Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Essays On A Mechanism Design Approach To The Problem Of Bilateral Trade And Public Good Provision, Cuiling Zhang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The dissertation consists of three chapters which studies a mechanism design approach to the problem of bilateral trade and public good provision.

Chapter 1 characterizes mechanisms satisfying Bayesian incentive compatibility (BIC) and interim individual rationality (IIR) in the classical public good provision problem. We propose a stress test for the results in the standard continuum type space by subject- ing them to a finite type space. The main contribution of this paper is to propose a set of techniques that allow us to characterize the efficient and optimal mechanisms in a discrete setup. Using these techniques, we conclude that many …

Essays On Empirical Asset Pricing, Liyao Wang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The dissertation consists of four chapters on empirical asset pricing. The first chapter reexamines the existence of time-series momentum. Time-series momentum (TSM) refers to the predictability of the past 12-month return on the next one month return. Using the same data set as Moskowitz, Ooi, and Pedersen (2012) (MOP, henceforth), we show that asset-by-asset time-series regressions reveal little evidence of TSM, both in- and out-of-sample. While the t -statistic in a pooled regression appears large, it is not statistically reliable as it is less than the critical values of parametric and nonparametric bootstraps. From an investment perspective, the performance of …

Comparing Skill Acquisition Under Varying Onsets Of Differential Reinforcement: A Preliminary Analysis, Alexandra M. Companaro, Jason C. Vladescu, Tiffany Kodak, Ruth M. Debar, Kasey C. Nippes

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effect of implementing differential reinforcement at different times relative to the onset of teaching new skills to learners with autism spectrum disorder. Specifically, we first determined the most efficient differential reinforcement arrangement for each participant. Using the most efficient arrangement, we evaluated if differential reinforcement from the immediate onset, early onset, or late onset is the most efficient for learners to acquire a new skill. Three children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder who have a history of receiving intervention based on the principles of applied behavior analysis participated in this …

أثر ممارسات إدارة الموارد البشرية في رضا العاملين في الجامعات الحكومية: دراسة حالة جامعة الإمارات العربية المتحدة, عفاف حميد محمد الوحشي

Theses

هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى التعرف عل ى أثر ممارسات إدارة الموارد البشرية )تخطيط القوى العاملة، الاختيار والتعيين، التدريب والتطوير، التعويضات والحوافز، وتقييم الأدا ء( في رضا العاملين ف ي الجامعات الحكومية في إمارة أبوظب ي. وقد تكونت عينة الدراسة من 146 موظفا من جامعة الإمارات، ولتحقيق أهداف الدراسة قامت الباحثة بالاعتماد على الاستبانة المحكمة لجمع وبرنامج Excel البيانات، وقد تم تحليل البيانات واختبار الفرضيات اعتمادا على كل من برنامج للحزم الاجتماعية. وتظهر صعوبة الدراسة في تحديد رضا العاملين وأبعاد قياس رضاهم SPSS من عدة ممارسات وتحديد هذه الممارسات من عدة جوانب مختلفة وعليه سيتم إلقاء الضوء على الأبعاد المتعلقة بهذه …

Effectiveness Of The Smart Government In Abu Dhabi Municipality: A Study Of The Customers’ Opinion, Hajar Saeed Alafreet Alkuwaiti

Theses

Smart government has become a new way of delivering services to the public that not only is efficient and quicker, but is also useful and convenient for the customers availing those services. By adopting advanced technologies government nowadays are transforming public services and offering enhanced experience to the customers. However, since these services are based on new technologies, people are often apprehensive of using them because of privacy security and other concerns and that creates challenges for smart government implementation. The current research that aims to understand if Abu Dhabi Municipality’s smart government initiatives are meeting customer service expectations and …

Cognitive Reappraisal And Expressive Suppression: An Examination Of Their Associations With Seeking Social Support, Well-Being And Academic Performance, Khalid Abdulazem Mohamed Ahmed

