Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Development Of The Conflict Management Skills Beliefs Scale, Christina Anne Bancroft

Theses and Dissertations

The present study explored the development and initial validation of measure of conflict management, a skill often taught in school-based social-emotional learning (SEL) programs. There is a gap in existing scales that measure conflict management skills for children and adolescents. The scales that do exist for children or adolescents (CONFLICTALK, Kimsey & Fuller, 2003; Conflict Resolution Styles Inventory [CRSI], Bonache et al., 2016) often measure conflict styles rather than skills, do not have a theoretical basis, and or have limited norming information or are normed on populations (and languages) outside of the United States.

Our purpose was to develop and …

Unique New York: Examining The Impact Of Breed Labels, Phenotypic Variations, And Geography On Length Of Stay In A Multi-Location New York Limited Intake Animal Shelter, Nicole Passmore

Theses and Dissertations

New York City (NYC) is a unique area for a shelter welfare as it has limited dog-friendly housing and an abundance of dogs. A common barrier to entry for NYC dog adopters trying to rent apartments is the breed label the shelter assigned to their dog, despite the fact breed labelling is primarily based off intuition and physical appearance. Following research by Gunter, Barber and Wynne (2016) that saw adoption rates at a Florida animal shelter increase following the removal of breed labels from the shelter’s kennel cards, some shelters ceased using breed labels. One was Bideawee, a limited admission …

An Intersectional Analysis Of The Role Race And Gender Play In Welfare Recipients’ And Case Manager Experiences, Stephanie Baran

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an ethnographic study of food insecurity in Milwaukee and how people receiving benefit assistance understand themselves, others and how they thought others understand them. This frame was duplicated for social workers and poverty organizations in the Milwaukee area. Using a series of theoretical viewpoints, the study utilizes racial theories, as well as, symbolic violence and annihilation to discuss how various aspects of recipients, social workers and poverty organizations interact within the theoretical margins. Taking place over one and a half years and including 350 observation hours at a local food pantry, the study found that respondents feel …

Heirloom And Hybrid Corn In The American Corn Belt: An Ethnography Of Seed Saving Practices, Rachelle Halaska

Theses and Dissertations

This ethnographic study examines the practices and context of contemporary heirloom corn seed saving practices and projects in the American Corn Belt. It examines heirloom corn conservation and hand pollination practices at Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa in 2015. From there the study extends to interviews with heirloom farmers, breeders and gardeners in Wisconsin and Illinois. The findings indicate that the lines between the mainstream and the margins of corn production are highly blurred, and that there is a considerable amount of cross-pollination of ideas and practices between alternative corn farming and dominant industrial hybrid production in the American …

Investigation Of The Relationship Between Mindfulness And Empathy In Pre-Nursing Students Exposed To A Four-Week Mindfulness Training, Debra L. Klich

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: To investigate the effects of a four-week mindfulness program on levels of mindfulness, empathy, and anxiety in a group of pre-nursing students.

Methods: This study utilized a multiple-baseline across subjects design. Results from nine study participants were examined.

Results: Data demonstrates that a detectable decrease in anxiety levels can result from participation in self-directed mindfulness program as short as four weeks. Results regarding mindfulness and empathy levels were less conclusive. A specific relationship between empathy and mindfulness cannot be determined from this study.

Conclusions: Because previous studies have demonstrated a persistence of skills, practice, and benefits acquired through mindfulness …

Collecting Aztalan: An Analysis Of The Chipped Stone Projectile Points From The Milwaukee Public Museum’S Aztalan (Je-0001) Legacy Collections, Kevin Akemann

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a qualitative analysis of chipped stone projectile points from the Milwaukee Public Museum that were obtained from private collectors who reportedly surface collected these artifacts from the site of Aztalan (47-JE-0001). Private collections like these, referred to as Legacy Collections, are the result of early collecting and excavation practices, by private and professional individuals, and in this research, have been only partially examined in relation to Aztalan and mostly overlooked in favor of materials with more reliable and scientific provenience. Through this research I developed a database from the MPM's digital inventory, handwritten catalogs, accession records, and …

