Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

An Examination Of The Five Factors Of Personality, Pubertal Onset And Alcohol Usage In Adolescent Males, Sarah Wickman

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Recent national surveys have demonstrated an increase in alcohol use among adolescents over the past five years (Johnston, O'Malley, & Bachman, 2003; Kann et al., 2000). It is important to understand factors that influence alcohol use in order to aid in the creation of preventative measures due to the many possible negative consequences associated with drinking alcohol (i.e., unwanted sexual activity, delinquency, abuse of other drugs, violence, car accidents, and poor academic performance) (Boyd, Howard, & Zucker, 1995). Two factors that have been studied as possible predictors of adult and adolescent alcohol use are personality and pubertal onset. Specifically, studies …

Effects Of Internal Versus External Attribution And Body Mass Index On Weight Prejudice, Margaret Richardson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The primary purpose of this research was to examine the effect of internal and external attribution and a person's Body Mass Index on weight prejudice. Data for this research was obtained from an ABC News/Time Magazine Poll (2004). Logistic regression was used to analyze the data. My hypothesis that people who internally attribute the cause of being overweight or obese will be more likely to be prejudiced toward overweight or obese individuals was supported by my findings. My hypothesis that people who internally attribute the cause of obesity and have a lower Body Mass Index would be more likely to …

Creating An Assessment Tool For Muscle Dysmorphia, Jennifer Short

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Throughout the years, men have been viewed as having few body appearance problems. However, recent research has begun to acknowledge the presence of body image issues with men. In particular, Muscle Dysmorphia (MD) is a disorder that has received attention in the last decade (Pope, Gruber, Choi, Olivardia, & Phillips, 1997; Olivardia, 2001). Many of the symptoms found in eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorder are similar to those seen in MD. The goal of this study is to create such an assessment tool for use in clinical settings. Pope et al. (1997) outlined and Olivardia (2001) refined the diagnostic …

Implicit And Explicit Attitudes Towards Body Images, Kenneth Brasel

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study examined the differences of men's and women's implicit and explicit attitudes towards three constructs of body images: muscular, obese, and skinny. Participants were 101 volunteers and included 31 male and 70 female college students attending Western Kentucky University. Age of the participants ranged from 18 to 59 years, with a mean of 21.23 years (SD = 6.47). All participants were given a questionnaire with a series of male and female body images along a continuum of obese-skinny-muscular. Participants were asked to first identify their current body image and then their ideal body image. They were then asked to …

The Relationship Among Sense Of Humor, Defense Style, Levels Of Trait Anxiety, And Locus Of Control, Emily Averitt

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to explore the possible interrelatedness of sense of humor, defense mechanism style, level of trait-type anxiety, and locus of control; to compare any trait patterns that occur among these constructs; and to generate ideas about the significance of these patterns and their implications for clinical application. Participants were 100 individuals, 18 years of age or older, predominantly from the student body of a medium-sized southern university. Participants were asked to complete the Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale (MSHS), Defense Style Questionnaire-40 (DSQ-40), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait Scale (STAI-T), and the Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control …

A Model Of The Natural Spread Of The Invasive Insect Species Emerald Ash Borer In The Lower Peninsula Of Michigan, Jennifer L. Weller

Masters Theses

More than 8 million ash trees in southeast Michigan have been killed by an infestation of the invasive insect species emerald ash borer (EAB). Since its identification in July 2002, EAB has been found in Ontario (Canada), Ohio, Indiana, and across Michigan. To date, EAB research has concentrated on the entomological classification and no systematic prediction of the pest's diffusion has been made.

This research presents a predictive model for the spread of EAB across the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Limited data on ash tree population distribution, ·. infestation distribution, and the dispersal rate of the emerald ash borer required …

The Effects Of Feedback On Hourly Pay And Individual Monetary Incentives, Douglas A. Johnson

Masters Theses

The effects of performance feedback when individuals received fixed or individual incentive pay were examined. A 2 X 2 factorial design was used with approximately 30 college students in each group. Participants attended six experimental sessions. They entered the cash value of simulated bank checks presented on a computer screen. Monetary incentives increased the number of correctly completed checks (p = .000); however feedback had no effect (p = .825). Time spent working and rate of performance correlated strongly with the number of checks completed correctly, suggesting that both influenced the checks completed correctly. The results suggest that incentives increase …

Connections: Library News For Library Staff Vol. 2, Issue 11, University Of Texas At Arlington Library

Connections: Library News for Library Staff

The purpose of Connections was to build community within UTA Library staff by reminding people of upcoming events and dates, introducing new staff members, celebrating a department's achievements, and writing about other items of interest.

