Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Motivation Of Working Practitioners Seeking A Doctoral Education: From The Perspectives Of Confucian Learning Philosophy, Anna Ching-Yu Wong

Dissertations - ALL

This doctoral study explores the motivational orientations of working practitioners pursuing a professional doctoral program who are former and current DPS-IM program students at Syracuse University, School of Information Studies. The found motivational orientations are compared to Confucian philosophy principles of self-cultivation illustrated in The Great Learning (DaXues`å>{t) which is considered the first of a set of Four Books (Sishusl`t). The manuscript's structure consists of a brief of three principles, followed by eight steps that promote individual self-cultivation. Researchers frequently utilize these steps as a connection between civil conduct applied to social and political order (e.g. Keenan, 2011, p. …

The Effect Of Maternal Separation And Postnatal Oxytocin Administration On Social Recognition In Adolescent Female Mice, Nathaniel Richard Thomas

Dissertations - ALL

A vast body of literature indicates that exposing rodents to maternal separation during infancy results in long - term developmental changes in physiological, behavioral, and psychological domains. Because several previous studies have indicated that maternal separation may be detrimental to the processing and discrimination of social cues, the primary aim of this dissertation was to determine whether separating female infant mouse pups from their mother, but not siblings, for 3 hrs daily, during the first two weeks of life, influences social recognition during adolescence (Experiment 1). This dissertation also sought to evaluate whether postnatal administration of the oxytocin would influence …

The Incentive Effects Of Health Insurance On Labor Market Outcomes And Ssdi/Ssi Utilization, Chun-Chieh Hu

Dissertations - ALL

Chapter 1

While there has been a tremendous amount of literature on how Unemployment Insurance (UI) affects unemployed workers' job search behavior, there has been no previous study on how the health insurance premium subsidy affects this behavior. To fill the gap in previous studies, this paper analyzes the impact of the substantial federal health insurance premium subsidy on unemployment duration, using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). To begin this study, I detail the history of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of 1985 that was established to help keep unemployed workers insured. Furthermore, …

Understanding The Use And Impact Of Social Media Features On The Educational Experiences Of Higher-Education Students In Blended And Distance-Learning Environments, Michael John Scialdone

Dissertations - ALL

Students are increasingly expecting social media to be a component of their educational experiences both outside and inside of the classroom. The phenomenon of interest in this dissertation is understanding how the educational experiences of students are affected when social media are incorporated into online and blended course activities. Qualitative case studies are undertaken toward this end from a Human-Computer Interaction perspective by proposing 4 research questions: (1) How does the use of social media in blended-learning courses impact students' educational experience? (2) How does the use of social media in online courses impact students' educational experience? (3) How do …

Three Essays On Robust Estimation Of Key Factors Underlying The Changes To The U.S. Income Distribution, Pallab Ghosh

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation consists of three chapters and mainly focuses on the robust estimation of different important factors contributing changes to the U.S. income inequality over the last two decades. The primary objective is to precisely estimate different labor market outcomes when the behaviors of the tails of the distribution bear much importance. These studies are very relevant in the current context of the U.S. labor market because over the last three decades the U.S. income distribution have come very skewed and therefore, we are more interested at the behaviors of the the upper and lower-tails of the U.S. income distribution …

Laboring Lesbians At Gas Stations: Pumping The "Good Life", Amy Jo Tweedy

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation project is an interdisciplinary exploration of laboring lesbian bodies within the context of U.S. gas stations. I begin with an investigation of the history of gas stations in connection with the oil industry and the company for which they work. In addition, I examine how institutions of class, gender and sexuality are imprinted onto laboring lesbian bodies within the workplace. I suggest that the work within U.S. gas stations is now primarily feminized labor as is typical of the service economy. I also highlight the ways in which sexuality matters in the workplace through an analysis of the …

The Ghost Of Olmsted: Nature, History & Urban Park Restoration In Boston's Emerald Necklace, Phil Birge-Liberman

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation examines the nineteenth-century production, the twentieth-century deterioration, and the twenty-first century restoration of Boston's Emerald Necklace, a 1,100-acre series of parks and parkways designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. (1822-1903). Originally built to meet a particular set of aesthetic landscape tastes, over time this park system changed to meet the recreational needs of visitors. Throughout, the Emerald Necklace has served the interests of Boston's urban elite. It is, therefore, an appropriate case for examining the historical relationship between power and landscape. The parks of the Emerald Necklace did more than provide pretty views and space for play; they …

Powering The Future: Siting Guidelines For Renewable Wind Energy Development In Eastern Colorado, Zach Ancona

