Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Veterans’ Satisfaction With Veterans’ Administration Healthcare Systems, Dale Arnold

Masters Theses

There are currently over 600,000 veterans in the State of Michigan served by only five Veterans’ Administration Medical Centers. These medical centers are not evenly distributed throughout the state with the majority located in the southernmost portion of the state. There necessarily will be a number of veterans for which it is unreasonable to travel to these medical centers to receive care to which they are entitled. This research will investigate the number of veterans that are currently required to drive excessive distances to receive adequate care under the present system, and to possibly suggest solutions to the current situation.

Cultivating The Concrete Jungle: Examining Urban Agriculture In The Motor City - Detroit, Mi, Sultan Muhammad

Masters Theses

The maintenance and development of sustainable food systems is becoming an essential aspect of maintaining an efficient urban environment. Likewise, addressing food and job security within America for the entirety of the population has proven difficult in the face of increasing poverty, particularly in urban areas. Urban agriculture has become a favored system of producing local fresh quality food, increasing employment opportunities, beautifying brown spaces and improving environmental conditions through the benefits of increased vegetation. UA exists in America, but as of yet have not sufficiently addressed the prevailing conditions of food insecurity, particularly within poor communities. This study will …

Timelines And Trade Chat: Comparing Contextual Self-Disclosure And Perceived Social Capital On Social Networking Sites And Massively Multiplayer Online Games, Ryan P. Castillo

Masters Theses

This study examines the associations between usage intensity, user motivations, and contextual self-disclosure, and social capital on two popular online mediums, Facebook and World of Warcraft. Contributing to the efforts of previous research, which has found both online gaming communities and social networking sites to positively affect access to informational and social support, this analysis shows that intimate self-disclosure in each online medium differs not only in context, but in its impact on dimensions of social capital, and that the various effects of self-disclosure on social capital can be attributed to differences in communicative affordances and community held standards of …

Coming To The United States: An Exploration Of Third Culture Building Processes Emerging From University Sponsored International/Host-National Student Interactions, Margaret E. Baker

Masters Theses

International students studying in the United States encounter a number of challenges that affect their ability to achieve their academic and social goals. These changes and acculturative pressures often influence their psychosocial wellbeing and factor into their satisfaction in their experiences abroad. Forming relationships with host-national students aids international students in their adjustment to life in the U. S. and influences their satisfaction and success both in and out of the classroom. This qualitative study analyzes third culture relationships as well as the challenges to their formation and the negotiations necessary for the relationship’s continued survival. This project explores the …

Modeling Channel Response To Dam Removal In Lansing, Michigan, Using Swat, Ryan Filbin

Masters Theses

The removal of dams has increased in recent decades in the United States, largely resulting from decaying infrastructure and greater efforts to restore rivers to a more natural, free-flowing state. Dam removal presents the opportunity for increased public safety, improved environmental prosperity, and improved economic prosperity in conjunction with riverfront revitalization projects. The City of Lansing, Michigan, contains two moderate-to high-risk dams along the Grand River that pose a significant risk to the surrounding area in the event of structural failure.

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is applied to model the impacts of the Moores Park Dam and …

The Doctor Will Skype You Now: College Student Attitudes Towards The Integration Of Telemedicine (Healthspot® Kiosk) At John Carroll University, Kasey A. Foley

Masters Theses

There has been a spike in the nation’s interest in telemedicine over the past decade. Mobile applications, remote-monitoring devices, and image-sharing software have been designed to provide patients convenient access to medical attention. One of these technologies, an enclosed medical booth called the HealthSpot® kiosk (HSK), was installed in the John Carroll University Student Health and Wellness Center in 2014. The HealthSpot® kiosk utilizes videoconferencing technology to simulate face-to-face communication between providers and patients. This new technology would seem to be a good fit for a small college campus, as college-aged students accept technology quickly, and small campuses often have …

Resolving The Civilian-Military Divide Through An Examination Of Select Members Of The United States Army Profession, Caitlin Bankhead

Masters Theses

Since the conclusion of the Vietnam War, the American public and the Armed Forces have steadily drifted apart. This has resulted in a division between the people of the nation and the individuals that defend its values. Consequently, as this division increases, the American public is thankful of military servicemen, but believes that service is something others should do. Conversely, the military’s sole purpose is to protect and defend the nation, its people, and its values, but it has become more isolated. Additionally, military service is becoming a family tradition in which outsiders cannot easily understand the values and pride …

"My Tattoos Make Me, Me": Constructing Personal Identities Through Tattoos, Ryan Howard

