The purpose of this dissertation is to evaluate the relationship between student performance and their performance on the Major Field Test (MFT). The MFT purports to adequately assess student mastery and achievement in the college major, in this case psychology. The major advantages of the MFT over internally-created instruments are its standardized content, its established national norms, and its connection to the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). The MFT is the most widely used standardized test for learning outcomes assessment within psychology departments. The first hypothesis, that MFT scores are reflective of summary curricular values (i.e. GPA), was not supported when ACT composite scores are regressed out. ACT composite score by itself is predictive of MFT performance which casts doubt on its claim to be reflective of achievement in one’s college program. The results of the second hypothesis, regarding prediction of MFT scores from grades in specific courses within the major, provided positive support for the use of the MFT test. In this second analysis, we found higher multiple R-squared values for predicting MFT scores from specific course grades with R-squared values substantially stronger than the ACT bivariate regression of hypothesis 1. This helps to support the claim that the MFT measures specific achievement within one’s major. The results for the third hypothesis, prediction of MFT from particular mix of courses taken in the major, were somewhat supportive. Prediction of MFT scores was found to be strongest for the subscale area Perception and Physiology, and the strongest predictor of these scores (t value of 3.78) is student completion of the Brain, Behavior, and Cognition course group.

Client outcome research focuses primarily on three specific aspects of therapy: therapist technique, client behaviors and therapeutic interaction. The term "therapeutic interaction" focuses on the relationship between the counselor and the client, and is often ignored in client outcome research. Counselor specific contributions to the therapeutic process are called therapist characteristics may be an innovative way to assess how counselors' impact clients' outcomes in counseling. For the purposes of this study administering the Five Factor Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle and the Outcome Questionnaire to master's level student counselors assessed therapist characteristics. The Outcome Questionnaire was administered to clients at a community-counseling clinic at two points and a delta score was calculated to create the variable "client outcome." In order to test the research hypotheses, 70 master's level counseling students completed both the Five Factor Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle and the Outcome Questionnaire. These scores were then matched with master's level counseling students' client delta scores, which created the dependent variable. The results of the multiple regression analysis indicated no statistically significant relationship; therefore the null hypotheses were accepted as the constructs student counselor wellness and client outcomes were not related. Results of the study were summarized and discussed, limitations of the study were explored and recommendations for future research were proposed.

