Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Moving Toward And Away From Others: A Person-Centered Analysis Of Social Orientations In Emerging Adulthood, Nathan A. Jorgensen

Theses and Dissertations

Emerging adulthood is a time rife with transitions, and is thus an important time period to study the various ways in which people both connect with and move away from others, or how they are socially oriented. Previous research has suggested a number of factors that contribute to social orientations, including social motivations, the self in relation to others, other-directed emotions and cognitions, and actual social behaviors. The current study examined what types of social orientations exist and how they relate to indices of relational and individual well-being in a sample of US emerging adults (N = 787). Using latent …

The Effectiveness Of Utilizing The Treatment Support Measure For Treatment Planning In Youth Mental Health Services, Adam D. Garland

Theses and Dissertations

The use of treatment support tools to enhance client outcomes is not well understood in the youth treatment literature. Adult outcome researchers have found that the use of Clinical Support Tools (CST) leads to improved outcomes with clients identified as at risk for treatment failure. However, the American Psychological Association (APA) has noted that understanding important client factors that influence treatment is critical during the clinical formulation and treatment planning phase of therapy. No studies to date have evaluated the effectiveness of utilizing a CST as a treatment planning tool with youth clients. The purpose of this study was to …

Association Between Latent Toxoplasma Gondii Infection And Alzheimer's Disease, Cynthia Elizabeth Wyman

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Many studies have found an association between Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and behavioral and cognitive changes in animal models and in humans. In addition, early findings have suggested an association between T. gondii seropositivity and Alzheimer's disease (AD). We sought to determine whether there is an association between T. gondii seropositivity and AD as well as cognitive functioning (including memory, working memory, processing speed, language functioning, executive functioning) in a large, well-characterized sample of subjects with AD and matched controls without dementia. Method: Using ELISA assays, we determined anti-T. gondii IgG antibody titers in 114 control subjects and in 105 …

An Imagined Community Of Practice: Online Discourse Among Wheelchair Users, Leslie Cochrane

Arts & Sciences Articles

People with disabilities often live in local communities primarily made up of people without disabilities: in the absence of a geographic community of people with disabilities, the internet becomes a valuable tool for connecting individuals across both local and global contexts.
The power of computer-mediated communication (CMC) to allow individuals to interact both locally and globally has been well-studied in linguistics (e. g. Baron 2008; Page 2012), and this work has included the discourse of e-health (e. g. Hamilton 1998; Locher 2006, 2013) and the online discourse of people with disabilities (Al Zidjaly 2011, 2015). Less research has been done, …

Magically Empathetic: An Investigation Of Theory Of Mind And Empathy In The Harry Potter Series, Lindsey M. Layman

Honors Theses

Research suggests that reading fiction can increase empathy, and a number of studies have found the Harry Potter series to promote pro-social values. One prosocial value that has not been explored directly in relation to the series, however, is empathy. Defined as “the experience of understanding another person’s condition from their perspective,” empathy is the motivation behind many prosocial behaviors and values, making it an important focus of investigation. In this study, I conduct a textual analysis of the Harry Potter series using the perspective of theory of mind and simulation theory as a guide. After analyzing a range of …

Identities And Persistence Of Family Farm Operators, Parker T. Arnold

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the identities of family farm operators and the challenges to maintaining viable farm operations in today’s agricultural economy. Employing a grounded qualitative approach, the author conducted 18 in-depth interviews with principal farm operators from Iowa and Tennessee. Using the insights of farmers from geographically different agricultural regions, this study notes how preserving family histories, socialization processes, and farming as a moral career inform operators’ understandings of themselves and the work they do. The analysis also focuses on how family farm operators contend with a globalized agricultural economy and the moral and ethical concerns of managing a …

Only The Earth Remains: Exploring The Machine In Selected Lyric Poetry Of Robinson Jeffers, Mark Hutton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In The Machine in the Garden: Technology and the Pastoral Idea in America, Leo Marx “evaluates the uses of the pastoral ideal in the interpretation of American experience” (Marx 4). While Marx explores ways that pastoralism has been impacted by factors such as industrialism, it is the purpose of this project to explore Marx’s assertion regarding the presence of the figurative and literal machine within the poetry of Robinson Jeffers.

