Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Creating Sanctuary Schools For Students Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Kerri Newton

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The purpose of this project is to develop a Guidebook for school systems on how to help students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) feel most safe when they are integrated into and participate in classrooms providing general education. The Sanctuary Model provides a framework that can be applied to school communities to address the unique needs of students diagnosed with autism. As a framework, it can provide these communities with a blueprint of how to encourage participation from students with autism so they too can benefit from learning how to identify not only their feelings but the feelings of …

The Development Of An Integrated Anger Management Protocol, Gerald W. Smith

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This thesis describes the rationale for and development of an anger management protocol that can be used with middle and high school students. The protocol is based primarily on the anger management work of Goldstein (1999) and Larson and Lochman (2002) integrated with the Holarchichal Model of Executive Functions (McCloskey, 2008). The protocol also integrates the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions model of Greene and Ablon (2001) and mediated learning principles. This integrated anger management protocol primarily draws upon internally based executive function interventions involving goal-setting and increasing self-awareness and self-realization. This thesis discusses the methodologies in developing the protocol, a …

The Map Reading Probe’S Effectiveness In Predicting Performance Within An Rtiisystem, Richard J. Scherr Jr

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Public-school districts nationwide are utilizing student progress toward proficiency on state-wide achievement assessments as their means of monitoring student achievement. Of late, the three-tiered system of reading instruction and intervention (RtII) has shown the most promise to increase reading proficiency levels schoolwide. However, little research exists to support the use of the MAP reading probe within an RtII framework for advancing reading achievement. This study provides a statistical analysis of the use of MAP as a predictor of reading performance on statewide assessments in a suburban K-5 elementary school currently utilizing RtII as a means of advancing student achievement in …

Addressing Cultural Considerations Of African Americans In Interdisciplinary Care, Ashley M. Smith

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Communication and appreciation for culturally significant factors are essential to the helping relationship between the patient and the interdisciplinary team members in the health care setting. Historically, the relationship between African Americans and health care professionals in the American health care system has been one of mistrust based on unequal treatment, stereotypes, and other factors negatively affecting rapport. The main purpose of this study was to identify the cultural considerations within the Black and African American communities and their impact on the relationship between interdisciplinary care team members and their African American patients. This study used a qualitative grounded theory …

An Examination Of Internet Search Behavior And Completed Suicide Rates Across The United States, Marie Louise Rhoads

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Suicide remains a leading cause of death in the US (CDC, 2021; Murphy et al., 2018). The literature has shown that individuals seeking information on personal or sensitive topics are likely to utilize the internet (Jacobs et al., 2017; Mok et al., 2015; Pew Research Center, 2019). Research also suggests that internet search behavior can be utilized to track and predict disease outbreak effectively, as well as other public health trends across the nation (Paparrizos et al., 2016; Parker, et al., 2017). Moreover, implicit associations related to suicide have been identified as strong predictors of future suicide (Millner et al., …

Preoperative Factors Associated With Weight Loss Following Bariatric Surgery, Abdul Shakoor Ahmed

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Obesity is a major health issue in the United States. More than two thirds of the adult population is considered to be either overweight or obese. It is the fifth leading cause of mortality in the world, with 3.4 million deaths a year. Obesity is associated with numerous medical and psychological comorbidities. There are various types of treatments for obesity, such as diets, exercise and pharmacological agents; however, bariatric surgery is one of the most effective and proven treatments for morbidly obese patients. Although the bariatric surgery success rates are high, up to 30% percent of individuals do not achieve …

Risk And Protective Factors Associated With Psychosocial Functioning In 911 Operators And Dispatchers, Margarett Molina

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

911 operators and dispatchers are considered the true “first responders” to life-threatening emergencies. Their responsibilities include responding to individuals in crisis, deciding appropriate emergency responses, gathering vital information, offering emergency instruction, and providing detailed updates about the response to callers and emergency workers. This high rate of exposure to traumatizing events enhances the risk for pathology, including posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and depressive symptoms. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between social supports, coping style, and sleep as it relates to PTSS and depressive symptoms in 911 operators and dispatchers. Multiple linear regression models were computed …

The Relationship Between Locus Of Control, Affective Disorders, And Weight Loss Expectations In Adults Seeking Bariatric Surgery, Rachel Brookland

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Bariatric surgery is the most effective long-term treatment for severe obesity. Although bariatric surgery results in significant weight loss for many patients, variability exists in expectations surrounding postoperative outcomes. Therefore, this study examined two psychosocial factors that may contribute to variability in weight loss expectations among adults seeking bariatric surgery: affective disorders and locus of control. Specifically, it was hypothesized that individuals scoring higher on external measures of locus of control would report lower weight loss expectations for surgery than those scoring higher on internal measures of locus of control (as measured by the Levenson’s Multidimensional Locus of Control Scale, …

