Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Counterpublics, Abled Sex, And Crip Discourses On Twitter: A Discourse Analysis Of Conversations Of Sexuality And Disability, Claudia Garcia Mendoza

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

We live in an era in which essential conversations occur online. Social media has become the official voice of presidents and corporations. Donald Trump, the president of the United States, uses Twitter to address public issues and make policy announcements. Similarly, alternative voices have emerged from social media and evolved into public debates, social movements, and massive mobilizations (e.g., Gerbaudo, 2012; Tufeksi, 2017). The community gathering opportunities of social media (boyd, 2011; Parks, 2010; Chambers, 2013) and the possibilities to generate collective knowledge (Jenkins, 2004) stress the necessity to continue to expand the research in digital spaces.

It is important …

Implicit Bias And Voluntarily Childfree Adults, Virginia Elizabeth Powell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study aimed to determine if there is a negative bias towards voluntarily childfree adults or an association of negative views and attitudes with voluntarily childfree adults, controlling for other participant characteristics such as race, religion, or sexual orientation. At this stage in the research, voluntarily childfree adults are generally defined as legal adults who have the intention to remain childfree for the rest of their lives, due to reasons other than fertility issues. A negative view or bias is defined as any attitude which is not a desirable interpretation of behavior or lifestyle. A negative bias against voluntarily …

Direct Democracy And The Fate Of Medicaid Expansion, Philip Rocco

Political Science Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Student Success Coaching In Virginia Community Colleges, Angela Lawhorne

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Community college students face many barriers when they start college, especially if they are from first-generation families, are low-income, or identify as a minority. Retention and completion for these at-risk students are relatively low compared to those with higher socioeconomic backgrounds (Bettinger & Baker, 2014). To improve these statistics and promote academic persistence, some Virginia Community College System (VCCS) colleges have implemented student success coaching under the Chancellor’s College Success Coach Initiative (VCCS, 2011). This entails not only assisting students with academic coaching, but also with career, financial, and personal matters that may affect their academic success. The researcher sought …

Social Vulnerability And Hurricane Evacuation Behavior In Hampton Roads, Va: Emergency Management Stakeholders’ Perceptions Of Low-To-Moderate Income Households In A Social Construction Paradigm, Mechelle Bonit Smith

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to examine current emergency management (EM) evacuation policies and practices with respect to vulnerable populations’ hurricane evacuation behaviors. The response of vulnerable households and local and state governments’ implementation of emergency evacuation policies and practices provide possible linkages to continual problems faced by local governments in addressing its most vulnerable residents. Using social construction as a theoretical foundation provides context for the consideration of vulnerable populations in emergency management policy and hurricane evacuation.

This research is a qualitative case study of emergency management policies, practices, and perceived household evacuation behaviors in several cities of …

A Quest To Identify The Emerging Leadership Skills In Vuca World And Investigation Of Their Applications In Various Organizational Levels And Security Environments, Ali Can Kucukozyigit

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The theoretical framework of this research is based on “skills approach” that emphasizes the leader’s capabilities (skills, knowledge, and capabilities) that can be learned, taught, and fostered. VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) environment is chosen as the focal point of this research as the leadership skills are extracted from studies referring to such environment. Although the acronym is dominantly used in management and business domains, the military also uses it to describe the complex operational environments like in Iraq and Afghanistan. The identification of individual leadership skills and delivering the right skill, at the right time, to the right …

Towards Dynamic Vehicular Clouds, Aida Ghazizadeh

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

Motivated by the success of the conventional cloud computing, Vehicular Clouds were introduced as a group of vehicles whose corporate computing, sensing, communication, and physical resources can be coordinated and dynamically allocated to authorized users. One of the attributes that set Vehicular Clouds apart from conventional clouds is resource volatility. As vehicles enter and leave the cloud, new computing resources become available while others depart, creating a volatile environment where the task of reasoning about fundamental performance metrics becomes very challenging. The goal of this thesis is to design an architecture and model for a dynamic Vehicular Cloud built on …

