Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Orthodontists’ And Patients’ Preferences In Website Design In The Selection Of An Orthodontic Practice: A Comparative Study, Taylor R. Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: To determine which website characteristics are preferred by orthodontists, adult patients, and parents of patients.

Materials and Methods: 1,000 active members of the American Association of Orthodontists and 750 active orthodontic patients/parents were sampled. Participants rated the importance of website characteristics, indicated presence of those characteristics on the current website, and ranked sample website images. Preferences were compared between orthodontist and the patient/parent group using t-tests and sample websites were compared using ANOVA models and Tukey’s adjusted post-hoc tests. Significance level was set at 0.05.

Results: 11 of the 16 website features showed significant differences between patients/parents and orthodontists. …

Market Ambiguity And Individual Investor Information Demand, Rajib Hasan, Abdullah Kumas, Joyce Van Der Laan Smith

Accounting Faculty Publications

We examine whether ambiguity in the market leads to an increase in information demand by individual investors. Drawing on the asset-pricing model proposed by Mele and Sangiorgi (2015), which incorporates market ambiguity, we measure individual information demand using daily Google searches and measure market ambiguity using a metric based on the market trades of institutional investors. We find that individual investors increase their information demand during periods of greater market ambiguity. We also provide evidence that information demand from individual investors spikes around earnings announcement days primarily when market uncertainty is driven by net-selling activity. Overall, these results suggest that …

The Experience Of Transgender Students In Study Abroad Programming, Nicholas Mcintyre

Capstone Collection

Studying abroad has become a highly valued experience for college students, though the types of participants that study abroad programming attracts tend to be fairly homogenous (Havergal, 2016; IIE, 2017). Sojourners who fall outside this homogeny tend to go unrepresented in study abroad literature and research (Engel, 2017; IIE, 2017). This research will attempt to provide the experiences of one of these unrepresented groups by the answering the following research questions: What is the experience of transgender students in study abroad programming? How can knowledge of this experience inform effective practices to provide transgender students with an experience equitable to …

Training In The Digital Age: A Practitioner's Reflections On Incorporating Traditional Classroom Strategies Into Remote Training, Mary Duggan

Capstone Collection

As internet usage increasingly dominates workplace culture, remote training has become more commonplace, particularly for wide-spread organizations looking to reduce training costs. Webinars are frequently being utilized to eliminate travel and materials costs associated with in person training. This Course-Linked Capstone in Training seeks to explore the application of training and leadership theory in remote training sessions. The central research question was: How can a trainer co-create an effective learning environment and incorporate engaged pedagogy and adult learning theory into a remote training setting? This paper analyzes the relationship between trainer and participant through an exploration of philosophies of leadership …

Coming To Voice: An Analysis Of Social Justice And Transformative Learning Approaches In English Language Curriculum Design, Lucy Burriss

Capstone Collection

Language is a tool for communication and an expression of cultural values, norms and beliefs. Teaching the English language is a global profession that carries social justice and ethical implications. The School of English for Engaged Social Service (SENS), a program of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB) offers an alternative and transformative English learning opportunity, which emphasizes self-reflection and strengthening interpersonal relationships to live a life of greater integrity and work towards social change. Yet, there are still social justice implications to consider in any program or initiative. This Training Course Linked Capstone (CLC) is an analysis of …

Cacao Together: A Model For True Sustainability In The Chocolate Industry, Kerstin Roos

Capstone Collection

This Course Linked Capstone provides a critical analysis of the concept of sustainable development and then uses this analysis to create a social venture plan for a non-profit called Cacao Together. This capstone project will identify challenges in the sustainable use of cacao by first critiquing the mainstream sustainable development initiatives of certification schemes and corporate sustainability programs. It then offers an alternate framework through the 5 Capital Livelihood assessment tool which when applied, shows the gaps in cacao sustainability initiatives generally. I then propose a social venture that will addresses the needs of many parts of the chocolate supply …

Exploring How Reflective Exercises Affect First-Year Engineering Epistemological And Intelligence Beliefs, Amber J. Kemppainen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This work explores the effects of the implementation of a KWL reflective learning exercise on first-year engineering students’ self-efficacy, intelligence beliefs (mindset), and epistemological beliefs. A sample of 428 first-year engineering students were divided into three groups: a) control, b) exposure to KWL, and c) used KWL. Significant differences were found in self-efficacy between the groups with more efficacious students being less likely to utilize the KWL activity. Seventy-seven percent of the students who used the KWL activities reported positive learning outcomes by using the KWL activity to focus their class preparation or to reflect on their learning. No significant …

