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• 1271. [Article] Recharge@Work : a theory-based intervention to reduce sedentary behavior in desk-dependent office workers

  Over the past few decades, a primary focus has been on the negative health effects of not participating in regular moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MPVA). Only recently has sedentary behavior been ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Recharge@Work : a theory-based intervention to reduce sedentary behavior in desk-dependent office workers Author: Lafrenz, Andrew Jon, 1980- Over the past few decades, a primary focus has been on the negative health effects of not participating in regular moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MPVA). Only recently has sedentary behavior been studied as a distinct and independent risk factor for adverse health outcomes. This dissertation sought to provide new insights into sedentary behavior in desk-dependent office workers. The purpose of the first study was to assess correlates of sedentary behavior in office workers. Cross-sectional analysis of data from the Recharge@Work Study was used to assess behavioral, social, and organizational correlates of objectively measured sedentary time in desk-dependent office workers at two hospitals located in the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area. Respondents were recruited from desk-dependent administration hospital workers. Analysis included 70 adults (~49.2 years old), with three behavioral, three social and one organizational variable assessed by, computerized questionnaires. Sedentary activity assessed by accelerometry and expressed as prolonged sedentary bouts (60 minute blocks ≤ 150 counts per minute [cpm]). No significant associations were found between age, gender, BMI, outcome expectancy, or self-efficacy and sedentary behavior. In individuals with low perceived senior management support, direct supervisor support and enjoyment were strongly associated with prolonged sedentary behavior (OR=13.6, OR=16.3 respectively). Individuals with high perceived senior management support showed no association between enjoyment and management support and sedentary behavior. In individuals with low direct supervisor support, enjoyment was significantly associated with prolonged sedentary behavior (OR=12.2), but not associated with individuals with high direct supervisor support. The results from this study suggest manager support and enjoyment may be important targets for developing effective intervention strategies to reduce sedentary behavior in office workers. The purpose of the second study was to assess the efficacy of a theory-based behavior intervention to incorporate active breaks into the workday of office workers. Desk-dependent office workers exhibit high levels of prolonged sedentary behavior, and theory-based interventions to break up sedentary time within this population are needed. The study examined the effectiveness of Recharge@Work: a 12-week, theory-based intervention to decrease overall sedentary time and prolonged (>60min) sedentary time during the workday in desk-dependent hospital administrative staff. Two hospitals were matched with one serving as the comparison site (N=26) and the other serving as the intervention site (N=39). The intervention consisted of personalized feedback on sedentary behavior and individual toolkits. Toolkits included items to improve self-regulation in taking short 2-3 minute active breaks every 60 minutes (timers, activity log, activity examples). Data were collected at baseline, mid-intervention (6wk) and end-intervention (12wk). Relative to the comparison group, the intervention group significantly reduced the percent of workday spent in sedentary time (p<.001; partial eta-square=.09) and the percent of workday spent in prolonged (>60min) sedentary bouts (p<.001; partial-eta square=.12). No changes in mediating variables were observed between the two groups. This study provides support for the short-term effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention to support active breaks in desk-dependent office workers. Title: Recharge@Work : a theory-based intervention to reduce sedentary behavior in desk-dependent office workers Author: Lafrenz, Andrew Jon, 1980- Over the past few decades, a primary focus has been on the negative health effects of not participating in regular moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MPVA). Only recently has sedentary behavior been studied as a distinct and independent risk factor for adverse health outcomes. This dissertation sought to provide new insights into sedentary behavior in desk-dependent office workers. The purpose of the first study was to assess correlates of sedentary behavior in office workers. Cross-sectional analysis of data from the Recharge@Work Study was used to assess behavioral, social, and organizational correlates of objectively measured sedentary time in desk-dependent office workers at two hospitals located in the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area. Respondents were recruited from desk-dependent administration hospital workers. Analysis included 70 adults (~49.2 years old), with three behavioral, three social and one organizational variable assessed by, computerized questionnaires. Sedentary activity assessed by accelerometry and expressed as prolonged sedentary bouts (60 minute blocks ≤ 150 counts per minute [cpm]). No significant associations were found between age, gender, BMI, outcome expectancy, or self-efficacy and sedentary behavior. In individuals with low perceived senior management support, direct supervisor support and enjoyment were strongly associated with prolonged sedentary behavior (OR=13.6, OR=16.3 respectively). Individuals with high perceived senior management support showed no association between enjoyment and management support and sedentary behavior. In individuals with low direct supervisor support, enjoyment was significantly associated with prolonged sedentary behavior (OR=12.2), but not associated with individuals with high direct supervisor support. The results from this study suggest manager support and enjoyment may be important targets for developing effective intervention strategies to reduce sedentary behavior in office workers. The purpose of the second study was to assess the efficacy of a theory-based behavior intervention to incorporate active breaks into the workday of office workers. Desk-dependent office workers exhibit high levels of prolonged sedentary behavior, and theory-based interventions to break up sedentary time within this population are needed. The study examined the effectiveness of Recharge@Work: a 12-week, theory-based intervention to decrease overall sedentary time and prolonged (>60min) sedentary time during the workday in desk-dependent hospital administrative staff. Two hospitals were matched with one serving as the comparison site (N=26) and the other serving as the intervention site (N=39). The intervention consisted of personalized feedback on sedentary behavior and individual toolkits. Toolkits included items to improve self-regulation in taking short 2-3 minute active breaks every 60 minutes (timers, activity log, activity examples). Data were collected at baseline, mid-intervention (6wk) and end-intervention (12wk). Relative to the comparison group, the intervention group significantly reduced the percent of workday spent in sedentary time (p<.001; partial eta-square=.09) and the percent of workday spent in prolonged (>60min) sedentary bouts (p<.001; partial-eta square=.12). No changes in mediating variables were observed between the two groups. This study provides support for the short-term effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention to support active breaks in desk-dependent office workers. Close

• 1272. [Article] Students as pro-social bystanders : opportunities, past behaviors, and intentions to intervene in sexual assault risk situations

