Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Foreign Election Interference And Hybrid Warfare, Jonathan Davies

Senior Independent Study Theses

Election interference has long been a tool of foreign policy available to state actors but has recently risen in prominence as a result of Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election in the United States. Although much has been written about election interference, most existing scholarship focuses on its use to promote a certain candidate or party. Hybrid warfare theory, which posits that modern conflict is increasingly characterized by the coordinated use of a wide range of tactics, provides a powerful alternative framework for understanding election interference. This Independent Study considers election interference through the lens of hybrid warfare …

"The Refugees Are Better Off Than We Are": Evaluating The Impact Of Syrian Refugees On Jordanian Labor Markets, Maggie Dougherty

Senior Independent Study Theses

This thesis analyses the labor market impacts associated with hosting Syrian refugees in Jordan through the Syrian conflict. We provide a critical analysis of the sentiment that ‘the refugees are better off than we are.’ This sentiment derives from the perception that the poor economic conditions are the fault of refugees, because they take jobs from native citizens, or because of the international humanitarian aid that refugees receive. We suggest that this perception is a ‘false narrative’ which does not accurately describe the many causes of economic hardships in Jordan, thereby misplacing blame on refugees. The article analyzes the structural …

“Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves”: Creating A Financial Literacy Workshop For College-Aged Women On The Relationship Among Spending, Saving, And Investing, Lesley Chinery

Senior Independent Study Theses

The purpose of this study is to create a financial literacy workshop for college-aged women to increase understanding of the relationship among spending, saving, and investing. Utilizing relevant scholarship on gender and economics, the Elaboration Likelihood Model, and interviews with experts in economics and with facilitators of financial literacy workshops, I created a virtual workshop for college-aged women. This research found that successfully enabling both central and peripheral processing routes plays a significant role in attracting potential participants to workshops and in turn, cognitively engages them during workshops. Moreover, planners of workshops need to ensure consistent appealing messaging in communication …

The Great Outdoors, Indoors: An Evaluation Of Green Spaces And Housing Prices In Pittsburgh, Pa, Will Mccullough

Senior Independent Study Theses

Green spaces, or public parks, playgrounds, and athletic fields, are a community hub. Many studies have highlighted the benefits of green space on surrounding neighborhoods. However, comparatively little research has assessed the relationship between park proximity and housing sales price. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, city officials have shown a renewed interest in increasing park access and quality, although no economic literature has examined role of green space in the housing consumption decision in the city. I develop a theory of green space preference in a consumer maximization framework to hypothesize that home prices will increase with proximity to green space. I …

Breaking News: Sustainable Fashion Is In And Fast Fashion Is Out; Constructions Of Sustainable Consumption In Fast Fashion Advertising, Camryn Eve Rosenstein

Senior Independent Study Theses

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the pivotal role advertising plays in fast fashion consumption and shaping young consumers ideas and values about the fashion industry, fast fashion, sustainable consumption, and sustainability. This study contributes to limited research into greenwashing and consumer perceptions and attitudes towards sustainable consumption. Moreover, this study highlights the increased relevance of the sustainable fashion movement in mainstream society. The researcher recruited 30 college students to participants in focus group sessions and individual interviews. An H&M advertisement and a video clip from a documentary, The True Cost, were shown to participants, so …

Educating For Hope: Building Climate Change Resilience In The Middle School Classroom, Cambry J. Baker

Senior Independent Study Theses

Children increasingly express feelings of anxiety and hopelessness about climate change. Recent research has shown that cultivating hope in climate change education can increase young people’s emotional resilience and environmental behavior. This study asks: How does middle school teachers’ engagement with climate change and climate change emotions impact students’ hope? And how do students’ climate anxiety, self-efficacy, and connection to nature affect their environmental behavior and climate change hope? Data were collected in October 2020 through an online survey of middle school students (n=96) in Ohio. On average, students experienced low climate anxiety, moderate constructive hope and low-moderate hope based …

The Development Of A Procedure For The Pxrf Analysis Of Soil Cation Exchange Capacity In Collaboration With Colorado Farmers, Claire E. Wineman