The Effects Of Music Therapy Techniques On Clients In A Substance Abuse Group, Moyosore Fabiyi

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of music therapy on clients with substance abuse history attending group sessions in a behavioral health facility. Specifically, the mechanism by which lyric analysis or the musical component may lead to positive therapeutic outcomes was examined. In order to assess the effectiveness of music therapy techniques, a comparison was made between conditions of music alone, lyric analysis alone and music with lyric analysis. One may be able to argue that the mechanism by which music therapy affects clients may lay within the music itself and clients listening to that music. …

Is The Relationship Between College Drinking Behaviors And Social Anxiety Mediated By Alcohol Expectancies And Traumatic Life Experiences?, Cortney Lin Kingsmill

Masters Theses

The relationship between alcohol consumption and social anxiety is difficult to understand, as there have been mixed findings in the research. In general, a positive correlation has been found between the two, with a focus on the mediating effect of alcohol outcome expectancies. Both positive expectancies and trauma have been correlated positively with social anxiety and drinking behavior. This paper reviews the literature and examines the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol consumption. A mediated model between these two variables with the mediators being alcohol expectancies and traumatic experiences was proposed, but this model did not fit the date. Specifically, …

Investigating The Impact Of Foreign Direct Investment On Domestic Investment In Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case Study Of Kenya And South Africa, George Anaman

Masters Theses

In the progression towards economic growth, countries consider investment as a critical feature in raising productivity levels by boosting technological progress and reducing the unemployment rate. In recent years, the government of South Africa and Kenya have both enacted policies to entice Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the view of creating more jobs and bolstering the economy. However, in the bid to attract these foreign investors, FDI may either end up complementing or stifling local investments over time. From this perspective, the objective of the study is to investigate the impact of FDI on Domestic Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) …

Digit Ratio As A Predictor Of Risk Taking And Sensation Seeking Personality Traits And Behaviors, Hanna Elizabeth Hobson

Masters Theses

Digit ratio is the difference in length between the pointer finger and the ring finger on either hand. Commonly referred to as the 2D:4D ratio, this ratio is determined prior to birth, and serves as an indicator of prenatal hormone exposure. Digit ratio has been found to correlate with fundamental personality and behavior characteristics in adulthood. Digit ratio is also thought to be a determinate of sexual orientation in both men and women, but has been debated in the literature. This study examined multiple 2D:4D relationships. Men who were found to have a more masculinized (ie. lower) digit ratio had …

A Guide To Patient-Provider Interactions In Women's Healthcare, Emma Welton

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Linguistic Correlates Of The Quiet Ego In Narratives About The Self, Katherine Maurer

Masters Theses

Increasingly, research has shown that the drive to elevate the self and the excessive pursuit of self-esteem have negative effects on well-being and mental health. In addition, many of the defensive and aggressive tendencies seen in psychological research can be seen as efforts to defend and elevate the self. In contrast to these tendencies, the quiet ego construct describes a state of ego balance characterized by an inclusive sense of identity, perspective-taking, detached awareness (mindfulness), and growth orientation. The quiet ego and related qualities have been associated with many positive outcomes. A body of research using the Linguistic Inquiry and …

Social Anxiety And Drinking Behaviors In College Students: Mediated By Alcohol Outcome Expectancies Specific To Social Situations?, Toby Board

Masters Theses

Understanding the relationship between social anxiety and problematic drinking is a difficult task. Studies examining this relationship have commonly found a positive correlation between social anxiety and drinking behaviors, although the literature is marked by mixed results. If social anxiety does positively predict alcohol use, then what accounts for this relationship? Some researchers posit that alcohol outcome expectancies may be a mediator for this relationship. Alcohol outcome expectancies specific to the context of social evaluative situations may be a stronger mediator than general alcohol outcome expectancies. A study to test this mediation was conducted with xxx undergraduate students. Results showed …

Perceptions Of Unrestricted Gift Giving And The Integrity Of Public Servants In Nigeria, Malachy Ogbonna Ugwu, Mark Gordon

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Public policy regulation in Nigeria allows public servants to accept gifts without restriction based on local culture. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand this cultural practice and its implications for the integrity of public servants. Using Mettler and SoRelle’s conceptualization of policy feedback theory, the research questions focused on the perceptions of civic organization leaders on this cultural practice in relation to the integrity of high-level public servants in a region of Nigeria. Data were collected from 10 purposely selected public administrator leaders using open-ended, semistructured interview protocols, and an analysis of publicly available documents. The …