Theses

This thesis examined individual differences regarding two prominent emotion regulation processes - cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression - and their associations with social functioning, psychological well-being, and academic performance. Six hypotheses were proposed. It was hypothesized that frequent use of cognitive reappraisal is positively correlated with seeking social support, psychological well-being, and academic performance, while the chronic use of expressive suppression is negatively associated with the three factors. Additionally, the differences between high reappraisers and low reappraisers, and between high suppressors and low suppressors, were investigated to confirm the results following the correlational analyses. An online survey was conducted …

We All Belong: Celebrating Multiculturalism, Diversity, And Inclusivity, Jennifer A. Bartlett

Library Faculty and Staff Publications

In this “Internet Reviews” column we enhance our understanding of multiculturalism, diversity, and inclusivity through a number of educational and organizational websites.

Islam In China: Uyghurs In Crisis, Isabella Baez

Senior Honors Theses

Islam has been in China for hundreds of years and has been the religion to ten people groups in China, including the Uyghur people group. The Uyghurs have been under China’s domain since the mid-1700s and since then have stood out among the fifty-five recognized minority groups due to their ethnic differences in comparison to the Han majority. The Uyghurs have a rich and distinct history and cultural heritage, which is different than the Han majority culture. Since 2001 there have been campaigns to curb religious freedom in China by controlling the Uyghurs’ autonomous region of Xinjiang, located in western …

The Origins Beliefs Of Christian College Students, Emily Wilkinson

Senior Honors Theses

Many studies have focused on creation and evolution in academia, origins beliefs and biblical interpretation, and how students respond to origins challenges. The author then conducted a phenomenology of Christian college students’ origins beliefs, factors that influence those beliefs, and impacts that the beliefs have on students’ lives. Methods included a 44-Item Big Five Inventory and semi-structured interviews. Participants were eight residential undergraduate students at a Christian university who were currently or previously in a creation studies course. Results indicated that all participants held to young-earth creationism, and that family, Christian faith, education, personality, and academic major influenced the development …

30 Years Of Deadly Hate And Bias Crimes, Jeff Gruenewald, Katie Ratcliff, Taylor June, Grayson Goyer, Haley Pyle

Research Projects

The Bias Homicide Database (BHDB) is an open-source, relational database housed in the Terrorism Research Center (TRC), which is located in the J.W. Fulbright college of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas. Created in 2003, the TRC harnesses science and data analytics to promote safer communities, inform evidence-based policies, and train the next generation of law enforcement and intelligence professionals. The TRC also hosts the Crime and Security Data Analytics Lab.

This brief was prepared by Terrorism Research Center (TRC) staff. The TRC is a non-profit, nonpartisan research organization.

Backlash To The European Court Of Human Rights: The Case Of Russia, Cole Kovarik, Courtney Hillebrecht

UCARE Research Products

Since the end of World War II, the international community has forged human rights accountability systems that have since become increasingly important. The good work done by these international tribunals has come under threat more and more by a process of backlash called tribunal capture, or “the politics of states and individual political leaders seeking to undermine the tribunals by working within the judicialized and legalized landscape of international human rights law” (Hillebrecht). The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is no exception; since its foundation, it has been largely utilized. However, lack of compliance with its rulings remains to …

Media Use And Depression In College Students, Vanessa Woosley

UCARE Research Products

College offers new experiences but with that new obstacles as well. Research also shows that there has been a growing need for mental health services on college campuses. 96.5% of American households have a television and 98% of college students are on the internet which is higher than non-students. In this paper, I looked at whether or not there was a direct relationship between media consumption (old and new) and depressive symptoms (distress and general health). In addition, I examined possible mediating variables of self-esteem, life satisfaction and stress. Correlation testing and ordinary least-squares regression with multiple models were used. …

Symptom Presentation Of Sexually Abused Youth At A Child Advocacy Center: An Examination Of Parental Factors, Erika Boohar, Chelsey Wisehart, Kelsey Mccoy, David J. Hansen