  Sexual assault is a major public health concern in the U.S, and college students are particularly vulnerable to victimization. A health issue that affects nearly one in four women (Fisher, Cullen, & Turner, ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Students as pro-social bystanders : opportunities, past behaviors, and intentions to intervene in sexual assault risk situations Author: Hoxmeier, Jill C. Sexual assault is a major public health concern in the U.S, and college students are particularly vulnerable to victimization. A health issue that affects nearly one in four women (Fisher, Cullen, & Turner, 2000; Karjane, Cullen, & Turner, 2005) and that is associated with severe negative health outcomes, including depression substance abuse, suicide ideation, and risky sexual behaviors (CDC, 2012), warrants effective prevention programs. Moving away from traditional prevention efforts, which target females as potential victims in risk reduction programs and males as potential perpetrators in attitudinal-shifting programs, bystander engagement programs have become increasingly more widespread. These programs aim to engage all students on the college campus as potential bystanders who can intervene to prevent a sexual assault or reduce the harm of an assault that has already occurred (Banyard, Moynihan & Plante, 2007). Burn (2009) investigated potential barriers to pro-social bystander intervention using the Situational Model of Bystander Intervention, a model based on the original research of bystander behavior of Latanè and Darley (1970). The model outlines five barriers that influence students' intent to intervene as witnesses to sexual assault: failure to notice the situation, failure to identify the situation as high risk, failure to take intervention responsibility, failure to intervene due to skills deficit, and failure to intervene due to audience inhibition (Burn, 2009). She found that students' perception of barriers negatively correlated with intervention behaviors as bystanders to sexual assault (Burn, 2009). Although bystander engagement programs have shown initial promise in increasing students' intent to intervene, more needs to be known about the opportunities students have to intervene, their past intervention actions, and their intent to intervene in the future across the wide range of situations that encompass sexual assault risk. In addition, to develop effective programs that aim to increase pro-social behavior, understanding the salient influences of students' intent is critical. This study uses the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB; Ajzen & Fishbein, 1991) to examine the influences of students’ intent to perform 12 different pro-social bystander behaviors. The TPB asserts that individuals' behavior is most proximally influenced by their behavioral intentions, and intentions are influences by their perceived behavioral control to perform the behavior, subjective norms that support performing the behavior, and attitudes toward the behavior (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1991). The four primary aims of this study were: 1) to examine the demographic correlates of students' opportunities, past intervention actions, and reported intent to intervene; 2) to examine any differences in students' intent to intervene based on the level of intervention (pre-, mid-, and post-assault) and type of intervention (with the potential or actual victim compared to the potential or actual perpetrator); 3) to examine the influences of perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and attitudes on students' intent to intervene as bystanders; and 4) to compare the TPB-based model to the Situational Model of Bystander Intervention (Burn, 2009) in its ability to explain students' intent to intervene as bystanders. In the Fall of 2014, a sample of 815 undergraduate students at Oregon State University completed the Sexual Assault Bystander Behavior Questionnaire (SABB-Q), a tool comprised of items to measure students' opportunities, past behaviors, and future intent, in addition to measures assessing the influences of students' intent in line with the Theory of Planned Behavior and Burn's (2009) Situational Model of Bystander Intervention. Students who participate in Greek communities (fraternities and sororities) reported significantly greater odds of having the opportunity to perform four of the 12 intervention behaviors compared to non-Greek students, while student-athletes reported significantly greater odds of having the opportunity to perform two of the 12 intervention behaviors. Females reported significantly more past pro-social intervention behaviors (x̄ = 0.87) compared to males (x̄ = 0.79; p = 0.007). Regarding intent to intervene in the future, females reported significantly greater intent to intervene compared to males (x̄ = 6.07 vs. 5.68; p = 0.007). Students with friends who have been victims of sexual assault reported greater intent to intervene compared those without friends who have been victims (x̄ = 6.04 vs. 5.89; p = 0.02). Students with a personal history of victimization reported significantly greater intent compared to those without a personal history (x̄ =6.13 vs 5.93; p = 0.03). Students reported significantly greater intent to intervene with the potential or actual victim compared to the potential or actual perpetrator (x̄ = 6.19 vs. 5.74, p < 0.001). Females reported significantly greater intent to intervene with both the potential or actual victims and perpetrators (x̄ = 6.31 and 5.84, respectively) compared to males (x̄ = 5.88 and 5.49, respectively). Both males and females reported the greatest intent to perform post-assault intervention behavior (x̄ = 6.23), followed by pre-assault (x̄ = 6.08) and mid-assault behaviors (x̄ = 5.57). Females reported significantly greater intent to perform nine of the 12 pro-social intervention behaviors compared to males. A multiple regression analysis revealed that perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and attitudes explained a significant proportion of the variance in intent to intervene (R² = 0.55, F(3, 771) = 315.68, p < 0.000). Perceived behavioral control was highly significant (β = 0.48, p < 0.001), as were subjective norms (β = 0.15, p < 0.001) and attitudes (β = 0.30, p < 0.001). Gender differences were also observed. For females, perceived behavioral control was highly significant (β = 0.49, p < 0.001), as were subjective norms (β = 0.15, p < 0.001) and attitudes (β = 0.29, p < 0.001). For males, perceived behavioral control was highly significant (β = 0.49, p < 0.001), as were attitudes (β = 0.29, p < 0.001). However, males' subjective norms were not significantly related (β = 0.07, p = 0.199) to their intent to intervene. Further analysis revealed a significant interaction between gender and subjective norms (β = -0.28; p = 0.039). The TPB-based model including this moderation effect explained a significant proportion of the variance in students' intent to intervene (R² = 0.57, F(6, 766) = 168.46, p < 0.000). Interveners reported significantly greater perceived behavioral control than non-interveners for seven of the 12 intervention behaviors; more supportive subjective norms than non-interveners for six of the 12 intervention behaviors; more positive attitudes than non-interveners for only one of the 12 intervention behaviors; and greater intent to intervene in the future for six of the 12 intervention behaviors. However, differences in the three TPB variables between interveners and non-interveners were not consistent for the 12 intervention behaviors. Regarding Burn's (2009) Situational Model of Bystander Intervention, a multiple regression analysis revealed two of the five barriers were significantly related to students’ intent to intervene: the failure to take intervention responsibility barrier (β = -0.29, p < 0.001) and the failure to intervene due to audience inhibition barrier (β = -0.22, p < 0.001). The model in whole explained a large proportion of the variance (R2 = 0.25, F(5, 768) = 50.14, p < 0.000). Gender differences were also observed. For females, failure to take intervention responsibility (β = -0.23; p < 0.000) and failure to intervene due to audience inhibition (β = -0.23; p < 0.001) both had a significant, negative influence on their intent to intervene. For males, failure to take intervention responsibility (β = -0.21; p < 0.014) had a significant, negative influence on intent to intervene. Additional analysis revealed no significant interactions between gender and any of the five barriers. The TPB-based model explained a greater proportion of the variance (R2 = 0.55) compared to Situational Model of Bystander Intervention (R² = 0.25) in the multiple regression analysis using all 12 intervention behaviors. All three variables in the TPB-based model were significantly related to students’ intent, whereas only two of the five barriers were significantly related. A final multiple regression analysis was conducted using all three significant TPB variables and the two significant barriers to explain students' intent to intervene. The combined model explained a significant proportion of variance in students' intent (R² = 0.58 F(5, 756) = 206.19, p < 0.000) and significantly improved upon the TPB-based model (Δ R² = 0.03; p < 0.000). The results of this study have several implications for future research and public health practice. First, it is important to ask students about their opportunities to intervene in addition to their actual intervention behaviors because this information helps paint a clearer picture of bystander engagement. This assessment could also help identify high-risk groups: students who have greater opportunities to intervene as bystanders and/or report fewer intervention behaviors compared to their reported opportunities. Second, students may conceptualize intervention behaviors differently depending on the phase of the assault and with whom the intervention behavior requires intervening. Accordingly, programs aimed at encouraging students to intervene should take these differences into consideration. Third, the Theory of Planned Behavior, used to explain and change other health-related behaviors, can effectively be applied to help uncover determinants of pro-social bystander behaviors. Perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and attitudes appear to be salient influences in students' intent to intervene. Therefore, bystander engagement programs should incorporate activities to heighten students' skills to intervene, change social norms that support bystander intervention, and shift attitudes toward the benefits of intervening. This study demonstrates the importance of using an established, evidenced-based theoretical framework to explain behavioral influences and strengthens the argument for continued use of theory to identify, and potentially change, salient influences in behavioral performance. Students as pro-social bystanders have the potential to make a positive impact on the reduction of sexual assault on the college campus. Although the responsibility for sexual assault rests on those who perpetrate such acts, and primary prevention strategies aimed at those demonstrating a risk for perpetration are imperative, sexual assault is a public health issue that warrants a multi-pronged approach to reduce its incidence and migrate its associated harms. Programs that engage students as pro-social bystanders have the potential to make a positive impact on the reduction of sexual assault incidence in the absence of effective primary prevention strategies. The findings of this study make a contribution to the literature examining influences of students' pro-social bystander intervention to sexual assault situations and provide suggestions for strategies to increase bystander engagement. Title: Students as pro-social bystanders : opportunities, past behaviors, and intentions to intervene in sexual assault risk situations Author: Hoxmeier, Jill C. Sexual assault is a major public health concern in the U.S, and college students are particularly vulnerable to victimization. A health issue that affects nearly one in four women (Fisher, Cullen, & Turner, 2000; Karjane, Cullen, & Turner, 2005) and that is associated with severe negative health outcomes, including depression substance abuse, suicide ideation, and risky sexual behaviors (CDC, 2012), warrants effective prevention programs. Moving away from traditional prevention efforts, which target females as potential victims in risk reduction programs and males as potential perpetrators in attitudinal-shifting programs, bystander engagement programs have become increasingly more widespread. These programs aim to engage all students on the college campus as potential bystanders who can intervene to prevent a sexual assault or reduce the harm of an assault that has already occurred (Banyard, Moynihan & Plante, 2007). Burn (2009) investigated potential barriers to pro-social bystander intervention using the Situational Model of Bystander Intervention, a model based on the original research of bystander behavior of Latanè and Darley (1970). The model outlines five barriers that influence students' intent to intervene as witnesses to sexual assault: failure to notice the situation, failure to identify the situation as high risk, failure to take intervention responsibility, failure to intervene due to skills deficit, and failure to intervene due to audience inhibition (Burn, 2009). She found that students' perception of barriers negatively correlated with intervention behaviors as bystanders to sexual assault (Burn, 2009). Although bystander engagement programs have shown initial promise in increasing students' intent to intervene, more needs to be known about the opportunities students have to intervene, their past intervention actions, and their intent to intervene in the future across the wide range of situations that encompass sexual assault risk. In addition, to develop effective programs that aim to increase pro-social behavior, understanding the salient influences of students' intent is critical. This study uses the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB; Ajzen & Fishbein, 1991) to examine the influences of students’ intent to perform 12 different pro-social bystander behaviors. The TPB asserts that individuals' behavior is most proximally influenced by their behavioral intentions, and intentions are influences by their perceived behavioral control to perform the behavior, subjective norms that support performing the behavior, and attitudes toward the behavior (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1991). The four primary aims of this study were: 1) to examine the demographic correlates of students' opportunities, past intervention actions, and reported intent to intervene; 2) to examine any differences in students' intent to intervene based on the level of intervention (pre-, mid-, and post-assault) and type of intervention (with the potential or actual victim compared to the potential or actual perpetrator); 3) to examine the influences of perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and attitudes on students' intent to intervene as bystanders; and 4) to compare the TPB-based model to the Situational Model of Bystander Intervention (Burn, 2009) in its ability to explain students' intent to intervene as bystanders. In the Fall of 2014, a sample of 815 undergraduate students at Oregon State University completed the Sexual Assault Bystander Behavior Questionnaire (SABB-Q), a tool comprised of items to measure students' opportunities, past behaviors, and future intent, in addition to measures assessing the influences of students' intent in line with the Theory of Planned Behavior and Burn's (2009) Situational Model of Bystander Intervention. Students who participate in Greek communities (fraternities and sororities) reported significantly greater odds of having the opportunity to perform four of the 12 intervention behaviors compared to non-Greek students, while student-athletes reported significantly greater odds of having the opportunity to perform two of the 12 intervention behaviors. Females reported significantly more past pro-social intervention behaviors (x̄ = 0.87) compared to males (x̄ = 0.79; p = 0.007). Regarding intent to intervene in the future, females reported significantly greater intent to intervene compared to males (x̄ = 6.07 vs. 5.68; p = 0.007). Students with friends who have been victims of sexual assault reported greater intent to intervene compared those without friends who have been victims (x̄ = 6.04 vs. 5.89; p = 0.02). Students with a personal history of victimization reported significantly greater intent compared to those without a personal history (x̄ =6.13 vs 5.93; p = 0.03). Students reported significantly greater intent to intervene with the potential or actual victim compared to the potential or actual perpetrator (x̄ = 6.19 vs. 5.74, p < 0.001). Females reported significantly greater intent to intervene with both the potential or actual victims and perpetrators (x̄ = 6.31 and 5.84, respectively) compared to males (x̄ = 5.88 and 5.49, respectively). Both males and females reported the greatest intent to perform post-assault intervention behavior (x̄ = 6.23), followed by pre-assault (x̄ = 6.08) and mid-assault behaviors (x̄ = 5.57). Females reported significantly greater intent to perform nine of the 12 pro-social intervention behaviors compared to males. A multiple regression analysis revealed that perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and attitudes explained a significant proportion of the variance in intent to intervene (R² = 0.55, F(3, 771) = 315.68, p < 0.000). Perceived behavioral control was highly significant (β = 0.48, p < 0.001), as were subjective norms (β = 0.15, p < 0.001) and attitudes (β = 0.30, p < 0.001). Gender differences were also observed. For females, perceived behavioral control was highly significant (β = 0.49, p < 0.001), as were subjective norms (β = 0.15, p < 0.001) and attitudes (β = 0.29, p < 0.001). For males, perceived behavioral control was highly significant (β = 0.49, p < 0.001), as were attitudes (β = 0.29, p < 0.001). However, males' subjective norms were not significantly related (β = 0.07, p = 0.199) to their intent to intervene. Further analysis revealed a significant interaction between gender and subjective norms (β = -0.28; p = 0.039). The TPB-based model including this moderation effect explained a significant proportion of the variance in students' intent to intervene (R² = 0.57, F(6, 766) = 168.46, p < 0.000). Interveners reported significantly greater perceived behavioral control than non-interveners for seven of the 12 intervention behaviors; more supportive subjective norms than non-interveners for six of the 12 intervention behaviors; more positive attitudes than non-interveners for only one of the 12 intervention behaviors; and greater intent to intervene in the future for six of the 12 intervention behaviors. However, differences in the three TPB variables between interveners and non-interveners were not consistent for the 12 intervention behaviors. Regarding Burn's (2009) Situational Model of Bystander Intervention, a multiple regression analysis revealed two of the five barriers were significantly related to students’ intent to intervene: the failure to take intervention responsibility barrier (β = -0.29, p < 0.001) and the failure to intervene due to audience inhibition barrier (β = -0.22, p < 0.001). The model in whole explained a large proportion of the variance (R2 = 0.25, F(5, 768) = 50.14, p < 0.000). Gender differences were also observed. For females, failure to take intervention responsibility (β = -0.23; p < 0.000) and failure to intervene due to audience inhibition (β = -0.23; p < 0.001) both had a significant, negative influence on their intent to intervene. For males, failure to take intervention responsibility (β = -0.21; p < 0.014) had a significant, negative influence on intent to intervene. Additional analysis revealed no significant interactions between gender and any of the five barriers. The TPB-based model explained a greater proportion of the variance (R2 = 0.55) compared to Situational Model of Bystander Intervention (R² = 0.25) in the multiple regression analysis using all 12 intervention behaviors. All three variables in the TPB-based model were significantly related to students’ intent, whereas only two of the five barriers were significantly related. A final multiple regression analysis was conducted using all three significant TPB variables and the two significant barriers to explain students' intent to intervene. The combined model explained a significant proportion of variance in students' intent (R² = 0.58 F(5, 756) = 206.19, p < 0.000) and significantly improved upon the TPB-based model (Δ R² = 0.03; p < 0.000). The results of this study have several implications for future research and public health practice. First, it is important to ask students about their opportunities to intervene in addition to their actual intervention behaviors because this information helps paint a clearer picture of bystander engagement. This assessment could also help identify high-risk groups: students who have greater opportunities to intervene as bystanders and/or report fewer intervention behaviors compared to their reported opportunities. Second, students may conceptualize intervention behaviors differently depending on the phase of the assault and with whom the intervention behavior requires intervening. Accordingly, programs aimed at encouraging students to intervene should take these differences into consideration. Third, the Theory of Planned Behavior, used to explain and change other health-related behaviors, can effectively be applied to help uncover determinants of pro-social bystander behaviors. Perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and attitudes appear to be salient influences in students' intent to intervene. Therefore, bystander engagement programs should incorporate activities to heighten students' skills to intervene, change social norms that support bystander intervention, and shift attitudes toward the benefits of intervening. This study demonstrates the importance of using an established, evidenced-based theoretical framework to explain behavioral influences and strengthens the argument for continued use of theory to identify, and potentially change, salient influences in behavioral performance. Students as pro-social bystanders have the potential to make a positive impact on the reduction of sexual assault on the college campus. Although the responsibility for sexual assault rests on those who perpetrate such acts, and primary prevention strategies aimed at those demonstrating a risk for perpetration are imperative, sexual assault is a public health issue that warrants a multi-pronged approach to reduce its incidence and migrate its associated harms. Programs that engage students as pro-social bystanders have the potential to make a positive impact on the reduction of sexual assault incidence in the absence of effective primary prevention strategies. The findings of this study make a contribution to the literature examining influences of students' pro-social bystander intervention to sexual assault situations and provide suggestions for strategies to increase bystander engagement. Close

