Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

User Experience As Organizational Ethos Focused On Quality: A Case Study Of Ux-Receptive And Ux-Reluctant Workplace Cultures, Kimberly Schnaderbeck Baker

Theses and Dissertations

User experience (UX) research is a workplace approach to improving the quality of texts and technologies an organization produces to advance its business goals. Across the industry, UX roles, job titles, and responsibilities are widely varied, and the inconsistency is also reflected in the quality of outcomes; successful, effective research depends on complex, interrelated factors, and the influence of workplace culture and context are largely unacknowledged and unexamined across the technical communication (TC) field. Such examination is warranted because UX professionals face unique workplace challenges that impede their ability to conduct effective research that will improve the quality of outcomes …

Ancient Andean Tattooing Practices, Madison Auten

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the practice of tattooing in the ancient Andean world focusing on Peru. I ask the question: What can we learn about how people in the ancient Andean world used tattoos? For example, who were the people receiving tattoos, where on the body were tattoos located and what did they depict? To address this, I collected data on tattoos preserved on human remains. Mummies originating from Peru were examined and their tattoos were photographed. The mummies I examined come from collections in three museums in the United States, including: the Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM), the Field Museum (FM) …

Ordering Spaces, Making Places: Women’S Uses Of Non-Domestic Spaces In Tokyo, Japan, 1868–1937, Yuko Nakamura

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores Japanese women’s uses of non-domestic spaces in the modern period (1868–1945), focusing on the transformations that were occurring in the new capital city of Tokyo. After the 1868 Meiji Restoration, a modern government took over in place of the Tokugawa shogunate, the feudal military government that had ruled Japan for nearly three centuries, based on a hereditary status-based system. The fall of Tokugawa social order liberated Japanese people from the principle that John W. Hall famously called “rule by status.” Yet, it also complicated the ways in which the society was organized. Because the status system had …

Brand Communication Through Social Media Influencers: How Organizations Can Advance Effective Relationships With Smis In Brazil, Andressa Ferreira Gaertner

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to shed light on how brands can build relationships with social media influencers (SMIs). By replicating Pang et al. (2016) research in different cultural settings, the present study identified internal and external influences that are important for SMIs routines in Brazil, generating additional enlightenment into the Mediating the Media model for SMIs and evaluating to what extent cultural differences may impact the proposed theoretical framework. The research was conducted in two major parts. The first replicated the method used previously by Pang et al. (2016), performing in-depth interviews with eight SMIs. In the second …

Contributions Of Target-Lure Similarity And Sensory Modality To Lure False Alarms, Daniel Kent Bjornn

Theses and Dissertations

The processes of pattern separation and pattern completion are very important in the correct discrimination of similar memories. Much research has been conducted on these processes, but there are some gaps that need to be addressed. First, there is some debate as to whether false alarms to lure items come about because of a failure to accurately encode a memory or a failure to retrieve a memory. Second, much of the research on pattern separation and pattern completion in humans is done with visual stimuli and contributions of stimulus modality to these processes are not well understood as a result.Study …

Insider Perspectives Of Mate Selection In Modern Chinese Society, Szu-Yu Lin

Theses and Dissertations

With the increased exposure to Western cultures and the transition towards modernization, Chinese society has experienced substantial social change, which has influenced marital relationships. Although recent research has documented contemporary patterns of marital interaction, less is known about what Chinese adults consider to be an ideal marital partner and what their parent' roles play in the mate selection process. What do contemporary Chinese adults value in a partner? How much parental influence is involved in choosing an ideal marital partner? These questions were addressed by conducting six focus groups in Taipei, Taiwan. The focus groups included a total of 51 …

A Gis Approach To Archaeological Settlement Patterns And Predictive Modeling In Chihuahua, Mexico, Haylie Anne Ferguson

Theses and Dissertations

In this study I analyzed the pattern of settlement for known Medio period (A.D. 1200–1450) sites in the Casas Grandes region of Chihuahua, Mexico. Locational data acquired from survey projects in the Casas Grandes region were evaluated within a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) framework to reveal patterns in settlement and site distribution. Environmental and cultural variables, including aspect, cost distance to nearest ballcourt, ecoregion, elevation, local relief, cost distance to nearest oven, cost distance to Paquimé, slope, soil, terrain texture, topographic position index, cost distance to nearest trincheras, vegetation, vegetation variety to 100 meters, vegetation variety to 500 meters, cost …