Compensating For Development At The In-Between And Edges Of Extractive Capitalism: Socionature And Cultural Erasure In The Northeast Caribbean Colombian Coal Mining Region, Tamra Gilbertson

Doctoral Dissertations

In northeast Caribbean Colombia, Indigenous Wayúu, Afro-Colombian, campesinos and fishing communities struggle against the socio-environmental impacts of multinational operated legal coal mining operations. This dissertation questions how the multinational coal mining industry has been able to cause direct, structural and cultural violence against human and nonhuman nature over the last thirty-five years. The systemic character of the longer material history of capitalism, war, violence and US military intervention in Colombia is connected to and continues in the 21st century in the name of development. The central argument put forth is that multinational coal mining corporations in Colombia, like extractive industries …

Investigating The Impact Of The Fava Well-Being Protocol On Perceived Stress And Psychological Well-Being With At-Promise High School Students, Renee L. Fensom

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

An elevation in stress levels can be caused by many contributing factors, which can ultimately interfere with the learning of young people. Fortunately, an increase in well being can help promote resilience, creating a buffer to stress. Therefore, the current study investigated the influence of a positive psychology intervention aimed at lowering perceived stress and increasing well-being among at-promise students. The theoretical framework for this study was based on Ryff’s Model of Psychological Well-Being (PWB). The specific intervention used was the Well-being Therapy School Protocol developed by Fava and associates, based off of Carol Ryff’s Model of PWB (Fava, 2016). …

The 23: Racial And Other Demographic Differences In The Assignment Of Risk Factors For Individuals Found Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity In Virginia, Dominique Raquel Blanchette

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) acquittees uniquely walk the line of involvement in both the criminal justice and mental health systems, both of which have literature indicating the presence of underlying racial biases related to practices and outcomes. The current study examined 366 forensic charts from an inpatient psychiatric hospital in Virginia to examine potential differences in the number of risk factors assigned for NGRI acquittees based on a variety of demographic variables. Information about demographic characteristics, psychiatric history, and criminal history was recorded and analyzed. It was hypothesized that younger age, male gender, a psychotic diagnosis, violent …

A Daily Diary Examination Of Microaggressions And Alcohol Use Among Emerging Adult Bisexual Women: The Role Of Alcohol Demand, Sarah J. Ehlke

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Bisexual women are at far greater risk for alcohol use, alcohol-related negative consequences, and alcohol use disorder than heterosexual or lesbian women. However, research on sexual minority women often combines lesbian and bisexual women into a single group. One possible explanation for the increased alcohol use and associated consequences among bisexual women relates to their experiences of discrimination or microaggressions that are daily insults and comments, intentional or unintentional, about their sexuality from both the heterosexual and sexual minority communities. Thus, it is possible that bisexual women drink to cope with microaggressions. Specifically, bisexual women may drink more and have …

Mindfulness And Its Impact On Adaptive Coping And Psychological Well-Being: An Intervention For Undergraduate Students, Charles Bradley Freligh

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The concept of mindfulness has been shown to positively impact psychological well-being, and one application of mindfulness-based interventions has been the development and implementation of courses specifically for college students, a population that has been shown to be particularly vulnerable to the negative impacts of stress. While these interventions have displayed beneficial outcomes, the mechanisms of how mindfulness exerts its impact remain unclear. One potential mechanism of mindfulness’ enhancement of well-being may be through its cultivation of an adaptive coping style in which an individual becomes more likely to approach and investigate stressors rather than avoid them. In this study, …

Exploring The Effects Of Task Priority On Attention Allocation And Trust Towards Imperfect Automation: A Flight Simulator Study, Tetsuya Sato

