Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Healthcare Access And Utilization By Transgender Populations: A United States Transgender Survey Study, Axenya Kachen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Transgender communities in the United States are highly marginalized and have been systematically and infrastructurally ignored due to the widespread fundamental belief that gender exists as a binary classification. The dichotomous theoretical framework of sex and gender prevented public recognition of this community as a population of interest for public health research and targeted intervention. Sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations have fought for basic human rights, including access to affordable healthcare. The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) was founded in 2003 to advocate for the advancement of equality for transgender people. In 2015, the NCTE conducted the United …

Policing Protests: An Exploratory Analysis Of Crowd Management Policies, Logan P. Kennedy

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Several policing strategies have been used to manage protest crowds over the past 50 years. Research suggests that escalated force and command and control strategies were utilized until the 1990’s (Bourne, 2011; Schweingruber, 2000), while negotiated management has emerged as a prominent protest management strategy within recent decades (Gillham, 2011; Gillham & Noakes, 2006). While literature describes the general evolution of protest strategies over time, there has been no systematic documentation of police approaches to crowd management.

This study examines police policies governing protest management to identify current U.S. police practices. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) provides …

Multimethod Investigation Of Pristine Inner Experience, Leiszle Rae Lapping-Carr

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Introspection can be defined as any effort to observe and report on internal experiences. As such, introspection continues to be a commonly used research method, including self-report questionnaires, experience sampling, and qualitative interviews. However, in these modern applications of introspection, the challenges of such endeavors are often not readily acknowledged or addressed. This study compared three introspective methods using a pre-test, post-test design: descriptive experience sampling (DES), the experience sampling method (ESM), and daily questionnaires (DR). Those who participated in DES, a beeper-based method designed to produce high fidelity understandings of random moments of inner experience, had lower average frequencies …

Multi-Polygenic Risk Score Prediction Model For Bipolar Disorder, Travis Mize

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Bipolar disorder (BP), a severe mental disorder characterized by recurring manic and depressive episodes, has been shown to have a strong genetic underpinning. Current theory suggests that it is the summation of risk alleles, spread across the entirety of the genome, which contributes to the development of BP, as well as other polygenic traits. The comorbid nature of these polygenic traits are often problematic for diagnosticians as the symptomology of the disorders may vary substantially between individuals and can create diagnostic confusion. To alleviate issues such as these, a more objective measure, to be used alongside current diagnostic procedures, is …

The Post-Soviet Voter: Evidence From The Caucasus, Rafael Oganesyan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In western liberal democracies, voting behavior is often times characterized by sociological and psychological indicators. Party identification and issues such as the economy dominant the vote function of the electorate. In the post-Soviet space, party volatility and the competitive authoritarian nature of regimes may result in voters failing to act as agents of accountability. In this dissertation, I argue that the socio-psychological theory of voting behavior applies to post-Soviet electorate in the Caucasus. I demonstrate that Armenian and Georgian voters rely on partisanship as well as perceptions of the economy when casting electoral judgment on the incumbent party. This research …

Animal Assisted Therapy And Support Animals, What Mental Health Professionals Know And Understand, Alexandro H. Velez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Animal-assisted therapy can greatly benefit mental health professionals with clients in and out of the school settings in many ways. It is believed mental health professionals are successfully implementing Animal Assisted Therapy, even though some are not. Mental health professionals who are not using Animal Assisted Therapy are not doing so as the result of various variables, such as lack of information, knowledge, training, certification and policies, which prevents them from using Animals Assisted Therapy with clients and the community. It is also believed some mental health professionals are using animals as part of therapeutic interventions without proper training. The …

Rrh Library Newsletter, August 2019, Libraries At Rochester Regional Health

Rochester Regional Health authored publications and proceedings

Newsletter sections include: Podcasts for Work and Play

Optimal Vehicle Use In The Presence Of Episodic Mobile-Source Air Pollution, Arthur J. Caplan, Ramjee Acharya

