Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Domain Specificity And Conscious Awareness Of Learned Memory Biases, Gizem Filiz

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The False Positive Feedback (FPF) manipulation encourages certain recognition errors by inducing either liberal (lax) or conservative (strict) recognition memory decision biases. FPF manipulation involves trial-by-trial probabilistic positive feedback for commission or omission errors while the other stimulus class always received fully correct feedback during testing. We investigated whether these learned biases are restricted to the stimulus class triggering FPF, or whether they instead spread to an intermixed class receiving valid feedback, by selectively delivering FPF to words or pictures. A spreading bias would suggest that subjects learn to be liberal or conservative in interpreting recognition evidence in general during …

Social Protection And Foundational Cognitive Skills During Adolescence: Evidence From A Large Public Works Program, Richard Freund, Marta Favara, Catherine Porter, Jere Behrman

Student and Faculty Publications

Many low- and middle-income countries have introduced public works programs (PWPs) to fight poverty. This paper provides the first evidence that children from families who benefit from PWPs show increased foundational cognitive skills. The results, based on unique tablet-based data collected as part of a long-standing longitudinal survey, show positive associations between participation in the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) in Ethiopia during childhood with long-term memory and implicit learning, and suggestive evidence for working memory. These associations appear to be strongest for children whose households were still PSNP participants in the year of data collection. Evidence suggests that the …

Practice Facilitation And Peer Coaching For Uncontrolled Hypertension Among Black Individuals: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Monika M Safford, Doyle M Cummings, Jacqueline R Halladay, James M Shikany, Joshua Richman, Suzanne Oparil, James Hollenberg, Alyssa Adams, Muna Anabtawi, Lynn Andreae, Elizabeth Baquero, Joanna Bryan, Debra Sanders-Clark, Ethel Johnson, Erica Richman, Orysya Soroka, Jimmy Tillman, Andrea L Cherrington

Student and Faculty Publications

IMPORTANCE: Rural Black participants need effective intervention to achieve better blood pressure (BP) control.

OBJECTIVE: Among Black rural adults with persistently uncontrolled hypertension attending primary care clinics, to determine whether peer coaching (PC), practice facilitation (PF), or both (PCPF) are superior to enhanced usual care (EUC) in improving BP control.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A cluster randomized clinical trial was conducted in 69 rural primary care practices across Alabama and North Carolina between September 23, 2016, and September 26, 2019. The participating practices were randomized to 4 groups: PC plus EUC, PF plus EUC, PCPF plus EUC, and EUC alone. …

That Way: An Examination Of Male Relationships In Film During The Hays Code, Jane Knudsen

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The Hays Code (1934-1968) influenced the construct of United States masculinity and the discourse surrounding masculine presentation between the 1920s to the 1960s. The Hays Code and World War II affected the culture surrounding male/male relationships in the United States. Previous research done by David Lugowski (1999) and Jeffrey Suzik (1999) shows that both World Wars led to crises of masculinity in which the hegemonic ideal of masculinity was restructured to establish men as providers and warriors, and Code-era films reflected the discourse. To understand the gender roles in the 20^th century, I analyzed the Hays code, male bonds, …

Ethics In Law And The Effects On Mental Health: An Interview Study, Kaitlyn Nyffeler

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

On August 2, 1983, The American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct were adopted by the House of Delegates. This set of rules provides legal professionals with the guidance needed to uphold the rule of law and to preserve justice. In this set of rules, lawyers learn the duties of confidentiality, client relations, diligence, and the overall conduct owed to the courts. Furthermore, these duties can be demanding and oftentimes challenging. Therefore, this study examined the different ethical rules as they apply to lawyers and how these demands can impact their mental health. Interviews were conducted with six lawyers …

Microwave Emission Model Parameter Tuning For Surface Soil Moisture Retrieval Using Uav-Mounted Dual Polarization L-Band Radiometer, Santiago Hoyos Echeverri

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Surface soil moisture retrieval from L-band brightness temperature has been developed for the past decades due to multiple beneficial characteristics of 1-2 GHz frequency bands for remote sensing of the environment. Numerous microwave emission models have been proposed for tower and satellite-based operations with successful retrieval of surface soil moisture and vegetation water content. As a result of the development of cost-effective and low-mass microwave L-band radiometers such as the Portable L-band Radiometer (PoLRa), surface soil moisture surveying traditionally developed by satellite missions SMOS and SMAP can now be developed at local scales, bringing these operations to commercial small unmanned …