Masters Theses

The following thesis consists of a research project that seeks to understand how individuals construct personal identities through tattoos. The thesis contains background information on why the author has a personal connection and interest with the subject. The thesis also includes a review of the literature that informs the readers about the origins of tattoos, historicization of tattoos, cultural appropriation and commodification, motivations for tattooing, tattoos and the body, and identity construction. There is also a methods section that explains how the author utilized the interviewing process to gather and conduct research in the field to answer the research question: …

Student Veterans And Their Transition To Becoming A College Student, Paul R. Higgerson

Masters Theses

This study sought to understand how student veterans view their transition to becoming a college student. A small, but increasing, amount of studies have been conducted on this topic. A qualitative approach, specifically a narrative method, was utilized to better understand how student veterans made meaning of the life events they experienced during their transition. Six student veterans in at least their second semester at their current institution were interviewed one-on-one, and their narratives are included here. This study revealed that student veterans and adult learners share many characteristics and that by viewing the student veteran as a student in …

Associated Factors Of Posttraumatic Growth: A Meta-Analysis, Rong Xia

Masters Theses

During the past 20 years, posttraumatic growth has been recognized and emphasized to promote physical and psychological health after life-threatening events. There has also been an increasing number of individual studies on posttraumatic growth and its associated factors. However, it still remains unclear whether and how these relationships are facilitated. Therefore, the current meta-analysis aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding on the important associated factors of posttraumatic growth. Posttraumatic stress, event centrality, emotion regulation, and religious or spiritual coping and their actual relationships with posttraumatic growth were examined along with some potential moderators. Results from 56 studies (N = 20,132) …

Support For Friends And Family Members Of Incarcerated Individuals, Brandon M. Goodman

Masters Theses

The aim of this thesis is to investigate and identify communication practices that affect incarcerated individuals and their families, specifically focusing on emotions and family communication patterns. Statistics show that there is a need for this type of research into support for loved ones of incarcerated individuals. This thesis then identifies the uses of theory and concepts related to family communication, emotions, and identity. The thesis also provides an overview of previous research on communication and incarceration, including interdisciplinary research crossing into sociology, as well as social interaction, family studies and more. In conclusion, the thesis argues that prisonization is …

The Effects Of Religious And Body-Related Affirmations On Disordered Eating Attitudes And Body Dissatisfaction, Cassandra A. Vogt

Masters Theses

The relationship between disordered eating, body dissatisfaction, and religion is complex. Previous research demonstrated that religious body affirmations are beneficial in reducing body dissatisfaction among undergraduate females. Because previous research used affirmations which were simultaneously religious in nature and related to the body, it is difficult to determine if the religiousness of the affirmation is the beneficial characteristic. The current study investigated which type of affirmation had the strongest effect on disordered eating attitudes and body dissatisfaction. More specifically, the five experimental conditions included: religious body affirmations, religious non-body affirmations, non-religious body affirmations, non-religious non-body affirmations, and neutral control statements. …

Nutritious Meals For The Homeless Population: Challenges And Opportunities, Kayla A. Albrecht

Masters Theses

Objective: Consuming a nutritionally adequate diet is extremely challenging for the homeless population. Though meals are available to the homeless population through soup kitchens and homeless shelters, these settings often do not serve meals that provide essential nutrients. The consumption of energy-dense, low-nutrient foods has led in part to high prevalence of obesity, heart disease, and chronic illnesses among the homeless. The purpose of this study was to (a) examine the challenges that homeless shelters face in providing nutritious meals to guests and (b) investigate the need and interest of nutrition education at homeless shelters.

Methods: Nine homeless shelter directors …

Steven Avery, A Case Study: Making A Murderer Or Making An Identity, Allison Grussing

Masters Theses

Steven Avery, a Wisconsin native, has spent the majority of his adult life in prison, once for a crime he was later exonerated from, and then again for murder. The Netflix series Making a Murderer documents Avery's murder trial, and uses only first hand accounts. Ultimately, this research had two goals: one was to better understand how the series utilized framing to engage in advocacy for Avery and the second was to uncover what identity was constructed by the producers and series for Avery. With a thematic analysis approach and open and axial coding this research revealed three themes that …

The Bystander Intervention In Bullying Survey: An Examination In An Elementary School Sample, Kirsten Taylor

