Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Development Of An Online Interactive Resource For Enhancing Motivation In Swimmers, Richard Judson Clark

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

The Development of an Online Interactive Resource for Enhancing Motivation in Swimmers

Richard Judson Clark

Research pertaining to motivation in athletics and the link that it has to continued participation in sport is widespread. Despite the resources available, adolescents continue to drop out of sports at alarming rates. The purpose of this project was to create an online tool and resource center to enhance motivation in swimmers that participate in a year-round swim program in San Luis Obispo, California. The development of the site http://athletenet.net was created based on research linked to the Self-Determination, Cognitive …

Expanding Planning Public Participation Outreach Through Social Networking, Wesley Brian David Harris

Master's Theses

Public participation is not a form of civic responsibility that it once was. With not only fewer people taking part in the public participation process, there is a trend towards an older (45 years and older) group of residents that come to such meetings or workshops. Plans, such as Specific Plans or General Plans often take years to implement and require all generations to give feedback on what is needed for the future. Additionally, within the last decade, there has been a rise in social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter. These websites emerged as informal virtual places for …

Recommendations For Economic Development In Guadalupe, Ca, Larissa Requa Heeren

Master's Theses

It is recommended that the City of Guadalupe prepare and implement a small-scale business expansion and retention program using existing service providers in the area. This type of program model seems to hold the most potential for Guadalupe. A mixed-methods approach including in-depth cases studies of existing economic development programs and an analysis of opportunities and constraints in Guadalupe informs a set recommendations for future economic development in the City. Data was collected in three phases: short interviews with a variety of economic development program staff, short interviews with Guadalupe business owners and City officials and in-depth interviews with staff …

Go Farm, Goleta: Urban Agriculture Protection For Eastern Goleta Valley, Eli M. Krispi

Master's Theses

This paper explores two potential land use planning strategies that can be used to preserve and enhance the economic viability of agricultural operations surrounded by suburban development in Santa Barbara County’s Eastern Goleta Valley: buffers between agriculture and other land uses, and agritourism. In the case of buffers, academic literature is examined to determine how effective buffers are at various tasks (filtering runoff, mitigating dust and wind, providing habitat, etc.) and how to construct buffers to maximize their effectiveness. Land use plans and codes from several California jurisdictions are studied to see how buffers are put to use. Academic literature …

The City Of Lake Charles Bicycle And Pedestrian Master Plan, Anthony Adams

Master's Theses

This thesis was done in the professional project format. It was completed as a deliverable to the City of Lake Charles, Louisiana. It was developed in accordance with the State of Louisiana Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan.

A bicycle and pedestrian master plan is a document meant to serve as a guide to staff and decision-makers on how to best develop future bicycle and pedestrian improvements. It is a comprehensive document that identifies and prioritizes new projects for sidewalks, bicycle facilities, and off-street paths. It accomplishes this by following these steps:

1. Identify existing bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.

2. Provide …

The Effect Of Transit-Oriented Development On Vehicle Miles Traveled: A Comparison Of A Tod Versus A Non-Tod Neighborhood In Carlsbad, Ca, Natalie Louise Stiffler

Master's Theses

Transit-oriented development (TOD) is a strategy being used to reduce congestion, provide mode choice, and improve quality of life. A large amount of research has been done on individual aspects of TOD, but research specific to transportation-related benefits of TOD is limited. There is a need for traffic and transit data that is supported by comprehensive resident, employee, and user surveys to demonstrate the interrelationship between land uses, transportation, and socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Moreover, VMT data at the household level is essential to analyze household travel behavior and the potential for VMT related emissions reduction.

The purpose of this …

Food & Shelter: Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Developments In California And Access To Grocery Stores, Darci Coleen Palmer

Master's Theses

Since the mid-century proliferation of public housing, policy makers and environmental justice advocates have exposed the fact that geographically and economically isolated public housing sites are ultimately detrimental to residents and communities. In recent years, more progressive housing policies have emphasized the importance of site location in the success of housing programs. This study explores the intersection of affordable housing policy and “food desert” research, by assessing the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program in California, with specific attention to the grocery store category within the Site Amenities section. Since the inception of the LIHTC program in 1986, the California …

Distance Judgments For Joint Action: The Perceptual Consequences Of Anticipated Coordination, Benjamin R. Meagher