• 1273. [Article] Faculty perceptions of organizational climate for innovation at community colleges

  Higher education is faced with ever-increasing challenges, which require fundamental changes in order to ensure its relevance in the future. Business leaders and academic scholars urge organizations to ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Faculty perceptions of organizational climate for innovation at community colleges Author: Batazhan, Tatyana Higher education is faced with ever-increasing challenges, which require fundamental changes in order to ensure its relevance in the future. Business leaders and academic scholars urge organizations to continuously reshape and renew through learning and innovation to assure viability and sustainability. Organizational climate serves as a foundation that can promote or hinder innovation. Consequently, an organizational climate that encourages innovation is paramount to get community colleges through challenging times and ensure their relevance and value in meeting the needs of the 21st century complex society. The purpose of the study was to assess perceptions of full-time faculty members about organizational climate for innovation in community colleges in Oregon and to determine if there is any difference in perceptions based on individual demographic factors or organizational characteristics. The secondary purpose was to gather feedback related to enhancements that community colleges can pursue to improve organizational climate for innovation. A web-based questionnaire was developed using items from other instruments that measured organizational climate for innovation with the constructs of leadership, support for creativity, norms for diversity and risk-taking, continuous development, ownership, and resources. There are 17 community colleges in Oregon; of these, 13 community colleges participated in the study. A total of 219 full-time community college faculty members participated in the study, which was (16%) of the total population of full-time community college faculty in Oregon Quantitative analysis included general description of respondent characteristics and descriptive findings; Cronbach's coefficient alpha to test instrumentation constructs and reliability; confirmatory factor analysis of the instrument confirmed the constructs. Investigation of assumptions related to the inferential analyses and factorial ANOVA was used to test the hypotheses. Qualitative research method was used to analyze qualitative data related to enhancement of an organizational climate for innovation. The study findings revealed that the organizational climate for innovation based on faculty members' perceptions was average and below average on the measurement along six selected constructs. There were no significant differences in responses of faculty based on the demographic factors (age, gender, educational level, area of teaching, experience in the profession, experience at community colleges, and experience at current community college) and an organizational size. Faculty members provided several recommendations on how to enhance an organizational climate for innovation, which were in line with the six constructs, the existing scholarly literature, and best business practices. While the body of research pertinent to organizational climate perceptions, culture, and innovation is growing, limited research is available on the topic of an organizational climate for innovation in post-secondary education. This study encompassed a broader approach of an assessment and information gathering from most of the colleges in one state, the state of Oregon. Therefore, this research is significant as it added to and enriched the existing and growing body of constructed scholarly knowledge. Most importantly, the results of this research provided Oregon community college leaders in administrative positions with an assessment of current organizational climate for innovation based on faculty members' perceptions. Therefore, community college leaders are armed with pivotal information that can assist them in shaping organizations’ future directions and set up their colleges for innovation. Title: Faculty perceptions of organizational climate for innovation at community colleges Author: Batazhan, Tatyana Higher education is faced with ever-increasing challenges, which require fundamental changes in order to ensure its relevance in the future. Business leaders and academic scholars urge organizations to continuously reshape and renew through learning and innovation to assure viability and sustainability. Organizational climate serves as a foundation that can promote or hinder innovation. Consequently, an organizational climate that encourages innovation is paramount to get community colleges through challenging times and ensure their relevance and value in meeting the needs of the 21st century complex society. The purpose of the study was to assess perceptions of full-time faculty members about organizational climate for innovation in community colleges in Oregon and to determine if there is any difference in perceptions based on individual demographic factors or organizational characteristics. The secondary purpose was to gather feedback related to enhancements that community colleges can pursue to improve organizational climate for innovation. A web-based questionnaire was developed using items from other instruments that measured organizational climate for innovation with the constructs of leadership, support for creativity, norms for diversity and risk-taking, continuous development, ownership, and resources. There are 17 community colleges in Oregon; of these, 13 community colleges participated in the study. A total of 219 full-time community college faculty members participated in the study, which was (16%) of the total population of full-time community college faculty in Oregon Quantitative analysis included general description of respondent characteristics and descriptive findings; Cronbach's coefficient alpha to test instrumentation constructs and reliability; confirmatory factor analysis of the instrument confirmed the constructs. Investigation of assumptions related to the inferential analyses and factorial ANOVA was used to test the hypotheses. Qualitative research method was used to analyze qualitative data related to enhancement of an organizational climate for innovation. The study findings revealed that the organizational climate for innovation based on faculty members' perceptions was average and below average on the measurement along six selected constructs. There were no significant differences in responses of faculty based on the demographic factors (age, gender, educational level, area of teaching, experience in the profession, experience at community colleges, and experience at current community college) and an organizational size. Faculty members provided several recommendations on how to enhance an organizational climate for innovation, which were in line with the six constructs, the existing scholarly literature, and best business practices. While the body of research pertinent to organizational climate perceptions, culture, and innovation is growing, limited research is available on the topic of an organizational climate for innovation in post-secondary education. This study encompassed a broader approach of an assessment and information gathering from most of the colleges in one state, the state of Oregon. Therefore, this research is significant as it added to and enriched the existing and growing body of constructed scholarly knowledge. Most importantly, the results of this research provided Oregon community college leaders in administrative positions with an assessment of current organizational climate for innovation based on faculty members' perceptions. Therefore, community college leaders are armed with pivotal information that can assist them in shaping organizations’ future directions and set up their colleges for innovation. Close