Cholesterol: A Possible Mediator Of Apoe Risk For Alzheimer's Disease, Michelle Marie Dunk

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the well-established link between the ε4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene and AD, the underlying mechanisms that mediate the risk of developing AD remain elusive. Literature on the role of APOE in cholesterol metabolism suggests that blood cholesterol may be a key factor in the development of AD pathology. Current study aims to investigate whether total cholesterol differs by APOE status and whether this relationship is predictive of AD diagnosis and its biomarkers. Baseline total cholesterol, APOE status, AD diagnosis, global cognitive function, brain Aβ, plasma Aβ40 and Aβ42, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ, tau, and phosphorylated …

Reexamining Object-Based Visual Attention: Understanding The Nature Of Direction-Dependent Attention Shifts, Adam Joseph Barnas

Theses and Dissertations

Attentional selection is a process by which relevant sensory stimuli are afforded enhanced priority for processing over and above irrelevant sensory stimuli. Object-based attention is a form of selection that leads to preferential processing of visual information contained in/on an attended object versus an unattended object. Observers typically exhibit enhanced performance to a target at an invalidly cued same object location compared to a different-object location, which results in a same object advantage as measured by the response time (RT) difference between these two target locations. A growing body of research has shown that object-based effects are small, inconsistent, and …

Sexual Dimorphism And The Shape Of The Proximal Tibia In A Radiographic Sample, Emily Eiseman

Theses and Dissertations

SEXUAL DIMORPHISM AND THE SHAPE OF THE PROXIMAL TIBIA IN A RADIOGRAPHIC SAMPLE

This study investigates the use of radiographs to determine sexual dimorphism in the shape of the tibia. The goal of the research was to identify a small set of markers that would allow researchers to efficiently and accurately determine a person’s sex from a radiograph of the proximal tibia.

The sample consisted of radiographs including 75 females and 46 males ranging in age from 21 to 81. Measurements were taken on 27 points around the area of the knee including the tibia, patella, and femur. The measurements …

Essays In Financial Economics, Kamilla Kasymova

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three essays concerning financial economics.

In the first essay, I focus on the role of the life insurance in the financial markets and the factors that drive the development of life insurance industry. The essay examines the causality of the banking sector development on the development of the life insurance market measured by the total premiums received by life insurers using panel estimation for about 90 countries over the period 1996-2010. I employ the dynamic System Generalized Method of Moments estimation technique to resolve the endogeneity problem between the development of the life insurance and the …

Investigating The Contribution Of Instance-Reliant Learning In Visuomotor Adaptation And Its Generalization, Shancheng Bao

Theses and Dissertations

Motor adaptation has been of great interest in the past two decades as it reflects how movement skills are acquired and consolidated by the nervous system. In our recent studies, instance-reliant learning is considered as an essential component of visuomotor adaptation, since it plays a unique role in fast and automatized control of movement output. The goal of this dissertation is to investigate the nature of instance-reliant learning on two aspects: to determine the differential contributions of algorithmic learning and instance-reliant learning to visuomotor adaptation; and to determine the nature of movement instance involved in visuomotor adaptation and its generalization …

Association Between Lifetime Adverse Events, Emotion Dysregulation, Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, Acculturation, And Chronic Pain: A Moderated Mediation Model, Miriam El-Haj

Theses and Dissertations

The association between traumatic experiences and chronic pain is well established. Lesser is known about how acculturation might affect this relation, specifically with Hispanics. In the present study, self-report measures on traumatic experiences, posttraumatic stress symptoms, emotion dysregulation, chronic pain, and acculturation were administered to 140 participants (71.4% females) aged 18–65 years old (M = 35.06, SD = 11.55), to determine whether acculturation moderates the relation between adverse lifetime experiences and chronic pain as mediated by posttraumatic stress symptoms and emotion dysregulation.