Master's Theses

Recent perception research has revealed that judgments of distance are influenced by the energetic cost required to perform particular actions, such as walking, across these distances (Proffitt, 2006b). However, this prior research has focused almost exclusively on the perceptual consequences of solo action, despite the fact that individuals regularly become embedded within social units for the purpose of joint action (Richardson, Marsh, & Schmidt, 2005). In two experiments, the current work sought to test the hypothesis that forming a social unit creates a new perception-action system with distinct perceptual attunement of the environment scaled to the unit’s action-potential. Participants, accompanied …

A Relational Perspective On Sex Stereotyping, Jessica Kang

Master's Theses

The current study adopts a relational perspective of sex stereotyping by taking into account the perceiver’s group membership, the target group, and the content of the stereotype. We asked women and men to report their personal beliefs about men and women on three characteristics: competence, warmth and morality. The results showed that participants were engaging in three different patterns of sex stereotyping: traditional sex stereotyping (both sexes rated similarly by both male and female participants on traditional stereotypes), traditional in-group favoring sex stereotyping (participants favor his/her own group on a stereotype traditionally associated with his/her group), and counter-traditional sex stereotyping …

An Examination Of Unwritten Rule Development In Men’S Ice Hockey, Joshua M. Lupinek

Master's Theses

This research study sought to better understand at what point in the player development process did aspiring professional hockey players learn of, as well as consent to, ice hockey’s unwritten rules. How this process occurred was also under examination. While some research had been conducted relative to the development of unwritten rules within sport, little research to date had focused on ice hockey’s unwritten rules and none had focused on the factors associated with their development. Research in other sport areas has indicated that knowledge and consent of unwritten rules is expected in the development of a professional athlete. As …

New England's Retail Landscape: An Analysis Of The County-Level Retail Restructuring, 1998 To 2008, Christopher J. Rappa

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Parent Education Trainings For Youth Sports: A Look Into Administrators Feelings About Need For Trainings, Christopher W. Woodside

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Morally Contaminating (And Motivating) Influence Of Hate Groups In The U.S., Andrew L. Stewart

Master's Theses

A growth in the number of hate groups that operate in the United States over the past decade counters many researchers’ claims that overt prejudice and discrimination no longer have influence. In this thesis, we explore how people react with moral outrage and moral cleansing toward hate groups’ moral transgressions of racial egalitarianism—a strong sacred value among those who desire group-based equality. Across two experiments, we find that people perceive hate groups as immoral social agents, and people express moral outrage against them. We also find that people who were morally contaminated by hate groups (i.e., by being led to …

The New Frontier: An Analysis Of Effective New Media Political Communications And Campaigning, Kaitlin Ann Mueller

Master's Theses

Objectives: In the age of new media communication, politics has taken a swift turn as the Internet lends itself to quicker and less expensive contact. Politicians in all realms have adopted its communicative aspects in many forms as a means of promoting themselves and staying in contact with their constituents. What causes politicians to be more "connected" than others? And secondly, does that "connectivity" lead to successful elections? In this analysis, we will discuss what contributes to a United States Senator's connectivity, and if his or her heightened connectivity led to a higher probability of winning elections. Units of analysis: …

The Deer Island Site (22hr500): Prehistoric Ceramics And Their Meaning On The Mississippi Gulf Coast, Donald Louis Craig

Master's Theses

This thesis involves the analysis of 2,364 surface-collected ceramic rim sherds from the Deer Island site (22HR500), located in the Mississippi Sound near Biloxi, Mississippi. The overall goal of this thesis is to develop a baseline of information that will add to the current knowledge of prehistoric populations on the north Gulf Coast, as well as a starting point for future investigations on Deer Island. This examination of the ceramic assemblage includes ceramic typology, as well as vessel form and usage, to gain understanding of the chronology, site function, and possible interactions with other contemporary Gulf Coast populations through trade …

Media Convergence At The High School Level: Why Should High School Journalism Classes Use Technology Currently Used By Professional Publications?, Kristine L. Dekat

Master's Theses

The digitization of media organizations has brought about changes in both the organization and the practices of journalism, which have resulted in a change in how the news is made. Media convergence has required news organizations to combine online media, broadcast news, and print media to create news stories. This thesis will examine why convergence has become necessary for professional publications and how they are converging. The research includes original research gathered from surveying journalism schools to understand how colleges are preparing students for careers in the professional media. High school journalism programs were also surveyed to identify how high …