UCARE Research Products

Parental involvement and support are crucial factors in child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors’ outcomes (Kilroy et al., 2014); however, non-offending parents often report increased psychosocial distress or traumatization following CSA disclosure (Plummer, 2006). The present study explored the relationship between parental factors and child symptomology following CSA. It was hypothesized that parents who report greater difficulties in their parental role will report greater internalizing and externalizing problems for sexually abused youth presenting to a treatment program at a Child Advocacy Center. Participants were 273 parents of sexually abused youth presenting to Project SAFE (Sexual Abuse Family Education) and were 23-72 …

The Effect Of Self-Construal And Relationship On Psychological Motivations Of Dispute Resolution, Jared Syed Noetzel, Abigail Herzfeld, Ashley Votruba

UCARE Research Products

Culture acts as a lens that can influence many aspects of an individual’s life, such as their health perceptions, cognition, and even their preferred style of conflict resolution. We predict that an individual’s self-construal and the relationship to the conflicting party affects their psychological motivations for choosing a conflict style. Previous research suggests that the aforementioned goals can drive dispute resolution preferences. We hypothesized that participants with high interdependent self-construal would rate goals of animosity reduction and relationship restoration higher than participants low in interdependent self-constural, while participants with high independent self-construal would rate the goal of process control higher …

Scientific Testimony In A Civil Trial: An Examination Of Juror Gender And Expert Witness Credibility Factors, Erika Boohar, Kaela Meyer, Halleigh Kelchen, Trina Uwineza, Laurel Westerman, Morgan Hurtz, Sarah Eagan, Sarah Gervais

UCARE Research Products

Jurors’ perceptions of expert witness credibility are vital to the expert’s overall effectiveness as juror credibility ratings are related to sentencing recommendations (Larson, 2010). There are many factors that jurors use to evaluate expert witness credibility and some studies suggest that expert gender may be peripherally related (Sculler & Cripps, 1998); however, these results are inconsistent. The present study explored the relationship between jurors’ gender and how credible they perceive a female expert witness. It was hypothesized that the female expert witness will not be perceived as highly credible, and this effect will be larger for men. Additionally, it was …

The Impact Of Social Support And The Number Of Searchers On Perceptions Of Consent Searches, Kaitlyn Wilson, Emma W. Marshall, Jennifer L. Groscup, Eve M. Brank

UCARE Research Products

Consent searches require voluntariness of consent for validity under the 4th Amendment. Social situational factors may affect perceptions of voluntariness, but their importance is minimized in court decisions about searches. Participants (N = 328) rated perceptions of a consent request in a consent search situation in which social power dynamics (i.e., number of searchers and the amount of social support) were manipulated. Social support affected perceptions of pressure to say yes to the search. Significant differences in perceptions between the third-person and first-person perspective were observed, indicating that judges may overestimate consent voluntariness. There was also a significant three-way interaction …

Understanding Scientific Evidence In Court: The Moderating Role Of Gender Stereotype Threat In Verdict Decisions, Kaela Meyer, Erika Boohar, Laurel Westerman, Morgan Hurtz, Trina Uwineza, Halleigh Kelchen, Sarah Eagan, Sarah Gervais

UCARE Research Products

Scientific evidence is becoming a more prominent presence in court cases, so it is vital that jurors are able to effectively understand and interpret the scientific data. Although understanding scientific evidence is often important in a jury’s final verdict, there are a plethora of pitfalls that could undermine justice from being properly served (O'Brien et al., 2015). One example that could negatively impact a jury’s final verdict is stereotype threat, especially in women when analyzing scientific evidence. The current study examined the relationship between stereotype threat across men and women, and how it impacted understanding scientific evidence while choosing a …

Exploring Alcohol Use, Cannabis Use, And Desire To Dissociate In College Female Victims Of Sexual Violence, Gabrielle Krause, Jessie Tibbs, Antover Tuliao, Dennis Mcchargue