Senior Independent Study Theses

Discrepancies between farmers’ and scientists’ knowledge systems and experiences have long prevented the success and mutual beneficiality of collaborative research efforts between these two groups. The development of agricultural technologies, such as portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) for the analysis of soil cation exchange capacity in the field, creates a promising overlap point for farmers and scientists to cooperatively study issues within their sociocultural context and with access to institutional resources. In this study, the generation of an in-field PXRF method in collaboration with Colorado farmers helps to provide a prospective model for scientists and farmers looking to use collaborative research …

Evaluating Foundational Components Of Research Consultations In An Academic Library Research Center, Ryan F. Buller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As our society continues to evolve at an ever-increasing rate, our higher education institutions, and the services they provide, must keep pace with societal changes in order to ensure that those services stay current and relevant. This program evaluation examines one such service, the research consultation model in University Libraries at the University of Denver. This evaluation was situated within the Human Ecological Theory Framework, to help understand how different environments can impact the recognition and value placed upon the foundational components of the service. An exploratory sequential mixed methods approach was used to determine what the foundational components of …

Science And Mathematics Teacher Communities Of Practice: Social Influences On Discipline-Based Identity And Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Samuel Polizzi, Yicong Zhu, Joshua Reid, Brandon Ofem, Sara Salisbury, Michael Beeth, Gillian Roehrig, Margaret Mohr-Schroeder, Keith Sheppard, Gregory Rushton

College of Business Administration Faculty Works

Background Teacher communities of practice, identity, and self-efficacy have been proposed to influence positive teacher outcomes in retention, suggesting all three may be related constructs. Qualitative studies of communities of practice can be difficult to empirically link to identity and self-efficacy in larger samples. In this study, we operationalized teacher communities of practice as specific networks related to teaching content and/or pedagogy. This scalable approach allowed us to quantitatively describe communities of practice and explore statistical relationships with other teacher characteristics. We asked whether these community of practice networks were related to identity and self-efficacy, similar to other conceptualizations of …

An Investigation Of Interviewer Note Taking In The Field, Jacob Fischer, James Breaugh

College of Business Administration Faculty Works

Although a key component of a structured interview is note taking, relatively few studies have investigated the effects of note taking. To address this lack of research, we conducted a study that examined the effects of note taking in a work setting. As predicted, we found that the total number of notes taken by interviewers and the level of detail of these notes were positively related to the ratings these interviewers gave to job applicants, that interviewer ratings of applicants who were hired were predictive of their job performance ratings, and that interviewer ratings mediated the relationships between note taking …

Regulating Cultural Expressions: A Comparative Case Study On Hair And Race In New York And South Africa, Michaela Shelton

Pomona Senior Theses

In the field of political science, there is an ongoing debate about the factors that determine political outcomes for disadvantaged groups. State governments in the United States have actively passed legislation to curb hair discrimination even though people of African descent are a minority. However, in South Africa, where people of African descent are a majority, neither the national government nor the provincial governments have passed legislation to curb hair discrimination cases. Why are the cultural rights of Black people being protected by legislation in the United States where Black people are a minority but not in South Africa where …

Love The Customers: Principles Of Interpersonal Relationships Applied To Social Media, Tracey Kyles

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social media has changed communication, and its influence is far-reaching. Companies have adapted and tweaked their marketing strategies to more personal approaches to reach their audiences. This is especially evident in recent years. It can be observed, for example, by fast-food Twitter accounts attracting the attention of online users through witty personas and sarcastic tweets. This phenomenon is the motivation of this research looking into relationships between brands and their social media followers. Here, interpersonal relationship theories are referenced to uncover what encourages these kinds of relationships as well as discover which methods deliver the most positive responses, likes, and …

Podcasting, Jennifer A. Bartlett

Library Faculty and Staff Publications

Podcasts seem to be everywhere these days, on every topic including current events, games, entertainment, education, business, financial management and more.

As podcasts have now become a recognized source of entertainment, news, and information, how can we become familiar with listening to podcasts and integrating them into our work in libraries? The following resources offer a few places to get started. Given the nature of the medium, some sites are optimized for viewing and listening on mobile devices.