Jeffers’ poetry is generally located within the landscapes of California. His lyric poetry has a distinct connection to the land and is driven by inhumanism, which works to shift …

Access To Healthy Foods: A Descriptive Analysis Of Farmers’ Markets, Food Deserts & Usda Food Assistance Programs In Tennessee Census Tracts, Twanda D. Wadlington

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Food deserts are a growing problem in the United States, and occur in areas of low-income where people have limited access to healthy foods. In response, the presence of farmers’ markets has grown exponentially, and improved healthy food access. Additionally, the USDA has strived to connect families to healthy foods through food assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP). This study investigated the relationship between farmers’ markets, their acceptance of food assistance benefits, and their locations within Tennessee …

The Effect Of Periodized Strength Training And Periodized Concurrent Training On Running Performance, Nicholas Fiolo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this dissertation was to evaluate the changes in preparedness over the course of training for a marathon in two well-trained runners. The athletes completed periodized strength training or a periodized concurrent training. This dissertation consisted of two separate investigations:

Study 1 – The purpose of this study was to monitor changes in force production ability and running performance in one sub-elite marathon runner before, during, and after undertaking a short-term block periodized strength training program. The athlete ceased strength training during the off-seasons and resumed testing after 10. The athlete experienced likely true, meaningful changes in force …

Parent-Teacher Communication About Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Examination Of Collaborative Problem Solving, Gazi F. Azad, Mina Kim, Steven C. Marcus, David S. Mandell, Susan M. Sheridan Dr.

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Effective parent-teacher communication involves problem-solving concerns about students. Few studies have examined problem solving interactions between parents and teachers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with a particular focus on identifying communication barriers and strategies for improving them. This study examined the problem-solving behaviors of parents and teachers of children with ASD. Participants included 18 teachers and 39 parents of children with ASD. Parent-teacher dyads were prompted to discuss and provide a solution for a problem that a student experienced at home and at school. Parents and teachers also reported on their problem-solving behaviors. Results showed that parents and …

Letter From The Editor, Amy James

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Everything Counts Toward Book Collection Development, Terry Kennedy

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Print Propaganda Art In World War Ii America, Zeynep Kazmaz

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

Print Propaganda Art in World War II America World War II started in Europe with Germany’s invasion of Poland on September 1st 1939. Many major countries around the globe were involved in the Second World War. The major Axis Powers were Germany, Japan, and Italy. The major Allied Powers, on the other hand, were Great Britain and France, joined by the Soviet Union in June 1941. The U.S., after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7 1941, would also join the war and become a crucial member of the Allies. During the Second World War, Americans often followed …

Improving Reading Through Fine Motor Skill Development In First Grade, Tyler West-Higgins

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Children who struggle with learning to read in first grade, fall behind, and have difficulty catching up with their peers. Research has shown students who struggle to read in first grade, also struggle to read in later years. The purpose of this study was to determine if an intervention to enhance fine motor skills to a select group of students in one class room increased their reading abilities. This was a mixed methods research study which assessed the quantitative data from the running record assessments, and the qualitative data taken by teacher-aide during assessment process post fine motor intervention. This …

Rhode Island Current Conditions Index -- December 2017, Leonard Lardaro

The Rhode Island Current Conditions Index

No abstract provided.

Financial Exploitation Of Maine's Older Adults: An Analysis Of Maine Adult Protective Services And Legal Services For The Elderly Case Records, State Fiscal Years 2010-2016, Eileen Griffin Jd, Catherine Mcguire Bs, Kimberly I. Snow Mhsa, Ba

Disability & Aging

The goal of this study was to capture information about the amount of money Maine’s older adults have lost to financial exploitation, along with information about those exploited, the perpetrators of financial exploitation, the type of loss, and amount of money lost. This report summarizes key findings emerging from this analysis. In particular, we found that, when compared to Maine’s general population of adults age 60 and older, the victims of financial exploitation served by Maine's Adult Protective Services (APS) and Legal Services for the Elderly (LSE) are more likely to be age 80 and older, female; and widowed, single, …

Front Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Editorial, Teri Behrens

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Funder Collaborations — Flourish Or Flounder?, William Porter, Kelly James, Robert Medina, Barbara Chow

The Foundation Review

Funders regularly collaborate to leverage their influence, channel their funding, and mobilize grantees in the same direction. Our sector’s default assumption is that more collaboration is better — even as too many collaborations end with a whimper instead of a bang. Why do some funder collaborations flourish, and others flounder?

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Education First participated in a half-dozen joint funding efforts to support the success of the Common Core State Standards in the nation’s K–12 public education system. Looking critically at these efforts, we learned lessons about why some collaborations are more effective.

Funder collaborations …

Quantity And Quality Limit Detritivore Growth: Mechanisms Revealed By Ecological Stoichiometry And Co-Limitation Theory, Halvor M. Halvorson, Erik Sperfeld, Michelle A. Evans-White

Faculty Publications

Resource quantity and quality are fundamental bottom-up constraints on consumers. Best understood in autotroph-based systems, co-occurrence of these constraints may be common but remains poorly studied in detrital-based systems. Here, we used a laboratory growth experiment to test limitation of the detritivorous caddisfly larvae Pycnopsyche lepida across a concurrent gradient of oak litter quantity (food supply) and quality (phosphorus : carbon [P:C ratios]). Growth increased simultaneously with quantity and quality, indicating co-limitation across the resource gradients. We merged approaches of ecological stoichiometry and co-limitation theory, showing how co-limitation reflected shifts in C and P acquisition throughout homeostatic regulation. Increased growth …

