Matching Items (22)
Description
Using an integrated perspective of the Grief Work Hypothesis and Posttraumatic Growth Theory, this study was designed to contribute to the sparse existing cross-cultural research by examining and comparing individuals' emotional adjustment and posttraumatic growth in the United States (US) and China. Another main goal was to unfold the predictive effects of different dimensions of locus of control, coping strategies and social support on the outcomes and further, to explore cultural differences in the underlying mechanisms. Web-based survey was disseminated and administered in the US and China. One thousand and seventy-eight participants completed the survey and met the criteria such that they were eighteen years old or older and experienced death of a loved one six to thirty-six months ago. As expected, US participants experienced higher levels of subjective well-being, lower levels of complicated grief and posttraumatic growth than Chinese participants. They also reported higher external yet lower internal locus of control, less frequent use of active and avoidance coping, and less informational support and negative social interactions than their Chinese counterparts. No difference in emotional support was evidenced between the two cultures. After controlling for demographic, loss-related information and the impact of post-bereavement life events, hierarchical regression analyses revealed that culture, external locus of control, avoidance coping and negative social interactions were unique predictors of complicated grief. Furthermore, the relation between external locus of control and complicated grief was weaker for US participants compared to that for Chinese participants. Culture, external and internal locus of control, active and avoidance coping, and negative social interactions significantly predicted individuals' subjective well-being after the loss. Additionally, culture, internal locus of control, active and avoidance coping, informational support, and negative social interactions were identified as unique predictors of posttraumatic growth. Specifically, an interaction effect of avoidance coping x culture emerged such that avoidance coping significantly predicted posttraumatic growth only for US participants. This study extracted the underlying mechanisms of predicting individuals' emotional adjustment and personal growth following bereavement. The influence of culture was also highlighted. Application of existing theories to the Chinese culture and clinical implications of the current study were discussed.
ContributorsTao, Chun, M.S (Author) / Miller, Paul A. (Thesis advisor) / Vargas, Perla A (Committee member) / Hall, Deborah L. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This study was designed to investigate whether workplace positivity of full-time workers was related to health ratings. Positivity was conceptualized by a high rating of perceived work-performance, and work-engagement as defined by the Utrecht Work-Engagement Scale, including vigor, dedication, and absorption (Schaufeli, & Bakker, 2004). Health was measured utilizing the RAND SF-36 health survey including the eight subscales: overall, general health, physical and social functioning, emotional well-being, role limitations due to physical health or emotional problems, energy or fatigue, and bodily pain. All measures were collected simultaneously. It was predicted that perceived work-performance and all measures of work-engagement are positively associated with the aforementioned health ratings. Multiple regression analyses revealed that higher (positive) perception of work-performance and vigor were positively related to health ratings. Absorption was negatively related to health ratings. Dedication was only negatively related to physical functioning. These findings suggest that not all measures of positivity in the workplace are related to better health. Implications and future directions are discussed.
ContributorsFlores, Melissa Ann (Author) / Vargas, Perla A (Thesis advisor) / Burleson, Mary H (Committee member) / Hall, Deborah (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Depressive disorders are common among the general populations but are present at an even higher rate among college students. Some research suggests that new stressors during the transition to college may place young adults at increased risk of depressive disorders. In addition, depression in college students has been linked to a variety of risky behaviors such as alcohol use and risky sexual activity. Fortunately, research suggests that religiosity may act as a buffer and lead to lower levels of depressive symptoms and risky behavior. Current research has not adequately examined the relationship between religiosity, depression, and risky behavior among college students. In this study, depressive symptoms were measured using the 20-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale, while risky behaviors were measured using the section on risky sexual behavior from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance survey and the section on alcohol consumption from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey, both developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Four questions frequently used in literature to measure critical behaviors and attitudes were used to assess participants' religiosity. It was predicted that engagement in risky behaviors would be associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms while increased religiosity would be associated with lower levels. Additionally, increased religiosity would be associated with lower levels of engagement in risky behavior. Multiple regression analyses revealed that risky behavior were not significantly associated with higher depressive symptoms, while higher church attendance was associated with lower depressive symptoms. Although not considered a risky behavior, ever being forced to have sex was associated with higher depressive symptoms. Linear regression analyses revealed that increased religiosity was associated with increased engagement in risky behavior. These findings suggest that while depressive symptoms and risky behaviors are prevalent among college students, religiosity may act as a buffer and lead to lower levels of depression and risky behavior. Limitations, implications, and future research are discussed.
