University of Maryland, Baltimore County
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Attributing Blame: A Content Analysis of the Media's Portrayal of School Shootings
No full textThe current research employs a content analysis of newspaper media coverage of eight school shooting incidents from 2008 to 2011 in the United States. Media frames are analyzed utilizing attribution theory to examine what attributions are given to school shooting incidents. Specifically, the ultimate attribution error is applied which finds that external attributions (e.g., parental neglect, bullying, or mental illness), are given to white shooters and internal attributions (e.g., personal flaws/issues) are assigned to nonwhite shooters particularly in mainstream media
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing with Adults with Intellectual Disability
No full textPeople with intellectual disability have historically been excluded from the benefits of psychotherapy, despite the higher incidence of mental illness, in general, and PTSD, in particular, in this population. It had been thought that intellectual disability precluded the cognitive and emotional ability required to participate in therapy. A growing body of literature is reporting successful application of a number of these therapies, established as empirically effective for the general population, with people with intellectual disability. Typically, minor modifications are required. Criticism continues, now based on the problem of using therapies with a population for which they have not been empirically established as effective. The current study contributes to the empirical process of establishing effectiveness of a specific trauma therapy for people with intellectual disability. It applies the EMDR therapy to six participants in a multiple-baseline, ABA, time-series experiment design. EMDR has previously been used with people with intellectual disability, reporting improved symptoms and functioning for the more than 35 cases published. For the current study, the participants were all diagnosed with PTSD and other diagnoses reflecting the emotional distress associated with histories of multi- and poly-traumatization, beginning at an early age. They received weekly assessments on multiple measures: self-report, physiological, observer ratings, and continuous actigraph recordings. Each participated for a minimum of 60 weeks, which included: an A phase, the Baseline; a B phase, the Intervention; and, a second A phase, Maintenance. After a Hiatus of six weeks, participants returned for Follow-up testing. The EMDR therapy was delivered during the Intervention phase, only. All participants lost the diagnosis of PTSD and showed emotional and functional improvement on a number of measures. The self-report measures produced the most descriptive time-series data, providing indication of change in a number of dimensions, visually interpretable from graphs of the data, included in this document. Linear regression analyses support visual analysis. Additional research in using the EMDR therapy with people with intellectual disability is recommended, with the purpose of establishing it as appropriate for use with this population. Limitations of the study are addressed
The Comparative Affective Impact of Participation in a Peer-Based Writing Fellows Program on Native and Non-Native English Speakers
No full textUniversity instructors have limited time and expertise to address cognitive and affective hurdles which influence the writing quality of non-native English speakers (NNES). This mixed-methods study relies on qualitative and quantitative data to investigate the potential of a curriculum-embedded peer tutoring program, Writing Fellows (WFs), as an intervention to sustainably scaffold the writing processes of NNES and multilingual students. Results indicate that the NNES and multilingual participants started with more efficacious writing-related attitudes, but still experienced significant improvement in overall writing-related attitudes (both groups), confidence (multilinguals only), and reliance on writing processes (NNES only) over the intervention period. No change was observed in native English speaking or monolingual students. Additionally, qualitative evaluations of the second drafts of three disparate NNES students suggested improvement in writing quality. These findings present some compelling evidence that a WFs program can positively influence both the writing attitudes and quality of NNES students
Waiting for Supertrain: Trains, Technocracy, and the Great Society
No full textThe High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965 was the first federal legislation to support the construction of a high-speed passenger railroad network. Historians and public policy scholars tend to dismiss this act as a half-measure that did not achieve its intended goals. This thesis re-examines the 1965 law in light of the career of Rhode Island Senator Claiborne Pell, who had sparked the debate with the introduction of his own passenger railroad service plan in 1962. This thesis also contends that technocratic thinking profoundly influenced federal policymakers' embrace of high-speed rail over conventional solutions. Traditionally studied with respect to defense and space projects, institutionalized technocracy was also, as witnessed by the present treatment of federal high-speed rail initiatives, an integral part of domestic policymaking. Technocracy was thus a leitmotif of both the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations' policy initiatives, promising to deliver a better life to Americans through technology and thus underscoring the New Frontier and the Great Society
Power and Knowledge: Flood Hazard in the Coalfields of Southern West Virginia