Let Them Eat Lunch: The Impact Of Universal Free Meals On Student Performance, Amy Ellen Schwartz, Michah W. Rothbart

Center for Policy Research

This paper investigates the impact of extending free school lunch to all students, regardless of income, on academic performance in New York City middle schools. Using a difference-in-difference design and unique longitudinal, student level data, we derive credibly causal estimates of the impacts of “Universal Free Meals” (UFM) on test scores in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics, and participation in school lunch. We find UFM increases academic performance by as much as 0.059 standard deviations in math and 0.083 in ELA for non-poor students, with smaller, statistically significant effects of 0.032 and 0.027 standard deviations in math and ELA …

Poverty Mapping Using Convolutional Neural Networks Trained On High And Medium Resolution Satellite Images, With An Application In Mexico, Boris Babenko, Jonathan Hersh, David Newhouse, Anusha Ramakrishnan, Tom Swartz

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

Mapping the spatial distribution of poverty in developing countries remains an important and costly challenge. These “poverty maps” are key inputs for poverty targeting, public goods provision, political accountability, and impact evaluation, that are all the more important given the geographic dispersion of the remaining bottom billion severely poor individuals. In this paper we train Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to estimate poverty directly from high and medium resolution satellite images. We use both Planet and Digital Globe imagery with spatial resolutions of 3-5 m2 and 50 cm2 respectively, covering all 2 million km2 of Mexico. Benchmark poverty estimates come from …

A Survey Of A Rural Southwest Arkansas Baptist University On Engagement In Spiritual Disciplines And Attitudes Toward Nutrition In The Church, Elizabeth Fast

Dietetics and Nutrition Class Publications

Background: Due to America’s declining health, effective interventions are needed to reverse the trend. Churches may be an ideal setting for these interventions because of established resources and the potential for intrinsic motivation.

Objective: The purpose of this research was to assess the current efforts of churches to influence health by surveying students of a Baptist liberal arts university in Southwest Arkansas.

Methods: Before conducting the survey, the study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Ouachita Baptist University. The questionnaire included basic demographic information and a series of statements with Likert scales. Sixty-six individuals were recruited …

Comparison Of International Student's Dietary Intake In The United States Versus In The Student's Home Country, Gail Lange-Smith, Sydney Van Scyoc

Dietetics and Nutrition Class Publications

International students studying at universities in the United States are subject to experiencing dietary acculturation while adapting to American food and culture. Such changes in eating patterns and behaviors are difficult to prevent and can negatively affect weight and health status. In this study, international students at a small, private college in Southwest Arkansas completed a questionnaire to assess the difference between their intake at home and intake in America. The students were found to have made undesirable changes in their eating patterns, and perceived an American style diet to be unhealthy. Students indicated that since living in America, they …

The Eating Habits Of College Females And How Stress Affects Eating Behavior, Rachel Russom, Abigail Fontenot

Dietetics and Nutrition Class Publications

Background College females experience much stress from a variety of areas in their lives. Often times this stress affects usual eating behaviors and may even lead to disordered eating habits.

Objectives To examine whether stress affects the eating habits of college females in this study and how their eating is affected. We assumed that stress would affect eating habits. We also examined how stress makes a person a feel and if that can influence or contribute to disordered eating habits.

Participants/setting Sixty-two women from Tri-Chi women’s social club at Ouachita Baptist University completed a questionnaire October 16, 2017. The participants …

Marian Library Celebrates 75 Years, Andrew Kosmowski

Marian Library Faculty Publications

News article announcing the Marian Library's 75th anniversary celebration and prompting readers to see a special website featuring anniversary events.

The Gifts Of Membership, Andrew Kosmowski

Marian Library Faculty Publications

Appeal for support for CLA: gift sponsorships.

Activism, Not Passivism: Identity, Experience, And Emotion, Victoria Hallie Rose Webb

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Homelessness Among Women Veterans: A Systematic Review Of The Risk Factors, Staceyann Graham

Social Work Theses

Background: As more women joined the armed forces the population of women veterans inevitably increased and with it so did the rates of women veteran homelessness. Women veterans are a unique group of women who also possess protective factors from homelessness, yet are 3 to 4 times likely to become homeless than non-veteran women. The purpose of this systematic review is to glean from other articles and studies what the risk factors for women veteran homelessness are. Method: A systematic review of 7 articles were conducted using the PRISMA method as a guideline for selecting the articles. Results: 5 articles …

Newsletter Catholic Deaf Of Detroit, December 2017

Newsletter Catholic Deaf of Detroit

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Detroit, MI

Newsletter Catholic Deaf of Detroit Finding Aid