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study examined the effect of task priority and task load on attention allocation and automation trust in a multitasking flight simulator platform. Previous research demonstrated that, participants made less fixations and reported lower levels of trust towards the automation in the secondary monitoring under higher load on the primary tracking task (e.g., Karpinsky et al., 2018). The results suggested that participants perceived behaviors of the automated system less accurately due to less attention allocated to monitoring of the system, leading to decreased trust towards it. One potential explanation of the effect is that participants might have prioritized the …

Coping Self-Efficacy As A Potential Moderator Of The Relationship Between Sexual Orientation And Negative Mental Health Outcomes, James M. Macchia

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Sexual minority individuals (i.e., those who identify as a sexual orientation other than heterosexual) have consistently been linked to an increased risk of negative mental health outcomes. The process of coping can impact the content and severity of said outcomes, and one’s ability to cope is often predicted by the concept known as coping self-efficacy (i.e., one’s belief in his or her ability to cope). This study aimed to assess the effects of sexual orientation, coping self-efficacy, and their interactions on mental health by looking at different aspects of coping self-efficacy as potential moderating variables. Self-perceptions of coping skills were …

Enhanced Model Of Collaboration And Social Capital: Hampton Roads All Hazards Advisory Committee: A Replication Study, Adale M. Martin

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

To address the call for improving the understanding of collaboration in public policy, this dissertation is designed to validate a study by Morris, Gibson, Leavitt, and Jones (2013), entitled, The Case for Grassroots Collaboration: Social Capital and Ecosystem Restoration at the Local Level. The Enhanced Model of Collaboration (EMC), which was developed to explore collaboration and social capital deriving from grassroots efforts, will be applied to examine agency-based regional collaboration in southeastern Virginia.

The population for this study is the members of the Hampton Roads All Hazards Advisory Committee (AHAC). Members include representatives of local, state, and federal government agencies, …

Why Do Nonprofits Fail? A Quantitative Study Of Form 990 Information In The Years Preceding Closure, Mackenzie Arbogust

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

Nonprofit organizations are an important piece of the community and economy in the United States. Each year, nonprofit organizations close their doors and stop providing services to the community. While there are large amounts of literature around financial health and vulnerability and governance best practices of nonprofit organizations, few of the studies have ever looked specifically at failed organizations. In general, the end stages of the life cycle of nonprofit organizations have not been well studied and are not well understood. This study draws on resource dependency theory and institutional theory to identify financial and governance factors that may serve …

The Study Of Motivation For Defection Within The Intelligence Community: Hindering The Government's Ability To Prevent And Detect Defection, William Virgili

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Since its inception, the global community has been marred by insecurities about the intentions of other states, which led to states creating intelligence agencies to engage in human intelligence operations. In defense against foreign intelligence services, the U.S. has implemented policies and procedures, informed by defection research, to prevent and detect defection. However, this leads to the question does current research on motivation for defection adequately inform government policies and procedures to prevent and detect defection within the intelligence community? To interrogate this question, I present an in-depth analysis of motivation; the ways in which these conclusions have or have …

Deep Learning For Remote Sensing Image Processing, Yan Lu

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Remote sensing images have many applications such as ground object detection, environmental change monitoring, urban growth monitoring and natural disaster damage assessment. As of 2019, there were roughly 700 satellites listing “earth observation” as their primary application. Both spatial and temporal resolutions of satellite images have improved consistently in recent years and provided opportunities in resolving fine details on the Earth's surface. In the past decade, deep learning techniques have revolutionized many applications in the field of computer vision but have not fully been explored in remote sensing image processing. In this dissertation, several state-of-the-art deep learning models have been …

Collective Sensemaking Around Covid-19: Experiences, Concerns, And Agendas For Our Rapidly Changing Organizational Lives, Keri Stephens, Jody L.S. Jahn, Stephanie Fox, Piyawan Charoensap-Kelly, Rahul Mitra, Jeannette Sutton, Eric D. Waters, Bo Xie, Rebecca J. Meisenbach

