Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Testing The Theory Of Resilience And Relational Load In The Context Of Empty Nesters, Lauren E. Fellers

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In examining the marital communication of recent empty nesters, the aim of this study was to test the theory of resilience and relational load (TRRL) (Afifi et al., 2016). The postparental period that follows directly after children leave their parents’ places of residence may present unique challenges for married individuals to navigate together. The TRRL offers a potential explanation as to why some married couples demonstrate resilience and flourish through a stressful season while others do not. To test the TRRL in this context, 113 married persons who became empty nesters within the previous 18 months filled out an online …

A Test Of The Control Value Theory Of Achievement Emotions In An Instructional Communication Context, Katherine E. Armstrong

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This dissertation tested the control-value theory of achievement emotions (CVTAE) in an instructional communication context. Based on the assumptions of CVTAE, the researcher predicted that when instructors were clearer, students would feel more confident in their abilities to perform well in their class and, in turn, experience positive achievement emotions (i.e., enjoyment and hope), ultimately becoming be more intrinsically motivated to learn. If instructors were less clear, however, students would experience decreased motivation to learn through negative appraisals of performance efficacy and negative achievement emotions (i.e., boredom, anxiety, and hopelessness). Additionally, the researcher hypothesized that when instructors made the course …

Associations Among Executive Functioning, Family Functioning, Adolescent Responsibility, And Adherence In Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Cecily Newel Conour

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Background: Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a common cause of chronic pain for adolescents in the United States. Adherence to the treatment regimen is a significant concern, particularly for adolescents. Barriers to adherence are varied, but include cognitive factors, such as forgetting. Parent involvement is associated with increased adherence in this population, though adolescent involvement is less studied. Family functioning is associated with adherence to medication regimen across pediatric chronic illnesses, including IBD treatment regimen. To better inform clinical care, this study aims to understand the relations among adolescent’s responsibility, executive functioning, family functioning, and adherence. Methods: The current study …

Sexism In The Digital World: A Thematic Content Analysis Of The Cyberbullying Of Lil Miquela, Shyanne Elizabeth Schmithorst

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

As artificial intelligence (AI) evolves, social issues associated with this technology are also perpetuated. This is especially pertinent to online violence against women. In April 2016, fictional character “Lil Miquela,” an AI robot who would quickly rise to fame as a social media influencer, was created using Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI). Significant backlash has persisted against Lil Miquela throughout its existence, which has typically taken the form of demeaning comments made by other users on Lil Miquela’s social media pages. As the robot looks deceptively like a human female, the robot receives online treatment that mimics that of human women. Utilizing …

Essays In Applied Microeconomics, Joshua C. Martin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The first chapter examines the role that same-sex marriage legalization had on the number of adoptions of children from foster care in the United States. We do so by employing a synthetic difference-in-differences estimator which leverages both the differential timing of these laws across states and the subsequent wave of state-level legal protections which give foster-care agencies the right to deny service to same-sex couples based on religiously-held beliefs. Using highly detailed, county-level data of nearly 20 million children in the foster care system from 1995-2020, our findings reveal that same-sex marriage legalization led to a 3.8%-5.9% increase in the …

Evaluation Of Commission And Omission Errors During Differential Reinforcement Of Other Behavior, Lindsey M. Hronek

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) is a reinforcement schedule that commonly includes the delivery of a reinforcer following an interval during which a target behavior did not occur and extinction (i.e., the reinforcer is withheld following any instances of the target behavior). Although interventions using DRO schedules can decrease target behavior when implemented as designed, little is known about the efficacy of DRO interventions when they include fidelity errors. A growing field of literature has demonstrated different ways fidelity errors can affect the outcomes of other interventions (e.g., DRA, response cost, and skill acquisition). One study by Foreman et …

Wvu Core Arboretum User Motivations, Demographics, And Satisfaction: A Snapshot From Summer Of 2022 To Spring Of 2023, Bennett F. Phillips

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This paper presents a comprehensive examination of user motivations, demographics, and satisfaction levels at the West Virginia University (WVU) Core Arboretum during the period spanning from the summer of 2022 to the spring of 2023. Green spaces across the United States have seen an increase in public attention in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and are actively seeking to capitalize on the renewed interest. Seeking to aid the WVU Core Arboretum in garnering renewed public interest, this study utilized a survey comprising sections on user perceptions, demographics, satisfaction, and usage that garnered 182 responses.