Applied Economics Faculty Publications

This paper develops a conceptual model of vehicle trips in a region plagued by weather-dependent, mobile-source air pollution, and numerically estimates optimal trips for one of the nation's perennially worst air quality regions in terms of short-term particulate matter. Based upon data-driven parameters and damage estimates, our numerical model generates optimal values for region-wide vehicle trips and associated PM_2.5 concentrations along with their corresponding time paths. Our dataset includes a host of pertinent weather variables that determine PM_2.5 concentrations both independently as well as interacted with vehicle trips. As a result, our empirical model enables us to isolate …

Does The Healthcare Educational Market Respond To Short-Run Local Demand?, Marcus O. Dillender, Andrew Friedson, Cong Gian, Kosali Simon

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) increased demand for healthcare across the U.S., but it is unclear if or how the supply side has responded to meet this demand. In this paper, we take advantage of plausibly exogenous geographical heterogeneity in the ACA in order to examine the response of the healthcare education sector to increased demand for healthcare services. We look across educational fields, types of degrees, and types of institutions; we pay particular attention to settings where our conceptual model predicts heightened responses. We find no statistically significant evidence of increases in graduates and can rule …

Dialect Transfer For L2 Arabic Learners, Jozeca Lathrop

Theses and Dissertations

With rising numbers of Arabic language learners studying abroad, language programs face two challenges that are unlike many other commonly-studied languages. First, dialects of spoken Arabic vary significantly across the span of North Africa and the Middle East, so in choosing a location to study abroad, learners are also choosing a particular dialect of Arabic on which to focus their attention. Second, Arabic is diglossic, so written and spoken varieties are significantly different from each other. Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is used for most written material, media, and some formal settings, while Colloquial Arabic (CA) is used for informal spoken …

Leadership Transitions: A Study Of The Failure Rate Of Career Progression Due To Individual Contributor Versus People Leadership Mindsets In Post-Recessionary Southeast Tennessee And Northwest Georgia, Michael Lance Starks

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Despite the efforts of many leadership development programs, more than 80 percent of new leaders transitioning into the first role as a leader fail to make a successful transition (Korn Ferry Leadership Principles, 2018). This paper studied a leader’s failure to shift his or her thinking and behaviors from an individual contributor mindset to a people leader mindset. This research is suggesting that organizations adopt two tools to improve leadership transition effectiveness: Leadership Transition Readiness Assessment, and Start, Stop, Change, and Transition questionnaire.

Does Change In Anxiety Predict Changes In Metacognitions?, Heather Lynn Clark

MSU Graduate Theses

In recent years an increasing number of studies have examined anxiety-related metacognitive beliefs and their relationship to anxiety disorder diagnoses and treatment outcome. However, no study to date has examined changes in metacognitive beliefs following induced anxiety. The aim of the present study is to examine the relationship between changes in state anxiety and worry-related metacognitive beliefs. Participants completed baseline measures of anxiety and metacognitions before either being exposed to a control stimulus or worry-inducing stimulus. Following exposure participants completed anxiety and metacognition measures once again. Group means comparison analyses and correlations are reported. Results suggest state anxiety can be …

Expertise Within Working Memory And Fluid Intellgence, Addie Wikowsky

MSU Graduate Theses

Working memory, fluid intelligence, and expertise are all psychological concepts that have been explored in the field. Working memory, defined by Baddeley (1986), is the temporary storage of stimuli presented to a person. The relationship between working memory and fluid intelligence is a common theme among studies. Fluid intelligence is one of the components of general intelligence (g). Specifically, fluid intelligence can be described as being able to adapt thinking, even with no previous knowledge (Jaeggi, Buschkuehl, Jonides, & Perrig, 2008). Expertise is another critical factor in these studies and is the acquisition of knowledge and being able to apply …

A Multimodal Approach To Sarcasm Detection On Social Media, Dipto Das

MSU Graduate Theses

In recent times, a major share of human communication takes place online. The main reason being the ease of communication on social networking sites (SNSs). Due to the variety and large number of users, SNSs have drawn the attention of the computer science (CS) community, particularly the affective computing (also known as emotional AI), information retrieval, natural language processing, and data mining groups. Researchers are trying to make computers understand the nuances of human communication including sentiment and sarcasm. Emotion or sentiment detection requires more insights about the communication than it does for factual information retrieval. Sarcasm detection is particularly …