Fundamentals Of Planning And Assessment For Libraries, Julene L. Jones

Library Faculty and Staff Publications

Book review of Fundamentals of Planning and Assessment for Libraries by Rachel A. Fleming-May and Regina Mays, ALA Neal-Schuman, 2021 published in Technical Services Quarterly, 39(4): 476-478.

Children In Custody: A Study Of Detained Migrant Children In The United States,, Emily Ryo, Reed Humphrey

Faculty Scholarship

Every year, tens of thousands of migrant children are taken into custody by U.S. immigration authorities. Many of these children are unaccompanied by parents or relatives when they arrive at the U.S. border. Others who are accompanied by parents or relatives are rendered unaccompanied when U.S. immigration authorities separate them upon apprehension. Together, these minors are called unaccompanied alien children (UACs) and transferred to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), unless and until their immigration cases are resolved or until the children can be placed with a sponsor in the United States pending the adjudication of their …

A Varying Coefficient Model With Two-Way Fixed Effects And Different Smoothing Variables, Taining Wang, Feng Yao

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

We propose a varying coefficient regression model for panel data that controls for both latent heterogeneities in cross-sectional units and unobserved common shocks over time. The model allows different smoothing variables to enter through either a stand-alone function or a coefficient function. Without requiring a normalization of the fixed effects, we propose a two-step estimator. First, we estimate the varying coefficients with the pilot series-based estimators, eliminating fixed effects though differencing. Second, we perform a one-step kernel backfitting to improve the estimation efficiency. We demonstrate through Monte-Carlo simulations that our estimators are computationally efficient and perform well relative to a …

Comparison Of The Bacterial Community Structure Of Bone Swabs To Ground Bone Recovered From Waterlogged Skeletal Remains From A Lentic Environment For Postmortem Submersion Interval (Pmsi) Estimation, Hannah Johnson

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Postmortem submersion interval (PMSI) is an essential factor when recovering bodies from aquatic environments. Although several studies exist on postmortem interval (PMI) estimation of mammalian cadavers in terrestrial systems, the same is not true for the aquatic systems. Cartozzo et al. (11) developed PMSI prediction models using bacterial succession data associated with waterlogged skeletal remains. This study is a continuation of the Cartozzo et al. (11) study, but the aim of this study is to compare the bacterial DNA (16S rDNA) community found on the surface of swabs recovered from waterlogged bones to the bacterial DNA obtained from ground bone …

Child Exposure To Intimate Partner Violence In The Latin American Region, Gabriel Alvarado

McNair Scholars Manuscripts

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a major public health issue that harms thousands of families and communities across the globe. Unlike other forms of violence or criminal behavior, IPV is often concealed within the privacy of one's household, where the public cannot witness the occurrence of spousal abuse. Typically, more women are victims in an intimate relationship than men are based on recent research. However, there is a lack of research that investigates the vulnerability of a child who is exposed to IPV. This systematic literature review relates to the analysis and investigation of children exposed to IPV in Latin …

The Relationship Between Psychiatric Symptomatology Types And Difficulties With Activity Caused By A Nervous System Or Sensory Organ Condition Among Latinx’S, Oswaldo Moreno

Psychology Publications

No abstract provided.

Exploited And Empowered Inclusion: Contesting The Flawed Consumer In The United States, Wendy A. Wiedenhoft Murphy

2021 Faculty Bibliography

Compared to affluent consumers, the consumption practices of poor and low-income consumers have received less attention in the global North, where they have been marginalized as flawed. This paper hopes to address this neglect by providing an exploratory profile of poor and low-income consumers in the United States. It will challenge that these consumers are flawed by explaining how they participate in consumer society via exploitative inclusion and empowered inclusion. It concludes by suggesting ways that less affluent consumers can experience expanded empowerment.

