Abstract THE CARE FACTOR: THE IMPORTANCE OF USING DOMAIN IDENTIFICATION MEASURES TO IDENTIFY STEREOTYPE THREAT VULNERABILITY IN HIGH SCHOOL FEMALES. By Kimberly Y. Randolph, PhD A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2016. Major Director: Dr. Charol Shakeshaft, PhD. Professor Department of Educational Leadership There is a gap that persists in math achievement between high school males and females. Although the NAEP 2015 longitudinal report shows a narrowing in math achievement between males and females there still remains a gap. More importantly, females are less likely to enter into math - related college programs. Those that do enter into math related college programs sometimes choose to drop out of these programs. The purpose of this study was to do an analysis of factors, along with stereotype threat (the fear of doing something that would inadvertently confirm that stereotype) that might affect math achievement in girls. The factors used were domain identification measure, motivational orientation, self-efficacy and cognitive interference. Girls who participated in the study attended private or public schools, are in the 9th through 12 grade and have taken algebra I and geometry. Thus, for the female students in this study, domain identification level did not predict math achievement, desire to learn did not predict math achievement, mastery of goals did not predict math achievement, competitive excellence did not predict math achievement, competition seeking predicted math achievement accounting for 25% of the variance in math scores, motivation anxiety worry did not predict math achievement, and motivation anxiety emotionality did not predict math achievement, threat condition did not affect self- efficacy, threat condition did not affect cognitive interference, threat is not related to desire to learn, threat has no effect on personal mastery, threat condition had no effect on competition seeking, threat condition had no effect on emotionality, threat condition did not have an effect on mathematics achievement. . Perhaps there have been changes in female student attitude toward mathematics. With the rise of (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) initiatives in schools across the country, females are encouraged to immerse themselves in domains that traditionally are dominated by males.

This dissertation research focuses on the development of South Korea’s democracy movement from 1979 to 1987, a time that was marked by two waves of sustained protest: one of which was brutally repressed while the other led to a transition to democracy. This dissertation examines the cultural processes at work during the period between these two waves. This study builds a dataset drawing on archival data in the form of memoirs, diaries, leaflets and brochures, minutes, statements, and testimonies of activists and activist organizations as well as newspaper reports and government documents. Using the dataset, this study advances scholarship on contentious politics and democratization by revising and expanding three theoretical concepts: threat, memory work, and framing.

