Theses and Dissertations from UMD
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
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Item DICTION PEDAGOGY: A SURVEY OF NEW ENGLAND HIGH SCHOOL CHORAL DIRECTORS(2019) Chris, Grace Elizabeth; Elpus, Kenneth; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Diction is unique to choral music due to the distinct attribute of combining text and music. Choral pedagogues, teacher preparation programs, resources, and professional development have historically offered a wide variety of advocations about what practices to employ when teaching diction, though many have gone untested. While choral education research is plentiful, none has been conducted about diction pedagogy practices. The purpose of this study was to describe the current practices New England high school choral teachers use when teaching diction, particularly what methods and materials are most commonly being used. After collecting survey data from directors (n = 121), results indicate a wide array of diction practices being utilized with rote teaching and vocal modeling being the most predominately reported method, and audio recordings being the most reported material. These findings may contribute to a clearer understanding of diction practices and may inspire future research to study most effective practices.Item Climate Change Impacts and Adaptations in Eastern US Crop Production(2017) Salazar Lahera, Natalia; Hill, Robert L; Environmental Science and Technology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Climate change is affecting crop production in the Eastern US and is expected to continue doing so unless adaptation measures are employed. In the first study, we conducted surveys and interviews to identify crop management practices currently used as adaptations in the Mid-Atlantic US. The results pointed to a variety of water and soil management practices, changes in crop characteristics, and changes in planting dates. In the second study, we used the Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender (APEX) model to evaluate future climate change impacts and adaptations in Eastern US corn-soybean rotation systems. The effects of climate change on yields ranged from decreases to increases, generally improving with latitude and worsening with time. Climate change affected corn yields more negatively or less positively than soybean yields. No-tillage and rye cover cropping did not serve as effective adaptations in regards to yields. In fact, planting rye after corn and soybeans reduced corn yields.Item A HUMAN-CENTERED APPROACH TO IMPROVING THE USER EXPERIENCE OF SOFTWARE UPDATES(2016) Mathur, Arunesh; Chetty, Marshini; Library & Information Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Software updates are critical to the security of software systems and devices. Yet users often do not install them in a timely manner, leaving their devices open to security exploits. This research explored a re-design of automatic software updates on desktop and mobile devices to improve the uptake of updates through three studies. First using interviews, we studied users’ updating patterns and behaviors on desktop machines in a formative study. Second, we distilled these findings into the design of a low-fi prototype for desktops, and evaluated its efficacy for automating updates by means of a think-aloud study. Third, we investigated individual differences in update automation on Android devices using a large scale survey, and interviews. In this thesis, I present the findings of all three studies and provide evidence for how automatic updates can be better appropriated to fit users on both desktops and mobile devices. Additionally, I provide user interface design suggestions for software updates and outline recommendations for future work to improve the user experience of software updates.Item The Demobilized Body: Transgressions of Personal Space and Political Participation(2016) Abdo, Carla Beth; Calvo, Dr. Ernesto F; Government and Politics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Grounded in the intersection between gender politics and electoral studies, this dissertation examines the demobilizing effects of violations of personal space (in the form of domestic violence, control over mobility, emotional abuse, and sexual harassment) on the propensity to vote. Using quantitative methods across four survey datasets concerning Lebanon, the United States, Morocco, and Yemen, this research concludes that cross-regionally, familial control over mobility reduces the propensity to vote among women. Conversely, mechanisms of empowerment such as education and employment increase the propensity to vote.Item VOTING FOR CORRUPTION: WHEN DO VOTERS SUPPORT CORRUPT POLITICIANS?(2015) McNally, Darragh Charles; Calvo, Ernesto; Uslaner, Eric; Government and Politics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation explores the determinants of when voters are willing to support corrupt politicians. The first paper presents a unique survey experiment that asks respondents to choose between pairs of politicians who have different ideological positions, and are accused of corruption. The survey goes some way toward recreating the tradeoffs one makes when voting in the real world. Results show that voters are more likely to choose corrupt politicians who agree with their position on an issue when issue salience is high. Results also show that institutional trust decreases the likelihood of choosing a corrupt politician, while perceptions of corruption increase the likelihood. Institutional trust and perceptions of corruption also have a modifying effect on issue salience. The second paper uses several datasets to test the effects of several mechanisms on the likelihood of a person voting for Silvio Berlusconi. Taking Berlusconi as the archetypal corrupt yet electorally successful politician I show that social norms that justify corruption in one’s peer group extend to voting and increase the likelihood of supporting Berlusconi. I find that perceptions of political corruption have an effect on