Digitization Guidelines For Static & Non-Static (Audiovisual) Media: Compliance & Challenges In Academic Libraries, Maali Alghnimi

Theses and Dissertations

This doctoral dissertation aims to explore digitization practices at academic libraries in the United States. It examines adopted digitization guidelines, levels of compliance with these guidelines, challenges, and solutions. It seeks answers to five research questions in relation to academic libraries’ compliance with static and non-static (audiovisual) media digitization guidelines, encountered challenges, and applied solutions. A mixed methods explanatory research design was adopted for this comparative study. Purposive sampling was applied. The study sample consisted of 68 subjects from doctoral universities with highest and higher research activity based on the 2015 classification issued by The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of …

The Impact Of Research Data Sharing And Reuse On Data Citation In Stem Fields, Hyoungjoo Park

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the open science movement and mandates for the sharing of research data by major funding agencies and influential journals, the citation of data sharing and reuse has not become standard practice in the various science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Advances in technology have lowered some barriers to data sharing, but it is a socio-technical phenomenon and the impact of the ongoing evolution in scholarly communication practices has yet to be quantified. Furthermore, there is need for a deeper and more nuanced understanding of author self-citation and recitation, the most often cited types of data, disciplinary differences regarding …

Kriza Lindore 1875-1878 Dhe Çështja Shqiptare, Rina Fetahu

Theses and Dissertations

Ky punim diplome ka marrë në analizë Shqiptaret ne Krizen Lindore gjate viteve 1875-1878. Qëllimi kryesor i këtij punimi është që të arrijmë sadopak të ndriçojmë rrethanat ne te cilat u gjenden shqiptaret ne kete kohe.

Kriza Lindore e viteve 1875-1878 përbënë një nga ngjarjet me të rendësishme të gjysmës së dytë të shek. XIX. Kjo krizë erdhi si pasojë e zgjimit kombëtar në Ballkan gjatë shek. XIX, në kohen kur Perandoria Osmane ishte me e dobët se kurrë me parë. Monarkitë ballkanike Serbia, Mali i Zi, Bullgaria dhe Greqia të përkrahura nga Rusia e cila i nxiste këto shtete …

Anëtarësimi I Kosovës Në Be Është I Largët,Por Është Në Interesin E Kosovës Të Zbatoj Kriteret Dhe Standardet Evropiane, Valdet Rexhepi

Theses and Dissertations

Kosova shpalli pavarësin e saj me 17 shkurt 2008, duke pasur synime arritjen e realizimit të shtet ndërtimit të brendshëm dhe konsolidimin e shtetësisë në rrafshin ndërkombëtar. Për Kosovën, si shtet i vogël, ka rëndësi të madhe, që në të ardhmen të anëtarësohet në Bashkimin Evropian, sepse është një nga mënyrat që sjell siguri më të madhe, mbrojtjen nga kërcënimet e ndryshme nga këto mund të kemi edhe institucione stabile, zhvillim ekonomik, respektimin dhe sundimin e ligjit, për shtetin të gjithë këto kanë një emërues të përbashkët i cili është kompensim për mungesën e fuqisë së fortë.

Punimi është orientuar …

Thellim Apo Zgjerim: Be Në Udhëkryq Politik, Shkëlqim Mehmeti

Theses and Dissertations

Bashkimi Evropian është organizatë rajonale e cila është krijuar në vitin 1951 me Traktatin e Parisit, traktat ky i ratifikuar, deri më 1957, nga 6 shtete të cilat janë themeluese e vetë organizatës. BE-ja, që nga themelimi i saj, ka pasur sfidat e saja të cilat e përcjellin edhe në ditët e sotme. Njëra nga mëdyshjet e BE-së e cila e ka vendosur në një udhëkryq politik është se a duhet BE-ja të shkoj drejt thellimit të bashkëpunimit brenda shteteve anëtare në fusha si: politika e jashtme, siguria, kriza monetare, kriza e refugjatëve etj. Apo, BE-ja duhet të zgjerohet në …

