Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Temperament In Mothers With Borderline Personality Disorder And In Their Young Children Aged 4-7, Christina Gabriela Mena

Masters Theses

In this study we sampled mothers with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and their young children ages 4-7 (n = 36), as well as normative comparisons (n = 34). We assessed temperament in both mothers and their children. Mothers reported on their own and on their children’s temperament. Controlling for maternal current major depressive disorder and education, mothers with BPD reported more negative affectivity, less effortful control, and less positive affect than did normative comparison mothers. Children whose mothers had BPD had more negative affectivity (fear and frustration) and less effortful control, but not less smiling and laughter. When …

Adolescents’ Definitions Of Cheating In Romantic Relationships, Jerika C. Norona

Masters Theses

Cheating is a common occurrence in dating relationships. However, less is known about cheating in adolescence, a time when many individuals first experience romantic relationships. An important initial step for research is examining how adolescents define cheating in their romantic relationships. The present study used Thematic Analysis, a qualitative analytic method, to explore adolescents’ definitions of cheating and how these definitions might differ across age and gender. Furthermore, the present study examined patterns that emerged within definitions. Results indicate that definitions of cheating included a range of behaviors, such as engaging in physical activity, romantic/intimate involvement, spending time with, talking …

Affect Regulation Mediators Of Associations Between Attachment, Cortisol, And Psychological Symptoms, Ji-Sun Jeong

Masters Theses

This study investigated affect regulation as a mediator of the relationship between insecure attachment and (a) psychological symptoms of distress, and (b) cortisol levels, in a sample of first year undergraduate students. Participants (N = 125) attended group data collection sessions on campus where they completed both salivary collection and a paper and pencil survey. Survey measures included the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale to assess adult attachment, the Trait Meta-Mood Scale to assess emotional intelligence as a positive coping resource, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale to assess affect regulation problems, and the Outcome Questionnaire 30.2 to assess psychological …

"This Is Exactly Why We Sweep Things Under The Rug:" A Polite Approach To Abc's Modern Family, Andrea Fasciano

Masters Theses

The sitcom has remained a popular choice for television viewers since its inception. They have evolved in their methods of entertaining their audiences, often depicting unlikeable characters engaging in antisocial behaviors. This study examines one such sitcom, Modern Family, through the lens of Brown and Levinson's politeness theory, and related concepts contributed by other theorists. These theorists maintain that a primary motive behind any interaction is the presentation and maintenance of a chosen identity or "face." Those actions that fail to maintain face, for either participant are called "face-threatening acts." This study attempts to determine if the characters behave in …

Still Siblings: The Perceived Importance Of Sibling Relationships For Foster Children, Jessica A. Church

Masters Theses

This research was conducted to answer the question “Do children who are perceived to have strong relationships with siblings and more access to their siblings have fewer problems adjusting to their foster care placement as observed by child welfare professionals?” This qualitative research project was completed through semi-structured interviews with professionals who work with children in foster care in a variety of ways (and may have worked with children in more than one way during their career in child welfare), such as foster care workers, counselors, and sibling visitation supervisors. The snowball sampling method was used in this research. These …

“Common Sense” Versus “Good Sense”: Marginalization In Agriculture, Mark W. Hoock

Masters Theses

Scholars have engaged in discussions of when and where capitalism emerged in agrarian America. These discussions have led to categorizations that placed some farms outside the discussion of capitalist interrelationships. This separation homogenized many 19^th and early 20^th century farms on the Hector Backbone in Schuyler County New York into a “non-capitalist” category. This thesis aims to illuminate the real lived conditions of a sample of these farmers through a Marxist dialectical perspective. Archeological analysis of production strategies, through a Marxist framework allows for a better understanding of the differences between individual marginalized farms. Since analysis of a …

The Relationships Between Internalized Heterosexism, Spirituality, And Mental Health In Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Young Adults, Jon Raymond Bourn