Creative I'Mprint, Melissa Rheaume

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Creative I'mprint

This Master's project delves into the innovative concept of a "Creative I’mprint" and its implications for creative practitioners in fostering effective change leadership. The project aims to investigate the dynamic relationship among perception, influence, and creativity, with the goal of empowering creative practitioners to better comprehend how their creativity impacts others and leaves a lasting impression. Through the design of a comprehensive workshop and conference presentation, the project facilitates the exploration and definition of creative practitioners' Creative I’mprint. Drawing from diverse theories and frameworks including emotional intelligence, lateral thinking, and self-awareness tools, the project provides a structured approach …

Fostering Creativity In The Workplace: Unlocking The Power Of Diversity Through Psychological Safety, Samantha Rosario

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

With a growing recognition of the advantages associated with forming culturally and cognitively diverse teams, understanding the crucial role of psychological safety in leveraging diversity for creativity and innovation is paramount. Additionally, since leaders establish the tone of the workplace culture, it's crucial to ensure they possess the necessary expertise to lead inclusively to establish psychological safety. This project aims to meet the demand for skill development by producing a facilitator guide and workshop presentation. These resources are designed to empower workshop leaders with the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities to facilitate a workshop with the goal to promote workplace …

My Daily Grounds: A Journal Of Creative Alchemy, Kathleen A. Donovan

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

My Daily Grounds: A Journal of Creative Alchemy is a project intended to renew artistic confidence and prepare a mindset for a writing retreat in Ireland in June 2024 by revisiting childhood memories and exploring the impact of early domestic abuse through a visual journaling process. This endeavor aims to stir up the creative voice and find authenticity in creation by gathering and clarifying personal data visually, following the Creative (CPS) approach to unlock new insights and ideas for writing. The resulting essays will illuminate the unseen effects of trauma and are intended for publication, reflecting a co-creative process between …

The Phygital Design Process: Using Emerging Technologies To Create A Phygital Fashion Brand Rooted In Nostalgia, Madeline M. Mcdaniel

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This Master's Project is a comprehensive exploration of the intersection of digital fashion design, nostalgia, and sustainable practices. Its primary objective is to create 'project CYBERBAE,' a phygital fashion collection that draws inspiration from early 2000s video game characters, trends, and aesthetics. The project utilizes advanced digital tools like Clo3D to demonstrate a comprehensive digital fashion design process that emphasizes inclusivity and sustainability. It also pioneers the development of a 3D virtual world, providing users with an immersive environment to interact with and experience digital fashion. This virtual space serves as a platform for a community of fashion, technology, and …

Building Broski Nation: How Brittany Broski Fosters Parasocial Relationships Through Tiktok, Maureen Corrigan

Honors College Theses

This study delves into the concept of parasocial relationships (PSR) in the 21st century, specifically how social media influencers employ parasocial interaction (PSI) tactics on TikTok to form these relationships. This study explores the affordances of direct contact that TikTok allows for and its influence on PSR/PSI. This was able to be done by using popular TikTok influencer Brittany Broski’s “spam” account as a case study. I coded specific PSI tactics and tracked how these tactics correlated to the engagement metrics of her videos. As well as, content analyzing four specific organic and sponsored posts to see how these tactics …

Tripartite Influence Model Of Body Image And Disordered Eating Among Female Athletes: Testing An Expanded Model, Emma Nyrup Tonsberg

Poster Presentations

The aim of the study was to investigate how different sources of sociocultural pressure (family, media, peers) described in the Tripartite Influence Model, and additions of teammate- and coach pressures, were associated with thinness-and muscularity internalization and appearance comparisons among athletes. Subsequently, these potential mechanisms were explored as predictors of disordered eating among athletes. Analyses included 71 female athletes. Athletes were recruited through a student subject pool recruitment portal, as well as with local and regional flyers and emails. Participants completed a series of self-report measures in Qualtrics. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was utilized to test the hypotheses. Partial support …

Intergroup Contact, Beliefs About Gender, And Trans Prejudice, Samantha Oyler

Poster Presentations

Gordon Allport first proposed the Intergroup Contact Theory in 1954. According to his theory, contact between ingroup and outgroup members, under certain conditions, would lead to positive effects, specifically the reduction of prejudice. Since then, this theory has been expanded to include members of other majority/minority groups. Research suggests intergroup contact has positive effects for reduction of anti-trans prejudice. To date, the focus has largely been on the mechanisms driving changes in attitudes and intentions towards trans individuals through intergroup contact interventions. It is unclear whether this intervention might also promote the acquisition of more nuanced sociocultural understanding about gender, …

Classroom-Based Simulation & Clinical Education Innovations Improve Graduate Education, Brenda L. Beverly, Emma A. Townsend

CoTL 2024 Research Talks

Although classroom-based coursework and clinical education activities in speech-language pathology graduate programs strive to link education to relevant practice, gaps persist. Parent-implemented intervention is an evidence-based practice mandated by federal law in early intervention; however, speech-language pathology graduate programs do not provide students with ample opportunities to gain relevant experience. Outcomes from two research studies supported revising classroom and clinical education, increasing educational relevance and professional preparation for students. A qualitative study with focus groups identified key implementation needs that led to the addition of role play simulation in the classroom. A follow-up study supported developing an innovative clinical model …

Graphic Novels As Learning Tools, Leesha Coleman

CoTL 2024 Research Talks

Graphic novels are not just for kids! Graphic novels can be used in nearly every aspect of teaching and learning. This presentation focuses on providing attendees with research on using graphic medicine in the classroom for retention. While the presentation focuses on Graphic Medicine, the principles can be applied to other disciplines.