Conflict And Satisfaction In Romantic Relationships, Meghan Moland

Master's Theses

Past research regarding the link between conflict resolution styles and marital satisfaction have been consistent; each partner's level of relationship satisfaction is positively related to the frequency with which both partners use constructive strategies to resolve conflict (such as agreement, compromise, and humor) and negatively related to the frequency with which each partner uses destructive strategies to resolve conflict (such as conflict engagement, withdrawal, and defensiveness) (Kurdek, 1995). The purpose of this research was to examine the links between conflict and satisfaction in romantic relationships that are one or more years in duration. Six self-report indices (the Relationship Assessment Scale …

Evaluating Parenting Practices As A Mediating Factor Between Marital Conflict And Children's Adjustment, Kristin Lee Tyson

Master's Theses

A wealth of research has illustrated that negative parenting practices mediate the relation between destructive marital conflict and externalizing problems in children; however, the study of constructive marital conflict and adjustment problems in children is less developed. Research has also suggested that psychological control is related to children's behavior; however, previous research is unclear as to the specific relationship between marital conflict and children's internalizing and externalizing behavior. To address this gap, the present study examined positive and negative parenting practices and psychological control as mediators of constructive and destructive marital conflict and children's internalizing and externalizing problems. Married mothers …

The Role Of Hardiness In Moderating Parenting Stress In Iraq And Afghanistan War Veterans, Victoria Jane Tomassetti-Long

Master's Theses

There is a link between parenting stress and negative child outcomes. Research has focused on a number of risk and protective factors that may influence parental practices and child behavior. Parental trauma has been identified as a risk factor for increased parental stress. Previous research has demonstrated a link between combat exposure and parenting stress in veterans of war. Hardiness, a personality variable that describes an individual's sense of commitment, control, and challenge in light of life stress, has been identified as a protective factor that buffers against the development of psychological symptoms in combat veterans. The current study assessed …

Effect Of Distress, Referral Source, And Pressure To Attend Therapy On Motivation To Change, Lyn E. Moore

Master's Theses

Psychotherapy is an effective form of treatment, yet difficulties with engagement and dropout continue to plague the field. Poor outcomes are more likely to be achieved by poorly motivated clients and those who are mandated to attend therapy (Prochaska, DiClemente, & Norcross, 1992). This study examined links between motivation to change, initial levels of distress, referral source, and pressure to attend therapy in a sample of 587 individuals who attended therapy at a university-based counseling center in the Northeast. Results indicated a relationship between distress and motivation to change as well as a link between the perceived pressure felt by …

Growing Conflict: Agriculture, Innovation, And Immigration In San Luis Obispo County, 1837–1937, Douglas P. Jenzen

Master's Theses

The history of San Luis Obispo and its surrounding areas is complex. Agriculture, innovation, and immigration have all contributed to the formation of the region. The Spanish, Mexican, and early American periods established the framework successive waves of immigrants had to live within. Native Americans and immigrants from China, Portugal, Switzerland, Japan, the Philippines, and other regions of the United States have all toiled in the fields and contributed to America’s tables at various points throughout county history. Many contingencies determined the treatment of successive waves of immigrants. Growth and development are taking place at exponential rates on the very …

'Better Make It A Double': Perceived Relatedness Increases Reported Attractiveness, Benjamin R. Ainley

Master's Theses

Sexual selection shaped psychological mechanisms in both sexes to assess potential mates for evidence of mate quality (Buss, 2005). Attraction preferences are one such mechanism (Sugiyama, 2005) and physical attraction preferences are sensitive to fitness-promoting traits present in a potential mate. Physically attractive traits are thought to act as signals of good genetic quality (Neff & Pitcher, 2005) and are preferred because of the advantage such quality bestows towards reproductive success. Specifically, genetic quality is proposed to be a biological requirement necessary for physically attractive traits to develop and be maintained (Johnstone & Grafen, 1993). Furthermore, genetic quality is heritable …

Accountability And Political Tolerance: "Sober Second-Thought" Or Knee-Jerk?, Erika D. Price

Master's Theses

This thesis explores the cognitive underpinnings of political tolerance. Past research suggests that political elites are more tolerant than the general population, regardless of political orientation. Survey results suggest that political expertise, interest, and attention to politics foster increased political tolerance, regardless of ideology, party, or the extent to which tolerance is carefully considered by the respondent.