The Grassland biome of South Africa has been identified as critically endangered and the biome in South Africa most requiring conservation attention through the implementation of efficient, sustainable systematic conservation plans. The ability to predict where land-cover transformation as well as information on the occurrence and severity of current land cover transformation activities, as threats to biodiversity, is required as part of the systematic conservation planning process. Neke & du Plessis (2004) predicted land cover transformation and the severity of the impact on biodiversity in the Grassland biome. This model was based on potential land use suitability models and land cover information for the 1994/5 season extracted from the National Land Cover database (NLC1994). These predictions were tested by assessing actual land cover change in the Grassland biome using observed differences in grassland land cover between the NLC1994 and NLC2000 databases. Methodology Because of differences in format and land-cover classification between the original datasets, both NLC1994 and NLC2000 had to be modified before any analyses could be carried out. These differences exist because different techniques were used to collate the respective datasets, thus introducing the potential for significant mapping error in the original datasets and more significantly erroneous results with respect to landcover change detection. The implications of this were presented in the discussion. Both datasets were spatially resampled and class-standardised and it was felt that this would significantly reduce any the impact of any such existing errords in the original datasets. Thereafter landcover information for the Grassland biome was be extracted and the comparative landcover analyses executed. The analyses carried out included: • Landcover change per landcover class within the Grassland biome with emphasis on the Grassland landclass losses and gains • An assessment and comparison of the relative fragmentation of the remaining grassland patches in both datasets • An assessment of current grassland habitat degradation • The comparison of the predicted land cover change as given by Neke & du Plessis (2004) against the observed grassland changes • The creation of a new Grassland Transformation threat map reflecting current land cover change threats, and including information pertaining to the threats to Grassland biodiversity posed by invasive alien plants, road effects, urban areas and soil erosion hazards. Results and Discussion 25% of the remaining grassland patches underwent transformation to other land classes. Grassland clearing for cultivation, bush encroachment and bushland vegetation regeneration were the main causal factors behind the observed grassland losses. However, grassland vegetation regeneration on formerly cultivated land, bush clearing and reclassification of degraded lands as grasslands in the NLC2000 dataset contributed to a net 2% gain in area of the grassland land class. The remaining grassland patches are more fragmented than they were in NLC1994, the average patch size (NLC2000) is three times smaller and the total number of grassland patches has increased (also by a factor of 3) and the remaining grassland patches are more isolated. The largest, least fragmented grassland patches occur along and to the west of the Great Escarpment as it traverses the Grassland biome. Most of the predictions of grassland transformation were realised, however the model used by Neke & du Plessis (2004) consistently underestimated and in some cases failed to predict the occurrence of grassland transformation in the central interior of the Grassland biome. Current, measurable human activities that act as grassland transformation agents were incorporated to create a threat map showing the extent and severity of land-cover transformation activities within the biome; grassland bird species richness information was then incorporated into this map to create biodiversity transformation threat map. This map was used to show the location and severity of the impacts of human transformation activities on grassland biodiversity. Both transformation threat map reflect the current situation across the biome today and were compared against the Potential transformation threat map produced by Neke & du Plessis (2004). The human transformation threat map confirmed the inability of the Neke & du Plessis model to make correct predictions of land cover change away from the eastern, 7 high altitude boundary of the biome. Given that the biome is defined by its climatic characteristics, the incorporation of global climate change effects would further refine the results gained, and perhaps provide more accurate predictions. As aforementioned, there are however factors existing within the original datasets used in this analysis that may have affected the accuracy of the landcover change analyses. These factors are centred on the potential effects of mapping errors within either of the NLC datasets. The delineation of landclass boundaries in the NLC1994 dataset is one such factor- placing a line over what is in reality a gradient of changing vegetation, is a subjective exercise and depends entirely on the technician involved this in itself may have introduced a fair amount of error in the mapping process. When coupled with the automated classification techniques used, for the most part, for the NLC2000 dataset, it becomes apparent that it is highly unlikely that even in the absence of actual landcover change the same boundaries would be drawn between two landclasses in the same area. This would provide false positive results for landcover change where in fact this is as a result of mapping errors. This is acknowledged and included in the interpretation of the results and it is felt that in spite of this, all possible steps were taken to minimize the impact of these effects on the reslults. The analysis allowed the identification of the current land cover transformations leading to grassland loss. However, land-cover change is only the physical expression of the complex interactions between socio-economic factors. To create effective and sustainable conservation plan for the Grassland biome, with an aim to reducing habitat loss requires an action plan to address these factors as the ultimate drivers of land cover change.

Thesis advisor: Marina Vasilyeva / This research explored the nature of gender differences in math performance across development. It examined potential mechanisms underlying gender differences by testing a mediation model in which females' higher anxiety taxes their working memory resources leading to underperformance on a mathematics test. Further, this research examined stereotype threat effects on math performance by testing whether female students presented with a scenario activating the stereotype would perform worse than females not exposed to the stereotype. Participants in Study 1 were 71 fourth, 107 eighth, and 147 twelfth grade students from high performing school districts. Students completed anxiety measures and a challenging mathematics test either in the stereotype threat condition or the no-threat condition. Results showed that there were consistent gender differences in math performance across all three grade levels; however, stereotype threat did not impact girls' math performance. Importantly, the relation between gender and math performance at the eighth and twelfth grade levels was mediated by the worry component of anxiety. This finding suggests that girls' heightened worry can explain their underperformance on a math test. In Study 2, the mediating relation observed in Study 1 was further explored by testing whether working memory mediated the relation between worry and math performance. Participants were 90 college students who were assigned to either the stereotype threat or no-threat condition. Students completed anxiety measures, two working memory tasks (verbal and visual), and a challenging math test. Again, findings showed a significant gender difference in math performance but no stereotype threat effects. Further, there was a mediating chain from gender to the worry component of anxiety to visual working memory to math performance. The results suggest that females' heightened worry taxes their working memory leading to gender differences in math performance. Both studies contribute to our understanding of affective and cognitive factors underlying gender differences in math performance. The findings of this research are discussed in terms of their implications for interventions and the future of women's participation in STEM careers. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology.

