Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Acute Stress On Human Prefrontal Working Memory Systems, Anthony J. Porcelli, Daniel Cruz, Karen Wenberg, Michael D. Patterson, Bharat B. Biswal, Bart Rypma

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

We examined the relationship between acute stress and prefrontal-cortex (PFC) based working memory (WM) systems using behavioral (Experiment 1) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI; Experiment 2) paradigms. Subjects performed a delayed-response item-recognition task, with alternating blocks of high and low WM demand trials. During scanning, participants performed this task under three stress conditions: cold stress (induced by cold-water hand-immersion), a room temperature water control (induced by tepid-water hand-immersion), and no-water control (no hand-immersion). Performance was affected by WM demand, but not stress. Cold stress elicited greater salivary cortisol readings in behavioral subjects, and greater PFC signal change in fMRI …

The Campaign Value Of Incumbency: A New Solution To The Puzzle Of Less Effective Incumbent Spending, Kenneth Benoit, Michael Marsh

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

A puzzle in research on campaign spending is that while expenditure is positively related to votes won, this effect is far more strongly, or even exclusively, enjoyed by challengers rather than by incumbents. We unearth a new explanation for the puzzle, focusing on the hidden, yet variable, campaign value of office perquisites which incumbents deploy in their campaigns to win votes. When these variable office benefits are unobserved, then the effect is to make observed incumbent spending less effective than spending by challengers. Using data from the 2002 Irish general election, where incumbency was assigned a variable campaign value and …

Modeling Geographic Population Dispersion Utilizing Geospatial Information System Environment Agents In An Agent Based Model, Karl D. Liebert

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

New capabilities in agent based model (ABM) environments are opening the door to the creation of ABM that may incorporate high-quality, real world environment data in the form of Geospatial Information System (GIS) files . In the past, GJS environments were only possible through extensive software development efforts focused on specific model applications.

This thesis explores the value and issues of using GIS data to provide an ABM environment. It examines the ability of ABM development environments (DE) to support GIS environment data. The selected ABM DE is then used to model population behavior in an environment defined by authoritative …

Spatial Analyses And Repletion Of Gargathy Coastal Lagoon, Loreto Herraiz Gomez

OES Theses and Dissertations

Coastal lagoons and bays vary in shape and size in response to antecedent topography, geologic processes and sea level rise. Variations in shape and environmental conditions of coastal basins are believed to influence the distribution of benthic sub-environments and the exchange of water with the ocean and other adjacent coastal systems. Gargathy Inlet and its coastal lagoon vary spatially from the inlet, where the greatest depths are observed, to the mainland, dominated by shallow intertidal areas, colonized by marsh. Hypsographic and hydro-hypsographic analyses of Gargathy's coastal lagoon were the primary techniques applied to understand the relative distribution of the benthic …

Extra-Legal Characteristics And Sentencing Disparity Among Federal Drug Offenders, Justin D. Galasso

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The development of the federal sentencing guidelines was made as an attempt to provide a uniform standard of sentencing procedure for defendants convicted within the federal legal system. Unfortunately, such unvarying policy has over the years birthed a system of sentencing that lacks equality among like defendants. The Supreme Court, in 2005, ruled that the sentencing guidelines were no longer to be compulsory during sentencing procedures, but rather act as an ancillary tool. The present study examines multiple legal and extra-legal variables and their influence on two aspects of imprisonment probability for federal drug offenders for the years of 1999-2006: …

Hiv/Aids: An Opportunistic Infection Of Globalization?, David H. Lee

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Student Psychotropic Drug Use, Past Therapy Experience And Length Of Therapy, Leigh Ann Mathis

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The goal of the present study was to examine the relationships between college students with prior therapy and psychotropic drug experience and total number of therapy sessions. This study also investigated specific types of medications students were taking and total number of therapy sessions attended. The first hypothesis under investigation was that students who have received therapy prior to beginning treatment would remain in therapy significantly longer than participants who have received no prior therapy. It was also hypothesized that students who were prescribed psychotropic medications prior to beginning therapy will remain in therapy significantly longer than students who were …

Explicating Global Wellbeing In College Students Using Health Risk Behaviors And Adjustment To College, Jeanine S. Mcdermott

Theses and Dissertations

Priority health risk behaviors including binge drinking, unsafe driving, and unprotected sex are often times established in adolescence, extend into college life, are interrelated, and negatively impact wellbeing. A paucity of research exists associating behaviors with perceptions of wellness. Without baseline knowledge of how college students' life-style choices, behaviors, and adjustment influences their sense of wellness, professionals do not have standards to evaluate the effectiveness of wellness-oriented interventions.