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Uncertainty is at the forefront of many crises, disasters, and emergencies, and the COVID-19 pandemic is no different in this regard. In this forum, we, as a group of organizational communication scholars currently living in North America, engage in sensemaking and sensegiving around this pandemic to help process and share some of the academic uncertainties and opportunities relevant to organizational scholars. We begin by reflexively making sense of our own experiences with adjusting to new ways of working during the onset of the pandemic, including uncomfortable realizations around privilege, positionality, race, and ethnicity. We then discuss key concerns about how …

Assessment And Function-Based Treatment Of Elopement In Children With Autism, Marissa Elizabeth Kamlowsky

Theses and Dissertations

Elopement is a dangerous behavior exhibited by some individuals with autism, and accurately identifying the function of elopement is important to develop successful treatments. Functional analyses for elopement have been developed to mimic contingencies appearing in the natural environment; however, some of these analyses are limited by the required retrieval component. The current study replicated previous research which used a latency-based functional analysis that eliminates the retrieval component in order to safely and more precisely identify the function of elopement. In addition, we extended previous latency-based research by evaluating a treatment to reduce elopement. Specifically, we evaluated latency-based functional analyses …

The Development And Validation Of A Personal Agency Scale Based In The Community Capitals Framework, Abigail Borron, Kevan W. Lamm, Keith Atkins

Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education

Used in a variety of community contexts and needs, the Community Capitals Framework (CCF) is an analytical tool to holistically examine the complex and unique characteristics that exist at the local level. While CCF—which focuses on social, human, cultural, political, natural, financial, and built capitals—has been used to collect community information to identify and assess suitable programming efforts, a gap currently exists in the literature providing agricultural and extension educators with the tools necessary to examine CCF characteristics, both at the community and individual levels. Designed as a pilot study targeting six counties in [STATE], this research developed a personal …

Piloting Of The Concerns-Based Adoption Model: Farmer Concerns About The Participatory Guarantee System In Cambodia, Meghan Mize, Cary J. Trexler, Amanda Crump, Glenn M. Young, Borarin Buntong, Karen Legrand

Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education

While there is a large body of adoption and agricultural extension literature on the process of introducing a new technology, agricultural development projects are often expected to produce immediate results that do not always allow for the integration of these theories into practice. The Concerns-based Adoption Model (CBAM) is a framework that places participants at the center of the change process to identify their concerns and challenges, providing a roadmap for projects to guide individuals with the correct support for their particular stage of adoption. CBAM has typically been used for the introduction of new curriculum in formal education. But …

Lived Experiences During International Service Learning: A Semiotic Analysis Of Photo Journals, Catherine E. Dobbins, Kristin E. Gibson, Leslie D. Edgar, Kim E. Dooley

Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education

International service learning (ISL) is a pedagogical approach used to prepare students to be global citizens and has emerged as a popular short-term program model for international experiences. Few studies of ISL have integrated semiotic photo analysis into their evaluations. Combining students’ photographs with text encourages reflection on knowledge and experiences as well as how they are related. The current study used semiotic analysis to understand the lived experiences of students on an ISL to Guatemala. The participatory nature of the research process was critical to the semiotic analysis, as the researchers had an understanding of the cultural perspectives and …

African Entrepreneurs’ Perceptions On The Mentoring Provided By A Cross-Cultural Professional Development Experience: Implications For Future Program, Lisa K. Taylor, M. Craig Edwards, Marshall A. Baker, Craig E. Watters, James A. Rutledge

Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education

We conducted a multicase investigation to assess the impacts of a cross-cultural exchange program on Entrepreneur Fellows from Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda (8 women; 14 men) after they had returned home from the United States. Our assessment included the mentoring aspect of the program. Six questions and related probes guided semi-structured interviews with the 22 Fellows, the study’s quintain. The lead researcher transcribed the study’s interviews and verified accuracy and trustworthiness by sending her transcriptions to the Fellows for verification. Findings derived from the interviews or cases crystallized as themes representative of the quintain. The emergent themes, which included …