Those who were highly acculturated to the U.S. Anglo culture were higher on chronic pain than those who …

Measuring Disaster Resiliency In The Rio Grande Valley, Alma R. Provencio

Theses and Dissertations

People are now becoming more conscious of the effects of climate change. They are seeking to understand how to manage their resources and prepare for when a disaster strikes. The growing studies of disaster resilience lend that opportunity. In this spatial and temporal study, disaster resilience was measured for each census tract within the four counties of the Rio Grande Valley. Utilizing GIS tools and methods, the study examines resilience patterns between 2010 and 2017.

Results showed that even though various census tracts from each of the four counties increased in resilience from 2010 to 2017, the overall total resilience …

Information Structure In Standard Arabic Verbal Sentences, Salem Albuhayri

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates Information Structure (IS) in relation to the clausal architecture in Standard Arabic (SA). The attention is confined to word order variation and its role in structuring discourse. The structural positions with potential information structure import are argued to appear at the edg-es of phases, namely vP and CP. It presents an analysis which brings together the minimalist scheme as embodied in Chomsky (2000, onwards) and the cartographic approach to discourse as embodied in Rizzi (1997, 2001) and Cinque (1999). First, in chapter (‎2) a distinction is made be-tween VSO and SVO clauses, in which I propose that …

Looking For Group: Sociality, Embodiment, And Institutions In World Of Warcraft, Christopher J. Cooley

Theses and Dissertations

This ethnography examines the varying degrees of conflict between multiple stakeholders involved in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft (WoW). The game’s designers, like many software developers in the contemporary world, tend to be guided by an ideology influenced by classical liberalism, but also inspired by a utopian view of technology in general. That ideological position has directly affected many aspects of the game, from the largely unregulated in-game economy, to the strong emphasis on individual mastery of the game’s systems to progress through the complete content of the game world. World of Warcraft advertises itself not …

Food For Thought: An Analysis Of The Robenhausen Botanicals At The Milwaukee Public Museum, Ann S. Eberwein

Theses and Dissertations

Museum collections excavated from archaeological sites represent an intersection of disciplines and provoke innovative approaches to the study of these material aspects of culture. Botanical collections of food remains in particular, provide an opportunity to interrogate the way in which culinary practices in the past are understood. The circum-Alpine lake dwelling complex of central Europe includes hundreds of archaeological sites dating to the Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron Age; many of these sites are known for exceptional preservation of organic material due to a waterlogged, anaerobic environment. Robenhausen, located in eastern Switzerland was one of many lake dwellings discovered in the …

Economic Policy Uncertainty And Macroeconomic Activity: An Asymmetric Approach, Majid Makinayeri

Theses and Dissertations

In the new global economy, uncertainty has become a critical determinant of financial and economic stability. This thesis aims to study the impact of uncertainty on a set of macroeconomic variables such as demand for money, investment, and consumption. Different measures of uncertainty are used by scholars in the investigation of money demand, investment, and consumption like monetary and output uncertainty. This study employs a more general and inclusive measure of uncertainty, policy uncertainty, which measures uncertainty in fiscal, regulatory and monetary policies. By implementing a Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, I aim to identify possible non-linear effects of …

Motivation Is Deficient In The Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat (Shr), A Rodent Model Of Adhd: Evidence From An Operant Breakpoint Paradigm, Amanda S. Nazario

Theses and Dissertations

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most commonly diagnosed childhood neurobehavioral disorders. ADHD is characterized by three core behavioral deficits (hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity) that significantly hinder the daily functioning of those diagnosed. Furthermore, children with ADHD have problems with motivation and often require larger, more frequent rewards in order to complete a task. In this study, we used the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat (SHR), a rodent model of ADHD that exhibits all the core deficits of the disorder. The goal of the current study was to further validate the SHR as a model of ADHD by training …

Pena, Pinahua, And Prestige: Shame And Linguistic Insecurity In Upper Balsas Classrooms, Heather Gabrielle Thomas Flores

Theses and Dissertations

This ethnography is a topical analysis of the Indigenous Education system in rural Guerrero, Mexico. The purpose of this research is to draw out the correlations between coercive monolingual ‘Spanish only’ language policies implemented during the mid 20th century and the systematic disintegration of the Nahuatl language within what were once monolingual Nahua communities in the Upper Balsas valley. The data presented in this paper is framed and analyzed through language ideologies discourse. The conceptualizations of language held within the cultural ideology allow for the complexities surrounding language loss and revitalization to be taken into consideration within their dynamic and …