Examining Dbt Day Treatment In Treating Mood Dysregulation Expectancy And Anxiety In Women Diagnosed With Eating Disorders, Shannon O'Mara, Leah Vandine, Anthony M. Tarescavage, Denise Ben-Porath

2021 Faculty Bibliography

Eating disorders (EDs), particularly anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN), are characterized by emotional and behavioral disturbances in eating patterns and body image that result in significant distress and functional impairment (as reported by APA, (APA dictionary of psychology, American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, 2015)). Ben-Porath and colleagues (Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 40:115-123, 2010) have researched the effectiveness of dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) day treatment program in reducing negative mood regulation and anxiety among women diagnosed with AN, BN, and eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS). The current study extended past research on the effectiveness of DBT day treatment …

Georgia Library Association - Academic Library Division Call For Papers, Catherine Manci

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Book Review - The Vietnam War In American Childhood, Austina M. Jordan

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Can Humans Detect A Wondering Mind? : Attentiveness As A Form Of Social Exchange, Huy Le

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Exchange relationships are built through reciprocation of social resources, including, as we argue in this paper, signals that one is paying attention to another. To do so, we draw on interdisciplinary areas of involvement: mind wandering, facial prototypes, and social exchange theory to investigate (a) the types of cues people look for to detect whether an exchange partner is inattentive (i.e., mind wandering); (b) how context affects the attribution of these cues; and (c) the interactive effects between mind wandering cues and context on measures of exchange quality (i.e., trust). These ideas were tested in two different studies that manipulated …

Settler-Colonialism In Mexico : Mestizaje As A Project Of Elimination, Rosa Maria Navarro

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

No abstract provided.

Fish Weirs Et Alia: A Gis Based Use-Analysis Of Artificial, Pre-Columbian Earthworks In West Central Llanos De Mojos, Bolivia, Charlotte A. Robinson

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study employed a GIS-based use-analysis on a network of recently mapped pre-Columbian earthworks lying on the west side of a Bolivian floodplain. This wetland region, called Llanos de Mojos, is home to many different types of artificial mounds that served different roles for the ancient communities who constructed them thousands of years ago. This new set of features, which was mapped by volunteers of the Proyecto Sistemas Informaticas Geograficas y Arqueologicas del Beni (ProSIGAB) was purported to be a network of fish weirs, linear earthworks built in rivers or floodplains that are designed to trap fish by exploiting seasonal …

The Relationship Between Creative Hobbies And Visual Spatial Ability, Victoria Alexander

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Recent developments in educational practices have identified the teaching of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) areas as important, but this emphasis on STEM fields has sacrificed educational focus on the Arts (Cohen, 2016). This is a significant loss, not only in terms of the loss of humanities education in itself, but through the potential loss of foundational skills through practice in artistic areas. The current paper explores this idea by investigating the correlational relationship between visual spatial abilities and participation in a variety of creative activities. Spatial ability is known to be a cognitive skill that underlies success in …

Small Business Risk In The Context Of A Pandemic: A Simulation, Ashlyn Sperry

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In this thesis, I consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on small businesses, as they are acutely at risk due to the lack of implicit government insurance that would be available to larger corporations. I will discuss insurance's characteristics using the basic theory of insurance, analyze pandemic insurance's viability in the private market, and critique alternative solutions. While the theory suggests that pandemics are not insurable in the private market, I will perform specific analysis to determine if this is the case or not. Using a simulation of the economic landscape firms face, business owners with varying levels of …

An Examination Of A Proposed Rule: Removal Of Sirva From The Vaccine Injury Table, Derrica N. Jackson

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Vaccines are one of the greatest modern medical inventions. Even though vaccines have saved lives, however, no medical product is proven to be completely safe. Vaccines can have rare and sometimes deadly reactions. To address such occurrences, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) hosts a program that reviews petitions for compensation of injuries caused by vaccination. The program is called the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). The VICP was established in 1986 to reduce the number of product liability lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers that threatened to increase the cost of vaccines and lower life-saving vaccine administration …

Coffee Is Fluid: A Discussion On Coffee And Its Modernity, Emma L. Angell

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Coffee's worldwide popularity, and especially among Americans, has grown significantly over recent decades. This is credited to the rise of corporate coffee shops like Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts, as well as the inescapable presence of coffee marketing on the internet and social media in our everyday lives. This thesis traces coffee's popularity from its early days as a facilitator in increased production rate in factories during the Industrial Revolution up to the popularity it has gained on TikTok and other social media platforms in the 21st century. My research examines the growth of coffee culture in America through participant observation …