Masters Theses

Minority stressors like internalized heterosexism have been found to be related to suicidality among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals (e.g., Savin-Williams & Ream, 2003). Additional research is needed, however, to better understand the factors that may serve as moderators (i.e., protective factors) in the relationships between minority stressors and negative mental health outcomes, such as depression and suicidality (e.g., Szymanski et al., 2008). The current study attempted to examine the relationships between internalized heterosexism and two negative mental health outcomes associated with suicide, psychache (defined as unbearable psychological pain) and depression, in a sample of LGB young adults. Given …

Cobb Creek Church: Changing Perspectives In A Serpent-Handling Congregation In East Tennessee, Michael Noel Reid

Masters Theses

In the last year, the traditional practice of handling venomous snakes in Pentecostal church services has returned to the forefront of popular media attention. With the death of renowned handler Randy “Mack” Wolford in West Virginia in May, the news has been rife with stories of the century-old tradition. New, younger groups of handlers have also been instrumental in raising attention to the practice. One congregation in particular has been a key focus for media outlets around the nation. The Cobb Creek Church of God has been featured in The Tennessean, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, …

Internalized Heterosexism, Social Support, And Career Development In Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Undergraduate And Graduate Students: An Application Of Social Cognitive Career Theory, James Edward Arnett

Masters Theses

Using a the framework of Social Cognitive Career Theory (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994), we examined the relationships between one potential career-related barrier, internalized heterosexism (IH), and social support on career decision-making self-efficacy (CDMSE) and vocational outcome expectations in lesbian, gay, and bisexual undergraduate and graduate students. Specifically, we predicted that internalized heterosexism would be negatively related to CDMSE and vocational outcome expectations, and that social support would serve as a buffer that moderates these relationships. Results indicated that IH and social support were both unique predictors of outcome expectations. There was also a significant interaction effect between IH and …

Personal And Group Environment Factors Of Water Polo Players, Shelby Morgan Reyes

Masters Theses

This study examined to see if Division I female water polo players (n = 113) had a distinct personality profile when compared to their counterpart of other female college students (n = 170). Also, this study analyzed to see the impact personality traits and team cohesion variables had on overall athletic satisfaction in female water polo players. The measures used were as follows: for personality, the Personal Style Inventory for College Students (PSI, Lounsbury & Gibson, 2008); for team cohesion, Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ, Carron, Widmeyer, & Brawley, 1985) ; and for athletic satisfaction, Athletes Satisfaction Questionnaire (ASQ, Riemer & …

Issues Of Commingling Within The Gold Mine Site (16ri13) Collection: Adult Human Humeri And Tibiae, Kinsey Brett Stewart

Masters Theses

Gold Mine (16RI13) is a Troyville ossuary mound site (circa CE 825) in northeastern Louisiana. Approximately 10-20% of the primary mound (Mound A) was excavated over the course of three field seasons (1978-1980), yielding a host of human skeletal remains. Extensively commingled secondary burials make up the majority of interments. The number of individuals represented within the collection (N) has been estimated at 150+ (McGimsey 2004:214), but attempts to quantitatively determine N have produced varied results. Formal analysis of the skeletal collection is complicated by the loss of provenience for many remains as well as additional post-excavation fragmentation …

Lights, Camera, Vote: An Agenda-Setting Analysis Of Celebrity Endorsements And News Correlation During The 2012 Presidential Election, Amanda Jacobsen

Masters Theses

Many studies have been done in order to prove the idea that celebrity endorsements can affect elections; however little research has exposed the ongoing correlation between entertainment and news media in America. This research investigates the strong correlation between entertainment websites and mainstream news websites during the 2012 United States presidential election by way of celebrity endorsements. The sources examined included celebrity, entertainment journalism sites such as The Huffington Post, People and E! as compared to networks; ABC News, NBC News, Fox News, CNN and CBS News. Twelve celebrities were chosen by means of their given Q Score. Their announced …

The Effects Of The Temporal Placement Of Feedback On Performance And Skill Acquisition Of A Medical Data Entry Task, Nathan Bechtel