Thesis advisor: James E. Lubben / This study examined the roles cohesion, coping, and perceived threat have in buffering the effect of war-zone stress on mental health symptoms. Specifically, six factors were tested as potential moderators of the relationship between combat-related stressors and posttraumatic stress symptomatology (PTSS), including horizontal (peer) cohesion, vertical (NCO) cohesion, vertical (officer) cohesion, problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, and perceived threat. In addition, direct effects and curvilinear interaction effects were examined. This study was a secondary analysis of Mental Health Advisory Team (MHAT) VI data collected by military researchers as part of an ongoing effort to assess soldiers' behavioral health. This study analyzed data from a total of 1,824 male and female U.S. Army soldiers from 15 active-duty brigades who anonymously completed the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) Deployment Well-Being Survey during their deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). PTSS, combat-related stressors, horizontal (peer) cohesion, vertical (NCO) cohesion, vertical (officer) cohesion, problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, and perceived threat were measured. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to identify both risk factors and protective factors for PTSS. The analysis revealed three risk factors and four protective factors. During a war-zone deployment, higher levels of combat-related stressors, problem-focused coping, and perceived threat (i.e., risk factors) were independently associated with greater report of PTSS. Higher levels of horizontal (peer) cohesion, vertical (NCO) cohesion, vertical (officer) cohesion, and emotion-focused coping (i.e., protective factors) were independently associated with decreased levels of PTSS. Hierarchical moderated multiple regression analysis indicated that vertical (NCO) cohesion, vertical (officer) cohesion, and emotion-focused coping buffered the effect of combat-related stressors on PTSS; soldiers higher in vertical (NCO) cohesion, vertical (officer) cohesion, and emotion-focused coping showed weaker relationships between combat-related stressors and PTSS. No support for curvilinear interaction effects were found, suggesting that for this population of soldiers deployed to Iraq, the moderating effect of vertical cohesion and emotion-focused coping on the relationship between combat-related stressors and PTSS is linear in nature. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

Current thesis is a documentative approach to sum up experiences of a practical projectof implementing Cyber Threat Intelligence into an existing information securitymanagement system and delivering best practices using action design researchmethodology. The project itself was delivered to a multinational energy provider in 2017.The aim of the CTI-implementation was to improve the information security posture ofthe customer. The author, as participant of the delivery team presents an extensive reviewof the current literature on CTI and puts the need for threat intelligence into context. Theauthor claims that traditional security management is not able to keep up with currentcybersecurity threats which makes a new approach required. The thesis gives an insightof an actually working and continuously developed CTI-service and offers possible bestpractices for InfoSec professionals, adds theoretical knowledge to the body of knowledgeand opens up new research areas for researchers.

Recreational sport climbing is characterised by self-selected route choices, which place participants under both physiological and psychological stress. This thesis is comprised of four studies, each conducted with experienced climbers, exploring subjective psychological, objective psychophysiological and behavioural responses to anxiety-inducing stressors. Studies One and Two explored the means of protecting a climber in the event of a fall and the relative difficulty of a route. Significant and meaningful differences in self-reported anxiety and climbing performance were found in both studies. However, notably, psychophysiological measures of anticipatory heart rate and cortisol did not result in meaningful differences. Results suggested that situations, atypical of participants’ normal recreation sessions, with an increased likelihood of a climber falling or being unable to complete the route, were likely to be evaluated as threatening, elicit a negative emotional response and disrupt performance. However, the quantitative methods employed in Studies One and Two did not provide an explanation of the processes underlying participant’s anxious response and disrupted performance. Consequently, Study Three qualitatively explored individual experiences of climbers, with a focus on psychological factors that influence performance. The defining characteristics of lead climbing were discussed, as were the potential for taking falls, and/or the anticipation of falling. Further, interviewees described the choices they make, in order to increase or decrease the physical, psychological and technical challenges present. Critically, the choices made by a climber appear to potentiate or limit opportunities to perform optimally. Climber’s decisions were mediated by a number of antecedents, including a climber’s background in the sport, climbing partners and training status. Data suggests that while decisions made by the climbers allow them to engage with the sport on their own terms and exert a level of control over the challenges of their climbing sessions, it is often at the expense of performance. Interestingly, while interviewees were aware of techniques to reduce anxiety and improve performance, few regularly used these in training. Study Four examined the effectiveness of clip drops and repeat practice to reduce anxiety. Results indicated that neither technique resulted in reduced anxiety or improved performance when compared to the control group. While there were small differences in the success rate of participants in the intervention groups, they were less anxious and interpreted their level of self-confidence as more positive, compared to control, it was not possible to differentiate between the two interventions. However, when the combined means were considered there were significant and meaningful differences observed in the post-intervention red-point ascent compared to the initial on-sight. This thesis highlights the difficulty that arises in attempting to quantitatively examine anxiety. While there might not be (a) anxiety in climbers or (b) quantifiable differences between climbers of different abilities, it may be that what is possibly ‘noise’ in data arises due to weaknesses in the markers themselves. The findings of Study Three provide evidence of the true nature of anxiety for climbers, which was not evident from the quantitative markers; as well as the lengths climbers will go to, to avoid anxiety. Climbers’ responses to anxiety were individualised, consequently, generalised interventions may have a limited effect on reducing anxiety to a level which supports performance improvements. It may be that an individualised approach to anxiety reduction and avoidance behaviours has a more significant impact on performance improvement than any of the latest training programmes, equipment or nutritional strategies.