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Wind energy is one of the fastest growing renewable energies around the world. The United States contains approximately 49,000 active wind turbines and Colorado accounts for less than 3 percent of that number, even though Colorado ranks 11^th in the nation for wind development potential. The siting process for wind development is lengthy, taking from 5 to 10 years, and many facilities that are proposed end up not being built due to complications from inadequate pre-siting techniques. The research in this report aims to identify high priority areas in eastern Colorado through the examination of key variables used in …

Using Gis To Predict Areas Of Cultural Resources Within The Walnut Canyon Study Area Near Flagstaff, Arizona, Laura Pernice

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Predicting locations of cultural resource in the Walnut Canyon Study Area near Flagstaff, Arizona was accomplished by using geostatistical and spatial analysis techniques of Directional Distribution, Kernel Density, and Average Nearest Neighbor. Known cultural resource sites within Walnut Canyon National Monument were analyzed to identify spatial patterns and densities to apply the results to the study area. Cultural resource sites are predicted to be highly clustered within 200 feet of fresh water sources as well as in woodland and shrub land vegetation types. Results can be used for land-use managers to identify areas to survey with high potential of containing …

Potential Impacts To Resident Populations, Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project, Megan Ross

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

In 2014, the Alaska Energy Authority is preparing to construct a hydropower dam on Alaska's Susitna River, known as the Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project. Changes to water levels, sediment content, and flow rates are likely to affect the river itself and the salmon that are sustained by the Susitna ecosystem. The potential geomorphological and biological impacts of the dam as they could affect activity in the local communities are studied using currently available data. GIS tools are applied to identify areas of reservoir fill, risk of erosion, and endangerment of salmon habitat; then compare these impact areas to areas used by …

Introducing Wireless Grids Technology To The Field Of Telemedicine, Dale W. Meyerrose

Dissertations - ALL

While telemedicine and technology-enabled education are not new concepts and have significant bodies of research, in depth application to management and treatment of veteran Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is relatively new. The conflicts in the Southwest Asia over the last two decades have significantly increased the need for healthcare and support services for these returning warriors. Creative thinking and innovative technologies are needed to meet the growing and changing demand of these patients in the face of many competing demands within the U.S. healthcare sector.

This doctoral research study investigated the potential for a platform-agnostic …

The Relationships Between Stress, Social Support, Maternal Self-Efficacy, Maternal Depression, Maternal Reports Of Child Demandingness And Maternal Reports Of Child Social And Emotional Quality Of Life In A Sample Of Overweight And Obese Women Two Years Post Childbirth, Elizabeth Banks Feldhousen

Dissertations - ALL

Emotional problems in the postpartum period affect both mothers and children. This is particularly salient for mothers who are overweight or obese, who have been shown to be more at risk for adverse postpartum outcomes than mothers who were of a normal weight before pregnancy. The current study examined the relationships between maternal stress, maternal depression, social support, maternal self-efficacy, maternal perceptions of child demandingness, and child social and emotional quality of life (as the outcome variable) in the two years after a second childbirth among a sample of overweight and obese women. The subjects of this analysis were the …

Geographies Of Containment: Logics Of Enclosure In Aboriginal And Asylum Seeker Policies In Australia's Northern Territory, Kate Shipley Coddington

Dissertations - ALL

In this dissertation, I explore how logics of enclosure underscore policies about national identity, citizenship, and belonging in Australia. Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory, has become a central place for policy struggles over migration and Aboriginal communities over the past ten years. The city offers a lens through which to read geopolitical processes of migration and detention, sovereignty and citizenship, and settler colonialism and consider their consequences for people's everyday lives. Asylum seekers in Australia face policies of mandatory detention while they wait and hope for refugee status, and Darwin's many immigration detention centers have earned it the …

Agglomeration Economies, Investment In Education, And Regional Development, Shimeng Liu

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation consists of two essays that study the linkages among agglomeration economies, investment in education, and regional development. In the first essay, I study the impact of a federal educational investment on various aspects of local economies. In the second essay, I examine the spillover effects among workers with different skills, which are identified by their college majors.

The first essay presents evidence of direct spillovers from universities and examines the short- and long-run effects of university activities on geographic clustering of economic activity, labor market composition and local productivity. I treat the designation of land-grant universities as a …

Politics Of Popular Creativity And Popular Knowledge: On The Case Of Adbusters And Harry Potter Fans, Stephanie Schreven

Dissertations - ALL

My research looks at and investigates popular creativity and the politics involved in two different cases. I situate popular creativity and the politics involved in the context of cultural studies.

