<p>In this thesis I examined behavioural, physiological, and molecular aspects of the stress response of the highly social cichlid <em>Neolamprologus pulcher</em>. Through this work, I established that dominant individuals within a group have higher baseline stress levels (as measured by plasma circulating cortisol concentrations) than subordinate group members, and hypothesize that this is due to the high demands placed on dominant individuals in both acquiring and maintaining their dominance status. Additionally, social behaviours, and activity levels were positively correlated with stress levels in subordinate males but these correlations were not observed in any other social class. Life history traits of males may explain this pattern, as subordinate males are arguably the social class with least stability in a group, and may need to appease dominant individuals in order to be allowed to stay; this may in tum cause stress. I was also able to establish that while dominant individuals had higher resting cortisol levels than subordinates, they were in no way maximal, as the application of a 10 minute stressor caused large increases above resting levels (>10 fold in magnitude) in circulating cortisol levels of both social classes and in both sexes. As an extension to the characterization of the stress response in <em>N. pulcher</em>, we examined differences in corticosteroid receptor levels between dominants and subordinates. This will paint a much fuller picture of the stress response in <em>N. pulcher</em> and highlight differences and similarities between stress responses in each social class, both physiologically and at the molecular level.</p> <p>In a second experiment, dominant female breeders were repeatedly stressed to assess possible maternal and offspring fitness costs. Through this manipulation we found that stressing females resulted in a longer interval between spawning events, and decreased maternal growth rates. Additionally there was a significant decrease in the number of eggs laid, as well as egg size in stressed mothers compared to those left unstressed. Helpers within a group seemed to have no effect on the above-mentioned characteristics, however mothers without helpers released highly variable cortisol concentrations during the first and second lay, while those with helpers saw less variability in the concentration of cortisol they released into eggs.</p> <p>The results presented in this thesis shed light on the stress responses of <em>N. pulcher,</em> highlighting the impacts that within-group social dynamics have on stress levels, and their potential impacts on maternal and (possibly) offspring fitness.</p> / Master of Science (MS)

<p> This study examined the effect of sweat exposure on sexual attraction in heterosexual and homosexual women. Strictly heterosexual and homosexual female participants were exposed to underarm pads containing sweat. Samples were collected during the Stimulus Preparation Phase from healthy, strictly heterosexual men and women. Women&rsquo;s samples were collected on Day-14 and Day-27 of cycle, and men&rsquo;s from any two days. </p><p> In the Stimulus Exposure Phase, the male sweat and Day-14 female sweat samples were the experimental conditions, and the no male sweat and Day-27 female sweat were the controls. During the exposure phase, sweat samples were hidden and participants completed two computer tasks. First, the key-press task had participants view or skip male and female photographs. Second, the rating-task had participants rate attractiveness of the male and female photographs. The ratings and viewing times were collected then analyzed. </p><p> Heterosexual women showed a strong preference for male photos over female photos only when exposed to male sweat. They also preferred female photos less than homosexual women when exposed to male sweat or Day-14 female sweat. Homosexual women showed a strong preference for female photos over male photos when exposed to male or female Day-14 sweat. </p><p> Homosexual women also preferred female photos more than heterosexual women when exposed to male sweat or Day-14 female sweat. </p><p> The findings of this study suggest that exposure to male sweat may enhance heterosexual women&rsquo;s preference for men and exposure to female sweat from the ovulatory period of the menstrual cycle may inhibit the preference for women of heterosexual women. However, exposure to male sweat and female sweat from the ovulatory period may enhance the preference for women in homosexual women.</p>

This study explores the attitudes and perceptions among social work students about political participation at three southeastern Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Eighty-four (84) survey participants were selected for the study utilizing random selection sampling. Survey participants were composed of currently enrolled social work students. The questionnaire used in the survey was comprised of two sections with a total of 25 questions (23 quantitative questions and 2 qualitative questions). Department chairs and professors, under the supervision of the researcher, administered the questionnaire to the participants. Findings of the study indicated that self-efficacy affects a student's perception of political participation and the social work school/department education's successful linkage of practice to social action affects student attitudes of political participation. Recommendations for continued research and practice are discussed.