A Systems Thinking Approach To Formulating The Problem Of Military Sexual Trauma Among Black Female Veterans, Paula Smith-Benson

Full-Text Theses & Dissertations

Minority veterans are one of the fastest growing veteran populations (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2020b). Research over the last fifty years has documented that minority veterans, especially Black female veterans, are at a disproportionate risk for many problems, such as suicide and military sexual trauma (MST) (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2020b). In order to adequately address problems faced by the Black female veteran population, I argue that the problem must first be adequately formulated by the veteran community and veteran leadership. In this dissertation, I review the current body of literature on military sexual trauma with a systems view, using …

Catalytic Resilience Practices: Exploring The Effects Of Resilience And Resilience Practices Through Physical Exercise, Mackenzie Ruether

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

Resilience is of increasing interest to researchers and practitioners as the organizations where they work have become increasingly complex and dynamic. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has only magnified its importance. COVID-19 provides a unique opportunity to study how people navigate challenges and face adversity to be resilient both at home and at work. The main question organizations, teams, and employees are asking is how individuals gain and sustain resilience. To that end, theory and research has suggested a vast array of practices or strategies that individuals can engage in to build resilience to be better prepared to overcome adverse situations …

It's Raining In The Archives: Practical Lessons And Impactful Results From Moving An Academic Archives Results From Moving An Academic, Maurice R. Blackson, Julia Stringfellow

Library Scholarship

This article explores the move of the Central Washington University Archives and Special Collections (CWUASC) to a new location from the fourth floor to the second floor of the James E. Brooks Library in 2018. The history of the CWUASC, reasons for the move, the planning and designing of the new space, the actual move of the collection by the archives staff, lessons learned, and the impact of the move in reaching a larger audience of faculty, staff, students, and the general public are described. A review of literature on other moves of archives and special collections is also provided.

The Extent Of Online Platforms Utilization For Scholarly Research Work Dissemination: A Survey Of Academic Staff In African Universities, Valentine Joseph Owan, Michael Ekpenyong Asuquo Ph.D, Violet Makuku Ph.D., Eno Etudor-Eyo Ph.D.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

An assessment of the extent of the use of electronic platforms by African academic staff in universities to disseminate research was done in this study. The study is informed by the growing importance of online repositories and preprint servers in the scientific communication of scholarly output, especially in an era where the use of metrics for research appraisals and funding decisions is commonly practised. The quantitative research method was adopted, based on the descriptive survey research design. The snowball sampling technique was used for data collection. Data were collected from 1,977 respondents, distributed across 24 African countries, through the use …

The Inevitability Of Collision: Creating Empathy Through Fiction, Danielle Beckman

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

While the stigma for mental illnesses has greatly declined in the last decade, there is still a disconnect between individuals without neurological illnesses and those with neurological illnesses, especially those that cause individuals to lose contact with reality. The goal of this interdisciplinary paper is to create empathy for these individuals, specifically people with schizophrenia, Alzheimer disease, and post-traumatic amnesia. Through a collection of four stories told from the perspective of these unreliable narrators, I used fiction writing techniques from the field of cognitive literary studies such as gapping and defamiliarization to create more empathy in the reader. In reading …

International Medical Service Trips: Colonialist Roots And Ethics Of Global Health Today, Lorenzo Patti

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Service trips have become a relatively common part of society today. People in both the professional and academic world often jump at the opportunity to be able to travel through the lens of learning or working. Service trips are framed as excursions to help marginalized communities, in reality, the trips end up being more about tourism and travel. Despite the attractive façade of medical service, its harmful impact is evident when examining it further. Medical trips often fall into two categories, voluntourism and capacity building. Voluntourism has a number of flaws, which cause long-term detrimental effects to the communities visited …

Developing Sustainable Solar-Powered Electricity For Rural Ethiopia, Yonas Workie Cherenet

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

The main objective of this capstone paper is to identify the barriers in developing sustainable solar-powered electricity for rural Ethiopia and to review solutions and access the practical challenges using a case study called “Maji Decentralized Off-grid Solar Energy Project (MDOSEP)”. The findings in the case study showed that even though there are many challenges in providing solar solutions for an entire rural community, it is possible to have an impact step-by-step using different approaches. The project used PAYGO payment option for distribution of Solar Home Systems (SHS) in which customers pay a deposit, and commit to making ongoing payments, …

Animal Sentience: History, Science, And Politics, Andrew N. Rowan, Joyce M. D'Silva, Ian J.H. Duncan, Nicholas Palmer

Animal Sentience

This target article has three parts. The first briefly reviews the thinking about nonhuman animals’ sentience in the Western canon: what we might know about their capacity for feeling, leading up to Bentham’s famous question “can they suffer?” The second part sketches the modern development of animal welfare science and the role that animal-sentience considerations have played therein. The third part describes the launching, by Compassion in World Farming, of efforts to incorporate animal sentience language into public policy and regulations concerning human treatment of animals.