Strengthening Coordination Among Extension Service Providers For Improved Provision Of Agricultural Extension And Advisory Services: A Case Study From Kenya, Kevan W. Lamm, Fallys Masambuka-Kanchewa, Alexa J. Lamm, Kristin Davis, Silim Nahdy

Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education

Implementation of decentralized and pluralistic policies in provision of extension services has led to increased availability of actors providing extension services to farmers in most developing countries including Kenya. What is unique about extension services providers is that they have a shared goal of improving agricultural productivity. However, in some cases these providers differ in their knowledge regarding the practices or knowledge that is required to improve agricultural productivity. Lack of shared knowledge among providers has contributed to delivery of uncoordinated and duplication of efforts thereby limiting the effectiveness of efforts in extension services delivery. Moreover, in some cases lack …

Manuscript Submission Guidelines, Alexa Lamm

Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Agricultural Communication Interventions On Improving Agricultural Productivity In Malawi, Fallys Masambuka-Kanchewa, Mary T. Rodriguez, Emily Buck, Jera Niewoehner-Green, Alexa J. Lamm

Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education

Agricultural communication (AGCOM) has been known to aid in disseminating research-based agricultural information among Malawian farmers. In 1958 the Malawi Government, via the Ministry of Agriculture, established the Agricultural Communications Branch (ACB) in an attempt to increase access to and adoption of scientifically-proven technologies among farmers. Moreover, in 2000 the Malawi Government started implementing an agricultural extension policy that promoted pluralistic demand-driven extension, which led to the increased availability of non-governmental organizations providing AGCOM services to farmers. However, after several decades of using different communication tools to promote new technologies, low productivity in most small holder farms remains a challenge, …

Social Media Application In Agriculture Extension Programming For Small Scale Rural Farmers: Is Knowledge Impeding The Lack Of Adoption?, Stephan Moonsammy, Donna Marie Renn Moonsammy

Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education

The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge level of farmers on basic computer literacy, social media use, and to explore which social and demographic factors affected their knowledge capacity. The study had a final sample of 176 participants from the northern, southern and central regions of Trinidad and Tobago. A survey instrument comprising of 14 multiple-choice questions with one accurate response was developed to decrease bias of farmers randomly selecting the accurate response. The questions addressed knowledge on basic computer and social media literacy. Analysis was conducted using one-way ANOVA with post-hoc testing. Results indicated that there …

Awakening Transformative Learning: A Comparison Of The Dissonance Experienced By Agriculture Majors During Study Abroad Courses To Costa Rica And Thailand, Janiece Pigg, Morgan A. Richardson, Richie Roberts, Kristin S. Stair

Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education

Students who have participated in study abroad courses exhibit an improved capacity for citizenship, emotional growth, and global competence. However, achieving such requires that study abroad courses be designed to allow students to question their underlying beliefs and values – a concept called dissonance. When individuals reflect on dissonance, it has been reported to spur a process in which their previously held perspectives are transformed. As such, this investigation sought to compare the dissonance experienced by agriculture majors (N =21) at Louisiana State University during study abroad courses to Costa Rica and Thailand. We bounded cases by academic college, degree …

A Typology Of University Agriculture Students’ Projected Motivations To Study Abroad: An Application Of Q Methodology, Ritchie Roberts, Shelli D. Rampold, Raegan Ramage, Benita Komunjeru

Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education

The study’s purpose was to understand Louisiana State University freshman agriculture students’ projected motivations to study abroad. To achieve this, we used a Q methodological approach. When viewed through the lens of the expectancy-value model of achievement motivation, findings suggested students’ motivations could be interpreted through three typologies: (1) Goal-Oriented Students, (2) Social-Oriented Students, and (3) Learning-Oriented Students. In particular, the Goal-Oriented Students expressed they were motivated to enroll in a study abroad course because they perceived it could enhance their educational and career-related ambitions through personal growth. Meanwhile, Social-Oriented Students articulated that the social dimensions of study abroad courses, …