ContributorsLafarga, Derek Grady (Author) / Vargas, Perla A (Thesis advisor) / Hall, Deborah (Committee member) / Roberts, Nicole (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Although the social network site (SNS) Facebook achieved great success around the world, in China, it was over taken by the local website Kaixin001. Using comparative analysis and interviews, this thesis compared the architecture of the two websites and Chinese users' attitude towards them. From one side, the result indicates that they are almost the same, but not quite. Kaixin001 is a copycat which adapts to local cultures and political regulations. From the other side, the research also highlights that people associate Kaixin001 with a game platform rather than a social tool. It suggests that there are two layers of digital divide: access and utilization. Chinese users can not get equal access because of the Great Firewall. At the same time, unlike western users, they are fond of playing games, listening music and other functions, rather than creating original content or building social capital. Therefore, the SNS utilization is not equal. Because of regulations and self-surveillance, their SNS use is enjoying the apolitical does not challenge the Chinese state. At the end of the thesis, the author points out the limitations of this research. As Internet-mediated qualitative research, this study lacks extended time and samples to explore the SNSs in global context. Further research is needed to collect extended samples. Moreover, the users' dependence on social network websites may be addressed to seek more comprehensive and deeper understanding of SNS.
ContributorsQin, Yuchun (Author) / Wise, Greg (Thesis advisor) / Kassing, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Waldron, Vincent (Committee member) / Mean, Lindsey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
This study examines long-distance relationships between grandparents and their adolescent grandchild through the qualitative identification and analysis of relational turning points and trajectories. A sample of 30 grandparents yielding 99 individual turning points allowed for an in-depth understanding of these relational constructs that previous research neglects to explore from the perspective of a grandparent. A constant comparative analysis of these turning points reveals 8 distinct categories of relational turning points including Spending Time Together, Family Relational Dynamics, Geographic Distance, Lack of Relational Investment, Use of Technology, Relational Investment, Lack of Free Time, and Grandchild Gaining Independence. These turning points vary in how they positively or negatively impact relational closeness between participants and their grandchildren. The use of Retrospective Interview Technique (RIT) yields 30 individual relational trajectory graphs categorized into five trajectories including Decrease in Closeness, Increase in Closeness, Multidimensional Changes in Closeness, Minimal Changes in Closeness, and Consistent Relational Closeness. Results provide theoretical contributions to aging and family literature as well as practical findings pertaining to current and future grandparents. These implications as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.
ContributorsBangerter, Lauren Reed (Author) / Waldron, Vincent (Thesis advisor) / Kassing, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Kelley, Douglas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
At first glance, trends in increased hunger and obesity in the United States (US) would seem to represent the result of different causal mechanisms. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that nearly 50 million Americans had experienced hunger in 2009. A year later, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report showing that 68% of the US population was either overweight or obese. Researchers have found that these contrasting trends are actually interrelated. Being so, it is imperative that communities and individuals experiencing problems with food security are provided better access to healthy food options. In response to the need to increase healthy food access, many farmers markets in the US have received funding from the USDA to accept vouchers from federal food security programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In Downtown Phoenix, Arizona, one organization accepting vouchers from several programs is the Phoenix Public Market. However, the mere existence of these programs is not enough to establish food security within a community: characteristics of the population and food environments must also be considered. To examine issues of food security and public health, this thesis utilizes geographical information systems (GIS) technology as a tool to analyze specific environments in order to inform program effectiveness and future funding opportunities. Utilizing methods from community-based participatory research (CBPR) and GIS, a mapping project was conducted in partnership with the Market to answer three questions: (1) what is the demographic makeup of the surrounding community? (2) What retailers around the Market also accept food security vouchers? And (3) where are food security offices (SNAP and WIC) located within the area? Both in terms of demographic characteristics and the surrounding food environment, the project results illustrate that the Market is embedded within a population of need, and an area where it could greatly influence community food security.
ContributorsRawson, Brooke (Author) / Vargas, Perla A (Thesis advisor) / Booze, Randy (Committee member) / Vaughan, Suzanne (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
The discussion board is a facet of online education that continues to confound students, educators, and researchers alike. Currently, the majority of research insists that instructors should structure and control online discussions as well as evaluate such discussions. However, the existing literature has yet to compare the various strategies that instructors have identified and employed to facilitate discussion board participation. How should instructors communicate their expectations online? Should instructors create detailed instructions that outline and model exactly how students should participate, or should generalized instructions be communicated? An experiment was conducted in an online course for undergraduate students at Arizona State University. Three variations of instructional conditions were developed for use in the experiment: (1) detailed, (2) general, and (3) limited. The results of the experiment indentified a pedagogically valuable finding that should positively influence the design of future online courses that utilize discussion boards.