Comparing Depression And Anxiety Among Athletes And Nonathletes In A College Counseling Center Population., Alexandria Kinder

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This study focused on self-reported rates of anxiety and depression when first presenting to a college counseling center at a state university in the mid-Atlantic region. The self-reported measures are the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms-62 (CCAPS-62) and Standardized Data Set (SDS), data forms that are supported through the electronic medical record system, Titanium. The data compared clinical populations of non-student-athletes and student-athletes to understand how the additional athlete identity may contribute to mental health. This study employed a between-subjects, quantitative-descriptive, cross-sectional, design to define and describe the nature of the relationships between one continuous dependent (anxiety or depression) …

Assessment Of Purpose And Problems Of Using Electronic Information Resources By Patrons: The Case Of Osun State University Library, Oluwatosin Okunoye

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study assessed Library users’ purposes for using Electronic Information Resources (EIRs) as well as the problems that militate against the use of the resources in Osun State University. A survey methodology using a case study research design was adopted. The questionnaire was used as research instrument for data collection. The population of study was made up of the staff and students of Osun State University from which was drawn a sample of 470 respondents using the stratified sampling technique. A total of 299 questionnaires were usably retrieved for analysis. Findings revealed more than 80% purpose for use rate, this …

A Pilot Study Evaluating A Training For Music Therapy Students On Considerations For Lgbtq Clients, Cecilia Blair Wright

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Music therapists are expected to understand the influence of gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation on the therapeutic process, yet may not be receiving education that adequately prepares them to support LGBTQ clients. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the impact of a one-hour educational training for music therapy students on considerations for working with LGBTQ clients. The presentation included information about terminology, discrimination, healthcare discrimination, music therapy research, musical considerations, and additional resources provided as a handout. The minority stress theory and queer theory informed the development of the presentation. Exploratory analysis revealed that participants …

Challenging Narratives: Kurdish Young Adults In Istanbul And Chicago, Lydia Shanklin Roll

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

In this dissertation, I explore the interplay between youthful agency and state imposition. Specifically, drawing on 12 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Istanbul, Turkey and Chicago, Illinois, I investigate how young adults who have migrated within one state and to another are navigating the states and bureaucratic systems in which they live. My interlocutors hail from a state that is quintessentially twentieth century, by which I mean the state was established as a nation-state, promoted as existing for members of a particular ethno-linguistic identity, with a charismatic leader who inspired a cult of personality. This narrative of the state has …

Captivating State: Youthful Dreams And Uncertain Futures In Kurdistan, Diana Hatchett

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This dissertation examines how Kurdistani young people experience contests of values in a state shaped by sectarian political cultures during a time of trial and transition for the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The dissertation is based on approximately 20 months of ethnographic fieldwork (September 2015 - June 2017) spent among Kurdistani youth, broadly defined as 12 to 30 years old, in secondary schools and fitness centers. The ethnography presents interlocutors as co-theorists in conceptualizing the society and state in which they live, incorporating descriptive vignettes, transcripts of discussions, and lengthy interview quotes. Kurdistani interlocutors describe the push and pull …

A Qualitative Examination Of The Agency Of Women In Their 30s And 40s Who Use Dating Applications, Tera Buerkle

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The use of dating applications (apps) to find romantic and sexual partners is widespread across age groups, however, there is a paucity of research on dating apps with those in middle adulthood. Sexual script theory suggests that women’s agency (i.e. the ability to act in one’s own best interest) may be impacted by expectations from an inherently sexualized context, such as dating apps. Feminist theory contends that women’s agency is complicated by gender socialization due to the imbalance of power in society that greatly favors men. In this study seventeen women aged 30 to 49 completed in-depth semi-structured interviews, and …

Psychological Distress And Relationship Satisfaction Among Survivors Of Sexual Violence, Alyssa Campbell

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The World Health Organization (WHO; 2002) has indicated that sexual violence is a serious public health concern, and both the WHO and the United Nations (UN) have declared that violence against women, in particular, is a profound violation of human rights (UN General Assembly, 1993; WHO, 2017). Although the systemic and negative impact of trauma on family and intimate relationships have been well documented, the empirical literature regarding the effects of adult sexual trauma on relationship satisfaction is less robust. These studies are designed to address this gap and will do so with analyses centered on an understudied population: the …

