Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Combined Effects Of Mdma And Ethanol On Locomotor Activity And Place Conditioning In Male And Female Adolescent Sprague-Dawley Rats, Keli A. Herr

Masters Theses

MDMA, ("Ecstasy") is commonly abused in combination with ethanol (EtOH). Relatively few preclinical studies have investigated sex differences in animal models of polysubstance use. The current study employed a conditioned place preference (CPP) procedure to assess the behavioral effects of the co-administration ofMDMA /EtOH in 32 male and 32 female adolescent Sprague-Dawley rats. Following a 15 min habituation trial, eight 30-min conditioning trials were conducted in two- compartment chambers with different environmental cues. Before each drug conditioning trials, rats were administered intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of MDMA(6.6 mg/kg), EtOH (1.5 g/kg), MDMA (6.6 mg/kg) and EtOH (1.5 g/kg), or saline. Prior …

Is The Nfl Responsible For Concussions Sustained By Players?, Lindsey Reid

Masters Theses

National Football League (NFL) players have sustained concussions while playing football (Casson & Viano, 2010). There is a growing controversy between NFL players, their immediate families, and the league regarding alleged claims that management should be held responsible for the physical deterioration of former players including compensatory damages for suffering. Family members of current and past NFL players claim league officials provided inadequate education regarding risks associated with playing professional football. Former players are experiencing health issues such as dementia, early Alzheimer's, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), trouble concentrating and inability to work; in some cases these debilitating life-changing events have …

Idealism And Pragmatism In The Rhetoric Of John Boehner: A Weaverian Analysis Of Congressional Discourse, Cody Hawley

Masters Theses

American political rhetoric is characterized by a synthesis of contradictory idealistic and pragmatic elements, both of which are necessary if there is to be convincing persuasion. The way in which politicians rhetorically approach this dichotomy is significant, however, current studies on the topic are limited to presidential discourse. There is little research on this topic in other settings such the United States House of Representatives. This criticism analyzes John Boehner's congressional rhetoric in the idealistic-pragmatic dichotomy. The critical method utilized is Richard Weaver's four forms of argument-genus, similitude, consequence, and circumstance. Eight speeches of John Boehner, four from his position …

“Why Do You Sing To Me?”: A Case Study Of Form And Function Of Children's Songs In The Caribbean Diaspora Culture In South Florida, Finley Walker

Masters Theses

How does a child gain a musical identity? Music resides in the depths of personhood. Even before birth we are all touched by its power. Music is a language in that it communicates--thoughts, feelings, desires, information, and more. As children grow physically and mentally, they also grow musically. A person's musical development will be directly influenced by their culture and family. The following qualitative study looks at the form and function of children's songs, specifically children's songs from the diasporic Caribbean culture in South Florida. Twenty-one interviews, including 53 participants, were conducted to see how children's songs might play a …

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

Masters Theses

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

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

Masters Theses

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

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

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

Masters Theses

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

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

Masters Theses

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

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

Masters Theses

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

Get Schooled: A Visual Social Semiotic Analysis Of Target's Branding Using Instagram, Chelsea Bevins

Masters Theses

With new technology arising, brands must be able to adapt to them. This thesis will break down brand management, using David Aaker's framework, of the Target Corporation to see if they are using modern resource, Instagram effectively. This thesis will also look at how the theory of visual social semiotics, applied to communications, is used to decipher intended meaning. Brand management embodies a company and people are driven by what a brand portrays. People are driven by values, emotions and quality within a brand. People associate products with memories, celebrities, attributes and symbols. Brands are more than just a name. …

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

Masters Theses

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

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

Masters Theses

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

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

Masters Theses

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

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

Masters Theses

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

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

Masters Theses

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

Impersonal Trust In Versus Dependence On Fda, Amanda C. Meyer

Masters Theses

This study emerged following an examination of the work by Susan Shapiro (1987) delineating the construct of impersonal trust, and Shapiro's analysis of trust was applied to an understanding of the impersonal trust relationship which Americans have with Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Few fields outside of organizational studies have undertaken efforts to operationalize impersonal trust and to distinguish it from other related constructs, so this exploratory study assessed whether variables associated with interpersonal trust as outlined by Meyer and Ward (2009) were also associated with impersonal trust in FDA. This study further examined whether measures of impersonal trust could …

Looking For Mr. Right Or Mr. Right-Now: A Content Analysis Of Gay Men’S Personals, Matt Reid

Masters Theses

Personal advertisements have long been valued by researchers for evaluating norms relating to love and romance in any given societal context. Using thematic, directed content analysis on ads placed on a popular online dating website, this exploratory study seeks to uncover the various ways by which gay and straight men craft an image of the ideal self.