Pre To Post Course Differences In Knowledge And Perception Of A Careers For Psychology Majors Course, Laura Powell

CoTL 2024 Research Talks

The Psychology Department at the University of South Alabama began teaching a course titled “Careers for Psychology Majors” in Fall 2019. This sophomore level course was created to help psychology majors explore careers options with a bachelor's degree in psychology as well as careers that require graduate study. Students completed a pre and post course survey from their Landrum and Davis (2020) textbook regarding their knowledge and perceptions of career options after graduating. Pre to post course changes in student surveys were analyzed with paired samples t-tests for each question. Increases from pre to post was observed with every question …

Does Assisted Living Provide Assistance And Promote Living?, Sheryl Zimmerman, Robyn Stone, Paula Carder, Kali Thomas

Institute on Aging Publications

Assisted living has promised assistance and quality of living to older adults for more than eighty years. It is the largest residential provider of long-term care in the United States, serving more than 918,000 older adults as of 2018. As assisted living has evolved, the needs of residents have become more challenging; staffing shortages have worsened; regulations have become complex; the need for consumer support, education, and advocacy has grown; and financing and accessibility have become insufficient. Together, these factors have limited the extent to which today's assisted living adequately provides assistance and promotes living, with negative consequences for aging …

"Not That Type Of Asian": Deconstructing The Model Minority Myth From A South Asian Perspective., Shraddha Patel

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

The myth of the model minority is an essential aspect of the literature on Asian American racialization. However, dominant narratives of the concept largely focus on East Asians, with limited literature highlighting its unique impact on South Asians. In light of this, this qualitative study sought to illuminate where South Asian experiences align with, deviate from, or expand upon the themes observed in existing literature. Using interview data from 21 South Asian American participants from across the United States, we explored 1) identity and sense of belonging, 2) mental health as it pertains to expectations associated with the model minority …

Spiking Engagement: Analyzing Social Media Tactics And Fan Interaction In The Omaha Supernovas, Anne Thomas

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The available engagement of social media for firms and their target market is unmatched. Rather than a one-way communication, it is an open channel. Potential customers can share their thoughts and feelings on the firms’ products and services, and firms can connect with their customers and create brand loyalty. This opens opportunities for marketers to look at new ways and strategies to connect with their customers. This is the same for professional sports teams. Just like a traditional firm, professional sports teams rely on being able to connect with and sell to their target market.

The newly established Omaha Supernovas …

The Impact Of Policy And Perception On Women’S Health Since 2010, Eryn Busenbark

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This project tackles the complicated relationship between policy and perception of women’s health in the last decade. This was achieved through research on existing literature and semi-structured interviews with five professionals in various areas of women’s health: mental health, public policy, sexual health education, and research. Literature reviews were conducted using University of Nebraska at Omaha Criss Library’s databases, with dozens of articles analyzed. The goal of this research was to gain an understanding of how public opinion and perceptions can sway policy, which has created challenges and consequences for women and their health.

To Tip Or Not To Tip: An Analysis Into Prompted Tipping, Jared Dingman

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Giving tips (or gratuities) in restaurants in the United States has been and is currently a hotly debated and discussed topic. Concerns regarding proper compensation have been raised, but there is a need for empirical evidence to investigate and solve potential issues of compensation. This honors thesis aimed to answer two questions: Whether restaurant patrons tip more when prompted with tipping percentages, and whether those who have worked in the tipping industry tip more than those who have not. I administered a brief survey with tipping scenarios to gauge prompted and unprompted tipping behaviors. With these scenarios, demographic information was …

Teaching Self-Regulation To Sped Students: An Intervention, Kelsie Premer

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This capstone project examined the impact of self-regulation and executive functioning skills of using a planner on eighth-grade students with missing assignments, who have mild to moderate learning disabilities, and other health impairments that impact their learning. Self-regulated learning strategies and executive skills, such as using a daily homework planner were explicitly taught during a five-lesson intervention to eight, eighth-grade Special Education (SPED) students during a Guided Study Hall class. The data was compared to students of similar ability who did not receive intervention. This study took place over three weeks; this study tracked rates of students missing work for …