When receiving a negative outcome (e.g., rejection in a job interview), people tend to attribute it to different causes. For members of stigmatised groups, discrimination is a plausible cause for a negative outcome. However, because discrimination has become relatively subtle (Ellemers & Barreto, 2015), members of stigmatised groups always live in an attributional ambiguity where they constantly wonder whether discrimination was the cause of the received negative outcome. Some researchers argue that this attributional ambiguity leads members of stigmatised groups to make attributions to discrimination. In doing so, individuals would protect themselves by discounting their own role in the negative outcome they received. In other words, in order to protect their sense of competence, members of stigmatised groups prefer to make attributions to discrimination rather than their lack of deservingness (i.e., attributions to lack of ability; Crocker & Major, 1989; Major, Kaiser, & McCoy, 2003). On the other hand, other researchers argue that making attributions to discrimination is not necessarily self-protective as perceived discrimination can have negative consequences for individuals. It has been suggested that attributional stability plays a key role in determining the extent to which attributions to discrimination and to lack of ability are perceived as a threat to individuals (Branscombe & Schmitt, & Harvey, 1999; Schmitt & Branscombe, 2002; Dweck & Leggett, 1988). In three studies, I examined the extent to which attributions to discrimination and to lack of ability are threatening/challenging as a function of stability of those attributions. Threat and challenge were measured both via self-reported data and cardiovascular markers. The results confirmed the role of attributional stability in perceived threat/challenge. In addition, in another study I examined whether attributional stability influences the extent to which attributions to discrimination and to lack of ability are made. However, the results of this study did not confirm my expectations, instead, participants consistently made more attributions to their lack of ability irrespective of information about attributional stability.

Though the scientific study of stress is relatively new, not even one hundred years old, there has been robust inquiry and discovery in stress research since its instantiation. Yet, many unanswered questions remain on how specific stressors impact the mind, brain and body. Social threat is a pervasive form of stress for species that are organized in social hierarchies, like humans and some animals. Social evaluative threat (SET), occurring when there is potential for negative evaluation or rejection from others, is a pervasive and important form of stress in humans having many links to stress-related physiological outcomes which in turn have important implications for health outcomes. The brain is a critical component in the mind-brain-body-health connection, but less is known about SET at the neural level. Here in this thesis, there are three studies that characterize the neural circuitry that responds to SET. Using a novel imaging technique, arterial spin labeling, Study 1 asks whether SET-related brain circuitry is modulated by a SET-related trait level vulnerability, Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE). Overall, Study 1 replicated previous work by showing SET-related reactivity in the left pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, right ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vMPFC) and medial periaqueductal gray and extended previous work by showing that changes in the left vMPFC and the right thalamus were predicted by FNE. Using blood oxygenation level-dependent imaging (BOLD), Study 2 asks whether SET influences the brain circuitry on which the formation of relational episodic memory relies. With the use of mediation analysis, it was found that SET impaired relational episodic memory, and that the impairment was a function of activity in the right parahippocampal cortex and bilateral vMPFC. Using BOLD imaging, Study 3 asks whether SET influences the brain circuitry that subserves working memory (WM). With the use of mediation analysis, it was found that SET impaired WM, and that the impairment was a function of activity in bilateral intraparietal sulcus. Links between mind, brain, body and health are discussed throughout this work.

The increasing importance of the Internet as an integral part of contemporary society has stressed the need to formalize the process of response to security incidents that accompany it inseparably. Security teams of the CERT/CSIRT type are established at different levels for this purpose. These teams respond to reports from their constituency and cooperate with other teams. This thesis introduces the reader to the issues these teams deal with and analyzes their needs in resolving threats and problems related to DNS and its domains. Part of the work is an overview of the basic existing tools to support the work of CERT/CSIRT teams to solve problems with domains, the design of a tool Malicious Domain Manager and description of its implementation. The results of test run of this tool by CZ.NIC-CSIRT team show its contribution to security of DNS.