Demographic analysis of the survey …

Deadly Divisions: Class And Stigma As Fundamental Social Causes Of Spatial Health Inequalities, Misty Lee Harris

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The objective of this dissertation is to investigate how class and stigma influence spatial inequalities in health across the US, from the structural to the individual level. Class, stigma, and subsequent access to capital resources are not equally distributed across the US. Women, poor, and minority populations continue to have unequal access to capital resources across the country, though this is spatially determined. Similarly, while there are health inequalities along the same social cleavages at the national level, they differ significantly across localities. Research has not paid enough attention to the fundamental social causes of inequities, resulting in the inability …

Love, Life, And Controversial Topics: A Content Analysis Of The Top Liked Abortion Tiktok Videos Before And After The Overturning Of Roe V. Wade, Jill E. Sturges

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

TikTok is a trendy social media platform that has attracted billions of monthly users. Anyone can post a short video about their interests, beauty, relationships, travel, and controversial topics if they are 13 or older. Many young adults turn to social media platforms, such as TikTok, to help them make decisions regarding their everyday lives and to discuss controversial topics, such as abortion. The concern with social media content is the misinformation and disinformation that can spread rapidly across the globe with a click of a button. Numerous studies have begun to examine social media platforms for the accuracy of …

Methods For Analyzing Physics Student Retention And Physics Curricula, John Darrell Hansen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Retention of students in college has been a concern of academic institutions for many years. In the last two decades, the focus on student retention in STEM fields has intensified. The current graduation rate of students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields is well below that required to fill the projected need of STEM professionals. The work presented in this dissertation investigates the problem of student retention in physics programs. Four studies were performed. The first identifies the relationships between student retention and pre-college and early-college academic factors at an eastern U.S. university using logistic regression and Bayesian …

Parent And Adolescent Report Of Helicopter Parenting: Examining Reporter Discrepancies And Associations With Adolescent Depression And Anxiety, Avneet Batra

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Research is replete with studies on Helicopter Parenting (HP) and its association with depression and anxiety (Cui et al., 2019; Schiffrin et al., 2014; 2019). However, most of the studies have focused on college students’ reports on helicopter parenting and there is relative dearth of studies with adolescents or with parents’ reports of HP (Pistella et al., 2020; Schiffrin et al., 2019). The current study aims to fill the gap in the literature by including both parent and adolescents’ perspectives on helicopter parenting, assess its unique association (parent and teens HP reports) with teen depression and anxiety both concurrently and …

Impacts Of Error Rate And Therapist Appearance On The Accuracy Of Fidelity Data Collection, Marisela A. Aguilar

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Procedural fidelity is the extent to which a procedure is implemented as designed. Analyzing procedural-fidelity data can improve treatment outcomes. Fidelity data are generally collected by a supervisor or trained data collector using a checklist that operationalizes each component of the procedure and accounts for errors in implementation of the components. However, little is known about variables that may affect the accuracy of supervisor-collected data generally, and even less is known about variables that may affect the accuracy of procedural-fidelity data. Therefore, the current studies explored the extent to which Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) accurately detected programmed fidelity errors …

Analysis And Performance Of Osvaldo Golijov’S Hebreische Milonga, Gerardo Sanchez Pastrana

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov is one of the most important and well-recognized composers of the 21^st century. His works are unique because of the diverse mixing of styles due to the interculturalism present in his music. In the program notes of his Hebreische Milonga, Golijov mentions that this piece can connect his Argentinian and Jewish roots as well as the influence of Astor Piazzolla’s music. In addition, there is a connection between the tango and the Jewish people residing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that is not addressed frequently when discussing the history of the tango. This research begins …

Social Determinants Of Health And Functional Disability At Mid- And Late-Life, Carly Pullen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The number and proportion of older adults living in the U.S. and globally are increasing. Not only are more adults living longer (Rania et al., 2021), there is evidence that people are

entering late life with more functional disability than in previous generations (He & Larsen,

2014). Social determinants of health include demographic and environmental influences than can impact a range of health outcomes beyond more direct risk factors (Duran and Perez-Stable, 2019). Using data from 243,693 community-dwelling adults who completed the 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey, we tested the associations among social determinants of health (i.e., age, …

The Effect Of Sequential Stimuli On Variable-Interval Schedule Performance And Resurgence, Amanda K. Miles

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Resurgence, or the recurrence of a previously established but not currently occurring response given a worsening of current conditions, is a systematic phenomenon with clinical implications; thus, understanding the variables that impact resurgence is important. Investigations into the impact of discriminative stimuli on resurgence have yielded mixed results about whether the stimuli associated with extinction mitigate or prevent resurgence. The current experiments were conducted with sequential stimuli, that is, two or more stimuli occurring in a fixed sequence, that allowed determination of the effect of discriminative stimuli across a continuum of reinforcement conditions (from most temporally distal to most proximal …

Three Essays On Political Economy, Colin Michael Steitz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The first chapter studies the impact of conventions and multi-day events on
hotel demand in the Indianapolis metro area. Using hand-collected data on
sporting events and conventions, we study the impact on hotel metrics: ADR,
Occupancy, Daily Rate, and Revenue. We show that traditional sporting
events generate little impact when compared to multi-day conventions. We
show that mega-events such as major championship games generate significant
increases in hotel demand. We find large and statistically significant effects for
multi-day conventions on hotel demand with very little evidence of crowding
out. A single day of a multi-day convention brings in approximately $928,000 …