My first case looks at advertisements that are placed under attack, or busted. I investigate the different politics of defamiliarization between two specific busted ads. The politics of defamiliarization create moving images based on the Freudian uncanny and Brechtian Verfremdung. My second case involves Harry Potter fans and fan fiction writing. Specifically, I investigate the politics of closure or stereotyping involved in a copyright dispute over the publication of the …

Father Involvement In Low-Income Families: Evidence On Predictors Of Involvement From Two Large Scale Maternal-Child Health Datasets, Mark Dean Thomas

Dissertations - ALL

The literature on father involvement in low-income, racially diverse families has grown in recent years, but is far from complete. Continued research is needed to better understand those factors that support father involvement, which has been identified to be a key contributor to maternal and child wellbeing. This dissertation examines the utility of using existing, large-scale maternal-child health datasets to generate insights into the processes that contribute to father involvement. Two large scale maternal-child health data sets on low-income families were examined to improve our understanding of the nature of father involvement at birth and in infancy/early childhood. Multinomial logistic …

Fan Music Videos, Fan Romanticism, And Romantic Content, Alexis Bordeaux Finnerty

Theses - ALL

Twilight and Harry Potter have become extremely successful multimedia franchises in large part thanks to the two series' devoted fans. Many fans not only consume these two series, they also produce stories, pictures, and videos that seem to use the characters from Twilight and Harry Potter to fulfill their own romantic fantasies. However, the tremendous popularity of fan music videos and the diverse demographics of the videos' producers and consumers challenge some of the assumptions early qualitative researchers made about fan communities. The study of fandom would be greatly advanced by a quantitative study that connects producers to their content; …

Interaction Effects Between The 5-Httlpr Genotype And Family Environments On Adolescent Alcohol Use And Misuse, Jueun Kim

Theses - ALL

Emerging evidence shows that the 5-HTTLPR genotype interacts with social environments and influences drinking behaviors. However, few studies have examined interaction effects between the 5-HTTLPR genotype and specific aspects of family environments on adolescent drinking. The present study investigated whether the effects of family conflict or parental monitoring on adolescent drinking differed as a function of the 5-HTTLPR genotype cross-sectionally and longitudinally. It was replicated in two independent samples consisting of 175 adolescents in the U.S. and 4,916 adolescents in the U.K. The results of path analyses and multi-group analyses showed that, in the two samples, the 5-HTTLPR low-activity allele …

Investigating The Role Of Social Environmental Stress And Implicit Motives In Predicting Salivary Alpha-Amylase Reactivity To The Social Competence Interview, Jun A. He

Theses - ALL

Salivary alpha-amylase is emerging as a promising proxy for assessing sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) axis activity. However, it is not known whether a brief semi-structured behavioral assessment, such as the social competence interview (SCI), also elicits alpha-amylase changes. I hypothesized that (1) the SCI would elicit alpha amylase reactivity, (2) social environmental stress (i.e, high levels of exposure to violence during childhood and low perceived community social status) would predict the alpha-amylase response to the interview and (3) that agonistic striving would mediate the relationship between social environmental stress and amylase reactivity. The study sample was comprised of healthy young adults aged …

Starved For Information: The Conflict Between Mobilizing Hunger Strikes And Distracting Media Frames, Alicia Wright

Theses - ALL

This study considers the newspaper coverage of Irom Sharmila's on-going, 13-year hunger strike in India to question how information from the media plays a role in generation of social movement conflict. With specific attention paid to the cultural context and method of protest, the study applies theories of conflict, social movement planning, and framing to examine whether the hunger strike elicits coverage that includes salient frames generated by the movement. Such coverage could signify a potential shift in the protest paradigm applied to English-language newspapers in India. Through a quantitative content analysis, articles pertaining to Irom Sharmila's hunger strike against …

Black, Yellow, And Shades Of Purple: Radical Afro-Asian Collective Activism In The San Francisco Bay Area From The Perspectives Of Women In The Struggle, 1966-1972, Jeanelle Kevina Hope

Theses - ALL

The San Francisco Bay Area emerged as radical space for student and youth driven activism during the 1960s. The area was the birthplace of Ethnic studies and a key organization of the Black Power era--the Black Panther Party. This work uncovers the shared activist centered relationship between African Americans and Asian Americans by interrogating how members of the Asian American Political Alliance (AAPA) and the Black Panther Party (BPP) worked within the frameworks of grassroots and collective activism to address local and Third World liberation. Furthermore, this work seeks to bring forth and provide a space for the suppressed voices …

When Heritage Preservation Meets Living Memory: Constructing The Medina Of Fez As A World Heritage Heterotopia, Matthew Houdek

Theses - ALL

This project engages the UNESCO World Heritage program's international place-making and heritage preservation campaign, and the processes that are carried out to transform an everyday cultural place into a World Heritage site. I consider what effects these preservation projects and the tourists they attract have on communities of living memory, while also engaging non-Western conceptions of heritage and the local processes for how it is preserved or produced in such contexts. To these ends, I look at one of the first non-Western urban sites to be inscribed on the World Heritage list-- the Medina of Fez, Morocco. The Medina offers …