Masters Theses

This study was conducted in a laboratory, and compared the effects of the temporal placement of feedback on task performance and skill acquisition. Temporal placement offeedback refers to the timing offeedback delivery relative to performance. Two temporal placements were examined: feedback immediately after performance and feedback immediately prior toperformance. The experimental design utilized was a form of Latin square design that included a combination of one between-group and two within subjects factors. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups, which differed only in the phase order utilized. Participants performed a data entry task intended to replicate thejob of …

Neiman Marcus Chicken Coops: Exploring Class And Identity Through Backyard Chicken Keeping And The Contemporary Food Movement, Traci D. Joseph

Masters Theses

This paper is a case study of a proposed backyard chicken ordinance for Grand Rapids, Michigan. The study is viewed in light of social movement theory, specifically new social movement theory, to determine if events surrounding and leading up to the debate can be labeled as a social movement. A key finding is a culture of consumption as a common thread throughout the debate. The poultry industry pushed for continued consumption of its products with an agenda of fear regarding disease and improper handling. Proponents countered with a discussion on an ethic of care for the birds. Ultimately, this rejection …

Study Of Feasability For Phase Difference Extraction Using Software Defined Radio In Location Analysis, Paul Miller

Masters Theses

Here is a method for using the phase of an HF radio signal for use in location analysis. This computation is implemented in a software defined radio processing block in the GNU Radio environment. The signals analyzed are received by an Ettus Research USRP SDR. We created a phase analysis system called WMU Rootsync, which compares the roots of a received signal to the roots of a generated reference signal for the phase analysis. This research describes a prototype method for phase analysis only. Future projects may use these ideas differently than presented here. We intend for future projects to …

A Study Of How Selected Public School Junior-High Students Perceive The Effect Of Popular Music On Classroom Behavior, Christopher Mc Allister

Masters Theses

The objective of this study is to further the understanding of how junior-high students in the public schools perceive the effects of popular music on their behavior in the classroom. Two primary research questions serve as the foundation for this study. The first question investigates how themes disclosed in interviews of selected public school junior high students help to explain their personal perceptions of how popular music affects their behavior in the academic environment. The second question seeks to determine whether students that listen to a particular genre of popular music have different or similar perceptions of how music affects …

The Vertebrate Fauna Of Zebree’S Big Lake Phase, Lydia Dorsey Carmody

Masters Theses

Excavated during the late 1960’s and mid 1970’s, Zebree (3MS20) serves as a well-known yet under-analyzed example of a Terminal Late Woodland/Early Mississippian (A.D. 800 to 1000) site in the Eastern Lowlands of the Central Mississippi Valley. In particular, a large portion of the vertebrate fauna collected during Zebree’s multi-season excavations has remained unidentified and unanalyzed since the initial site report. This research seeks to readdress the Terminal Late Woodland/Early Mississippian Big Lake phase (A.D. 800 to 1050) faunal collection in order to gain a more in-depth understanding of subsistence strategies at the Zebree site during a transitional time frame …

Comparing Stress Responses In Generalized Anxiety Disorder Vs. Non-Clinical Populations: A Cortisol And Alpha-Amylase Study, Dominic Joseph Di Loreto

Masters Theses

Debilitating anxiety affects 6.8 million Americans. Cortisol is an established measure of the stress response which reflects the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity. However, salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) is a relatively new measure of the stress response, and it reflects the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary pathway (SAM pathway) activity. Our aim was to compare these two aspects of the stress response in a Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and a non-clinical population under a stressful stimulus (Knee replacement surgery video). To our knowledge this is the first time anyone has looked at both sAA and cortisol together with respect to GAD. We hypothesized that both cortisol …

Two Of A Kind: Implications Of Bilateral Directional Asymmetry On Pair Matching Of Human Limb Bones., Lauren Ashley Garroway