Masters Theses

Researchers and school administrators have recognized the importance of peer bystanders in bullying situations, but there are very few studies that examine this phenomenon within Latané and Darley's (1970) bystander intervention model. The five sequential steps in this model include: notice the event, interpret the event as an emergency that requires assistance, accept responsibility for intervening, know how to intervene or provide help, and implement intervention. Nickerson, Aloe, Livingston, and Feeley (2014) created the Bystander Intervention in Bullying Survey based on Latané and Darley's model. Nickerson and colleagues and Jenkins and Nickerson (in press) have found evidence of reliability and …

The Relationship Between Participation In Community Service And Students Academic Success, Kelsi Grubisich

Masters Theses

This study explored the relationship between participation in community service and students' academic success at a mid-sized Midwestern institution. A quantitative study was conducted by distributing a survey through the Civic Engagement and Volunteerism Office listserv. The results from the t-test showed that there was no statistical significance in the participation in community service and students' academic success. Results from the Chi Square test showed that there was no statistical significance in the type of service students chose and their major, the gender participation, and the race participation. Recommendations were made to student affairs professionals to include more opportunities …

Teacher Characteristics And Influence With The Bystander Intervention Model, Morgan A. Eldridge

Masters Theses

Bullying, both traditional and cyber, have been associated with several negative outcomes for students, and teachers have been identified as potential targets for prevention and intervention of bullying occurrences. The importance of bystanders has been recognized; however, there are few studies that examine personal characteristics that relate to the five bystander behaviors within the Bystander Intervention Model (notice the event, interpret as an emergency, accept responsibility, know what to do, and act). This study examined personal characteristics (e.g., affective empathy and perceived level of bullying seriousness) and their relation to each of the five steps of the Bystander Intervention Model …

Predictors Of Bullying Role Behavior In Preschool, Kristen Kocher

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Construct Validity Of The Teate Depression Inventory With A Black African American Sample, Samantha Rushworth

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to assess the construct validity of a new measure of depression, the Teate Depression Inventory (TDI), with primary focus on the Black/African American participants. Research has demonstrated that Black/African Americans experience disparity in receiving mental health care for internalizing disorders, partially due to under-detection of symptoms. Detection of internalizing disorders is an important step in receiving appropriate treatment. This research is essential to benefit mental health practices, addressing the need for professionals to be culturally competent and aware of the appropriate assessment tools available. In order to best serve ethnic minorities, validity of measurements …

An Analysis Of Black Undergraduate Students' Social Activism Through Social Media Usage, Tayla Richards

Masters Theses

Social media has become a tool for college students to engage in social activism. Black undergraduate students is one population that actively utilize social media's impact as illustrated through recent activist movements and demonstrations within university communities. This study sought to explore and analyze the ways that Black undergraduate students utilize social media platforms in general and for activism. The researcher conducted one-on-one interviews with three Black undergraduate students and analyzed their posts on each of their frequently used social media platforms in order to study how their personal narratives were connected to their social media use.

Results showed that …

Export-Oriented Entrepreneurship Intensity And Economic Growth In Developing And Developed Countries, Xueting Sun

Masters Theses

This paper analyzes the impact of export-oriented entrepreneurship intensity on national economic growth using data for 64 countries over the 2006-2013 period. We draw on entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship and economic growth, export-oriented entrepreneurship and economic growth, and export intensity of entrepreneurship and economic growth theories to affirm that export-oriented entrepreneurship and export-oriented entrepreneurship intensity is profound for the national economic growth of countries.

The findings suggest that greater total entrepreneurial activity (TEA) is associated with a higher rate of economic growth in developed countries but not in developing countries. Also, greater export-oriented entrepreneurial activity (EEA) is associated with a higher rate …

Of Music And Media: A Producer Study Of Promotional Encoding On Social Media Through The Lenses Of Paratext And Medium Theory, Connor D. Wilcox

Masters Theses

While music promotion has been important aspect for musicians, bands, and musical organizations for well over a century, the rise of social media in the digital era has profoundly changed the way these promoters perceived of and practice their commercial task of selling music. Paratexts (Gray, 2010a) offer an effective lens for focusing on these promotions while encoding/decoding (Hall, 1980) justifies producer studies to examine and uncover vital aspects of production shape the text and medium theory adds further focus by recentering the medium as being distinctly influential. Existing research on music promotion highlights the uniqueness and evocativeness of the …

On Solid Ground I Stand: Narratives On Disclosure, Resilience, And Faith Amidst Recognition Of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Wade Rhodes Dundee

Masters Theses

Childhood sexual abuse seems to be a hidden secret in American society; one of the famous, "If we don't talk about it, it won't happen" narratives. However, we know this is not true. Both the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (2012) and Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2005) state one in four girls and one in six boys will fall victim to sexual abuse before they celebrate their 18th birthday. There is a high probability that because of the alarming lack of disclosure of male survivors, these statistics could be incorrect and could hinder creating or allowing for conversations …