• 1274. [Article] Profiles of Children’s Cognitive Self-Regulation Around the Transition to School

  Cognitive self-regulation and the behavioral manifestations of cognitive self-regulation are important aspects of school readiness, yet less is known about the variation in measurement modalities within ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Profiles of Children’s Cognitive Self-Regulation Around the Transition to School Author: Miao, Alicia J. Cognitive self-regulation and the behavioral manifestations of cognitive self-regulation are important aspects of school readiness, yet less is known about the variation in measurement modalities within children. In this dissertation, two studies examined the makeup, antecedents, and consequents of constellations of cognitive self-regulation (CSR) measures around the transition to formal schooling. Study 1 explored how distinct profiles of multiple measurement modalities (direct assessments, maternal reports, and observer ratings) of CSR were associated with earlier individual child and familial factors. Person-centered analyses uncovered four multi-method CSR profiles in preschool at 54-months: (1) excellent regulators, with consistently high CSR across all measures; (2) good regulators, with slightly lower – but still good – CSR across all measures; (3) struggling regulators, with low CSR across all measures; and (4) inconsistent regulators, paralleling the struggling regulators profile in all measures except observer ratings. This last profile showed high CSR for both observer rating indicators. Three profiles capturing child CSR in 1st grade largely replicated preschool results with one exception: the excellent and good regulator profiles were not analytically distinguishable from one another, resulting in, (1) good regulator, (2) struggling regulator, and (3) inconsistent regulator profiles. Additionally, some child (cognitive functioning, gender) and familial (maternal vocabulary) factors were related to child CSR profiles at both time points. Further, mother-child attachment and better early home quality were related to more well-regulated CSR profiles prior to school entry only, whereas child minority status was significant only for 1st grade. Study 2 examined how children’s preschool and 1st grade CSR profiles were longitudinally related to academic and socioemotional outcomes in middle childhood and adolescence. Results indicated that a gradient of child CSR was associated with subsequent functioning in academic and socioemotional domains. Additionally, findings suggested that members of the inconsistent regulator profiles showed some lower internalizing behavior problems, as well as higher externalizing and lower academic performance in some comparisons. Some differences in preschool and 1st grade CSR profiles associations with middle childhood and adolescent outcomes were also found. Together, these studies provide a “proof of concept” that utilizing person-centered approaches to explore multiple measurement modalities of child CSR is feasible, and reveal a unique subgroup of children previously unexamined through variable-centered approaches alone. Title: Profiles of Children’s Cognitive Self-Regulation Around the Transition to School Author: Miao, Alicia J. Cognitive self-regulation and the behavioral manifestations of cognitive self-regulation are important aspects of school readiness, yet less is known about the variation in measurement modalities within children. In this dissertation, two studies examined the makeup, antecedents, and consequents of constellations of cognitive self-regulation (CSR) measures around the transition to formal schooling. Study 1 explored how distinct profiles of multiple measurement modalities (direct assessments, maternal reports, and observer ratings) of CSR were associated with earlier individual child and familial factors. Person-centered analyses uncovered four multi-method CSR profiles in preschool at 54-months: (1) excellent regulators, with consistently high CSR across all measures; (2) good regulators, with slightly lower – but still good – CSR across all measures; (3) struggling regulators, with low CSR across all measures; and (4) inconsistent regulators, paralleling the struggling regulators profile in all measures except observer ratings. This last profile showed high CSR for both observer rating indicators. Three profiles capturing child CSR in 1st grade largely replicated preschool results with one exception: the excellent and good regulator profiles were not analytically distinguishable from one another, resulting in, (1) good regulator, (2) struggling regulator, and (3) inconsistent regulator profiles. Additionally, some child (cognitive functioning, gender) and familial (maternal vocabulary) factors were related to child CSR profiles at both time points. Further, mother-child attachment and better early home quality were related to more well-regulated CSR profiles prior to school entry only, whereas child minority status was significant only for 1st grade. Study 2 examined how children’s preschool and 1st grade CSR profiles were longitudinally related to academic and socioemotional outcomes in middle childhood and adolescence. Results indicated that a gradient of child CSR was associated with subsequent functioning in academic and socioemotional domains. Additionally, findings suggested that members of the inconsistent regulator profiles showed some lower internalizing behavior problems, as well as higher externalizing and lower academic performance in some comparisons. Some differences in preschool and 1st grade CSR profiles associations with middle childhood and adolescent outcomes were also found. Together, these studies provide a “proof of concept” that utilizing person-centered approaches to explore multiple measurement modalities of child CSR is feasible, and reveal a unique subgroup of children previously unexamined through variable-centered approaches alone. Close

• 1275. [Article] Assessing the Impact of Restrictiveness and Placement Type on Transition-Related Outcomes for Youth With and Without Disabilities Aging Out of Foster Care