Results largely diverge from previous studies, most of which were conducted prior to the advent of online dating and at a time in a society where homosexuality was more taboo. The current study found that gay men, more often than straight men, employ …

The Gender Of Participants In Published Research Involving People With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Erin Watkins

Masters Theses

Research articles involving participants with an autism spectrum disorder and published from 2010-2012 in Autism, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Journal of Child Psychology and Child Psychiatry, and Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders were examined to determine the reported gender of participants. The overall male:female ratio was 4.62, which is similar to that reported in epidemiological studies, but the ratio was 6.07 in intervention studies. These findings suggesting that males were in a statistical sense over-represented in intervention studies, but not in other kinds of research. Most (82.21%) of these studies included both male and female participants, but …

Credit Card System In Ghana: An Investigation Of Why Credit Cardsare Not Widely Used In Ghana And How Widespread Use May Be Implemented, Emmanuel Andoh

Masters Theses

Credit card systems offer economic advantages to many families and individuals across the globe. In economically developed countries and most emerging ones, the credit card system helps individuals, businesses, and even government agencies, speed up business transactions and access to short term loans. However in developing countries such as Ghana this is not the case. The result is that many people find it very difficult to buy goods and services without having cash at hand. Moreover a vast majority of people have to carry bags of money to travel across cities, towns and villages in the country to trade and …

Salmonid Habitat Restoration On The Chocolay River, Michigan, Ross J. Crawford

Masters Theses

This project seeks to improve salmonid habitat quality by improving riparian vegetation on the adjacent banks (from toe to terrace) on the Chocolay River in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Quantities of large woody debris (LWD) were also analyzed to determine the heterogeneityof stream habitats, or channel roughness. Percentages of rock, gravel, sand, and silt were analyzed to determine spawning habitat quality. As the proportions of fines (

A Climatological Study Of Drought In Southern Michigan, Rudy Bartels

Masters Theses

Drought has become a reoccurring phenomenon throughout many regions around the world. Significant drought conditions have beenobserved overthe pastfive decades in relation to economic, social, and agricultural impacts. In this study, Southern Michigan is investigated over the past 52 years from 1960-2012. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) will be calculated over a 6-month timescale from monthly precipitations. Three variables including 500-mb heights, surface pressure maps, and sea surface temperatures, will be correlated with the SPI using sliding correlations and Pearson's R correlation to determine any relations between these variables and precipitation variations. We will further investigate the five driest, wettest, …

No Fracking Way! A Study On The Spatial Patterns Of And Changes In Perception And Distance From A Michigan Horizontal Hydraulic Fracturing Site, Shannon Mcewen

Masters Theses

The research investigates whether Michigan residents' perception of risk from an oil and natural gas (ONG) well site that employs the use of horizontal hydraulic fracturing (fracking) changes with distance. The research goal is to determine if residents that live farther from a fracking site perceive it to be more dangerous than those who live closer. Secondary research goals include determining if increasing distance from a fracking site cause residents to overestimate their proximity to a fracking site and if gender and education levels have an effect on residents' perception levels. Data were collected from residents in three counties in …

Piles Of Salt: A Narrative Of Civil War, Refugeeism, And Sociopolitical Transnationalism, Patrice M. Niltasuwan

Masters Theses

Employing oral history methodology, this research project was presented in the form of a biography. The focus was a humanistic approach to understanding the effects of civil war tlirough a first-person account of the lived experience. Through examination of the life history narrative of an immigrant refugee who survived the Laotian Civil War, the war itself is explored from a personal perspective as well as other issues relevant to refugeeism and immigration in America including policy, citizenship, identity, family, acculturation, and transnationalism.