New Year, New Look: Communicating An Organizational Identity For The Eiu Women's Basketball Team, Nathan Bryant

Masters Theses

The attempt to increase and maintain stakeholder engagement and interaction is one of the main pursuits for public relations practitioners today. With new and changing ways to reach and engage stakeholders through various social media outlets public relations professionals now more than ever have to find a way to make their products stand out among the multiple messages a person views in a given day. This public relations campaign attempted to increase engagement and interaction with the Eastern Illinois University's women's basketball team by giving the team a new organizational identity. This identity was conveyed through the team's social media …

A Long Strange Trip Through The Evolution Of Fan Production, Fan-Branding, And Historical Representation In The Grateful Dead Online Archive, Anna Richardson

Masters Theses

This study explores how a digital music archive tells the story and contributes to the public memory of cult bands. Utilizing the Grateful Dead Archive Online (GDAO) as the primary data source, the researcher obtained a population of 26,835 items and categorized them by the production method of fan or band, item type, era, and logo. Content analysis illustrated themes within the archive in relation to the fannish production and activity within the fandom of the Grateful Dead. The span of this specific fandom spreads across five decades and sheds light onto the ways in which the fandom surrounding cult …

Structural Change And Productivity Growth In Developing Countries, Ahmed Salim Nuhu

Masters Theses

The dual-economy model predicts that holding productivity constant, labor reallocation from less to more productive sectors, also known as 'structural change' results in improvement in economy-wide productivity. The objective of this thesis is to test the empirical predictions of this model using sectoral-level data from twenty-eight developing countries. Using the shift-share growth decomposition approach, we find regional growth-enhancing effects of structural change in Asia, Latin America and North Africa from, 1980 to 2000 and growth-reducing effects in Sub-Saharan Africa over the same period. However, as intersectoral productivity gaps disappeared after 2000, technological progress led the growth process in much of …

Utilizing Incentives To Increase Teacher Praise, Kari L. Meyer

Masters Theses

An ABA single-subject research design was used in examining the effect on school staff's written praise and student behavior when staff were provided with an incentive (i.e., would an incentive raffle increase written praise and appropriate student behavior?). Participants included 93 staff members and 755 students at an elementary school in central Illinois. School staff members were instructed on the importance of using praise, and praise notes were measured on a weekly basis by praise type (behavior-specific or general), staff member type (core teacher, non-core teacher, or non-teacher), and student type (at-risk or non-at-risk). Results indicated that the faculty incentive …

An Analysis Of General Education Teachers' Use Of Diverse Praise, Shelby L. Beschta

Masters Theses

Teacher praise is a strategy that effectively reduces student disruptive and off-task behavior. Although teacher praise has been studied for more than five decades, most research has looked at general and behavior specific praise. There may be other aspects of praise, beyond specificity, that could inform consultation. Examining teachers' diverse use of praise may inform how to maximize this strategy and improve upon teacher training. The purpose of this study was to determine whether teachers' diverse use of praise could be measured. Once it was determined, the data were analyzed to determine how many diverse praise categories teachers used on …

Investigation Of Sandwich Generation Caregiver Perceptions And Factors Of Caregiving Strain, Samantha Marie Young

Masters Theses

The Sandwich Generation caregiver is responsible for caring for their children and parents simultaneously (Miller, 1981). In this study, stressors, burdens, and strains were analyzed in relation to caregiver demographics and the following variables: caregiving relationship quality, caregiving roles, communication, and resources (time and finances). The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that contribute to perceived strains in Sandwich Generation caregivers. The Sandwich Generation Caregiver Survey was distributed through social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn), email, listservs, and word of mouth through a nonprobability snowball approach (Creswell, 2012). The researcher used frequency counts, percentages, and mean …

Natural Resources, Institutions, And Poverty: The Case Of The Mena Region, Abdulrhman M. Alamoudi

Masters Theses

While several Middle East and North Africa countries have a huge endowment of natural resources such as oil and natural gas, poverty indicators, as expressed by well-being indicators and headcount, are no better in these countries than others that are relatively poor in natural resources. For instance, oil rich countries, such as Syria and Sudan, have a lower life expectancy and school enrollment than poor-resources countries like Lebanon and Israel. This study thereby, investigates the cross-country differences of poverty response to changes in natural resources wealth. The paper utilizes a panel data model for the period from 1985 to 2014 …