Impact Of Intercultural Competence On Communicative Success In L2 Environments(With Reference To Missionaries Of The Church Ofjesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints), David Milford Lucero

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the impact of cultural competence on success in completing key missionary tasks. Qualitative survey results are supported by data from an intercultural effectiveness assessment and a Mandarin Chinese listening proficiency test to describe themes related to missionary communicative success and to explore correlations between intercultural effectiveness and listening proficiency. Missionary communicative tasks are clarified into themes:"obtaining referrals,"obtaining teaching opportunities," and"helping people make and keep commitments." Factors perceived as associating with communicative success include"feeling and communicating love" and receiving"spiritual guidance." The effect of training on intercultural competence is also described. The intercultural effectiveness subcategory of positive regard is …

Grassroots And Professional Volunteers: Hunger Task Force Of Milwaukee 1982-1994, Cortney Dunklin

Theses and Dissertations

The issue of food insecurity is a growing problem. Multiple studies and organizations have examined and attempted to solve the issue of hunger. The Hunger Task Force was founded in Milwaukee in 1974 and influenced by grassroots organizing of concerned Milwaukee residents’ efforts to help alleviate hunger in Milwaukee. I examine the historical context of the city of Milwaukee that led to the inception of the Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee. This thesis delves deeper into the origins of the Hunger Task Force and how those origins related to its operations in the 1980s and early 1990s.

I utilize archival …

Planifikimi Strategjik Në Rritjen E Shërbimeve Publike, Blerona Aliu

Theses and Dissertations

Zhvillimi i burimeve njerëzore është konceptuar shume nga teoricienë te ndryshëm, dhe gjatë kësaj kohe është vënë gjithashtu ne funksion nga organizata te ndryshme. Megjithëse ka një marrëveshje ne objektivin e gjerë të zhvillimit të burimeve njerëzore i cili ka si qellim te përmirësoje zhvillimin dhe performancën individuale, mosmarrëveshjet përqendrohen ne mjetet e këtij përfundimi. Zhvillimi i burimeve njerëzore mbetet një koncept i ndërlikuar dhe i diskutueshëm. Zhvillimi i burimeve njerëzore përfshin shume disiplina: për shembull ekonomi, sociologji dhe psikologji; dhe ka pak a shume lidhje dhe marrëdhënie direkt me një game të gjerë idesh dhe funksionesh menaxhimi; për shembull …

Globalizmi Ne Aspektin Ekonomik, Agon Dedushi

Theses and Dissertations

Globalizmi është bërë fjala më e përdorur në çdo kohë dhe në çdo kontekst, në diskurset ndërkombëtare zyrtare dhe jozyrtare në kontekstin e ndërvarësisë së ekonomisë dhe kombeve. Globalizimi ka evoluar me kalimin e kohës. Globalizimi ka filluar të jetë i rëndësishëm që prej përfundimit të luftës së ftohtë dhe ka përshpejtuar çlirimin e shpejtë të ekonomive në zhvillim. Globalizimi nuk është një fenomen thjesht bashkëkohor. Sipas Chanda:"i punuar në heshtje për mijëra vite pa iu dhënë një emër". Vërtet, proceset e globalizimit po evoluojnë vazhdimisht, të shtyrë nga aspiratat ekonomike të miliona rreth globit sa më shumë …

Performanca Dhe Menaxhimi I Performancës Në Sektorin Publik (Komuna E Pejës), Lorik Ibrahimi

Theses and Dissertations

Në punim është shqyrtuar se si bëhet menaxhimi i performancës në sektorin publik dhe sa ndikon menaxhimi dhe vlerësimi i performancës së punonjësve të sektorit publik. Menaxhimi i burimeve njerëzore është një proces i cili është i fokusuar tek marrëdhëniet njerëzore, ku në mënyrë që kontributi i tyre në punë të jetë sa më i madh, me anë të menaxhimit bëhet sigurimi i mirëqenies së tyre.