Interlanguage Coda Production Of Hmong Second Language Learners Of English, Renae L. Caneday

Theses and Dissertations

This paper reports on Hmong speakers' acquisition of English in children ages 9 and 12 on final voiced and voiceless consonants and consonant clusters, none of which occur in Hmong codas except /ŋ/. The learners' production patterns were considered using an Optimality Theory account to understand the conflict between the learner's first language constraints and the learner's target language constraints. The main findings of this study are that the Hmong language and the English language constraints interacted in an ordered fashion allowing predictable patterns in production. The final consonants and consonant clusters were often deleted or changed by the intermediate …

Space And Place In The Metropolis: Arabs And Muslims Seeking Safety, Louise Cainkar

Social and Cultural Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Utilization Of Income Tax Credits By Low-Income Individuals, Stacy Dickert-Conlin, Katie Fitzpatrick, Andrew Hanson

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

The Internal Revenue Service-a sub-agency that exists to collect revenue-has the task of administering and enforcing a wide array of social policy: from subsidies for college and child care expenses, to creating jobs in depressed areas, and assisting welfare recipients with employment. While these new or expanded credits represent a new paradigm in the delivery of social policy, little is known about who uses these programs and, equally important, who does not use these programs. Understanding utilization is a key to understanding how effective this means of transferring income is and whether we are reaching the targeted populations. This paper …

"Anticipatory Self-Defense" And Other Stories, Jeanne M. Woods, James M. Donovan

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

We argue that the specious justification for the invasion of Iraq -- a war based on a pretext of anticipatory self-defense -- necessarily exacerbates the inherent tendency of war to dehumanize and humiliate the enemy. This tendency is particularly evident in the variant of anticipatory self-defense that we have denominated as "capacity preemption," a type of claim that by definition depends upon characterizations of the opponent as utterly inhuman.

The Bush Doctrine tells a timeless story of self-defense. This story is shaped by an identifiable and predictable narrative structure, one that is able to transform the morally outrageous -- an …

Empirical Studies Of Foreign Direct Investment, Joseph P. Daniels

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Immigrant Entrepreneurs And Neighborhood Revitalization: Studies Of The Allston Village, East Boston And Fields Corner Neighborhoods In Boston, Ramon Borges-Mendez, Michael Liu, Paul Watanabe

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

Although somewhat later than other major urban areas, Boston has been experiencing fundamental demographic changes. The 2000 Census reported that for the first time non-Hispanic whites constitute a minority of the city’s population. Subsequent Census estimates confirm an even stronger trend toward a rapidly diversifying population.

Immigration has been a major factor in this growth and diversification. A recent report shows that over the last 15 years more than 22,000 new immigrants have annually settled in Massachusetts. The foreign-born as a percentage of the population has grown from 9.4 percent in 1980 to 14.3 percent in 2004.

Exploring Behavior And Social Relationships Of A Captive Group Of Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), Crystal E. Anderson

Masters Theses

An observational study was conducted on a captive group of chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes to determine the overall behavior patterns, social organization, grooming relationships, and enclosure usage. Adolescence is a very dynamic time for young males and new group dynamics were expected to occur. The aim of the study was to investigate any shifting of social bonds among the group members and changes in the ranks of the two adolescent males. The two adolescent males (Lu and Mugsy) should have been demonstrating dominance behaviors towards the females, towards each other, and exhibiting sexual behaviors. Due to the unique group composition and …

Television News Violence And Children’S Fear Reaction, Lin Wang

Masters Theses

Do parents perceive that exposure to violence on television news programs is a problem for their young children? Although considerable research has shown that media violence in other forms (cartoons, movies, television entertainment programs) has several negative effects on children, almost no research or policy attention has been given to children’s exposure to violent events in television news broadcasts. The purpose of this study was to examine the rates of 4-5 years old children’s exposure and fear reaction to television news violence as it relates to several ecological variables, including parental gender, race, education level, household income, family structure and …

Framing, Athletics, And Gender: A Study Of Newspapers And The 2004 Olympics, Nathan Lee Kirkham

Masters Theses

This study serves as an extension of previous research focusing on media content and gender portrayal of female athletes, most notably Kinnick’s research of the 1996 Olympics (1998). In particular, this research analyzed newspaper content for the presence of common framing devices traditionally used to inject gender bias into coverage devoted to female Olympians. More specifically, a data set of 210 articles systematically drawn from The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times

was manually coded to compare coverage of male and female Olympians during the 2004 Olympic Games.