Fast Raising: Digital Fundraising As Interaction Rituals, Matthew P. Hartwell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Twice a year, GamesDoneQuick hosts events that showcase the Speed Running Community, a sub-set of the Video Game Community. Since its inception in 2014 through 2021 GDQ has raised $25.7 million that has been distributed to the Prevent Cancer Foundation and Médecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors without Borders). This collection of studies analyzes the Awesome Games Done Quick 2020 event utilizing the Interaction Ritual Theory framework of Randall Collins to understand how ritualistic social action of this community has been leveraged by event organizers to promote successful crowd funding efforts that benefits organizations outside of the community. Further it expands on …

Cue Reactivity In Electronic Cigarette Users With Sign-Tracking Or Goal-Tracking Behaviors, Polina Krom

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Polina Krom

Cue reactivity is an important predictor of addiction course and relapse. However, cue reactivity is only observed after an addiction develops. As such, it is unclear to what degree cue reactivity represents a state stemming from the addiction process versus a trait-like propensity towards developing cue-reward associations. Work in animal models has pointed to important individual differences in trait-like inclination to attribute incentive salience to reward-predictive cues that is associated with addiction-relevant behavioral and neurobiological features. These individual differences manifest as sign-tracking (ST) and goal-tracking (GT) behaviors during Pavlovian conditioning. Little research has attempted to translate ST and …

Conditioned Reinforcement By Stimuli Correlated And Uncorrelated With A Schedule Of Food Reinforcement, Lillian L. Skiba-Thayer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

A conditioned reinforcer derives its function from a relation to an established reinforcer. Respondent views suggest that a stimulus acquires reinforcing properties because it is positively correlated with an established reinforcer. Alternatively, the information hypothesis suggests that a stimulus acquires reinforcing properties because it reduces uncertainty about the likelihood of an established reinforcer. Observing response procedures have been used to evaluate the function of stimuli positively correlated (S+), negatively correlated (S-), and uncorrelated (S1, S2) with established reinforcers such as food (with animals) or money (with humans). Verbal instructions have been shown to alter the extent to which correlated and …

Cue Reactivity In Non-Smoking Electronic Cigarette Users, Ashley E. Douglas

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Electronic cigarettes (ECIGs) are among the most popular nicotine products in the United States, particularly among youth and young adults. Many individuals who use ECIGs report an interest in quitting or unsuccessful quit attempts. In addition to nicotine dependence, one factor that may contribute to continued ECIG use is an individual’s response to ECIG-related environmental stimuli, or cues. Existing research demonstrates that exposure to ECIG cues increases craving for ECIGs among cigarette smokers, including those without previous ECIG experience. The purpose of this study was to examine effects of ECIG cue exposure in experienced ECIG users with minimal smoking history, …

If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them: Richard Posner And Behavioral Law And Economics, Avishalom Tor, Doran Teichman, Eyal Zamir

Journal Articles

Since its publication in 1973, Economic Analysis of Law (the Treatise) by Richard Posner has been recognized as the canonical treatise in the field. Given this status, observing changes over time in the different editions of the book can highlight substantial and methodological shifts in the area. On this backdrop, this brief essay will highlight Posner's change of attitude towards behavioral analysis of law over the years, culminating with the incorporation of behavioral insights into the las edition of this book, published in 2024.

The Managerial Factors Influencing The Retention Of Firms' It Capability, With Some Global Implications, Jinho Kim, Kayoung Park, Timothy Komarek, Li Xu

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Researchers have explored firms’ IT capability and its effects on business performance, yet the factors influencing the long-term retention of this capability have not been fully investigated. Therefore, our study examines what managerial and financial factors influence the retention of firms’ IT capability by utilizing survival analysis. The results show that IT executives’ managerial power does not contribute to retaining the firms’ IT capability. However, the change of IT managers can introduce fresh insights and expertise to an organization, enabling firms to maintain their IT capability, and the degree of retaining IT competency in firms can vary based on industry-specific …

Inspirational Bullshit: The Good, The Bad, And The Vacuous, Esther Abel

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

There are myriad methods offered in the “self-help industry” and on social media promising to improve happiness. Some messages are evidence-based, often drawn from positive psychology research, and suggest actions requiring time and effort, while other messages may offer feel-good platitudes that are devoid of meaningful guidance; we label this latter type of content “inspirational bullshit.” Across two manuscripts, we investigate the predictors of liking different kinds of positive self-help content, from meaningless randomly-generated phrases to vacuous positivity to evidence-based advice. In the first manuscript, across three studies, bullshit receptivity (a tendency to judge pseudo-profound statements as profound) and people’s …