The Melting Pot Versus The Salad Bowl: American Attitudes Toward Acculturation Of Middle Eastern Immigrants, Hannah M. Alarian

Master's Theses

Since the formation of the United States of America the debate over the environment of America as a melting pot in which immigrants assimilate or as a salad bowl in which immigrants acculturate rages on. Acculturation in its conceptual definition is dualistic, meaning it affects not just the immigrating group but also the host culture group (Berry, 1990). In most research, however, acculturation only refers to the change in the acculturating group and not to the host culture group. This study examined the multidimensionality of attitudes toward Middle Eastern immigrants through an investigation of intergroup relations (threat, perceived group permeability) …

Prosocial Behavior And Teamwork In Online Computer Games, Julia Elizabeth Fredrickson

Master's Theses

The use of technology for training purposes is a growing field. Many of the traits for successful team building are shared by a variety of video games, overcoming the limitations of traditional team-building exercises. The goal of this research project was to study social and teamwork oriented behaviors within the settings of online computer games. One hundred and eighty-one individuals completed an online survey in which they were asked questions regarding team-work behaviors. These individuals also participated in a game scenario which measured their social orientation. The hypotheses for this research were that individuals who play online computer games will …

Exploring The Mortality Salience Paradox: The Effects Of High-Risk Employment On Interpersonal Decision Making, Bella Etingen

Master's Theses

Past research concerning Terror Management Theory (TMT) has displayed self-esteem bolstering and cultural worldview validation to be the foundation of subconscious defense mechanisms against mortality salience (Solomon, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski, 1991). Recent studies have also identified intimacy and romantic commitment as form of such defense (Florian, Mikulincer & Hirschberger, 2002). The present study examines the effects of existential terror on people's intimacy-related milestone time frames, as well as the distinction between naturally occurring mortality salience (in a sample of soldiers) and the more standard form of laboratory induced mortality salience. It was hypothesized

that employees of high-risk fields will have …

Emplacing Ideologies Of Risk And The Use Of The Built Environment In Two Women's Residential Clubs In Turn Of The 20th Century Chicago, Robin Bartram

Master's Theses

Risk emplacement is a way we might better understand how power relations are built into people's everyday lives, and thus how they may be contested. Though previous research has documented that built form can regulate and express ideology, little attention has been paid to how buildings are employed and utilized to manage risk. In this paper, I argue that differences in ideas about risk and the built form of two residential women's clubs in Progressive Era Chicago can be explained by emplaced risk ideologies. Risk ideologies are sets of ideas about danger, and risk emplacement is a practice that links …

Policy Appears Upon The Scene, Hand In Hand With Poverty: An Analysis Of The Moderating Effects Of Teacher Attitude On The Relationship Between Professional Development And Student Achievement., Kristen Beth Adler

Master's Theses

Massive deficits in local, state and national education budgets are forcing schools to adapt their spending to align with these reductions. Rather than merely increasing or decreasing resources, the effectiveness of resource allocation is demanding renewed attention at all levels of educational expenditure. The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of teacher professional development across five campuses at Chicago International Charter School. It is the goal of this project to examine how teacher professional development directly impacts student performance, as well as to evaluate whether this relationship is moderated by teacher attitude towards professional development activities. It …

Adolescent Adjustment In Affluent Communities: The Role Of Goal Orientation And Motivational Climate, Lea Ventura Travers

Master's Theses

The goal of the present study was to evaluate potential sources of affluent adolescents' adjustment problems (i.e., depressive symptoms, anxiety, substance use, and life satisfaction). Specifically, two mediational models were proposed to evaluate how (1) parental 'goal orientation' and (2) adolescents' perceptions of 'motivational climate' in school lead to adolescent `goal orientation' and subsequent adjustment among adolescents from affluent communities. Participants were recruited from 10th grades at three schools (suburbs of Chicago, New York, Boston) located in communities where the median annual income is at least $100,000 and at least 30% of parents had a graduate degree. Participants and their …

The Uses Of Expertise: Science, Medicine And Body/Self-Fashioning, Amanda J. Counts

Master's Theses

This paper draws on empirical evidence collected from pro-anorexia websites and qualitative interviews with dieters to develop an analysis of the uses of medical and scientific expertise in processes of body- and self-fashioning. It builds on previous work by examining how `lay publics' refashion expertise in order to use it for new purposes, sometimes contradictory to the purposes of medicine itself. Four distinct groups are analyzed: Women diagnosed with anorexia; women diagnosed with EDNOS (Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified); dieters using traditional methods of caloric restricting; and dieters using a new method called Primal Dieting. Overall, respondents indicated an ambivalence …