While there were some notable exceptions, …

Consumers’ Perceptions Of And Responses To Green Cause-Related Marketing, Betsy Suzanne Saylor

Masters Theses

In the last few decades, cause-related marketing has been increasingly refined as a method for companies to go beyond meeting the material needs of consumers (Marconi, p. xi). As cause-related marketing has developed, the variety of tactics, causes, and ethical issues has become more prevalent. The nature of cause-related marketing is conducive to a growing number of approaches, further narrowing and defining target markets through the selection of more specific causes. Competing alongside the marketing campaigns supporting cancer research is cause-related marketing geared toward restoring native species in the county of a company’s headquarters. The purpose of this study is …

Attachment Security: The Genesis Of Parenting Style?, Ian P. Haag

Masters Theses

There is a great deal of literature examining attachment security and parenting styles but little research has considered these topics in relation to each other. This paper examines the nature of this relationship with a particular focus on Baumrind’s (1978) categorical parenting styles and Bowlby’s (1969) attachment theory. Utilizing a clinic population of 20 parents, it was proposed that securely attached parents would evidence authoritative parenting styles, while insecurely attached parents would evidence no-authoritative parenting styles. The Adult Attachment Projective (AAP), the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ), and the Adult Attachment Scale (AAS) were utilized in assessing attachment security. The Parental Authority …

Spatiotemporal Variations In The Fire Regimes Of Whitebark Pine (Pinus Albicaulis Engelm.) Forests, Western Montana, Usa, And Their Management Implications, Evan Reed Larson

Masters Theses

Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) is a long-lived tree species that exists throughout high elevation forest communities of western North America. It is the foundation of a diminishing ecosystem that supports Clark’s nutcrackers, red squirrels, grizzly bears, and black bears. The decline of this species is directly related to mortality from widespread mountain pine beetle outbreaks and infestation by the invasive white pine blister rust, and may be exacerbated by fire suppression. Prescribed fire will be a primary management tool in efforts to preserve whitebark pine on the landscape. My research used dendrochronology to investigate the fire history of …

A Comparison Of Human Decomposition In An Indoor And An Outdoor Environment, Genevieve T. Ritchie

Masters Theses

In the medicolegal context, forensic anthropologists assist investigators by gathering information from skeletal remains. While humans decompose in both indoor and outdoor environments, little research has been performed on the differences in the decomposition rate and process between subjects in an indoor environment and subjects in an outdoor environment. Limited accessibility to appropriate facilities for a comparison study between indoor and outdoor decomposition rates has prevented such research from being attempted. Documented through daily notes and photographs, six human subjects were observed from the fresh to the end of the bloat stages of decomposition. Three subjects were placed in an …

Nonlinear Dynamics And Interpersonal Correlates Of Verbal Turn-Taking Patterns In A Group Therapy Session, David Pincus, Stephen J. Guastello

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Interpersonal processes and dynamics are ubiquitous topics in psychotherapy, yet they are difficult to study and are theoretically fragmented across therapeutic subdisciplines. The current study tests an integrative model of interpersonal dynamics in small groups using nonlinear dynamical systems theory. The conversation of one group therapy session (with six adolescent sex offenders) is analyzed using orbital decomposition, which allows for the identification of patterns in categorical time series data. The results show evidence of selforganizing social patterns, based on formal measures of turbulence (Lyapunov dimension), information novelty (Shannon's entropy), and complexity (fractal dimension). The degree of patterning in turn taking …

What Is The Ideal Consensus Conference, And How Would We Recognize It If We Saw One?, Jan R. Coe