By personalizing war through the voice of one who experienced it, a new perspective arises; not only are …

Delayed Match-To-Sample In Preschool Children, Thomas Ratkos

Masters Theses

In delayed match-to-sample (DMTS) tasks, a sample stimulus is shown and then removed for some period of time before comparison stimuli are presented. Joint control theory (Lowenkron, 1984, 1988, 1991, 1998, 2006) explains correct selections on delayed match-to-sample tasks in terms of the joint control of behavior by the comparison stimulus and a repeated word or words originating from the sample stimulus. Eight children ages 3 to 6 were exposed to a DMTS task with visual stimuli using a 15s delay. During training, children were taught to name the stimulus cards and then repeat the name of the target stimulus …

Managing Dispersed Recreation In The Allegheny National Forest, Anne Santa Maria

Masters Theses

In the Allegheny National Forest, an unregulated dispersed camping policy has led to significant impacts to the natural environment. This study used data gathered from visitor surveys, interviews with managers, and environmental conditions of campsites to recommend management actions for campsites along seven roads in the National Forest. The seven road areas fell into two categories. Primitive recreation was more common in some areas and solitude was more highly valued by campers. Other areas had more frequent visitor use, motorized camping, and solitude was less important to campers. These factors influenced management recommendations, which include designing and constructing campsites to …

Social Media In Sports: A Phenomenological Study Of Athletes And Online Communication, Garrett Bireline

Masters Theses

This study investigates the intersection where the shared experience of sports meets the shared experience of social media. Empirically quantitative literature and data regarding social media has been well-documented from the perspective of understanding macro-level trends (Duggan & Brenner, 2012; Lenhart, et al., 2010). However, few to no studies have sought to learn the views, feelings, and experiences of unique populations from the micro, individual level. This method of research threatens to silence the voice of the individuals of select populations, and offers no hope of their ever being heard. Specifically, this study seeks to understand how collegiate athletes at …

Facing The Idea That Facebook Faces Us Towards Narcissism, Adam Forsberg

Masters Theses

Since its creation in 2004, Facebook has experienced tremendous growth and success, allowing users to communicate and share their life with people all over the world. Facebook is used to share information with others and allows users to show their friends what is happening in their lives. Erving Goffman developed face management theory as a way to explain how and why people preserve and maintain their public self image. This study applies Goffmans theory of face management to develop an understanding of how Facebook is used and specifically whether Facebook use influences narcissistic tendencies in its users. The researcher surveyed …

"Does This Thesis Make My Behind Look Big?" A Master's Thesis Using Qualitative Research To Examine Clothing As A Communication Tool, Lynne Forth

Masters Theses

The purpose of this narrative research study is to discover and understand what and how clothing communicates by using carefully selected individuals as studied in their natural environment. The study utilized Geert Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory, which is based on in-depth research and analysis of cultures across the globe and what aspects define each culture. In order to understand clothing as a communication tool, the researcher interviewed participants from both American and Dutch cultures. Many books, articles and the above mentioned interviews were utilized to gain a more in-depth understanding of clothing as a form of communicating and how this …

An Examination Of The Role Relationship Marketing Plays In The B2b Model Between Chinese Manufacturers And American Distributors, Ran An

Masters Theses

Relationship marketing has been a heated topic in the communication paradigm. The primary relationship is the one between a supplier or provider of goods or services and buyers and users of those goods or services. In order to facilitate it, other stakeholders in the network of relationships may have to be involved. This thesis examined the relationship between Chinese manufacturers and American distributors by a pilot qualitative study. Social exchange theory was used as a scope to analyze the relationship. Nine participants from both sides answered computer-mediated interview questions. Business ethics and worldviews are important factors that businessmen look for …

Lost In 'Trans'media: Where The Intersection Between Media Convergence And Missions Is Found, Tabethia Cosner

Masters Theses

Throughout history there has been a constant need among humans to create an avenue by which we share a connection of commonalities and differences. This desired avenue may be reflected through the exchanging of language with another which is commonly known as, communication. During this time there have been a wide variety of technological advancements invented for the purpose of connection. A newly emerging media term called transmedia authored by Henry Jenkins, was analyzed within this study. Transmedia is a method that communicates different portions of a fictional story each across different media. This thesis was conducted for the purpose …