Associative And Non-Associative Learning In The Monodelphis Domestica, Ana C. Ramirez

Theses and Dissertations

Learning encompasses multiple important processes that vary within organisms and that are affected by different factors. Two of the most important types of learning are associative and non-associative learning. Even though past research has studied animal learning in multiple species, there is limited research on learning in the Monodelphis domestica. It is imperative to further the knowledge on this species since multiple fields use it as an animal model for research. The current study examined both non-associative and associative learning in the Monodelphis. Non-associative learning was explored by using a habituation-dishabituation paradigm, while associative learning was examined using the …

Assessing The Grey Short-Tailed Opossum (Monodelphis Domestica) As A Potential Animal Model Of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Creation Of An Ethogram And Description Of Developmental Changes In Social Behavior, Angela M. Mar

Theses and Dissertations

Research using animal models is done when human subjects cannot participate due to ethical concerns. The majority of translational research is done using rat models. However, other animals are good candidates for translational research, such as Monodelphis domestica. Presently, little is known about Monodelphis domesticas’ behavior and how the animal can be used in research settings. The aim of the study is to fill the gap in the research by conducting behavioral observations of M. domestica pups using a longitudinal approach starting with post-weaned age and ending at the age of sexual maturity and creating an behavioral ethogram. …

Segmental Contributions To Speech Intelligibility In Nonconcatenative Vs. Concatenative Languages, Yahya Aldholmi

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the contributions of segments (consonants vs. vowels) to speech intelligibility in Arabic and English. In these two languages, consonants and vowels play crucially different grammatical roles. Arabic is a nonconcatenative language that primarily assigns lexical information to consonants and morphosyntactic information to vowels, while English is a concatenative language that does not assign distinct roles to either class of segments. On this basis, we hypothesized that consonants and vowels would play very different roles in the intelligibility of the two languages. Five laboratory experiments were conducted, three on Arabic and two on English. Participants listened to words …

Understanding Men's Involvement In Marital Interventions, Thomas Jack-Esplin White

Theses and Dissertations

Past research has shown how personality characteristics and demographics influence the likelihood of couples and individuals participating in marital interventions. However, these studies do not focus on the factors that influence men’s participation and are limited to their respective sample frames, making them difficult to generalize to a population. A nationally representative, population-level study of newlywed males may help to provide more generalizable insights regarding the factors that influence men’s participation in marital interventions. The current study had two purposes. First, this study sought to examine the personality and demographic factors that influenced the likelihood of men participating in a …

The Effects Of Teacher Background On How Teachers Assess Native-Like And Nonnative-Like Grammar Errors: An Eye-Tracking Study, Wesley Makoto Schramm

Theses and Dissertations

Studies have shown that composition and L2 writing teachers give different scores (Golombek, Weigle, Boldt, & Valsecchi, 2003) and focus on different features (Brown, 1991) when assessing student writing, which is assumed to be due to the differences in their background and training (Santos, 1992; Atkinson & Ramanathan, 1995). Error gravity is thought to be one reason why composition and L2 writing teachers give different scores (Rifkin & Roberts, 1995). Common methods for examining error gravity were to analyze scores and responses given by the raters and to have raters reflect on the rating process and analyze their responses. Only …

The Great War And Motherhood: Possibilities For Agency Within Motherhood Rhetoric 1915-1920, Terra Rasmussen Lenox

Theses and Dissertations

This project seeks to understand possibilities for agency in American motherhood by looking at public motherhood discourses from 1915-1920. To accomplish this task, I use a lens of intersectionality with a mixed-methods approach of critical discourse analysis of newspaper articles and The Ladies’ Home Journal, and a textual analysis of birth control pamphlets authored by Margaret Sanger. Through these analyses, this project elucidates ways in which ideal motherhood was portrayed and prescriptively enacted through representations of nationalistic motherhood which connects principles of intensive mothering with extreme patriotism and consumerism. Ultimately, these analyses build an argument that due to the complex …

Dickkopf-1 Blocks 17Β-Estradiol-Enhanced Object Memory Consolidation In Ovariectomized Female Mice, Lisa Taxier