ContributorsButler, Nicholas Dale (Author) / Waldron, Vincent (Thesis advisor) / Kassing, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Wise, John (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This thesis explores the relationship between sports and human rights based on United Nations reports and literature within the growing Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) sector. Recognizing the benefits of sport (including physical activity and play), SDP posits sport as an effective tool for achieving humanitarian, development, and peace objectives. Inspired by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team in Training (TNT) sports charity training model, which provides participants valuable coaching in exchange for charity fundraising, this research looked at the contribution of TNT and endurance sports to SDP for individual and social change. Interviews were conducted with TNT staff and team members (who are recent or current participants of the program) in order to find out specific reasons about why people join the program and to identify the benefits of combining endurance training with charity fundraising and what impacts this had on personal life goals and challenges. Using thematic analysis to identify key themes from the interview data, the study acknowledged the program's successes in developing endurance athletes and raising money for LLS research and services but also found an additional dimension to the merit of the program. The accomplishment of completing four months of training culminating in the completion of an endurance event with the support of team mates and coaches provides a life changing experience for participants. The study concludes that positive impacts of the TNT program can be applied to other organizations, causes and social issues. In particular it showed how endurance sport not only has physiological benefits but can be used as a method of healing and reconciliation, can aid in advocacy and awareness, and promote individual development.
ContributorsAdviento, Laura Marie (Author) / Mean, Lindsey (Thesis advisor) / Elenes, Alejandra (Committee member) / Kassing, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
ABSTRACT
Elite experience and careers in judged female sports complicate the binary categories of retirement while they are especially exposed to cultures of abuse, pressure and subjectivity. This thesis is comprised of multiple voices and experiences from the elite female athletic perspective, including my autoethnographic narrative. Highlighted and discussed are the topics of sexual assault and abuse, family pressure on children to do and excel at sport, the National Team experience representing the United States and subjected bodies and judging. It is an aim of this thesis to culminate all of those factors in the final chapter and hold that the experience and the cultures of athletic identity within synchronized swimming, gymnastics and figure skating not only cannot be explained by current research on athletic identity through retirement but have the capability to retire undeveloped young women by overdeveloped athletic identities. Through a sampling of voices and experiences across different female judged sports, over three decades, the reader will observe similarities that cause these sports to have a culture of solidarity through the aspects they hold in common with each other. The narrative highlights pivotal moments in the lives of the elite female athlete within these sports, which add to the calculation of their athletic identities and the lack of their personal identities. Through reflection and analyses of not only my story, but the interviewees from my original research and that of Joan Ryan’s as well, I aim to voice a mutual experience of elite athletes. Consisting of multiple factors throughout many years we will see through my autoethnography, paralleling with other voices and experiences, how it all intersects and contributes to this: Who am I now and where do I go from here?
Elite experience and careers in judged female sports complicate the binary categories of retirement while they are especially exposed to cultures of abuse, pressure and subjectivity. This thesis is comprised of multiple voices and experiences from the elite female athletic perspective, including my autoethnographic narrative. Highlighted and discussed are the topics of sexual assault and abuse, family pressure on children to do and excel at sport, the National Team experience representing the United States and subjected bodies and judging. It is an aim of this thesis to culminate all of those factors in the final chapter and hold that the experience and the cultures of athletic identity within synchronized swimming, gymnastics and figure skating not only cannot be explained by current research on athletic identity through retirement but have the capability to retire undeveloped young women by overdeveloped athletic identities. Through a sampling of voices and experiences across different female judged sports, over three decades, the reader will observe similarities that cause these sports to have a culture of solidarity through the aspects they hold in common with each other. The narrative highlights pivotal moments in the lives of the elite female athlete within these sports, which add to the calculation of their athletic identities and the lack of their personal identities. Through reflection and analyses of not only my story, but the interviewees from my original research and that of Joan Ryan’s as well, I aim to voice a mutual experience of elite athletes. Consisting of multiple factors throughout many years we will see through my autoethnography, paralleling with other voices and experiences, how it all intersects and contributes to this: Who am I now and where do I go from here?
ContributorsHaylor, Alyson (Author) / Colbern, Allan (Thesis advisor) / Mean, Lindsey (Committee member) / Kassing, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
It took the coming together of a community of people and their collective efforts to bring me where I am today academically. I would first like to thank Barrett, especially Dean Ramsey who helped build my appreciation for reading primary text, and NCUIRE for awarding me the grant for this project. I want to extend my gratitude to Dr. Jeffery Kassing for being more than a director for my thesis by patiently listening to me talk about my future aspiration, and Dr. Jim Reed for being a mentor and a second reader. I would also like to thank all the multitude of professors and other mentors who helped shape my perspective in seeing the bigger picture. I am mostly grateful to all those who directly and indirectly helped bring this thesis to realization. Lastly, but certainly not the least, I would like to say a big thank you to my entire family, loved ones, and friends here and back home for enthusiastically cheering me on.
ContributorsWento, Christiana Tally (Author) / Kassing, Jeffrey (Thesis director) / Reed, James (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05