UCARE Research Products

Almost 20% of undergraduate women experience some type of completed sexual assault before graduating college. Experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, has been shown to increase difficulties with emotion regulation, and both PTSD symptoms and emotion regulation difficulties have been associated with marijuana-use coping motives (Bonn-Miller et al., 2011). Additionally, prior research has found that emotion dysregulation predicts alcohol involved sexual assault (AISA) in the short term, and alcohol problems increases the risk for AISA in the long term (Messman-Moore et al., 2014). This suggests a cyclical relationship in coping drinking motives. This study seeks to further examine …

The Foundations Of A Mexican American Bias Scale, Kendra Quiroz, Cynthia Willis-Esqueda

UCARE Research Products

Mexican Americans are the largest group of Latino/a/x in the US. The purpose of this study was to provide information on the current stereotypes concerning Mexican American males and females with a university student sample. A total of four hundred and four students volunteered from a large midwestern university. Participants spontaneously provided their notions of unfair advantages, unfair disadvantages, and stereotypes for Mexican American males and females. All data was collected through an online survey. The responses were provided with randomized introduction of the group to be described. In addition, items to measure essentialism were included. Results indicated that there …

Eeg Reinvestigations Of Visual Statistical Learning For Faces, Scenes, And Objects, Mei Grace Behrendt, P. Cheng Lim, Aaron T. Halvorsen, Karl Kuntzelman, Matthew R. Johnson

UCARE Research Products

The objective of this ongoing, replication study is to understand temporal and spatial patterns in our environment by using the technique of electroencephalography (EEG). Visual statistical learning (VSL) helps us to understand conditional probabilities from our environments. This concept is why we know that chairs are located under tables, not above. The goal of this study is to understand whether participants can unconsciously associate pairs of items (faces, scenes, and objects) from their short-term memory. Strong pairs become more similar to each other, as compared to weak pairs, which become less similar. In the main task, participants saw items appear …

Household Savings Decisions In Israel’S Child Savings Program: The Role Of Demographic, Financial, And Intrinsic Factors, Ofir Pinto, Olga Kondratjeva, Maya Haran Rosen, Stephen P. Roll, Aytakin Huseynli, Michal Grinstein-Weiss

Social Policy Institute Research

Social Policy Institute Working Paper

Israel’s Child Development Account (CDA) program, the Savings for Every Child Program (SECP), is universal and automatically enrolls all children under the age of 18, depositing approximately $14 into their accounts every month. Parents can transfer an additional monthly $14 into these long-term savings accounts and can choose an investment vehicle for their children’s deposits. The total realized benefits from the SECP depend heavily on parents’ choices. This study examines how demographic, financial, and intrinsic personality characteristics predict household participation in this program. Using a unique data set combining administrative and survey data, we find …

Nothing To Show For It: Non-Degreed Debt And The Financial Circumstances Associated With It, Jason Jabbari, Mathieu Despard, Olga Kondratjeva, Brinda Gupta, Michal Grinstein-Weiss

Social Policy Institute Research

The number of individuals with student loan debt who do not earn their degrees is on the rise; nevertheless, there is little research that demonstrates the financial conditions and circumstances of these individuals. We address this knowledge gap by comparing the financial outcomes of student debt-holders who started college but did not earn a degree—those with non-degreed debt (NDD)—with similar individuals who did not attend college and did not take on student debt. We find that individuals with NDD had greater odds of experiencing material and healthcare hardships, as well as financial difficulties. Individuals with NDD also had greater financial …

Ua19/16/2 Football Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Archives Records

Press releases, photos and game statistics for WKU football team from January to July 2020

False Beliefs In Dogs, Sydney Rowley

Honors Projects

Compared to many other species, including non-human primates, dogs perform exceptionally well on social reasoning tasks such as locating a hidden object by following a human point. One such task, understanding false beliefs (FB)--that another individual may possess a belief contrary to both one’s own belief and reality--serves as a pinnacle in understanding social reasoning. Humans understand FB but whether nonhumans do remains controversial. We predicted that dogs, given their unusual social savvy, may understand FB. We presented dogs with a stage and a duck resting on it. The dog and researcher watched the duck move inside one of two …