  Nearly 23,000 youth age out of the foster care system between the ages of 18 and 21 each year in a transition fraught with challenges and barriers. These young people often lack developmentally appropriate ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Assessing the Impact of Restrictiveness and Placement Type on Transition-Related Outcomes for Youth With and Without Disabilities Aging Out of Foster Care Author: Schmidt, Jessica Danielle Year: 2015 Nearly 23,000 youth age out of the foster care system between the ages of 18 and 21 each year in a transition fraught with challenges and barriers. These young people often lack developmentally appropriate experiences and exposure to necessary knowledge, role modeling, skill building, and long-term social support to promote positive transitions to adulthood while in foster care. As a result, young people who exit care face an array of poor adult outcomes. Nearly 60% of transition-aged foster youth experience a disability, and as such, face compounded challenges exiting foster care. While the examination of young adult outcomes for youth with disabilities has been largely missing from the literature, available research documents that young adults with disabilities who had exited foster care were significantly behind their peers without disabilities in several key areas. Literature examining the experiences of transition-aged youth with disabilities in the general population also highlights gaps in young adult outcomes for young people with disabilities compared to their peers. Compounding the issue for youth in foster care, those who experience disabilities often reside in restrictive placement settings such as developmental disability (DD) certified homes, group homes, or residential treatment centers. Though limited, there is some evidence to suggest that these types of placements negatively impact young adult outcomes for those aging out of foster care. The rules and regulations in place to promote safety in these types of placements could further restrict youth from engaging in meaningful transition preparation engagement while in foster care. Therefore, youth with disabilities, whose needs necessitate a higher level of support towards transition preparation engagement, may actually receive fewer opportunities than their peers in non-relative foster care and kinship care as they prepare to exit care into adulthood. The work in this dissertation provides knowledge to address gaps in the literature around transition preparation engagement during foster care for youth with disabilities, youth residing in restrictive foster care placements, and youth who report high levels of perceived restrictiveness as they prepare to enter into adulthood. This dissertation is a secondary analysis of transition preparation engagement data collected at baseline for 294 transition-aged youth in foster care who participated in an evaluation of an intervention to promote self-determination and enhance young adult outcomes, called My Life. Transition preparation engagement in this study was represented by eight domains: youth perceptions of preparedness for adult life, post-secondary education preparation engagement, career preparation engagement, employment, daily life preparation engagement, Independent Living Program (ILP) participation, transition planning engagement, and self-determination. Transition preparation engagement domains were examined using hierarchical multiple regression analysis to explore differences by disability status, placement setting, and youth self-report of perceptions of restrictiveness. In alignment with the literature, 58.8% of youth in this sample experienced a disability. Additional key demographics, including age, gender, and race, and foster care experiences, including length of time in care and placement instability, were entered into the regression models as covariates. Results indicated significantly less transition preparation engagement for 1) youth with disabilities compared to youth without disabilities, 2) youth residing in restrictive placements compared to youth in non-relative foster care and kinship care, and 3) youth who reported higher levels of perceived restrictiveness compared to youth who reported lower levels of perceived restrictiveness. Program, policy, and research recommendations are discussed that highlight the need to promote transition preparation engagement for this particularly vulnerable group of young people in foster care who experience disabilities, are residing in restrictive placement settings and who report high levels of perceived restrictiveness. Title: Assessing the Impact of Restrictiveness and Placement Type on Transition-Related Outcomes for Youth With and Without Disabilities Aging Out of Foster Care Author: Schmidt, Jessica Danielle Year: 2015 Nearly 23,000 youth age out of the foster care system between the ages of 18 and 21 each year in a transition fraught with challenges and barriers. These young people often lack developmentally appropriate experiences and exposure to necessary knowledge, role modeling, skill building, and long-term social support to promote positive transitions to adulthood while in foster care. As a result, young people who exit care face an array of poor adult outcomes. Nearly 60% of transition-aged foster youth experience a disability, and as such, face compounded challenges exiting foster care. While the examination of young adult outcomes for youth with disabilities has been largely missing from the literature, available research documents that young adults with disabilities who had exited foster care were significantly behind their peers without disabilities in several key areas. Literature examining the experiences of transition-aged youth with disabilities in the general population also highlights gaps in young adult outcomes for young people with disabilities compared to their peers. Compounding the issue for youth in foster care, those who experience disabilities often reside in restrictive placement settings such as developmental disability (DD) certified homes, group homes, or residential treatment centers. Though limited, there is some evidence to suggest that these types of placements negatively impact young adult outcomes for those aging out of foster care. The rules and regulations in place to promote safety in these types of placements could further restrict youth from engaging in meaningful transition preparation engagement while in foster care. Therefore, youth with disabilities, whose needs necessitate a higher level of support towards transition preparation engagement, may actually receive fewer opportunities than their peers in non-relative foster care and kinship care as they prepare to exit care into adulthood. The work in this dissertation provides knowledge to address gaps in the literature around transition preparation engagement during foster care for youth with disabilities, youth residing in restrictive foster care placements, and youth who report high levels of perceived restrictiveness as they prepare to enter into adulthood. This dissertation is a secondary analysis of transition preparation engagement data collected at baseline for 294 transition-aged youth in foster care who participated in an evaluation of an intervention to promote self-determination and enhance young adult outcomes, called My Life. Transition preparation engagement in this study was represented by eight domains: youth perceptions of preparedness for adult life, post-secondary education preparation engagement, career preparation engagement, employment, daily life preparation engagement, Independent Living Program (ILP) participation, transition planning engagement, and self-determination. Transition preparation engagement domains were examined using hierarchical multiple regression analysis to explore differences by disability status, placement setting, and youth self-report of perceptions of restrictiveness. In alignment with the literature, 58.8% of youth in this sample experienced a disability. Additional key demographics, including age, gender, and race, and foster care experiences, including length of time in care and placement instability, were entered into the regression models as covariates. Results indicated significantly less transition preparation engagement for 1) youth with disabilities compared to youth without disabilities, 2) youth residing in restrictive placements compared to youth in non-relative foster care and kinship care, and 3) youth who reported higher levels of perceived restrictiveness compared to youth who reported lower levels of perceived restrictiveness. Program, policy, and research recommendations are discussed that highlight the need to promote transition preparation engagement for this particularly vulnerable group of young people in foster care who experience disabilities, are residing in restrictive placement settings and who report high levels of perceived restrictiveness. Close

• 1276. [Article] Children's drama available for the elementary school children of Portland, Oregon

  This thesis was an endeavor to find the drama available for the elementary children of Portland, Oregon. In deciding what drama was for children two different forms were first researched. Children’s theatre ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Children's drama available for the elementary school children of Portland, Oregon Author: Gender, Margaret Othus Year: 1967 This thesis was an endeavor to find the drama available for the elementary children of Portland, Oregon. In deciding what drama was for children two different forms were first researched. Children’s theatre done by adults such as in community services, educational programs and professional and commercial theatres were studied. Drama by children, referred to as the less formalized drama, creative dramatics was also investigated. To further examine the background of children’s theatre in the United States, various children’s theatres around the country were studied including the University Children’s Theatre at Northwestern under the direction of Winifred Ward and Goodman Memorial Children’s Theatre in Chicago under the direction of Charlotte Chorpenning. With the advent of the educational field into children’s theatre culminating with the Children’s Theatre Conference the movement became wide spread throughout the United States. A great deal has been done to spark children’s drama not only in the viewing of children’s plays in production but affording children actual participation in creative drama workshops and children’s productions. More and more community theatres, commercial groups and universities are doing children’s drama throughout the nation. In an effort to find what was being offered to the Portland children in drama, the Portland Public Grade Schools were first approached. With the help of the Language Arts Supervisor five areas of drama for children were researched through reading and interviews. Although the Portland Public Grade Schools have no drama courses instructed by specific drama teachers they do encourage drama to be correlated into the classroom program and taught in “in service” courses for their teachers. The “model school program” has drama as a definite course and the Portland schools offer a summer school which has a creative drama course available to the elementary school children. The University of Portland, a Catholic university in Portland, has achieved the most definite progress in the Portland area in children’s theatre. They not only produce children’s plays during the school year but offer creative drama and playwriting in their course of study. Under the instruction and production of Mrs. Catherine Roberts for the last six years they are striving to bring children’s theatre to the Portland children and their teachers. Portland does offer some excellent theatre for children in the community. The Portland Junior League, a service group, has nationally been involved throughout the years with their children’s play productions by their groups for the school children of their communities. Now, after turning their productions over to Portland University they still maintain a very worthwhile program of puppetry for the school children of Portland. Portland Junior Civic Theatre, one of the oldest children’s theatre groups in Portland, not only produces children’s productions by children but conducts a children’s drama school throughout the year. The Portland Park Bureau also takes an active part particularly during the summer in children’s drama and training. The newest to Portland is the Playmaker’s Group, relatively young but eager in its endeavor for the children of the area. Their efforts include both productions and schooling on a creative drama promise, with improvisational plays by the adult Playmaker casts. Children’s theatre in Portland is developing but has faced many problems and has many more to surmount. The progress of the active workers in this movement show hope for the future for the children of Portland. The appendix of the thesis is devoted to several programs involved with the teaching of drama. First is a course in creative drama offered to college students in the colleges and universities having such courses in their curriculum. A creative drama course correlated with the regular classroom subjects in the Portland Grade School Curriculum is also included. Last, a summer school plan for community theatre is shown. All the arts combine in the theatre, decor, the dance, impersonation, effective speech, the song, pantomime, the projection of personality, the art of suppressing self and even ill will, for the unity of effort. Hundreds of other arts could be listed including the art of living together and the art of creative imagination. That is why the play can never be omitted from child education. Title: Children's drama available for the elementary school children of Portland, Oregon Author: Gender, Margaret Othus Year: 1967 This thesis was an endeavor to find the drama available for the elementary children of Portland, Oregon. In deciding what drama was for children two different forms were first researched. Children’s theatre done by adults such as in community services, educational programs and professional and commercial theatres were studied. Drama by children, referred to as the less formalized drama, creative dramatics was also investigated. To further examine the background of children’s theatre in the United States, various children’s theatres around the country were studied including the University Children’s Theatre at Northwestern under the direction of Winifred Ward and Goodman Memorial Children’s Theatre in Chicago under the direction of Charlotte Chorpenning. With the advent of the educational field into children’s theatre culminating with the Children’s Theatre Conference the movement became wide spread throughout the United States. A great deal has been done to spark children’s drama not only in the viewing of children’s plays in production but affording children actual participation in creative drama workshops and children’s productions. More and more community theatres, commercial groups and universities are doing children’s drama throughout the nation. In an effort to find what was being offered to the Portland children in drama, the Portland Public Grade Schools were first approached. With the help of the Language Arts Supervisor five areas of drama for children were researched through reading and interviews. Although the Portland Public Grade Schools have no drama courses instructed by specific drama teachers they do encourage drama to be correlated into the classroom program and taught in “in service” courses for their teachers. The “model school program” has drama as a definite course and the Portland schools offer a summer school which has a creative drama course available to the elementary school children. The University of Portland, a Catholic university in Portland, has achieved the most definite progress in the Portland area in children’s theatre. They not only produce children’s plays during the school year but offer creative drama and playwriting in their course of study. Under the instruction and production of Mrs. Catherine Roberts for the last six years they are striving to bring children’s theatre to the Portland children and their teachers. Portland does offer some excellent theatre for children in the community. The Portland Junior League, a service group, has nationally been involved throughout the years with their children’s play productions by their groups for the school children of their communities. Now, after turning their productions over to Portland University they still maintain a very worthwhile program of puppetry for the school children of Portland. Portland Junior Civic Theatre, one of the oldest children’s theatre groups in Portland, not only produces children’s productions by children but conducts a children’s drama school throughout the year. The Portland Park Bureau also takes an active part particularly during the summer in children’s drama and training. The newest to Portland is the Playmaker’s Group, relatively young but eager in its endeavor for the children of the area. Their efforts include both productions and schooling on a creative drama promise, with improvisational plays by the adult Playmaker casts. Children’s theatre in Portland is developing but has faced many problems and has many more to surmount. The progress of the active workers in this movement show hope for the future for the children of Portland. The appendix of the thesis is devoted to several programs involved with the teaching of drama. First is a course in creative drama offered to college students in the colleges and universities having such courses in their curriculum. A creative drama course correlated with the regular classroom subjects in the Portland Grade School Curriculum is also included. Last, a summer school plan for community theatre is shown. All the arts combine in the theatre, decor, the dance, impersonation, effective speech, the song, pantomime, the projection of personality, the art of suppressing self and even ill will, for the unity of effort. Hundreds of other arts could be listed including the art of living together and the art of creative imagination. That is why the play can never be omitted from child education. Close