Vlerësimi i performancës lidhet ngushtë me suksesin e një institucioni sepse sa më e madhe të jetë performanca e punonjësve aq më shumë edhe institucioni në tërësi do të korr sukses, por për të …

Women In Law Enforcement: The Impacts And Obstacles They Face In A Hispanic- And Male-Dominated Culture, Lisa M. Seiser

Theses and Dissertations

Despite a lack of female law enforcement representation in police departments across the country and especially in the Border Patrol, there have been minimal studies performed that focus on the obstacles women face in these professions. The purpose of this study was to attempt to understand the lived experiences of female law enforcement officers/border patrol agents in this male-dominated profession, but also adding the aspect of them working in a Hispanic-dominated culture.

The findings revealed these women in law enforcement working in a Hispanic area face many of the same obstacles as women in other parts of the country - …

Degree Of Bilingualism, Age, Income And Teacher Ratings Of Giftedness As Potential Predictors Of Dichotic Listening Performance, Francisco J. Sierra

Theses and Dissertations

Bilinguals and gifted individuals have consistently shown distinctive patterns of performance on measures of brain laterality and auditory processing. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between bilingualism, teacher ratings of giftedness, and auditory divided attention by comparing children and adults with income partialed out. Child participants from first to fifth grade were included in addition to an adult comparison group. Assessment of bilingualism, auditory divided attention, and giftedness occurred via the Woodcock-Munoz Language Survey-III (WMLS-III), the Dichotic Test of Attention (DITA), and the Hispanic Bilingual Gifted Screening Instrument (HBGSI). The main hypothesis of this study is …

Examining The Relationship Between Yoga Participation And Health. You Down, Dog?, Bethany Forseth Hanson

Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence of debilitating chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) and Alzheimer’s disease, are increasing in the United States. Inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, stress and depression are common pathologies associated with these chronic diseases. Many individuals engage in yoga because they believe it will improve their health. However, research examining the impact of yoga on markers of health associated with chronic diseases is limited and often reports conflicting results. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation is to examine the relationship between yoga and inflammation, protein content of oxidative phosphorylation complexes, stress and depression, which may support the use of lifestyle …

Business-School Partnerships In Career And Technical Education, Michael E. Trimberger

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

BUSINESS-SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS IN CAREER AND

TECHNICAL EDUCATION

by

Michael E. Trimberger Jr.

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2019

Under the Supervision of Professor Dr. Elise Frattura

Public education in Wisconsin has come under harsh political scrutiny in recent years. Schools have been asked to reduce budgets and use the tools provided through legislative changes. The reduction of budgets has not come with a reduction of expectations for our schools. Since 2011, high school principals have been forced to implement Academic Career Plans and ensure that every student graduate college and career ready along with their already comprehensive list of requirements. …

A Game Modeling Of A Closed-Loop Supply Chain In A Water-Energy Nexus: Technology Advancement, Market Competition And Capacity Limit, Nabeel Hamoud

Theses and Dissertations

Water and energy are two scarce and concerning resources interconnected in the water-energy nexus. In the nexus, production of energy needs water, and production of water needs energy. For better management of these resources in the nexus, this research considers a supply chain that consists of water suppliers, power suppliers, and consumers of these commodities. In the chain, water suppliers purchase power from power suppliers, and power suppliers purchase water from water suppliers. Other consumers can also buy these resources at the water and power markets. Each firm tries to maximize its own profit. The suppliers of water and power …

Consumer Health Information Needs, Seeking And Searching Behavior By Rural Residents In The Kachia Grazing Reserve, With A Focus On Vector-Borne Diseases, Musa Dauda Hassan

Theses and Dissertations

Information is considered the basic material for making decisions. People from all walks of life have information needs for business and personal use. Consumer Health Information (CHI) is an emerging form of information made accessible to the layperson. It is a simplified form of information from the types of information available to medical professionals. This study examines the health information behavior of the residents of one region in the Kachia Grazing Reserve (KGR) located in the North West of the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. This dissertation explores the health information needs, seeking and searching behavior of the residents of …