<p> The study of <i>C. elegans</i> has led to ground-breaking discoveries in gene-function, neuronal circuits, and physiological responses. However, subtle behavioral phenotypes, are often difficult to measure and reproduce across experiments. As part of my dissertation work, I used experimental and computational techniques to quantify and model the dynamics of movement and reproductive behaviors. For movement behaviors, I developed a mathematical approach to correcting the uncertainty of tracking individual animals in a free-moving population, created behavioral profiles for each individual, and used a network to reveal the progression of behavioral changes in the aging process. For reproductive behaviors, I used perturbations in temperature to dissect the key processes that modify the dynamics of the <i> C. elegans</i> reproductive system. The primary goal of creating this set of tools and approaches was to acquire high-quality data for mathematically modeling how individuals respond to environmental stress and modify their behaviors during ageing.</p>

<p> The purpose of this dissertation is to explore what can be done to mitigate the onset of a disability for young adults aged 18-24 in order to prevent suicidal thoughts or actions. Research suggests that many factors play into suicidal ideation for this young population, including lost hope, lack of coping mechanisms, lack of financial security and bullying. The goal of this research is to determine what rehabilitation professionals can do differently that will hopefully eradicate suicide for this group.</p>

Company Culture can be defined as a set of values and beliefs that an organization imbibes in its practices and habits. Studies show that leaders have a strong influence on the company culture and that a strong company culture has a positive impact on employee satisfaction as well as on the company performance. While the Silicon Valley is known for its vibrant culture The Wall Street is known for its bad practices and toxic environment. This paper evaluates these two sectors on the basis of their company cultures and makes a recommendation on which sector is doing better and why

In this paper, I replicate Erikson and Palfrey (2000) who propose that the simultaneity problem in measuring the effects of candidate spending can be resolved by restricting the sample to close elections. Vote-on-spending effects, which vary with the expected closeness of the election outcome in a systematic way, determine the extent of simultaneity bias. The simultaneity bias becomes progressively more severe as the anticipated vote margin decreases, plaguing the estimates of spending-on-vote effects on the full sample. In the range of a 50-50 expected vote, however, the vote-on-spending effects approach zero. Thus, by restricting the sample to extremely close races, I obtain unbiased estimates of candidate spending effects. I then extend their model using data that includes elections that took place after a pair of major campaign finance reforms: the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 and the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling of 2010. The BCRA heightens the perceived effectiveness of candidate spending by removing the hidden substitute for candidates’ campaign funds, namely, soft money. After the Citizens United ruling, however, as soft money starts to play a crucial role in electoral campaigns, candidates’ own funds matter less. The ruling appears to amplify incumbency advantage, perhaps because incumbents take advantage of their non-monetary incumbency benefits to attract soft money donations. This paper contributes to the ongoing debate in academia over the causal connection between candidate spending and vote share by presenting evidence that campaign spending has significant effects on election outcomes.

<p> The purpose of this study was to evaluate, auditory feedback as a training procedure to increase the effectiveness of throwing a "right cross.&rdquo; Auditory feedback was evaluated in multiple baselines across behaviors design with 4 mixed martial arts students, two males and two females, 25-54 years old. The percentage of correct steps of the right crosses&rdquo; was stable during baseline for all participants improved substantially following the introduction of the auditory feedback, and maintained at 90 percent or more for all participants during follow-up.</p>

No description available.

<p> Mindfulness-based interventions are becoming increasingly popular with clinicians and researchers. While there is a rapidly increasing number of mindfulness-based intervention outcomes reported in scientific journals of medicine and psychology (Burke, 2010; Krasner, 2004), the descriptions and definitions of mindfulness are not entirely consistent across investigators (Brown, Ryan, &amp; Creswell, 2007; Williams, 2010), and do not lend themselves to scientific analysis (Hayes &amp; Shenk, 2004). A behavior-analytic approach to this subject may provide the foundation for a scientific analysis of mindfulness phenomena. For example, Diller and Lattal (2008) suggested that mindful behavior might be shaped by the methods that Ray (1969) used to demonstrate the acquisition of selective attention with rhesus monkeys. Thus, the present investigation replicated the methods used by Ray (1969) with verbally sophisticated human participants and discusses the findings as they relate to a behavior analytic interpretation of mindfulness phenomena.</p>