Birth Mothers’ Experiences Of Support Before, During, And After Adoptive Placement, Ciara Watkins

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The current study explores the perceptions and experiences of support in a sample of birth mothers who relinquished parental rights though open or closed private adoption (e.g., religiously, and non-religiously affiliated private adoption agencies, adoption attorneys). Participants (N = 51) were birth mothers who placed a child for adoption at birth or within several months and who relinquished parenting rights 8 months to 50 years ago, with (M = 15.39) years since placement. A thematic analysis uncovered six overarching themes throughout the relinquishment process. Further, prevalence of themes in certain phases (i.e., pre-placement, during placement, post-placement) were shared among all …

The Challenge Of Sustainable Consumption For Governance And Policy Development—A Systematic Review, Vivienne Byers, Alan Gilmer

Articles

The modern industry discourse on sustainability is the idea of ‘green growth’, which is described as the paradox of the continuation of increased economic growth, at the same time as increasing sustainability. Policy makers face the challenge of how to encourage and sustain appropriate levels of individual behavioural change to manage consumption in a changing environment. In addressing this challenge, this study seeks to move beyond discrete elements of human consumption behaviour and develop a better understand of the wider inputs including culture, societal norms, institutions and governance. The research methodology adopted uses a systematic literature review approach coupled with …

What Happened In Harris Neck?: Racism, Resistance, And Futures, Anna Sharpe

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

This project traces the history and legacy of the seizure of Harris Neck, approximately 2,600 acres on the Georgia coast, once largely composed of rice and cotton plantations. After the Civil War, freedmen and women transformed the area into a thriving Black community. The community of approximately a hundred families, a school, a church, a post office, and many small farms and businesses flourished from the late 1800’s until 1942, when the federal government seized Harris Neck for use as an Army airfield.

The procedures used by the federal government to seize and, later, reallocate Harris Neck will be examined, …

The Use Of Distraction: Doomscrolling, Losing Time, And Digital Well-Being In Pandemic Space-Times, Jacob Saindon

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

In the space-times of the COVID-19 global health crisis, how have our relationships with smartphones changed? How do popular discourses designate mundane engagements with digital technologies as healthy or unhealthy, and how are these notions of wellness practiced? This thesis draws upon an online survey of smartphone users residing in Kentucky, and a review of marketing, journalistic, and academic literature to establish current understandings of ‘digital well-being’. The paper then analyzes interviews with Kentucky smartphone users who were asked to track their screen time for a one-week period. This project reveals normative conceptions of well-being and the role of smartphone …

Debilitating Debts And Recapacitating Loans: How Fintech Made Markets For Unsecured Consumer Debt Using Alternative Data And Machine Learning, Michael Joshua Mccanless

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

This thesis investigates the production and management of consumer debt on digital platforms. First, this study investigates how borrowers navigate spaces of debt and indebtedness created by fintech consumer lenders. Second, this thesis analyzes the process and impact of ‘alternative’ data and machine learning on fintech credit scoring models. As consumer lending ‘moves online’, this research analyzes the increasingly important role of digital spaces in the creation and management of debt. Tracking the interfaces and algorithms used by online consumer lenders, I weave together insight from digital and financial geographies to argue that digital technologies are enabling firms to marketize …

Uncovering Frontier Mythologies: Memorial Landscapes In Minneapolis, Mn, Corrin Turkowitch

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

This thesis analyzes the relationship between settler colonialism and public memory in B.F. Nelson Park, a downtown park in Minneapolis. My focus is the Pioneer statue, a large granite memorial depicting a frontier family in the middle of the park, which I examine through the lenses of race, gender, power, and violence. Using archival and landscape analysis I examine the historical and present built environment of the park and how it relates to white supremacy. Through interviews of two municipal constituencies, I evaluate how these organizations maintain present narratives of European settlement and in turn uphold the monument. This research …

Correctional Officer Opinions About Offenders With Mental Illness: The Relationships Among Opinions, Burnout, Emotional Intelligence, And Mental Health Training, Courtney Hull

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Rates of mental illness among incarcerated individuals in the United States are high and have been well documented. Correctional officers are on the front line of identifying symptoms and alerting mental health professionals to problems as they arise. Correctional officers often lack an understating of mental illness, feel ill-equipped to manage mental health crises, and experience high levels of job-related stress. The objective of this study was to better understand the relationship between correctional officers’ emotional intelligence and opinions about mental illness, and to identify if burnout moderated the relationship between the variables. Additionally, the study sought to understand the …