Letter From The Political Science Department Chair, Kathleen Montgomery

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Partisanship On The Passage Of Environmental Legislation, Samantha Yoest

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

This paper addresses the question of how partisanship plays a role in congressional productivity by looking at the number of environmental laws passed each year. This includes analysis of anti-environmental legislation and the connection to party. It was found that, on average, Democratic majorities produce more environmental laws than Republican majorities. Not only that, but polarization has the largest influence on environmental legislation. With an increase in polarization on environmental issues, more anti-environmental legislation is being voted on in Congress, and fewer environmental laws are being passed per year. Ultimately, the conditions producing the lowest number of roll-back environmental bills …

The Dichotomy Of Justice, Yovana Milosevic

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

The history of disobedience is as lengthy as the history of legislation. For as long as there have been laws, there have been those who oppose them. Civil disobedience, as Howard Zinn defines the term, is the “deliberate violation of law for a vital social purpose” (Zinn 2002) - a definition broader than that of Abe Fortas. Fortas’ definition of civil disobedience is the “peaceful, nonviolent disobedience of laws which are themselves unjust and which the protester challenges as invalid and unconstitutional." (Fortas 1968). The dilemma of which conditions under which dissenters against democratic states are justified lies precisely within …

Blaming Mr. Taxman Do Regressive State Tax Codes Impact K-12 Education Spending Per Student?, Alex Stogin

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

This paper seeks to understand the impact that state tax code structuring has on a state’s ability to fund K-12 education using a multiple regression model to evaluate the regressivity of a state’s tax code on it’s per student funding for K-12 education. Using empirical data collected and analyzed by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), this paper first utilizes a bivariate correlation matrix and then an ordinary least squares regression model to explain if tax code regressivity, or any other controlled variables, have any impact over spending per student in K-12 education by the state. The findings …

The Value Of Green Certification On Single-Family Houses In The Chicagoland Area, Raymond Bolton

Honors Projects

In the United States, residential buildings alone account for 33% of energy consumption. Rising concerns about environmental impacts due to human consumption, as well as health concerns related to pollution have caused a higher demand for environmentally conscious houses. Homebuilders have responded by providing green certifications for houses, attesting to a building’s efficiency in various aspects, such as site design and energy and water consumption. Using Multiple Listing Services real estate data on zero- to five-year-old houses sold between 2010 and 2017 in the Chicagoland area, this study examines whether there is a price premium associated with qualifying for green …

Implications Of Regional Banking Industry On Regional Business Dynamics, Rowland Filbert

Mark A. Israel '91 Endowed Summer Research Fund in Economics

Entrepreneurship and its job creation capacity play an important social function and this study analyzes how the health of a regional banking industry affects these regional business dynamics. Using a panel dataset covering all 50 states and Washington, DC for the period 1977-2014, several key outcome variables were estimated using a fixed effects and instrumental variable regressions. These included net business formation, net job creation, net job creation among continuers, the job creation rate, and employment growth. These were explained by banking variables like return-on-assets and capital-to-assets as well as regional macroeconomic variables like real personal income and housing price …

Re-Centering Central Asia: China’S “New Great Game” In The Old Eurasian Heartland, Xiangming Chen, Fakhmiddin Fazilov

Faculty Scholarship

China’s President Xi Jinping’s Central Asian tour in fall 2013 marked Beijing’s unprecedented (re)turn to Central Asia as a lynchpin of the “Silk Road Economic Belt” of the globally ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China’s BRI positions Central Asia as the crucial nexus for the cross-regional long-distance loops of trade, investment, and infrastructure development. By revisiting the classical geopolitical theory about the original Eurasian Heartland and its contemporary offshoots, we extract some insights for understanding the new China-Central Asia transboundary regional nexus. In a double-pronged empirical analysis of China’s development strategies regarding Central Asia, we examine: (1) the construction …

Learning From Asiana 214--Minimizing Strike/Rollover For Aircraft Rescue And Firefighting, Mary K. Gorman, Elizabeth Hendel, Douglas Mikutel, Rita I. Herron, Duane Kann

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Following the crash of Asiana flight 214 on July 6, 2013, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) provided a recommendation to the Aircraft Rescue & Fire Fighting Working Group (ARFFWG) to develop best practices to avoid strike/rollover of seriously injured or deceased persons in mass casualty situations. This paper summarizes the research process and the technical committee’s conclusions.