The purpose of this study was to explicate global wellbeing in 18-24 year old college students. Explaining global wellbeing was based on the influence of specific health risk behaviors and adjustment to …

Innovation And The Welfare Effects Of Public Drug Insurance, Darius Lakdawalla, Neeraj Sood

Darius N. Lakdawalla

Rewarding inventors with inefficient monopoly power has long been regarded as the price of encouraging innovation. Prescription drug insurance escapes that trade-off and achieves an elusive goal: lowering static deadweight loss, without reducing incentives for innovation. As a result of this feature, the public provision of drug insurance can be welfare-improving, even for risk-neutral and purely self-interested consumers. The design of insurers’ cost-sharing schedules can either reinforce or mitigate this result. Schedules that impose higher consumer cost-sharing requirements on more expensive drugs help ensure that insurance subsidies translate into higher utilization, rather than pure increases in manufacturer profits. Moreover, some …

Participatory Journalism Practices In The Media And Beyond, David Domingo, Thorsten Quandt, Ari Heinonen, Jane Singer, Marina Vujnovic

Jane B. Singer

This article is a contribution to the debate on audience participation in online media with a twofold aim: (1) making conceptual sense of the phenomenon of participatory journalism in the framework of journalism research, and (2) determining the forms that it is taking in eight European countries and the United States. First, participatory journalism is considered in the context of the historical evolution of public communication. A methodological strategy for systematically analysing citizen participation opportunities in the media is then proposed and applied. A sample of 16 online newspapers offers preliminary data that suggest news organisations are interpreting online user …

Juvenile Drug Court Program Admission, Demeanor And Cherry-Picking: A Research Note, Holly Miller, J. Barnes, J. Miller, Chris Gibson

Holly Ventura Miller

The influence of demeanor in criminal justice research has predominantly centered on arrest and sanctioning outcomes. This study examines demeanor at the juncture of juvenile drug court admission by attributing behavior perceived to be favorable or unfavorable to program compliance and success to either juveniles or their parents/guardians. Analysis of 76 juvenile drug court case files enabled examination of how parent and child demeanor impacts specialty court admission. Findings suggest that program admittance (i.e., system leniency through diversion) is largely a function of projected attitude and behavior during screening interviews, but selection decisions are made irrespective of demeanor source. Implications …

Poder Presidencial De Nominación Y Equilibrio Institucional, Javier Revelo-Rebolledo, Mauricio García-Villegas

Javier E Revelo-Rebolledo

No abstract provided.

Teaching The Teacher: Integrating Information Literacy Into The Curriculum, Sonya Shepherd, Robert Fernekes

Sonya S. Gaither

No abstract provided.

Alternative Models Of Network Growth: Preferential Attachment, Preferential Acquisition, And The Lure Of The Associates In Early Word Learning, Thomas Hills, Mounir Maouene, Josita Maouene, Adam Sheya, Linda Smith

Josita C Maouene

No abstract provided.

Review Of Branded Male By Mark Tungate (2008), James Pokrywczynski

James Pokrywczynski

No abstract provided.

Stress-Induced Attenuation Of Acoustic Startle In Low-Saccharin-Consuming Rats., Clinton Chapman, Mitzi Gonzales, Cameryn Garrett, Nancy Dess

Clinton D Chapman

Exposure to stress can lead to either increased stress vulnerability or enhanced resiliency. Laboratory rats are a key tool in the exploration of basic biobehavioral processes underlying individual differences in the effect of stress on subsequent stressors’ impact. The Occidental low (LoS) and high (HiS) saccharin-consuming rats, which differ in emotional reactivity, are useful in this effort. In the present study, footshock affected acoustic startle amplitude 4h later among LoS but not HiS rats. Surprisingly, shock attenuated startle rather than sensitizing it, a finding not previously reported for male rats exposed to shock. Attenuation was blocked by administering the anxiolytic …

Teaching The Teacher: How To Integrate Information Literacy Into The Curriculum, Robert Fernekes, Sonya Shepherd

Sonya S. Gaither

No abstract provided.