The Use Of An Individualized Levels System And Extinction To Increase Task Compliance And To Decrease Aggressive Behavior With A Child With Autism, Savanna A. Chojnacki

MSU Graduate Theses

In a token economy level system, as an individual progresses from one task level to the next, there is an increase in the demand of tasks and an increase in the magnitude of reinforcers earned. The motivation for the individual in level systems stems from the increasing of value of reinforcers earned at each level. In this study a level system in concordance with an extinction procedure for aggressive behaviors was employed as a behavioral intervention. In this single-subject design study, a 5-year-old boy with autism was observed across a variety of 15 minute teaching sessions, implementing synchronously, the reinforcement …

Learning To Relax: The Impact Of Brief Biofeedback Training On Salivary Cortisol Reduction, Dallas N. Robinson

MSU Graduate Theses

Chronic stress has been linked to several health related and psychological problems. There is evidence that relaxation techniques can be useful in the reduction of stress and psychological complaints. Short-term interventions like computer-based biofeedback could provide a brief and independent way to manage stress and anxiety. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the ALIVE biofeedback program (a relatively new software that allows individuals to play a game requiring proper smoothness of breathing and heart rate) on the stress response after the Trier Social Stress Test, a laboratory stress task shown to elicit changes in cortisol …

Yoga To Decrease The Stress Response: Gentle Yoga Encourages Faster Decline In Salivary Cortisol Concentrations Following Participation In Tsst, Tabetha Gaile Hopke

MSU Graduate Theses

Short-term, activation of the human stress response system is beneficial as it prepares the body to deal with stressors at hand (McEwen & Stellar, 1993). If this system is overactive or chronically active however, it can negatively impact health and longevity (Cohen, Janicki-Deverts, & Miller, 2007). According to a review conducted by Ross & Thomas (2010) implementation of a yoga practice has been shown to down-regulate the stress response system. The present study aimed to expand on current research involving yoga for stress reduction by exploring whether participation in gentle yoga could decrease the stress response more quickly than naturally …

Southeast Asia: A Potential Domain For Chemical Terrorism, Bryner Ramos Las

MSU Graduate Theses

This research examines the prospect of Southeast Asia as a future domain for chemical terrorism over the next five years by assessing the correlation between the intent and capability of potential actors to conduct chemical terrorism. Additionally, the effectiveness of prevention and mitigation measures of the concerned governments is also examined. Southeast Asian countries have experienced the persistent threat of Islamic violent extremism for decades. The exploitation of chemical weapons (CW) reflects new developments in the methods of committing terrorist acts. Al Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have demonstrated the intent and capability of chemical …

Differences And Similarities In Male Body Image In Young, Middle-Aged, And Older Men, Amy K. Jordan

MSU Graduate Theses

The purpose of the present study was to explore differences and similarities in multiple aspects of male body image across age groups, including body dissatisfaction, coping strategies, functional appreciation, and mood. It was first hypothesized that younger men would report greater dissatisfaction with muscularity and body fat than middle-aged and older men. The second hypothesis stated that body dissatisfaction would predict depressive symptoms. The third hypothesis predicted that age and functionality appreciation for the body would be positively correlated. Finally, researchers evaluated the relationship between body image coping strategies and age from an exploratory perspective. Participants included 344 men ages …

Making A Tiger's Day: Free-Operant Assessment And Environmental Enrichment, Trista Yvonne Shrock

MSU Graduate Theses

Problem behaviors occur often in captive wild animals due to stress and boredom. Environmental enrichment is one of the most successful methods to help minimize these types of behaviors in many captive wild animals. The current study investigated preferences of play items and scents for seven adult Bengal tigers in a Tiger Sanctuary using a free-operant preference assessment. Two subspecies of Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris) are represented. Six of the tigers are Panthera tigris tigris and one is Panthera tigris altaica. Three phases were run on each tiger, ultimately establishing a hierarchy of preferred play items and …

Municipal Annexation Reform In Texas: How A Victory For Property Rights Jeopardizes The State’S Financial Health, Julie Polansky Bell

St. Mary's Law Journal

Municipal annexation is the expansion of city boundaries. The greatest motivator behind municipal annexation is maintaining and improving economic prosperity of the annexing authority. The issue of annexation involves a balance of rights between property owners and municipalities of the state. Historically, Texas cities had broad annexation authority under an involuntary annexation scheme. However, in recent years the power has shifted as lawmakers have given property owners greater control over the annexation process. This trend culminated in the passage of the Municipal Annexation Right to Vote Act (MARVA) by the 85th Texas Legislature, which severely limits annexation authority.