Working Papers on Science in a Changing World

The consensus conference is a participatory mechanism that envisages ordinary citizens engaging with experts (scientists and other knowledge producers) on issues of compelling social significance. It invites ordinary citizens to bring their life experience and values to the serious consideration of a technology that may have far-reaching consequences. Three selected examples of consensus conferences are examined in order to see how they match the ideal. The paper concludes with thoughts about the adequacy of evaluation frameworks and suggest that a more dynamic model of consensus conference evaluation (based on public understanding of science models) might invite more compelling reflections about …

Information-Seeking Behavior Of Social Sciences And Humanities Researchers In The Internet Age, Xuemei Ge

Masters Theses

This study focuses on how Internet technology influences and contributes to the information-seeking process in the social sciences and humanities. The study examines the information-seeking behavior of faculty and doctoral students in these fields and observes and extends Ellis’s model of information-seeking behavior for social scientists, which includes six characteristics: starting, chaining, browsing, differentiating, monitoring, and extracting.

The study was conducted at Tennessee State University. Thirty active social sciences and humanities faculty and doctoral students were interviewed about their use of Internet resources, their perception of electronic and print materials, and their opinions concerning the Ellis model and how it …

Natural Forum And The Elusive Significance Of Jurisdiction Agreements, Tiong Min Yeo

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The Singapore court's power to stay its proceedings by reason of its not being the appropriate forum the proceedings ought not to be continued is underpinned by the common law principle enunciated in The Spiliada that generally a trial should be heard in its natural forum. The Rainbow Joy adds significantly to Singapore law on forum non conveniens on two important points. First, it establishes that it is not necessary to show that the alternative forum abroad is constituted as a court of law. Secondly, the case establishes that whether there is a defense claim on the merits is an …

Radar - A Novel Admission Control And Handoff Management Scheme For Multimedia Leo Satellite Networks, Syed Rashidali Rizvi

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks are deployed as an enhancement to terrestrial wireless networks in order to provide broadband services to users regardless of their location. In addition to global coverage, these satellite systems support communications with hand-held devices and offer low cost-per-minute access cost, making them promising platforms for Personal Communication Services (PCS). LEO satellites are expected to support multimedia traffic and to provide their users with some form of Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees. However, the limited bandwidth of the satellite channel, satellite rotation around the Earth and mobility of end-users makes QoS provisioning and mobility management …

Curriculum Development Of Elang 105: A Ge First-Year Academic Literacy Course For International Students, Tamara Lee Burton Lamm

Theses and Dissertations

Each year more international students enroll in American universities, and administrators nationwide must determine how to meet students' unique writing needs. Compared to similar institutions of higher learning, Brigham Young University (BYU) has a large percentage of international students—4.3 percent of the student body, approximately 2,000 students each year from 112 countries. Prior to Fall 2004, international students were placed in courses offered through the English composition program, which focuses on "mainstream" college writers who compose in their first language (L1) and not on second language writers and their unique needs. As a result, many international students did poorly and …

A Look At 20 Academic Libraries Technical Services Web Pages, Deana Groves

DLTS Faculty Publications

The 21st century technical services librarian has access to a plethora of electronic and online work tools from which to choose to complete daily tasks. An assessment of the Western Kentucky University Libraries 19 benchmark institutions shows a great disparity of online work tools made available through university libraries technical services departmental web sites. Four areas (technical services, cataloging, serials, and acquisitions) are discussed. Outcomes indicate that 1) few of these institutions list online work tools and 2) of those that do, there is very little overlap. This paper investigates this phenomenon of inconsistent technical services online work tools.

“Texts Memorized, Texts Performed: A Reconsideration Of The Role Of Paritta In Sri Lankan Monastic Education.”, Jeffrey Samuels

Philosophy & Religion Faculty Publications

During the past twenty years there has been a growing interest in monastic education within the larger field of Buddhist studies. Within the last ten years in particular, a number of monographs and articles examining the training and education of monks in Korea (Buswell [1992]), Tibet/India (Dreyfus [2003]), Thailand/Laos (Collins [1990], McDaniel [2002, 2003]), and Sri Lanka (Blackburn [1999a, 1999b, 2001] Samuels [2002]), have been published. Many of those works have paid particular attention to the texts used in monastic training, as well as to how the information contained in those very texts is imparted to and embodied by monks …

Change, Competition And Specialisation: The Demise Of The Comprehensive Secondary School And Its Implication, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

No abstract provided.