The Impact Of American Economic Aid On Post-World War Ii Germany, Gabriella Barber, Emily T. Carlstrom

Senior Theses

This paper examines the state of Germany immediately after World War II, describing how the American government intervened in West German reconstruction. It analyzes three specific German companies that overcame hardship in the 1940s and 50s and have become powerhouses today. Additionally, an overview of the current German economy shows how the country is positioned as a world leader.

Research was conducted using literary print sources, scholarly internet databases, and a formal interview with Klaus Becker, Honorary Consul to Germany. He is a German-American businessman who has held roles in several non-political associations, including President of the Charlotte World Trade …

Making Meaning Of A Whole School Transformation Model: A Policy Ethnography Of A Schools Of Hope Legislation Implementation, Adam Charles Rea

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cheryl High School (CHS) is a geographically large county in Florida that received funding through the state of Florida's "Schools of Hope” grant. The grant’s parameters called on Carter County Schools (CCS) to partner with an external consultant and a research university to help improve teacher and school administrative capacity. The district chose Scientific Pedagogy Services (SPS) and to continue their existing relationship with Tampa Bay State University (TBS). The consultant’s mission was to improve school performance through a unique form of professional development. TBS was charged with developing an on-site program that funded staff efforts to obtain advanced degrees …

How To Explain The Anchoring Formula In Behavioral Economics, Laxman Bokati, Vladik Kreinovich, Chon Van Le

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

According to the traditional economics, the price that a person is willing to pay for an item should be uniquely determined by the value that this person will get from this item, it should not depend, e.g., on the asking price proposed by the seller. In reality, the price that a person is willing to pay does depend on the asking price; this is known as the anchoring effect. In this paper, we provide a natural justification for the empirical formula that describes this effect.

Consumer-Directed Healthcare And The Physician-Patient Relationship, Chase Floyd

Senior Theses

The physician-patient relationship is the most fundamental unit of medicine itself - and yet currently faces great peril, increasingly encroached upon by a number of different threats. Consumer-directed healthcare, an innovative new form of healthcare financing, empowers indi- viduals to make their own decisions regarding their healthcare, holds providers accountable to their patients, and theoretically establishes a robust working relationship that benefits both par- ties. Could this be what is needed to save and strengthen the physician-patient relationship? This paper studies this question, namely the effect of consumer-directed healthcare on the physi- cian-patient relationship, in-depth through a synthesis of existing …

Examining Prevalence Of Eating Disorder Risk And Body Image Dissatisfaction In Female Adolescent Cheerleaders, Kelsi K. Mariner

Senior Theses

Content: Cheerleading has evolved into a highly competitive and physically demanding sport where athletes must balance academics, intense training, and pressure to maintain expected aesthetic qualities of the sport. These requirements can cause distress which may lead athletes to suffer from eating disorder (ED) risk and body image dissatisfaction (BID). Objective: To examine the prevalence of risk for ED and determine the presence of body image dissatisfaction within adolescent cheerleaders. Design: This study was conducted as a part of a larger concurrent study with Dr. Torres-McGehee and Allison Smith. It is a cross sectional study. Setting: Online survey. Participants: Female …

The Evolution Of Solar Energy Policies In North Carolina And South Carolina, William Gosnell

Senior Theses

This thesis is a research and analysis project that seeks to understand the energy policies in North and South Carolina that have led to different growths of solar energy generation in the two states. When considering the states’ proximity to each other and similar solar resources, they should have similar numbers of installations and capacity. In national rankings of cumulative installed solar electric capacity, however, North Carolina ranks second while South Carolina ranks sixteenth. This suggests policy differences between the two states that have helped North Carolina and hindered South Carolina. This project was examined from the lenses of legislation, …