• 1277. [Article] Research on Voter Turnout & Voter ID Laws at the County Level

  The idea for this research projected stemmed from research I conducted during my Economics 439: Public Policy course. This research project examines the idea of Voter Identification Laws and Regulations ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Research on Voter Turnout & Voter ID Laws at the County Level Author: Bannan, Breanna The idea for this research projected stemmed from research I conducted during my Economics 439: Public Policy course. This research project examines the idea of Voter Identification Laws and Regulations and their effect on voter turnout and participation in the United States of America. I previously found that economists studied this topic, yet found that Voter Identification Laws and Regulations do not have a significant effect on voter turnout at the state level in the United States. Voter Identification Laws and Regulations have been a major issue of public policy during the recent years. Additionally, the United States has very low voter turnout when compared to that majority of countries in the world. Policy makers want to ensure voters are who they say they are, preventing voter fraud; however, they also want to increase voter participation. It is important that people practice their civic duty to vote and that they are involved in the public policy process. This ensures that we have a government that represents all people. The idea that Voter Identification Laws and Regulations harm voter participation rates drives this study. People are concerned that the Voter Identification Laws and Regulations harm minority and low income voters the most compared to any other population of people. Previous studies find no effect of Voter Identification Laws and Regulations at the state level concerning total participation. This lead to the research question: Do Voter ID Laws have a significant effect on voter turnout at the county level? For my study, I collected data at the county level for fourteen states on their voter turnout for the past four presidential election cycles: 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012. I also collected demographic information on each of the counties used in the study from the US Census. The demographic information included the gender populations in each county, the rural populations in each county, and finally the minority populations in each county. The next step was to collected data on Voter Identification Laws and Regulations. This data changed over the four years in question and gave the study variation over the years. This allows us to see how if a state implements a Voter Identification Law or Regulation how it affects the voter turnout in the various counties. The Voter Identification Laws and Regulations are additionally different in every state and so to control for the differences, I coded the laws on a 0-4 scale based on the strength on the law. A zero would represent no law in the state and a four represents a state with the strictest Voter Identification Law or Regulation. This allows us to see differences across laws as well. From the data collected, the model became: Percent_Turnout[cst subscript]= α + βvoter_id[cst subscript] + γdemographics[cst subscript] + λyear[cst subscript] + Θcounty[cst subscript] + ε[cst subscript] This model includes all of the Voter Identification Laws and Regulations for each of the states. I used a computer system called STATA, which is widely used by economists to analyze data. I added my data into the system and ran regressions to test the effect of Voter Identification Laws and Regulations on voter turnout rates at the county level. What this study finds is that if a state has a Voter Identification law then the voter turnout at the county level will decrease voter turnout anywhere from eleven to fourteen percentage points. When interacting the Voter Identification laws with specific demographics in the model, I actually find less of an effect on minority populations and low-income populations. These results provide very useful and interesting information. The first piece of intriguing information is that what this study finds is different from what other economists find in their studies. Economists before found that there is little or no effect of Voter Identification Laws and Regulations on voter turnout at the state level. However, this study finds that there is a large, detrimental effect of the laws on turnout at the county level. Additionally the study finds that the effect is not specifically linked to minority populations or low-income population like many policy makers fear. The study is not clear as to whom else is effected by these laws, and that is what I hope to continue studying in the near future. To conclude this research I presented to the students and faculty of the Economics Department on May 21, 2015 at 5 pm in Ballard Extension Hall in the third floor conference room. The presentation lasted around thirty-five minutes and included questions from the audience. Title: Research on Voter Turnout & Voter ID Laws at the County Level Author: Bannan, Breanna The idea for this research projected stemmed from research I conducted during my Economics 439: Public Policy course. This research project examines the idea of Voter Identification Laws and Regulations and their effect on voter turnout and participation in the United States of America. I previously found that economists studied this topic, yet found that Voter Identification Laws and Regulations do not have a significant effect on voter turnout at the state level in the United States. Voter Identification Laws and Regulations have been a major issue of public policy during the recent years. Additionally, the United States has very low voter turnout when compared to that majority of countries in the world. Policy makers want to ensure voters are who they say they are, preventing voter fraud; however, they also want to increase voter participation. It is important that people practice their civic duty to vote and that they are involved in the public policy process. This ensures that we have a government that represents all people. The idea that Voter Identification Laws and Regulations harm voter participation rates drives this study. People are concerned that the Voter Identification Laws and Regulations harm minority and low income voters the most compared to any other population of people. Previous studies find no effect of Voter Identification Laws and Regulations at the state level concerning total participation. This lead to the research question: Do Voter ID Laws have a significant effect on voter turnout at the county level? For my study, I collected data at the county level for fourteen states on their voter turnout for the past four presidential election cycles: 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012. I also collected demographic information on each of the counties used in the study from the US Census. The demographic information included the gender populations in each county, the rural populations in each county, and finally the minority populations in each county. The next step was to collected data on Voter Identification Laws and Regulations. This data changed over the four years in question and gave the study variation over the years. This allows us to see how if a state implements a Voter Identification Law or Regulation how it affects the voter turnout in the various counties. The Voter Identification Laws and Regulations are additionally different in every state and so to control for the differences, I coded the laws on a 0-4 scale based on the strength on the law. A zero would represent no law in the state and a four represents a state with the strictest Voter Identification Law or Regulation. This allows us to see differences across laws as well. From the data collected, the model became: Percent_Turnout[cst subscript]= α + βvoter_id[cst subscript] + γdemographics[cst subscript] + λyear[cst subscript] + Θcounty[cst subscript] + ε[cst subscript] This model includes all of the Voter Identification Laws and Regulations for each of the states. I used a computer system called STATA, which is widely used by economists to analyze data. I added my data into the system and ran regressions to test the effect of Voter Identification Laws and Regulations on voter turnout rates at the county level. What this study finds is that if a state has a Voter Identification law then the voter turnout at the county level will decrease voter turnout anywhere from eleven to fourteen percentage points. When interacting the Voter Identification laws with specific demographics in the model, I actually find less of an effect on minority populations and low-income populations. These results provide very useful and interesting information. The first piece of intriguing information is that what this study finds is different from what other economists find in their studies. Economists before found that there is little or no effect of Voter Identification Laws and Regulations on voter turnout at the state level. However, this study finds that there is a large, detrimental effect of the laws on turnout at the county level. Additionally the study finds that the effect is not specifically linked to minority populations or low-income population like many policy makers fear. The study is not clear as to whom else is effected by these laws, and that is what I hope to continue studying in the near future. To conclude this research I presented to the students and faculty of the Economics Department on May 21, 2015 at 5 pm in Ballard Extension Hall in the third floor conference room. The presentation lasted around thirty-five minutes and included questions from the audience. Close

• 1278. [Article] The influence of pollinators on the maintenance of mixed mating in a population of the blue columbine, Aquilegia coerulea (Ranunculaceae)