Rare bleeding disorders are a group of inherited conditions caused by a deficiency of blood coagulation factors. Due to the low prevalence of these conditions in the general population, there is a scarcity of data to make informed, evidence-based clinical decisions. In this population who are highly susceptible to excessive bleeding, surgeries and invasive procedures pose an additional level of risk for bleeding-related and non-bleeding-related complications, especially in the perioperative period. The data scarcity in patients with rare bleeding disorders is further compounded by an infrequent rate of invasive procedures, sometimes attributed to the hemostatic challenges faced by such interventions among other factors. To address the problem of insufficient data for healthcare decision-making, as well as the assessment of perioperative outcomes in this population, this thesis explores the use of routinely collected data for the creation of a novel surgical database used for the assessment of perioperative hemostasis, complications, and initial surgical plan deviations in patients with rare bleeding disorders. Across five chapters, this thesis provides the methodology for the creation of the Indiana Hemostasis and Thrombosis Center (IHTC) Surgical Database, a descriptive analysis of the population and procedures, and assessment of perioperative outcomes. Approaches to ensure the validity of study results including confounder adjustment by variable selection methods, data quality improvement, missing data description, and imputation methods, were explored. Evidence from randomized controlled was also reviewed using Cochrane methodology to summarize the efficacy of clotting factor concentrates for the prevention of bleeds and bleeding-related complications in patients with hemophilia. Based on findings from the different approaches (observational study designs, randomized controlled trials, and systematic review methodology), recommendations were made regarding methodological and analytical considerations required to ensure valid and reliable perioperative outcome assessment in patients with rare bleeding disorders. The following provides a brief outline of each chapter. Chapter 1 is an introduction that outlines each of the studies in this thesis. Chapter 2 is a descriptive overview of the design, structure, and exploratory analysis of data captured in the IHTC-Surgical Database over a 21-year period. Chapter 3 is a retrospective cohort study that assessed the association between inhibitor status and perioperative hemostasis, complications, and initial surgical plan deviations in patients with hemophilia A and B. Chapter 4 is a systematic review that examined the efficacy of clotting factor concentrates for the prevention of bleeds and bleeding-related complications in patients with hemophilia. Chapter 5 outlines key findings, limitations, implications of the research in this thesis, and methodological considerations for the assessment of perioperative outcomes in patients with bleeding disorders. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p> An important issue in the study of conflict behavior concerns the manner in which one party involved in a conflict situation, can influence his protagonist to resolve the conflict in a way Which is mutually rewarding (i.e. cooperative). The present thesis is addressed to this issue. In order to study the relationship between preasymptotic interaction patterns and stable states of cooperation and conflict, the data from a. variety of two-person, mixed motive games are organized such that: a} criteria are established for defining stable states of cooperation and conflict; b) preasymptotic interaction patterns are clearly distinguished from these stable, asymptotic states; and c) the role of each dyad member is considered separately. </p> <p> Organizing the data in the manner outlined above allows the description of strategies used by real subjects Which lead to high levels or cooperation and conflict. Dyads who attain a high level or cooperation are found to use a cautious trust strategy. This strategy consists of two components, a cooperative signalling component and a firmness component. The cooperative signalling component is operationalized in terms of the difference in the proportion or cooperative choices between one dyad member and the other. The firmness component is operationalized in terms of the level of retaliation against an uncooperative action (D reciprocity). Dyads who attain a high level or conflict. are characterlzed by an inappropriate signalling compcinent, and/or the absence of a firmness component. Data are presented which indicate how the requirements for a successful cooperative signalling component vary as a function of other variables. </p> <p> The implications of focusing on stable outcomes in a conflict situation, and organizing the data in the manner developed here, are discussed in terms of notions current in the psychological literature on conflict behavior. Data from the present thesis are used to argue that strategic variables are relatively more important factors in determining stable outcomes in a particular conflict situation, than either predispositional or personality factors. </p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Early detection and intervention are theorized to facilitate better outcomes in autistic children. However, response to early intervention varies considerably between individuals, some children show significant improvement, while others show minimal response to the intervention. Some pre-treatment individualized characteristics as well as intervention-specific factors were theorized to moderate outcomes, but literature revealed often mixed findings making difficult to understand whether and to what extent these factors facilitate learning during treatment. To parse the heterogeneity of the autistic population, recent studies have also attempted to investigate biological factors related to clinical and behavioral profiles. However, to date it is unknown whether and how biological information can provide insight into the variability of treatment outcomes. With this in mind, we attempted to expand the current knowledge by first investigating whether pre-treatment child’s characteristics and blood leukocyte gene expression patterns could predict developmental trajectories during treatment. Leveraging a cohort of 41 autistic toddlers who received the same early intervention and provided a blood sample, we were able to analyze the effect of starting treatment very early (i.e., &lt;24 months) on treatment trajectories. We also provided for the first-time evidence that both pre-treatment blood leukocyte gene expression patterns and clinical-behavioral characteristics are important for predicting developmental change during intervention, and that pretreatment epigenetic mechanisms such as histone acetylation may be a key biological process that influence how a child respond to early intervention. Lastly, we carried out a mega-analysis of a large international consortium, isolating individual child characteristics and treatment related factors to examine their key role in moderating child developmental trajectories throughout the course of early intervention. The final dataset comprised 645 autistic toddlers who received two types of interventions either Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) or other treatment as usual/community interventions (TAU/COM). This mega-analysis provided strong evidence that individual factors, such as cognitive level and age at treatment start, predict most outcomes, and on-average, ESDM may promote some developmental skills better than COM/TAU. Taken together, these results advance our understanding of “what works, for whom, for what and why” questions, identifying new biological predictors and providing an alternative methodology that can effectively examine the individual variability of treatment outcomes.

The crime of shoplifting has received limited scholarly attention despite millions of shoplifting arrests that occur every year. Our understanding of shoplifting is limited because of this. This study assesses whether offenders arrested for shoplifting that reside in socially disorganized neighborhoods differ from their counterparts from less socially disorganized neighborhoods. Using arrest data from the Meridian Police Department and secondary data from the 2018 American Community Survey, analyses revealed that arrestees from neighborhoods with high levels of poverty were more likely to shoplift from dollar stores, liquor stores, and convenience stores. Demographic findings revealed few gender differences in shoplifting among the arrestees. Arrestees most frequently shoplifted at Walmart and often pilfered non-necessity items. Black arrestees were more likely to shoplift at dollar stores, liquor stores, and convenience stores and less likely to receive a guilty adjudication. White and male arrestees were more likely to have prior offenses.

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