20 Weeks, 13 Hours, 140 Characters: The Abortion Controversy In The Texas State Senate And Online, Elyse Nicole Janish

Theses - ALL

The abortion controversy in America has long been characterized by problematic discourse in which neither prolife nor prochoice groups make headway in persuading the other side. This thesis examines the discourse of the abortion controversy as it played out in and around the Texas State Senate on June 25th, 2013, during a filibuster of a restrictive abortion bill known as Senate Bill 5 (SB5), by Senator Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth). The analysis focuses on three sets of data: first, the testimonies authored by citizen protestors and animated by Senator Davis; second, the question-and-answer period between Senator Davis and Republican Senator …

Cripping The Memoir: Unraveling The Discourse Around Disabled Athletes' Identities, Jessica Kerley

Theses - ALL

This thesis rhetorically examines the discourse surrounding disability and body capabilities. I employ feminist theory, queer theory, disability, theory and performance theory as I analyze the memoirs and media surrounding two disabled elite athletes, Sarah Reinertsen and Mark Zupan. I examine the construction of identity for these athletes and what the language use surrounding these athletes means to the current status of disability discourse. These memoirs have the potential to reach a large lay audience, and therefore, the opportunity to educate and challenge assumptions. My analysis leads me to conclude that the limitations of memoir and societal pressures allow for …

Research Brief: "The Impact Of Sport And Physical Activity On The Well-Being Of Combat Veterans: A Systematic Review", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief is about the influence that sports and exercise have on veterans' well-being and therapies that impact the well-being of combat veterans. In policy and practice, healthcare practitioners should prepare comprehensive treatment models that encompass physical activity and sports where appropriate, and support groups should encourage veterans to participate in competitive sports or other recreational activities; the DoD could expand programs to provide sports to more disabled combat veterans and the VA should re-evaluate its programs to ensure there are no barriers to participation. Suggestions for future research include studying the effects of sports and exercise on the well-being …

Gis Tools For Bicycle Network Analysis And Planning, Mike Lowry

PSU Transportation Seminars

This presentation is a showcase of various GIS tools developed for bicycle network analysis and planning. The showcase includes a tool for assessing community-wide bikeability, a tool for forecasting bicycle volumes based on street topology, and a tool for evaluating different bicycle improvement plans in terms of exposure to danger situations for bicyclists. The tools will be demonstrated with case study data. The presentation will include a review of the Highway Capacity Manual Bicycle Level of Service and a discussion about using bicycle and pedestrian data collected through citizen-volunteer count programs.

Professional Development Beyond Lis Education: Building Bridges For Success, Annick Lapalme, Marni R. Harrington

Marni Harrington

Poster presentation: Library and Information Science graduate students are advocates of lifelong learning and access to information. But what happens after graduating from a Canadian LIS-accredited institution? Does access to LIS resources continue for recent graduates to support lifelong learning? Continuing education often means self-directed learning, which includes staying abreast of research and publications available only through costly bibliographic databases. Questions are raised about access for LIS grads and professionals: Who has access to LIS resources and how is it supported?

Hot Zone Identification: Analyzing Effects Of Data Sampling On Spam Clustering, Rasib Khan, Mainul Mizan, Ragib Hasan, Alan Sprague

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Email is the most common and comparatively the most efficient means of exchanging information in today's world. However, given the widespread use of emails in all sectors, they have been the target of spammers since the beginning. Filtering spam emails has now led to critical actions such as forensic activities based on mining spam email. The data mine for spam emails at the University of Alabama at Birmingham is considered to be one of the most prominent resources for mining and identifying spam sources. It is a widely researched repository used by researchers from different global organizations. The usual process …

Investigative Techniques Of N-Way Vendor Agreement And Network Analysis Demonstrated With Fake Antivirus, Gary Warner, Mike Nagy, Kyle Jones, Kevin Mitchem

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Fake AntiVirus (FakeAV) malware experienced a resurgence in the fall of 2013 after falling out of favor after several high profile arrests. FakeAV presents two unique challenges to investigators. First, because each criminal organization running a FakeAV affiliate system regularly alters the appearance of their system, it is sometimes difficult to know whether an incoming criminal complaint or malware sample is related to one ring or the other. Secondly, because FakeAV is delivered in a “Pay Per Install” affiliate model, in addition to the ring-leaders of each major ring, there are many high-volume malware infection rings who are all using …

Work In Progress: An Architecture For Network Path Reconstruction Via Backtraced Ospf Lsdb Synchronization, Raymond A. Hansen

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

There has been extensive work in crime scene reconstruction of physical locations, and much is known in terms of digital forensics of computing devices. However, the network has remained a nebulous combination of entities that are largely ignored during an investigation due to the transient nature of the data that flows through the networks. This paper introduces an architecture for network path reconstruction using the network layer reachability information shared via OSPF Link State Advertisements and the routines and functions of OSPF::rt_sched() as applied to the construction of identical Link State Databases for all routers within an Area.