  Pollination ecology may play an important role in the maintenance of selfing in populations of self-compatible hermaphroditic plants where both selfing and outcrossing occur (mixed mating). Behavior and ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The influence of pollinators on the maintenance of mixed mating in a population of the blue columbine, Aquilegia coerulea (Ranunculaceae) Author: Sweet, Heather R. Pollination ecology may play an important role in the maintenance of selfing in populations of self-compatible hermaphroditic plants where both selfing and outcrossing occur (mixed mating). Behavior and abundance of pollinators can influence the two major modes of selfing; autogamy (selfing within a flower) and geitonogamy (selfing between flowers on the same plant). Autogamy may be selected for as a method of reproductive assurance during times of reduced or inefficient pollinator service. In contrast, geitonogamy is a negative and non-adaptive consequence of pollinators visiting multiple flowers per plant. Pollinator behavior and abundance, which can both influence levels of selfing, varies among pollinator types. Evidence suggests that of the two major pollinators of the blue columbine, Aquilegia coerulea, hawkmoths may decrease levels of selfing compared to bumblebees. The goals of this study are to 1) quantify the contribution of autogamy and geitonogamy to the overall selfing rate, 2) determine whether hawkmoths decrease levels of selfing compared to bumblebees and other floral visitors, and 3) examine how pollinator behavior influences levels of selfing in a Colorado population of A. coerulea. First, we estimated levels of selfing from groups of emasculated and control flowers using allozyme data to measure the genetic contribution of geitonogamy and autogamy to the population selfing rate. Second, contribution of autogamy to seed set was quantified as the difference in seed set between control and emasculated flowers. Third, we compared the realized levels of autogamy measured from allozyme data to the potential for autogamy, measured as seed set in absence of pollinators. Fourth, we compared the realized levels of geitonogamy measured from allozyme data to the potential for geitonogamy, calculated from the flowering phenology. Fifth, we conducted pollinator observations to document the number of different pollinators, their behavior, and their variation in abundance over three years of study. Finally, we determined if there was a relationship between yearly abundance of each pollinator type and yearly selfing rate. The allozyme data showed that geitonogamy was the primary contributor to the intermediate levels of selfing found in this population, suggesting that selfing is due to the negative consequence of pollinators visiting multiple flowers per plant and has no adaptive explanation. The realized level of geitonogamy was greater than the potential for geitonogamy, and resulted from pollinator preferences for a floral gender. In contrast, the realized level of autogamy was negligible, which suggested that reproductive assurance was not being selected for in this population. However, seed set from control flowers were significantly greater than that of emasculated flowers, indicating that autogamy contributed to an increase in seed set. The discrepancy between genetic and seed set data could be explained by bumblebee preference for control relative to emasculated flowers. Although the realized level of autogamy was minimal, plants in the population retained a high potential for autogamy, which may be selected for as a mechanism of reproductive assurance during years of low pollinator abundance. Pollinators in this population of A. coerulea included bumblebees, hawkmoths, solitary bees, wasps and flies. The abundance of all pollinators varied significantly among years except for solitary bees and wasps. In addition, we documented a significant variation in selfing rate (0.23-0.59) over the three years of study. A relationship was noted between years with increased hawkmoth abundance and a decrease in selfing rate. No relationships were observed between yearly selfing rate and abundance of the other pollinator types. The behavior most likely responsible for the decrease in selfing is that, unlike other pollinators, hawkmoths prefer female-phase flowers, which reduces levels of geitonogamy. Thus, the abundance and behavior of distinct pollinator types can differentially influence levels of selfing. Title: The influence of pollinators on the maintenance of mixed mating in a population of the blue columbine, Aquilegia coerulea (Ranunculaceae) Author: Sweet, Heather R. Pollination ecology may play an important role in the maintenance of selfing in populations of self-compatible hermaphroditic plants where both selfing and outcrossing occur (mixed mating). Behavior and abundance of pollinators can influence the two major modes of selfing; autogamy (selfing within a flower) and geitonogamy (selfing between flowers on the same plant). Autogamy may be selected for as a method of reproductive assurance during times of reduced or inefficient pollinator service. In contrast, geitonogamy is a negative and non-adaptive consequence of pollinators visiting multiple flowers per plant. Pollinator behavior and abundance, which can both influence levels of selfing, varies among pollinator types. Evidence suggests that of the two major pollinators of the blue columbine, Aquilegia coerulea, hawkmoths may decrease levels of selfing compared to bumblebees. The goals of this study are to 1) quantify the contribution of autogamy and geitonogamy to the overall selfing rate, 2) determine whether hawkmoths decrease levels of selfing compared to bumblebees and other floral visitors, and 3) examine how pollinator behavior influences levels of selfing in a Colorado population of A. coerulea. First, we estimated levels of selfing from groups of emasculated and control flowers using allozyme data to measure the genetic contribution of geitonogamy and autogamy to the population selfing rate. Second, contribution of autogamy to seed set was quantified as the difference in seed set between control and emasculated flowers. Third, we compared the realized levels of autogamy measured from allozyme data to the potential for autogamy, measured as seed set in absence of pollinators. Fourth, we compared the realized levels of geitonogamy measured from allozyme data to the potential for geitonogamy, calculated from the flowering phenology. Fifth, we conducted pollinator observations to document the number of different pollinators, their behavior, and their variation in abundance over three years of study. Finally, we determined if there was a relationship between yearly abundance of each pollinator type and yearly selfing rate. The allozyme data showed that geitonogamy was the primary contributor to the intermediate levels of selfing found in this population, suggesting that selfing is due to the negative consequence of pollinators visiting multiple flowers per plant and has no adaptive explanation. The realized level of geitonogamy was greater than the potential for geitonogamy, and resulted from pollinator preferences for a floral gender. In contrast, the realized level of autogamy was negligible, which suggested that reproductive assurance was not being selected for in this population. However, seed set from control flowers were significantly greater than that of emasculated flowers, indicating that autogamy contributed to an increase in seed set. The discrepancy between genetic and seed set data could be explained by bumblebee preference for control relative to emasculated flowers. Although the realized level of autogamy was minimal, plants in the population retained a high potential for autogamy, which may be selected for as a mechanism of reproductive assurance during years of low pollinator abundance. Pollinators in this population of A. coerulea included bumblebees, hawkmoths, solitary bees, wasps and flies. The abundance of all pollinators varied significantly among years except for solitary bees and wasps. In addition, we documented a significant variation in selfing rate (0.23-0.59) over the three years of study. A relationship was noted between years with increased hawkmoth abundance and a decrease in selfing rate. No relationships were observed between yearly selfing rate and abundance of the other pollinator types. The behavior most likely responsible for the decrease in selfing is that, unlike other pollinators, hawkmoths prefer female-phase flowers, which reduces levels of geitonogamy. Thus, the abundance and behavior of distinct pollinator types can differentially influence levels of selfing. Close

• 1279. [Article] Evaluation of a social-emotional and character development program : methods and outcomes

  Schools are increasingly expected to prevent and decrease violence, substance use, and other problem behaviors linked to academics and prepare students to be contributing members of society. One approach ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Evaluation of a social-emotional and character development program : methods and outcomes Author: Lewis, Kendra M. Schools are increasingly expected to prevent and decrease violence, substance use, and other problem behaviors linked to academics and prepare students to be contributing members of society. One approach with proven success in promoting positive outcomes related to a broad range of student behaviors and personal characteristics is social-emotional learning, also known as positive youth development or social-emotional and character development (SECD) programs. Currently, little is known about the relationship between SECD and these outcomes in low-income, urban, minority populations. The present studies (a) examine key methodological design issues in conducting a cluster-randomized trial with such populations, and (b) assess whether an intervention designed to promote SECD was effective in improving the SECD developmental status of children from this population. Data for this study come from the Chicago cluster-randomized controlled trial (CRCT) of Positive Action (PA). The trial was longitudinal at the school level with a place-focused intent-to-treat design at the student level. This CRCT collected data on children in grades 3 through 8, for a total of 6 years and 8 data collection points. Manuscript #1 focuses on the design, sample, planned analyses, and a latent class analysis (LCA) of mobility patterns. Specifically, the setting and recruitment of schools is described, as well as the process by which schools were matched into pairs and randomized into PA or control, including the list of criteria for school eligibility and variables used for matching. Additionally, this paper thoroughly describes the primary analyses to test for program effects using three-level growth curve models (time nested within students nested within schools), as well as several sensitivity analyses that will also be conducted when evaluating this program. Further, this manuscript discusses secondary tests of meditation and moderation, which will assist in the understanding of how the program works (mediation) and for whom (moderation). Finally, this paper also provides several descriptive statistics and characteristics of the students and teachers in this sample. In terms of baseline equivalency, PA and control schools did not significantly differ on matching variables before or during the trial. Minimal differences were found on baseline reports from students, teachers, and parents; half of these differences favored PA students and half favored control students. Manuscript #2 focuses on the intervention effects on the student-, teacher-, and parent-reported social-emotional outcomes assessed during the Chicago CRCT, following the analytic procedures outlined in the first paper and focusing on the effectiveness of PA on social-emotional outcomes. Results indicate that PA had a significant effect on student self-reports of prosocial interactions, honesty, self-development, self-control, respect for parents and teachers, empathy, altruism, positive actions/feelings, negative moral center, and aggressive problem solving. Additionally, it was found that PA had marginal effects on teacher-reported responsibility. Minimal differences by gender were found; no differences by mobility status were found. Together, these two papers involved a sample of students in a high-risk setting; generating improvements can be particularly difficult in urban areas. The empirical evidence of effectiveness of a SECD program in a high-risk population, as demonstrated in the present study, should serve as a call to action for policymakers and school officials who are increasingly challenged to positively impact not only academic achievement, but also behavior and character development. Title: Evaluation of a social-emotional and character development program : methods and outcomes Author: Lewis, Kendra M. Schools are increasingly expected to prevent and decrease violence, substance use, and other problem behaviors linked to academics and prepare students to be contributing members of society. One approach with proven success in promoting positive outcomes related to a broad range of student behaviors and personal characteristics is social-emotional learning, also known as positive youth development or social-emotional and character development (SECD) programs. Currently, little is known about the relationship between SECD and these outcomes in low-income, urban, minority populations. The present studies (a) examine key methodological design issues in conducting a cluster-randomized trial with such populations, and (b) assess whether an intervention designed to promote SECD was effective in improving the SECD developmental status of children from this population. Data for this study come from the Chicago cluster-randomized controlled trial (CRCT) of Positive Action (PA). The trial was longitudinal at the school level with a place-focused intent-to-treat design at the student level. This CRCT collected data on children in grades 3 through 8, for a total of 6 years and 8 data collection points. Manuscript #1 focuses on the design, sample, planned analyses, and a latent class analysis (LCA) of mobility patterns. Specifically, the setting and recruitment of schools is described, as well as the process by which schools were matched into pairs and randomized into PA or control, including the list of criteria for school eligibility and variables used for matching. Additionally, this paper thoroughly describes the primary analyses to test for program effects using three-level growth curve models (time nested within students nested within schools), as well as several sensitivity analyses that will also be conducted when evaluating this program. Further, this manuscript discusses secondary tests of meditation and moderation, which will assist in the understanding of how the program works (mediation) and for whom (moderation). Finally, this paper also provides several descriptive statistics and characteristics of the students and teachers in this sample. In terms of baseline equivalency, PA and control schools did not significantly differ on matching variables before or during the trial. Minimal differences were found on baseline reports from students, teachers, and parents; half of these differences favored PA students and half favored control students. Manuscript #2 focuses on the intervention effects on the student-, teacher-, and parent-reported social-emotional outcomes assessed during the Chicago CRCT, following the analytic procedures outlined in the first paper and focusing on the effectiveness of PA on social-emotional outcomes. Results indicate that PA had a significant effect on student self-reports of prosocial interactions, honesty, self-development, self-control, respect for parents and teachers, empathy, altruism, positive actions/feelings, negative moral center, and aggressive problem solving. Additionally, it was found that PA had marginal effects on teacher-reported responsibility. Minimal differences by gender were found; no differences by mobility status were found. Together, these two papers involved a sample of students in a high-risk setting; generating improvements can be particularly difficult in urban areas. The empirical evidence of effectiveness of a SECD program in a high-risk population, as demonstrated in the present study, should serve as a call to action for policymakers and school officials who are increasingly challenged to positively impact not only academic achievement, but also behavior and character development. Close