the likelihood of supporting Berlusconi, and that this effect is not constant over time. I also find that trust in the judiciary has no effect on the likelihood of supporting Berlusconi – contrary to Berlusconi’s claims of persecution by the judiciary – and that trusting the institution of television has a strong effect on the likelihood of voting for Berlusconi. The third paper uses a unique survey experiment to measure changes in the support of voters for corrupt politicians. Results show that context matters, with voters’ sensitivity to corruption being shaped by the type of political post held by politicians and the overall corruption in the political system. Experimental results show that voters are more forgiving of acts of corruption among higher ranked politicians in executive politicians, when corruption is common. Overall, I provide evidence showing that voters are often willing to support corrupt politicians, and that transparency alone will have a limited effect in increasing the likelihood that corrupt politicians will be punished electorally.Item Social Bonds as Predictors of College Student Willingness to Report Hazing(2014) Bittinger, Joshua; Gottfredson, Denise; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Little is currently known about what factors influence a victim's willingness to report hazing experienced in higher education. This problem of hazing has largely been ignored by criminologists, despite anti-hazing statutes existing in many states. The present study aims to examine this problem through a criminological lens using Social Bonding Theory (SBT). SBT suggests that deviant behavior is more likely to occur when a person is poorly bonded to conventional society (Hirschi, 1969). This theory was originally intended to explain deviant behavior; however, this study investigates its utility in explaining reporting behavior of victimization. Data were collected from surveys administered at the University of Maryland (N = 56), utilizing vignettes to present hypothetical hazing situations and were analyzed using logistic regression. Results provide no support for the use of SBT to predict a student's willingness to report experienced hazing, as described in the vignettes. Limitations and implications are discussed.Item Assessing Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors Toward West Nile Virus Prevention Among Adults ≥ 60 Years Old in Maryland: An Application of the Health Belief Model(2014) Mitchell, Kimberly C.; Howard, Donna E.; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)West Nile Virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne virus and the leading cause of arboviral (arthropod-borne) disease in the U.S. While most WNV cases are asymptomatic, 20% of infected people develop WNV fever and < 1% develop severe neurologic disease. Individuals over 50 years old are at greatest risk of severe disease and death. Dramatic increases in WNV activity in 2012 underscored its unpredictable nature and highlighted concerns for adverse effects on older adults. It is important to understand factors that influence this population's engagement in WNV prevention. This study analyzed data collected by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) via cross-sectional survey to identify barriers to WNV prevention among adults ≥60 years of age. Subjects were recruited via stratified random sample of 1,700 households from counties with ≥ two WNV cases, enrolling 211 Maryland adults ≥ 60 years old. Six constructs of the Health Belief Model (HBM)--perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy--were examined to assess how they predicted attitudes and behaviors toward WNV prevention. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses examined the utility of the HBM for explaining WNV preventive behaviors in Maryland adults. Multivariate logistic regression models tested 36 hypotheses examining associations between HBM constructs and six outcomes: (1) avoiding the outdoors at dusk and dawn, (2) dressing in long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors, (3) using insect repellent on exposed skin, (4) draining standing water from objects around one's property, (5) acceptance of a WNV vaccine, and (6) support for community mosquito control programs. Findings showed high WNV knowledge and awareness but low perceptions of personal risk for WNV infection. Perceived susceptibility to WNV predicted use of insect repellent, draining of standing water from objects around the home, and acceptance of a WNV vaccine; perceived benefits were associated with draining standing water and support for mosquito control programs. Feelings of worry about WNV may inform future WNV interventions and risk communication to older adults. Findings have implications for theory-based research, which could probe applications of the HBM and other theories in understanding WNV attitudes and behaviors.Item THE MEASUREMENT OF SCHOOL CLIMATE USING SURVEYS: EXPLORING UNIT OF ANALYSIS(2009) Burkhouse, Katie Lynn Sutton; Gottfredson, Gary D; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)School climate researchers have used different units of analysis when assessing school climate features. Overall, there is little research available to understand how different levels of analysis, individual or aggregated, influence the psychometric properties of a survey instrument. The purpose of the current research was to explore the use of different unit of analysis choices in instrument development. Further, the present study sought to replicate findings that the wording of survey instruments may influence the conceptualization of school climate by survey informants. Results indicate that unit of analysis affects on the factor structure, but that there is some overlap in the factors that emerge. Further, the present research confirmed past findings that the wording of climate items appears to affect the perception of items by respondents. Limitations and future directions are discussed. Unit of analysis remains an important theoretical and methodological concept in school climate research.