Strengthening Families Affected By Intimate Partner Violence: A Pilot Evaluation Of A Rural Extension Program, Pamela B. Payne, Jill Baker-Tingey

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

Heart and Hope (H&H) was designed to provide parenting education and social-emotional skills to children and parents exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) in rural Nevada. The goal was to evaluate IPV efforts by measuring parent (N = 47) and children’s (N =100) knowledge and behavior change around building healthy relationships and improved parenting practices following exposure to IPV and the H&H curriculum. Results indicated significant increases in both perceived knowledge and behavior change, suggesting that the program is effective in strengthening family relationships, improving parenting practices, developing emotional competency, and helping families envision a positive future. One of the …

The Impact Of Prejudice On Women's Wellbeing: A Moderated-Mediation Rejection Identification Model On Feminist Identity, Liana Shaw

Honors College

The study’s purpose was to assess sexism’s impact on women’s wellbeing based on the Rejection-Identification Model (Branscombe et al., 1999), in which perceived prejudice increases group identification, which in turn buffers the negative consequences of prejudice on wellbeing. Surveys were administered via Qualtrics. Using PROCESS analyses in SPSS, Study 1 (n = 1,083) investigated whether or not these relationships between prejudice, group identification, and wellbeing were moderated by feminist identity (Model 59; Hayes, 2018). Results showed that while women higher in feminist identity do experience greater depression in response to perceived prejudice, they also have a significantly stronger relationship between …

Playing History: How Video Games Can Change The Way We Understand The Past, Chapman Hall

Honors College

Video games are a wildly popular and growing form of art and entertainment. Yet they are often overlooked within academic fields like history. This thesis examines the unique qualities of video games that make them powerful tools to understand history in a different manner. The interpretative frameworks of simulation and agency are central to this analysis, and they are applied to the history-based video game Europa Universalis IV as a case study of how video games facilitate rich and rewarding historical sensibilities that deepen the connection between past and present, a long-standing goal of professional and popular historians. The study …

New Geographies Of Electronic Commerce: An Appraisal Of Omni-Channel Strategies In The United States Grocery Industry, Connor Reed

Doctoral Dissertations

This body of doctoral research investigates the unique geography of e-commerce [electronic commerce] offerings among major grocery chains in the contiguous United States. Prior research has made efforts to understand the demographic and spatial dynamics that may influence consumers’ decision to shop online or in-store. Far less emphasis, however, has been placed on how firms have made key strategic decisions across space regarding e-commerce. This work leverages spatial econometric modeling and machine learning to understand how the characteristics of trade areas inform grocery chains’ decisions about whether to offer pickup, delivery, both, or no offering at a given store location. …

Digitalcommons@Cedarville Statistical Report For April 2024, Cedarville University

DigitalCommons@Cedarville Monthly Reports

No abstract provided.

Budgeting For The Moon: A Comparative Analysis Of Public Support And Financial Performance In The Apollo And Artemis Eras, Christian Chlebowski

University Scholar Projects

The Artemis program aims to land mankind on the lunar surface for the first time in over fifty years in a vastly changed social and economic climate. In this study, I examine existing literature to contextualize and compare the origins, Congressional authorization and appropriations processes, and public accountability mechanisms of the Apollo program (1961-1972) and the Artemis program (2017-present). I utilize multivariate regression models to examine Congressional responsiveness to public opinions of lunar exploration programs. I find that Congress appears to be responsive to constituent attitudes regarding space exploration, particularly during the Apollo era. I also examine the relationship between …

Evaluating The Integration Of Traditional And Western Medicine In Rural Ghana: The Role Of Healers And The Government, Teresa Nicole Lemon

Poster Presentations

A question of pressing importance for the healthcare system in Ghana is the integration between biomedicine, which is unreachable for many rural citizens, and traditional medicine, which fills in the gaps in access for rural and non-rural citizens seeking care and is utilized by 70% of the population. The WHO promotes integrated health systems and created strategies to assist governments in their efforts.

The Ghanaian government did create policies to aid in integration, but their attempt to integrate was unsuccessful. This, along with other factors, has led some scholars to consider the government’s efforts as “tokenistic”; however, they do not …

The Failed Promise Of Gun Legislation: The Assault Weapons Ban And Sandy Hook, Matigan Williams '24

Honor Scholar Theses

This paper has three chapters. The first details the Assault Weapons Ban and what led to its passage in 1994. It goes through the different provisions and exemptions in the ban. This chapter analyzes the impact that the ban had on crime, gun violence, government spending, and electoral politics. The chapter then details why the ban failed to pass again in 2004 and the resulting impact. The second chapter analyzes the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School and the shooting’s role in the gun control debate. This chapter looks at why the Assault Weapons Ban failed to pass in 2013 …