No full textThis research explored the interdisciplinary nature of flood hazards to better understand how vulnerability is constructed, perceived, and legitimized. Hazards are understood, managed, and mitigated through the lens of vulnerability. Dominant frameworks of assessing vulnerability, however, fail to adequately account for power relations in the social landscape. Existing methods for addressing vulnerability to hazards over simplify complex interactions between impacted communities, policy makers, and scientific study. There is a need to better address the interconnected dynamics between political structures, social order, and scientific knowledge that results in the exposure of populations to hazards and the associated risks. The following research addresses these shortcomings through the inclusion of critical human geography theories and physical hazard analysis. Theories are derived from post-structuralism and historical materialism to analyze the role of cultural elements for understanding vulnerability. Exposure to hazards are further explored through case study of three flood events conducted to better understand: 1) the physical dynamics of flooding, and 2) perceptions of drivers and impacts of floods. Finally, this work shows that there are multiple narratives of flood vulnerability. Only select narratives are legitimized through the political process. Specifically, this research addressed five research questions and found that: 1) Since European settlement of West Virginia (WV) space has been socially produced to create vulnerable residential landscapes, 2) There is a mismatch between the hydrologic record of flooding and perceived community impacts for studied flooding events, 3) There are two dominant narratives of flooding in southern WV. The master narrative, which states that flooding is an act of God, is a narrative of inaction. 4) Despite increased support for the counter narrative in the region, the master narrative maintains dominance and continues to influence policy decisions, and 5) Vulnerability of communities in southern WV to flooding has increased over the last 300 years. Ultimately, this research advances current understanding of how vulnerability has been produced and what barriers or next steps need to be addressed to reduce vulnerability
Super Natural: Mediating Between Landscapes of the Past and the Technological Present Through Digital Media and Readymade Architectural Constructions.
No full textI have a desire to blur and redefine boundaries and I consider it my role as an artist to reframe relationships with self, nature, identity, and the feminine. In Super Natural, I weave the autobiographical and the fictional into a tapestry of performance, photography, video, and installation. I invite the audience to peek in as these dynamics play out on hidden screens that reveal themselves from behind architectural constructions. These works seemingly defy logic through simple special effects and editing techniques. In Unbinding Charm, rocks fly out of the water and masks made of hair obscure the directions their wearers face, while the displays of these works further highlight the relationship between viewer and object. Through this investigation, I try to isolate viewers in a narrow frame of time, an experience that departs from the ordinary and brings them on a journey into the depths of imagination
A mixed-methods exploration: Refugees' caring relationships as a source of social capital
No full textThe importance of caring relationships between youth and their teachers, mentors, and tutors, for fostering positive academic and socioemotional outcomes is widely recognized in the literature (e.g. Hamre & Pianta, 2005; Hao & Pong, 2008; Wentzel, 2003). However, limited research explores the nature and impact of caring relationships between refugees and their educators. Iraqi refugees make up a growing population in the United States (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2011). Understanding this growing population and identifying interventions that benefit youths' integration into an unfamiliar world is increasingly important. This research expanded understanding of young Iraqi refugees' notions of caring and the implications of those caring relationships for refugee populations. This study was grounded in a theoretical framework, which integrated caring theory (Noddings, 2001), and social capital theory (Bourdieu, 1983; Putnam, 2000; Stanton-Salazar & Dornbusch, 1995). Data were collected utilizing a multi-method approach. First, qualitative in-depth interviews with Iraqi refugees (ages 14-20) were conducted to examine their caring relationships with educators and the resulting academic and socioemotional benefits. A secondary analysis of a large database from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS) (Portes & Rumbaut, 2012) was also conducted, including people whose families came to the United States for political reasons. This research explored caring teacher-student relationships and their impact on students' academic outcomes and self-esteem. Most of the interview respondents revealed that they had caring educators. Respondents perceived these educators as those who cared for them academically and personally. Students felt particularly cared for by educators who recognized their specific needs as refugees; these care-providers were often English as a Second Language (ESOL) teachers. While not all educators were perceived as caring, those who were caring provided resources for youths. Respondents benefited from caring relationships, as they learned about academic and professional programs, accessed assistance with college admittance, and received emotional support. The quantitative portion revealed that students who perceived their teachers to be good, fair, and interested, all indicators of caring, had higher self-esteem and Grade Points Averages (GPAs). Overall, this research fills an important gap in the literature and provides important implications for theory and practice
THE CHICKENS' GRAIN: UNDERSTANDING CONTESTATIONS AROUND LAND-USE BEST PRACTICES ON MARYLAND'S EASTERN SHORE.