Implications Of Cyberbiosecurity In Advanced Agriculture, Simone Stephen, Keitavius Alexander, Lucas Potter, Xavier-Lewis Palmer

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The world is currently undergoing a rapid digital transformation sometimes referred to as the fourth industrial revolution. During this transformation, it is increasingly clear that many scientific fields are not prepared for this change. One specific area is agriculture. As the sector which creates global food supply, this critical infrastructure requires detailed assessment and research via newly developed technologies (Millett et al, 2019; Peccoud et al, 2018) . Despite its fundamental significance to modern civilization, many aspects of industrial agriculture have not yet adapted to the digital world. This is evident in the many vulnerabilities currently present within agricultural systems, …

Treating A Viral Culture: Using Cultural Competency And Social Informatics To Design Contextualized Information Literacy Efforts For Specific Social Information Cultures, Rachel N. Simons, Aaron J. Elkins, Shengnan Yang (Ed.), Xiaohua Zhu (Ed.), Pnina Fichman (Ed.)

STEMPS Faculty Publications

This chapter proposes a novel theoretical framework, Social Information Cultural Competency (SICC), that may be used for designing contextualized information literacy efforts. The SICC approach leverages the frameworks of social informatics, cultural competency, and psychosocial understandings of information behavior to encourage information professionals to develop more nuanced understandings of specific social information cultures. After defining this approach, the chapter then applies the SICC framework to a case study considering information literacy interventions addressing a social information culture engaged in sharing COVID-19 misinformation through social media. As part of this case study, the chapter discusses three current information literacy approaches to …

Building Belonging Into The System, Kristin Herman, Michelle Gill

STEMPS Faculty Publications

This design case documents how a K-12 district took steps to systemically support virtual student wellness and belonging. Plans for course design to support social-emotional-academic learning (SEAL) competencies, increase perception of belonging, and create safe, predictable learning environments characteristic of a trauma-informed approach to teaching and learning are shared. The assumption virtual learners are not looking to experience belonging and cannot be successful unless they already have strong SEAL skills is challenged. Rather, the positioning of SEAL competencies as learning objectives rather than necessary prerequisites to access online learning proved to contribute to more equitable learning opportunities.

A Complicated Legacy Defines School Librarians As Teachers, Mary Keeling

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The article analyzes how the legacy of school librarianship inform the future of school librarians as teachers. Topics discussed include lower test scores and fewer opportunities to develop critical thinking and digital literacy skills among students, need for the federal government to recognize the importance of school libraries and how well-staffed school library with a qualified librarian can provide essential services and resources.

Comparing The "Value Of Information Services" For Providers And Vulnerable Patrons: A Mixed-Methods Study With Academic Libraries And Students With Disabilities, Devendra Potnis, Kevin J. Mallary

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Introduction. This multi-year, mixed-methods study compares (a) the reasons administrators and librarians of academic libraries invest in assistive technology for delivering information services to students with disabilities, with (b) the benefits that influence these students’ intention to use AT.

Method. In the first phase, 50 library administrators and 22 librarians from 186 public universities across the US shared their top-three reasons for investing in assistive technology through a qualitative survey. In the second phase, 322 students with disabilities from the same institutions completed a quantitative survey, in which respondents shared individual-level benefits that influence their intention to use assistive technology. …

School Library Advocacy: Enhancing Opportunities For All Learners, Elizabeth A. Burns

STEMPS Faculty Publications

There is a lack of consistency in how school librarians understand and engage in advocacy for their programs and the profession (Burns, 2015; Lance & Kachel, 2018). It is important that school librarians demonstrate the positive impact they contribute to improving instruction for student learners and advancing access so that all learners have equal opportunities. The school library and school librarian should be available to each student (Kachel, 2021). The School Library Manifesto (2021) includes language to support a strong school library with a qualified school librarian. Advocacy goals can be highlighted throughout this critical set of school library guidelines. …

Mwirgan: Unsupervised Visible-To Mwir Image Translation With Generative Adversarial Network, Mohammad Shahab Uddin, Chiman Kwan, Jiang Li

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Unsupervised image-to-image translation techniques have been used in many applications, including visible-to-Long-Wave Infrared (visible-to-LWIR) image translation, but very few papers have explored visible-to-Mid-Wave Infrared (visible-to-MWIR) image translation. In this paper, we investigated unsupervised visible-to-MWIR image translation using generative adversarial networks (GANs). We proposed a new model named MWIRGAN for visible-to-MWIR image translation in a fully unsupervised manner. We utilized a perceptual loss to leverage shape identification and location changes of the objects in the translation. The experimental results showed that MWIRGAN was capable of visible-to-MWIR image translation while preserving the object’s shape with proper enhancement in the translated images and …