Masters Theses

The task of sorting and analyzing commingled remains can be daunting, depending on the degree of fragmentation, distribution, and contents of the assemblage. The Most Likely Number of Individuals (MLNI) calculation for quantifying the contents of human skeletal assemblages is dependent upon the ability to properly match bilateral elements into pairs. Anthropologists employ numerous methods to reassociate commingled remains into discrete individuals, but the guiding principle used to match sided elements is “general symmetry” (Adams and Konigsberg, 2008; Byrd, 2008). However, different skeletal elements and regions within those elements are variably responsive to a combination of environmental and genetic factors. …

Plant Remains From The Smokemont Site In The Appalachian Mountains Of North Carolina, Gabrielle Casio Purcell

Masters Theses

Smokemont (31Sw393) is a multicomponent site consisting of deposits from Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian, Cherokee, and Euro-American occupations. Located in Swain County in the Smoky Mountains in western North Carolina, two structures have been identified at Smokemont, one as a Mississippian Pisgah phase house, and the other a Contact period Qualla phase house. Beneath the Pisgah house are several Connestee period pit features. Archaeobotanical remains have been collected from Woodland, Mississippian, and Cherokee contexts. Floral analysis of Middle Woodland features indicate some horticultural activity, with wild plants remaining important but supplementary to maize agriculture during the Mississippian and Cherokee occupations. This …

Considering The Role Of Children’S Levels Of Responsiveness And Resistance On The Relations Between Maternal Interaction Behaviors And Children’S Interaction Behaviors With Peers At School, Daniela Andrea Salinas Maturana

Masters Theses

Developmental theorists usually agree that children’s peer relationships have their roots in family relationships and they have suggested different models of influence between these two major socializing spheres. However, most studies have not included the role that children may play during these social exchanges. The present study focuses on the relative importance of children’s levels of responsiveness and/or resistance during mother-child interactions and offers a novel framework of direct and indirect relations between mother interaction behaviors and children's social behaviors with peers. Findings indicated that children of more controlling mothers were likely to be more controlling and dominant in their …

Investigator Disturbance And Buried Remains: An Experimental Study On Buried Nonhuman Decomposition, Lindsay Nicole Sliwa

Masters Theses

The experimental study of buried remains presents a unique set of problems for the investigator. With uncovered remains, visual and non-invasive/non-destructive methods alone can be utilized with no direct interaction between the investigator and the body, and thus allows for the repeated use of that body throughout the study. Usually presented as a group of categories or stages of decomposition, these methods are used as a basis for comparison among the sample and between studies. Buried remains, however, cannot be assessed, either visually or through other methods, without intentional disruption of the grave environment by the investigator. The removal of …

“I Am Working For The Good Guys:” Street-Level Enforcement Of The Clean Water Act In East Tennessee, Kayla Marie Stover

Masters Theses

Environmental policies are designed to be governmental attempts to change social behaviors that have negative environmental consequences; they are intended to protect natural resources and the interests of U.S. citizens. However, the reality of policy enforcement rarely reflects these goals. Research shows that enforcement is often unequal, more stringent in some areas and weaker in others. The resulting environmental injustices are the manifestation of political interference and organizational impediments in the policy process. Most environmental policy analyses focus on the macro, federal-level of policy. In doing so, they neglect the final, crucial step in which policy is made real – …

A Gis-Based Multi-Objective Optimization Of A Lignocellulosic Biomass Supply Chain: A Case Study In Tennessee, Zidong Wang

Masters Theses

To achieve an economically and environmentally sustainable lignocellulosic biomass (LCB)-based biofuel industry sector, the design and location of a sustainable LCB supply chain is important. In this study, a multi-objective optimization model integrated with high-resolution geographical data was developed to examine the optimal switchgrass supply chain for a potential biorefinery in Tennessee, specifically evaluating the potential tradeoffs between the objectives of minimizing plant-gate cost and GHG emissions from the switchgrass supply chain. The key findings of this study are as follows: both plant-gate feedstock cost and GHG emissions were sensitive to the type of land converted into switchgrass production, the …

