Sensuousness And Sensation Seeking., Christopher Jonathan Armes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using the Theory of Alternative Behavior (Jaccard, 1981), we examined the relationship of warmth sensuousness, physical sensuousness, and sensation seeking to individuals' tanning salon behaviors, intentions, and attitudes among undergraduates at a Southeastern university.

Females, high sensation seekers, those high in warmth sensuousness, and those with darker skin types were more likely to tan. Females were more likely to intend to tan in the next year. Those higher in warmth sensuousness were more likely to intend to tan more than 10 times in the next year. Females and subjects higher in warmth sensuousness had more positive attitudes toward tanning. Significant …


Evaluating Conflicts In The Use And Development Of Geographic Information Systems, Amber Bethell Dec 2002

Evaluating Conflicts In The Use And Development Of Geographic Information Systems, Amber Bethell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Use of geographic information systems is increasing in governments, commercial companies, and by individual users. With such pervasive use of GIs there has been surprisingly little investigation of the values that various parties would support in the development of geographic technologies. There are many parties involved in the use of GIs each with opinions of what are good goals for developing and using such systems. This research seeks to determine differences and similarities among parties in the importance placed on supporting specific societal goals germane to the use of geographic technologies and databases. Previous research determined six areas where the …


The Role Of Local Attributes In Community Choice, Michele Ann Mcmahon Dec 2002

The Role Of Local Attributes In Community Choice, Michele Ann Mcmahon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Residential location choices are analyzed to determine the significance of local attributes in the moving decision. A unique data set consisting of 602 recent movers in Maine is used to perform the analysis. Additionally, municipality-level data for 531 municipalities in Maine are used in the analysis. The community-level data are fiscal, social, and environmental in nature. A conditional logit model is estimated to model the choice of community as a function of the community characteristics, and a mixed logit model is estimated to model the choice of community as a function of both community characteristics and characteristics of the household. …


The Politics And Values Of Individualists And Collectivists: A Cross-Cultural Comparison, David Y. Bourgeois Dec 2002

The Politics And Values Of Individualists And Collectivists: A Cross-Cultural Comparison, David Y. Bourgeois

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism as testable dimensions of cultural variation. Collectivism emphasizes the primacy of norms, duties, and obligations, whereas individualism favors maximum enjoyment for the individual, interpersonal contracts, and freedom fiom the collectivity. While the horizontal dimension stresses equality, the vertical dimension calls attention to hierarchy. While past research (Triandis, 1995, Triandis & Gelfand, 1998) has demonstrated the convergent and divergent validity of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism, it is contended that the Triandis (1 995) measures of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism could provide predictive value by discriminating between attitudinal responses …


Two Bioeconomic Studies On Haddock Culture: Live Feed And Juvenile Production, Kate M. Waning Dec 2002

Two Bioeconomic Studies On Haddock Culture: Live Feed And Juvenile Production, Kate M. Waning

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The State of Maine is reliant upon its natural resources. Wild catches of marine finfish, especially ground fish such as cod and haddock, are declining. In addition, several new restrictions have been placed on the culture of Atlantic salmon due to its listing under the Endangered Species Act. These issues serve as an impetus to explore the development of alternative species for cold-water marine aquaculture. This research focuses on early haddock culture. The two areas where haddock culture varies from production of other species are the need for live feeds and proximity to seawater. Unlike salmon, haddock spend their entire …


The Need For Control In Interpersonal Relationships And Courtship Violence., Marcella Horn Dunaway Dec 2002

The Need For Control In Interpersonal Relationships And Courtship Violence., Marcella Horn Dunaway

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored an individual's need for control and the level of violence within a dating relationship.

This was a self-report study. Subjects consisted of 175 students from a university in the southern Appalachian region of the U.S. Questionnaires were combined with a scenario depicting violent behavior. Subjects were asked to rate their level of control on the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Inventory (FIRO-B), to complete the Conflict Tactics Scale - revised (CTS-2), and to rate the acceptability of the scenario. Data were analyzed using an ANOVA.

Results did not support the main hypothesis. No relationship was found between control and …


Modeling Boundaries Of Influence Among Positional Uncertainty Fields, Joshua P. King Dec 2002

Modeling Boundaries Of Influence Among Positional Uncertainty Fields, Joshua P. King

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Within a CIS environment, the proper use of information requires the identification of the uncertainty associated with it. As such, there has been a substantial amount of research dedicated to describing and quantifying spatial data uncertainty. Recent advances in sensor technology and image analysis techniques are making image-derived geospatial data increasingly popular. Along with development in sensor and image analysis technologies have come departures from conventional point-by-point measurements. Current advancements support the transition from traditional point measures to novel techniques that allow the extraction of complex objects as single entities (e.g., road outlines, buildings). As the methods of data extraction …