Texas municipalities …

Constituent Order And Participant Reference In Napo Quichua Narrative Discourse, Larinda Moffitt

Theses and Dissertations

Napo Quichua is a Quechuan language variety spoken along the Napo River in Northern Peru and Southern Ecuador. This thesis presents a description of the constituent order and participant reference system of oral narrative discourse. The primary data source for this study consists mostly of folk tales told by native speakers, with a few autobiographical accounts.

Napo Quichua is an SOV language with a relatively high degree of variation in constituent order. Constituent order variations are motivated by the guiding principles of information structure, including showing focus, highlighting information, and backgrounding information. Constituent order and participant reference also interact to …

Using Context To Communicate: Romanian Sign Language Learners And Their Communication Strategies, Rebecca Melville

Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the communication strategies used by second language learners of Romanian Sign Language (LSR), including learners of different proficiency levels, and investigates whether the learner’s proficiency level affects the kinds or variety of communication strategies they use. Unlike previous studies of communication strategies by language learners, it focuses on learners of a signed rather than a spoken language.

The study consisted of two tasks—the first being a structured task where the learner was given a list of ten words to communicate to an interlocutor (a Deaf native signer). The second task was less structured and asked the …

The Effects Of A Sex Positive Sexual Violence Prevention Program On College Women, Natalie Marian Raymond

Theses and Dissertations

The development of effective sexual violence prevention programming has been an effort spanning several decades, while prevalence of such violence remains high. The present study describes the development and evaluation of a violence prevention program (Relationships, Sexuality, and Violence Prevention: RSVP) for women that draws from other types of interventions, and is grounded in Social Cognitive Theory and current research-generated recommendations.

The evaluation of the program measured change between treatment and control group college women on a number of relevant factors: (a) rape myth acceptance, (b) sexual double standards, (c) positive sexual self-understanding, (d) sexual communication, (e) sexual consent understanding, …

The Prey Drive Model Of Sexual Violence, Tiffany Dawn Russell

Theses and Dissertations

The current project introduced prey drive theory, a new conceptualization of human violence perpetration adapted from canine training and breeding literature. As with canines, prey drive theory conceptualizes human aggression as a manifestation of genetically predisposed dominance and competitiveness. To evaluate the concept of human prey drive, the current study developed a prey drive model of sexual violence that was tested within a community sample of men (N = 662). Four latent trait clusters formed the foundation of the model: sexualized prey dominance, sexualized prey pursuit, antagonistic preparedness, and malevolent personality. A new scale, the Masculine Dominance Index, was …

Should We Target Jobs At Distressed Places, And If So, How?, Timothy J. Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

No abstract provided.

Should Place-Based Jobs Policies Be Used To Help Distressed Communities?, Timothy J. Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

Should policymakers seek to increase jobs in particular local labor markets? Yes, but only if these policies are well targeted and designed. Encouraging job growth in distressed places can cause persistent gains in employment-to-population ratios. But our current place-based jobs policies, under which state and local governments provide long-term tax incentives to megacorporations, are poorly targeted and designed. Such incentives are as large in nondistressed areas as in distressed areas, and they are excessively costly. What reforms are needed? First, job growth policies should target distressed areas. Second, tax incentives should be focused on high-multiplier businesses, such as high-tech firms. …

The Shellfish Corner: Sustainability And The Precautionary Principle, Michael A. Rice

Michael A Rice

Klinik Obat Aborsi Di Madiun_085624642095_ Tempat Jual Obat Cytotec Asli Madiun, Mega Marshella1

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The Effect Of Conversational Agent Skill On User Behavior During Deception, Ryan M. Schuetzler, G Mark Grimes, Justin Scott Giboney

Ryan Schuetzler

No abstract provided.