Hey! Give Me A Boost: The Impact Of Conflict Joining On The Rally 'Round The Flag In The United Kingdom, 1948-2000, Marissa Kathleen Wilson

Masters Theses

International Relations has long sought to identify the causes of conflict. Two popular theories that suggest leaders use conflict for domestic purposes – that of diversion and policy availability – rest on the assumption that conflict does in fact lead to domestic political benefits. Chief among these benefits is the boost in public approval ratings, known as the “rally-‘round-the-flag.” Large-N statistical studies testing the rally effect are few and seldom look beyond the United States. Further, there are no studies that examine the varying rally effects of joining ongoing conflicts versus conflict initiation or participation. The postulated theory suggests conflict …

Clovis Lithic Manufacturing Variability At The Allendale Chert Quarries: A Preliminary View From 38al228, Allendale County, South Carolina, Andrew James Weidman

Masters Theses

This research is the result of archaeological testing that occurred from 2010–2012 at 38AL228, a multi-component quarry related site in Allendale County, South Carolina. This thesis 1) provides a summary of the testing in order to define the cultural sequence and isolate the Clovis component for further analysis, and 2) compares the Clovis lithic assemblage from 38AL228 with the Clovis lithic assemblage from the Topper site (38AL23) to explore possible manufacturing variability based on distance from the source of raw material within the Allendale chert quarries.

The premise for the comparative analysis is framed around the concept of differential lithic …

Two Essays On The Empirical Analysis Of Microeconomic Data: Household Donation And Individual Body Weight, Yanghao Wang

Masters Theses

This thesis consists of two essays on empirical analysis of microeconomic data for household donation and individual body weight.

The first essay investigates determinants of donations to religious, charitable, and educational/political organizations amongU.S.households using data from the 2010 and 2011 Consumer Expenditure Survey. To address issues of censoring, selection biases, and correlations among different types of donations, a sample selection system is estimated. Average marginal effects are calculated to further explain the effects of covariates on household donations. Price is negatively associated with charitable and educational/political donations but not with religious donations. The effects of household income differ by types …

An Assessment Of The Effect Of X-Ray Radiation On Dna Marker Profiles Obtained From Human Teeth, Erin Lynn Knapp

Masters Theses

X-ray radiation is known to destroy cells and damage DNA, yet human remains from forensic anthropology cases are routinely exposed to X-ray radiation as part of the documentation and evidence collection process. If X-ray radiation significantly impacts the quality of DNA extracted from human remains in forensic cases, then the validity of a resulting genetic profile is called into question. To better understand how X-ray radiation affects DNA profiles, specifically profiles consisting of short tandem repeat (STR) markers, this study followed standard forensic X-ray and genetic profiling protocols to obtain DNA profiles on individual molar teeth, before and after they …

Using Normative Messages And Incentives To Improve Organizational Performance, Anna L. Conard

Masters Theses

While social norms have been a popular area of study among social psychologists, they have yet to receive much consideration from an Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) standpoint. Much of OBM research has focused on consequences and the utilization of incentives to improve organizational performance. Such research has shown incentive systems to have sustaining, long-term effects on behaviors. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the impact of normative messages and lottery incentives on organizational performance. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: a) Standard Message with Lottery Incentive, b) Standard Message without Lottery Incentive, c) …

Switchgrass Capacity Procurement Contract And Tonnage Contract Pricing, Tianpeng Zhou

Masters Theses

The on-farm production of switchgrass has been given considerable attention by farmers, policymakers and others. However, because the switchgrass market is not developed yet, most of the research only focuses on the switchgrass breakeven cost. The appropriate price combining interests of both the biorefinery and the farmers, or the contract price, has not been given enough attention.

Two types of contractual relationships are discussed in this thesis: Capacity Procurement Contract (CPC, per acre contract) and Tonnage Contract (TC, per ton contract). The contract prices of switchgrass under these two types of contracts are estimated in this analysis. Because the land …