Stress-Induced Attenuation Of Acoustic Startle In Low-Saccharin-Consuming Rats., Clinton Chapman, Nancy Dess, Mitzi Gonzales, Cameryn Garrett

Clinton D Chapman

Exposure to stress can lead to either increased stress vulnerability or enhanced resiliency. Laboratory rats are a key tool in the exploration of basic biobehavioral processes underlying individual differences in the effect of stress on subsequent stressors' impact. The Occidental low (LoS) and high (HiS) saccharin-consuming rats, which differ in emotional reactivity, are useful in this effort. In the present study, footshock affected acoustic startle amplitude 4 h later among LoS but not HiS rats. Surprisingly, shock attenuated startle rather than sensitizing it, a finding not previously reported for male rats exposed to shock. Attenuation was blocked by administering the …

Communication And Relationships In Cultural, Intercultural, And Cross-Cultural Perspective: An Ethnographic Journey, Kristine Fitch

Kristine Muñoz

No abstract provided.

Teaching The Teacher: Integrating Information Literacy Into The Curriculum, Sonya Shepherd, Robert Fernekes

Sonya S. Gaither

No abstract provided.

Does Treatment Respond To Reimbursement Rates? Evidence From Trauma Care, Paul Heaton, Eric Helland

Paul Heaton

Some models of provider behavior predict that physicians, like other experts, may respond dysfunctionally to financial incentives by recommending unnecessary treatment. We empirically test this relationship using data from inpatient hospitalizations surrounding a 2003 Colorado auto insurance reform. The reform shifted a large fraction of auto injury patients from coverage through auto insurers to less generous sources of reimbursement, such as health insurance and self-pay. Despite negligible changes in auto injury characteristics during this period, treatment supply increased following the reform. Procedure use rose by 5-10% and billed charges rose by 5%, and these increases are specific to auto but …

Do Police Discriminate? Evidence From Multiple-Offender Crimes, Paul Heaton, Charles Loeffler

Paul Heaton

A large body of prior research examines whether differential arrest rates of minorities reflect disproportionate minority involvement in crime or institutional bias that targets enforcement towards minorities. This research has been limited by difficulties in measuring the extent to which minority offending differs from offending in general. In this paper we exploit the fact that some crimes are committed by groups of both Black and White offenders to estimate the extent to which minority offenders face differential probabilities of arrest. Our research design permits us to control for all observable and unobservable circumstances associated with each offense for this subpopulation. …

Teaching Accountability Using Client Feedback Software, Jacqueline Sparks, Jerome Adams, Tiffani Kisler, Dale Blumen

Tiffani S. Kisler

No abstract provided.

Assessing An Institution-Wide Information Fluency Program: Commitment, Plan, And Purposes, Penny Beile

Penny Beile

The End Of The American Century, David Mason

David S. Mason

Rights Of Teachers, Marsha L. Matthews

Marsha Matthews

No abstract provided.

An Economy With Personal Currency: Theory And Evidence, Shyam Sunder

Shyam Sunder

No abstract provided.

Comments On “Assessing The Predictive Power Of Labor-Market Indicators Of Inflation,” By Farrokh Nourzad, Maria Ibanez

Maria Ibanez

No abstract provided.

Stress-Induced Attenuation Of Acoustic Startle In Low-Saccharin-Consuming Rats., M. Gonzales, C. Garrett, C. D. Chapman, Nancy K. Dess

Nancy K Dess

Exposure to stress can lead to either increased stress vulnerability or enhanced resiliency. Laboratory rats are a key tool in the exploration of basic biobehavioral processes underlying individual differences in the effect of stress on subsequent stressors’ impact. The Occidental low (LoS) and high (HiS) saccharin-consuming rats, which differ in emotional reactivity, are useful in this effort. In the present study, footshock affected acoustic startle amplitude 4 h later among LoS but not HiS rats. Surprisingly, shock attenuated startle rather than sensitizing it, a finding not previously reported for male rats exposed to shock. Attenuation was blocked by administering the …

How Will Obama Election Affect India?, Shyam Sunder

Shyam Sunder

No abstract provided.