The qualitative inquiry used participatory research and evaluation from medico-legal professionals and the expert committee comprised of 21 aircraft rescue and firefighting experts. Key informants were complemented by documentary analysis, including FAA Advisory Circulars, regulations, standards, medical and aircraft rescue industry publications. …

Modeling Oculomotor Variability During Slow Cabin Decompression Using Infrared Technology, Jennifer E. Thropp, Paul W. Buza

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Slow cabin decompression is highly perilous due to its gradual and thus generally inconspicuous nature. In an applied approach to studying its effects upon oculomotor performance, experienced pilots performed a simulated flight task during slow decompression inside a high-altitude chamber while an infrared-based head-mounted eye-tracker measured oculomotor and pupillary changes at approximately 5% decrements in blood oxygen saturation. Saccade angle, saccade duration, saccadic velocity, microsaccade rate, fixation duration, and pupil diameter varied systematically in response to manipulation of blood oxygen saturation level, including recovery upon return to normoxia. Changes in these oculomotor variables can serve as biomarkers for early hypoxia …

Design Of Revising Proximity Between Space And Time Cues On Flight Deck Displays To Support Nextgen – The First Phase, Chang-Geun Oh, Jennie J. Gallimore, Pamela S. Tsang

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The objective of this study is to develop and evaluate novel display formats to support RTA operations for near to midterm NextGen. Traditional cockpit displays separate space and time information in distant display sources in heterogeneous formats (graphics vs. text). This design composition may cause potential pilot errors when required time of arrival (RTA) obligations are imposed at every waypoint in NextGen. Pilots were randomly assigned to four different display conditions in a simulator – one traditional display with distant space and time cues, and three novel displays with close spatial proximity between the two cues. In the first phase …

Design Of Revising Proximity Between Space And Time Cues On Flight Deck Displays To Support Nextgen – The Second Phase, Chang-Geun Oh, Jennie J. Gallimore, Pamela S. Tsang

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The prior first phase of this study investigated the effectiveness of new design of flight deck display for required time of arrival operation of NextGen by collecting objective query response data during autopilot flights and subjective data about the perception between display condition and situation awareness level. To evaluate pilots’ mental workload during the operations when they interacted with novel flight deck display design, this second phase provided pilots with simulation flight tasks arriving at four successive waypoints on time in the same display conditions as the first phase and asked them to rate their mental workload ratings. The workload …

Routes, Locations, And Social Imaginary: A Comparative Study Of The On-Going Production Of Geographies In Somali Forced Migration, Marnie Shaffer, Giulia Ferrato, Zaheera Jinnah

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Drawing on the thresholds approach, a model that incorporates geography and mobility studies to understand migration from the perspective of migrants, this article examines the importance of location and route(s) in determining the journeys of Somali migrants. We use the protracted displacement of Somalis to address the process through which actual and perceived geographies are produced and reconfigured by Somali migrants on the move. In doing so, we look at how different migration paths, connected through transnational networks, influence the geographical perception of migrants at the core of any cross-border experience. Employing ethnographic fieldwork with Somalis in South Africa and …

Foreword: Why Measurement Of Costs And Benefits Matters For The Sdg Campaign, S. Dercon, Stephen A. O'Connell

Economics Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

A Postapocalyptic Return To The Frontier: The Walking Dead As Post-Western, Amanda R. Keeler

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

This article argues that The Walking Dead is a post-Western, a genre that extracts classical Hollywood Western themes and iconography, and resituates them in a dystopian, postapocalyptic setting. The program features characters forced to reconquer the frontier amid the disintegration of modern society, who must battle undead walkers and other human survivors. As a post-Western, the program inverts the ideological optimism of the classical Hollywood Western. In doing so, it highlights the linkages between the seemingly unconnected narrative universes of the Western and the postapocalyptic tale.

Tolkien’S Phonoprint In Character Names Throughout His Invented Languages, Bruce L. Brown, Brad Wilcox, Wendy Baker-Smemoe, Timothy G. Morrison

Faculty Publications

J. R. R. Tolkien claimed to create names based on sound symbolism and invented languages. Previous studies revealed that Tolkien had his own phonoprint (tendency to use the same phonemes repeatedly for character names) regardless of his claims that they reflected different language origins. However, this research examined phonemes and syllables rather than names as whole units. This study compared 183 names from Tolkien’s works and 100 names from the nineteenth Century Us Census. The name recognition software linked names with known languages or provided a “generic” category when no match was found. Results showed no significant differences between the …