No full textChesapeake Bay waters are polluted, and scientific research indicates that agricultural land-use contributes significantly to this problem. In response, experts from various disciplines have helped develop a series of agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) that are designed to improve bay water quality. Unfortunately, attitudes between farmers and environmental professionals (regulators, environmentalists, and scientists) about the appropriateness of these practices can be polarized, especially over the degree to which agricultural practices actually degrade water quality. In this thesis, I closely examine this issue of polarization over agricultural BMPs through interviews and a Q methodology conducted among a broad range of Chesapeake Bay stakeholders. I find that Eastern Shore farmers contest environmental professional expertise to justify their personal opposition to particular land-use regulations. I argue that an understanding of the different ways in which farmers defend their opposition to land-use regulations has significant implications for scholarship on environmental management, which has, to date, largely focused on how socioeconomic and environmental variables are shaping attitudes toward best management practices. This thesis finds that farmers deny the very epistemic validity of the expertise upon which best management recommendations, and land use regulations, are based. In short, the findings of this thesis should inform environmental management because they expose often-hidden elements of opposition related to the validity of scientific knowledge claims themselves, and suggest that polarization between land users and environmental professionals is even more intractable than it first appears
USING INFLUENCE PRINCIPLES TO DETERMINE THE PERSUASIVE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF ONLINE COMMERCE USERS
No full textInfluence strategies to persuade users in online commerce exist but we lack guidance on how to select effective strategies that lead to compliance of persuasive requests. Despite studies indicating differences in individual susceptibility to persuasion and device being important factors, little consideration is given to them. Using mock daily deal sites, we use five of Cialdini's influence principles (authority, reciprocity, scarcity, liking, and consensus) to determine which are more persuasive, explore individual differences in susceptibility to influence principles, and compare them against stationary and mobile devices. In the context of online commerce, we find that our users perceived themselves as being generally more susceptible to reciprocity and scarcity principles but when compared to actual product selections, were more susceptible to reciprocity and authority. We also find evidence that scarcity principles may be more effective on mobile devices due to their pervasiveness and ability to support just-in-time messaging for expiring deals
Hyperglycemic challenge and distribution of adipose tissue in obese baboons
No full textBlood glucose levels regulate the rate of insulin secretion, which is the body's mechanism for preventing excessive elevation in blood glucose. Impaired glucose metabolism and insulin resistance have been linked to excess body fat composition. The thesis focuses on the development of an imaging sequence and image analysis steps for performing body composition analysis based on 3D imaging of abdominal adipose tissue in a large nonhuman primate, baboon, and using segmentation approaches to calculate regional distribution of adipose tissue within the abdominal cavity. In addition, a data-driven analysis approach is used to correlate the total abdominal fat composition with serum glucose response to a hyperglycemic challenge. Five female baboons were fasted for 16 hours prior to 90 minute body imaging experiment that consisted of a 20-min baseline, followed by a bolus infusion of glucose(500mg/kg). The blood glucose was sampled at regular intervals. The total compositions of the muscle, visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue were estimated in all five baboons. We found that adipose tissue composition is associated with the fluctuations in glucose responses as measured by IVGTT of a non-human primate. Mean (SD) values of body weight, and muscle, visceral, and subcutaneous adipose are 26.7 kg, 0.79 kg, 1.18 kg, and 1.39 kg, respectively. The glucose responses were positively correlated with body weight, visceral and muscle fat (p < 0.005). Polynomial regression analysis showed that body weight, visceral and muscle were significant predictors of serum glucose responses. (p < 0.001). These results indicate the similarity between humans and baboons with respect to glucose metabolism and strengthen the utility of baboon for biomedical research