• 1280. [Article] Spatial and Temporal Effects of Large Truck-Involved Crash Injury Severities : A Mixed Logit Analysis

  Large truck-involved crashes have a significant impact on both the economy and society. They are associated with high injury severities, high crash costs and contribute to congestion in urban areas. Past ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Spatial and Temporal Effects of Large Truck-Involved Crash Injury Severities : A Mixed Logit Analysis Author: Pahukula, Jasmine Large truck-involved crashes have a significant impact on both the economy and society. They are associated with high injury severities, high crash costs and contribute to congestion in urban areas. Past studies have investigated the contributing factors of large truck-involved crashes, however a study isolating the spatial and temporal effects is lacking. This thesis aims to bridge that gap as well as provide practical applications to improve safety from a large truck perspective through two new frameworks. This thesis contains two standalone documents, each detailing the spatial and temporal transferability framework, separately. These frameworks provide additional information that can be utilized in the development of planning tools to ultimately improve safety. Random parameters logit models (i.e. mixed logit models) were utilized to help identify the contributing factors of large truck-involved crashes. One advantage of the mixed logit model is that it can account for the unobserved heterogeneity in the model which relaxes the independence of irrelevant alternatives (IIA) property. A series of log likelihood ratio tests were utilized to determine if transferability, spatial or temporal, was warranted. The first document details the spatial transferability framework which is demonstrated through a case study on large truck-involved crashes in urban areas in Oregon and Texas. Strict regulations imposed on the trucking industry limits the variability of heavy-vehicle configurations and enhance the standards for truck drivers (as opposed to passenger vehicle drivers). Encouraging consistency between large trucks is one way to improve safety and has also lead to the investigation of commonalities between large truck-involved crashes in two spatially distributed regions. The results of the log-likelihood ratio tests indicate that spatial transferability is not warranted between Oregon and Texas. Key differences were non-driver or 'uncontrollable' characteristics (e.g. weather, light conditions and time of day) while driver related characteristics (e.g. gender, age and restraint use) had similar impacts. Since the major differences include non-driver characteristics, perhaps a regional model with similar 'uncontrollable' characteristics is warranted. The second document illustrates the temporal transferability framework which is applied to large truck-involved crashes in urban areas in Texas. Traffic patterns, light conditions and driver behavior vary throughout the day and consequently can have a varied impact on large truck-involved crashes. The results of the log likelihood ratio tests indicate that temporal transferability is warranted and the database was divided into five time periods to be analyzed separately. Traffic flow, light conditions, surface conditions, month and percentage of trucks on the road were among the significant differences between the crash factors of each time period. The two proposed transferability frameworks, spatial and temporal, provide new information that can be integrated into safety planning tools and more sharply guide decision-makers. For example, the results of this thesis can help to pinpoint temporal or spatial-related countermeasures. In addition the results of this thesis can help in the allocation of limited resources (i.e. help prioritize projects), minimize economic loss and help decision makers improve safety from a large truck perspective (e.g. modify trucking regulations). Finally, this thesis provides a foundation for future research. As indicated in Chapter 2, a future study to evaluate the feasibility of a regional large truck-involved crash model between neighboring regions and the development of a national crash data reporting standard are potential ideas for future research. Chapter 3 stressed the importance of time of day on large truck-involved crashes which can serve as the basis to study the safety and economic impacts of time of day shifts of truck freight movements to off-peak periods. In summary, this thesis involves original research that expands the literature and provides a new foundation to analyze large truck-involved crashes. Title: Spatial and Temporal Effects of Large Truck-Involved Crash Injury Severities : A Mixed Logit Analysis Author: Pahukula, Jasmine Large truck-involved crashes have a significant impact on both the economy and society. They are associated with high injury severities, high crash costs and contribute to congestion in urban areas. Past studies have investigated the contributing factors of large truck-involved crashes, however a study isolating the spatial and temporal effects is lacking. This thesis aims to bridge that gap as well as provide practical applications to improve safety from a large truck perspective through two new frameworks. This thesis contains two standalone documents, each detailing the spatial and temporal transferability framework, separately. These frameworks provide additional information that can be utilized in the development of planning tools to ultimately improve safety. Random parameters logit models (i.e. mixed logit models) were utilized to help identify the contributing factors of large truck-involved crashes. One advantage of the mixed logit model is that it can account for the unobserved heterogeneity in the model which relaxes the independence of irrelevant alternatives (IIA) property. A series of log likelihood ratio tests were utilized to determine if transferability, spatial or temporal, was warranted. The first document details the spatial transferability framework which is demonstrated through a case study on large truck-involved crashes in urban areas in Oregon and Texas. Strict regulations imposed on the trucking industry limits the variability of heavy-vehicle configurations and enhance the standards for truck drivers (as opposed to passenger vehicle drivers). Encouraging consistency between large trucks is one way to improve safety and has also lead to the investigation of commonalities between large truck-involved crashes in two spatially distributed regions. The results of the log-likelihood ratio tests indicate that spatial transferability is not warranted between Oregon and Texas. Key differences were non-driver or 'uncontrollable' characteristics (e.g. weather, light conditions and time of day) while driver related characteristics (e.g. gender, age and restraint use) had similar impacts. Since the major differences include non-driver characteristics, perhaps a regional model with similar 'uncontrollable' characteristics is warranted. The second document illustrates the temporal transferability framework which is applied to large truck-involved crashes in urban areas in Texas. Traffic patterns, light conditions and driver behavior vary throughout the day and consequently can have a varied impact on large truck-involved crashes. The results of the log likelihood ratio tests indicate that temporal transferability is warranted and the database was divided into five time periods to be analyzed separately. Traffic flow, light conditions, surface conditions, month and percentage of trucks on the road were among the significant differences between the crash factors of each time period. The two proposed transferability frameworks, spatial and temporal, provide new information that can be integrated into safety planning tools and more sharply guide decision-makers. For example, the results of this thesis can help to pinpoint temporal or spatial-related countermeasures. In addition the results of this thesis can help in the allocation of limited resources (i.e. help prioritize projects), minimize economic loss and help decision makers improve safety from a large truck perspective (e.g. modify trucking regulations). Finally, this thesis provides a foundation for future research. As indicated in Chapter 2, a future study to evaluate the feasibility of a regional large truck-involved crash model between neighboring regions and the development of a national crash data reporting standard are potential ideas for future research. Chapter 3 stressed the importance of time of day on large truck-involved crashes which can serve as the basis to study the safety and economic impacts of time of day shifts of truck freight movements to off-peak periods. In summary, this thesis involves original research that expands the literature and provides a new foundation to analyze large truck-involved crashes. Close