Theses and Dissertations

The memory-enhancing effects of 17β-estradiol (E2) are dependent upon rapid activation of several cell signaling cascades within the dorsal hippocampus (DH). Among many cell-signaling pathways that mediate memory processes, Wnt/β-catenin signaling has emerged as a potential key player. However, whether E2 interacts with Wnt/β-catenin signaling to promote memory consolidation is unknown. Therefore, the present study examined whether Wnt/β-catenin signaling within the DH is necessary for E2-induced memory consolidation in both object recognition and object placement tasks. Here, ovariectomized mice received immediate post-training infusions of E2 or vehicle into the dorsal third ventricle plus the endogenous Wnt/β-catenin antagonist Dickkopf-1 (Dkk-1) or …

“Because He Is Different”: Shifts In Discourse And The Increasing Presence Of Autism In Fictional Television, Sierra Wolff

Theses and Dissertations

Characters with an autism spectrum disorder are not new to media, television in particular. What has recently changed is the willingness to put a label on a character who is on the spectrum. This thesis looks at 21 characters in television from 2007 to 2017 who are labeled or are generally perceived to be autistic. I categorize these character representations by genre and find that representations of autism vary according to the characteristics of each genre. I also focus in more depth two series, ABC’s The Good Doctor and Netflix’s Atypical, which both premiered in 2017 with lead characters who …

Contextualizing The News: Newspaper Front Pages In The Age Of Fact-Checking Journalism., Srijan Sen

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates influences on the selection of stories on the front pages of newspapers. It investigates whether a daily newspaper that has an in-house, fact-checking unit (The Milwaukee (WI) Journal Sentinel) selects front-page stories differently from a newspaper that does not have an in-house, fact-checking unit (The Star Tribune in Minneapolis, MN). While the study found no direct influence of fact-checking journalism, it did find that newspaper front pages in 2014 were increasingly prioritizing contextual stories over conventional stories. It also found a decline in political/governmental stories on front pages. It is suggested that these changes might signal a …

Effects Of Exercise On Clinical Couple Interactions, Samantha Karma-Jean Simpson

Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown that exercise has the potential to improve couple relationships. This study contributes to current literature by examining the associations between exercise, its duration, and its intensity and daily clinical couple interactions. Participants were 22 married couples in a treatment-as-usual setting who completed daily diaries about daily behaviors and marital interactions. Multilevel models were run, and results showed that wives who exercised were more likely to report a negative interaction with their husband that day. When wives exercised longer, both they and their husbands were more likely to report positive interactions that day. Interestingly, if husbands exercised longer …

The Role Of Type 2 Diabetes And Metformin Use In Cognitive Decline, Kelley R. Chilson

Theses and Dissertations

Primary objectives of the present study include exploring the role of both A1C values and the anti-diabetic medication, metformin, on cognitive decline through measured by a brief neuropsychological exam (BNE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Method: Eleven years of archival cognitive testing and medical information from a total of 479 East Central Florida Memory Disorder Clinic patients (52.8 % female, 88.5% Caucasian, Mage = 78.79 years) was utilized for the present study. Participants were placed into two groups: Type 2 diabetes (n = 239) and a control group (n = 240). Cognitive testing data were collected via MoCA screening …

Are We Safe Yet? Re-Evaluation Of The Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Safety (Pdc-Safety), Nelmar Jacinto Cruz

Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated the utility of the Performance Diagnostic Checklist- Safety (PDC-Safety) (Martinez-Onstott, Wilder, & Sigurdsson, 2016) by comparing the effectiveness of a PDC-Safety indicated intervention with a PDC-Safety nonindicated intervention. The interventions targeted participants’ hand washing behavior at a clinic serving children with intellectual disabilities. Failure to wash hands at appropriate times could pose health risks to both behavior technicians and clients, so efforts should be made to increase the likelihood of hand washing. The results of the PDC-Safety suggested that the antecedents and information domain was most problematic. First, a non-indicated intervention, which included access to additional materials …

Leveraging Stimulus Equivalence To Teach Piano To Children With Autism, Krystin Katherine Hussain

Theses and Dissertations

Music-based interventions have been shown to benefit individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by improving deficits such as social behaviors, communication, and vocalizations, as well as reducing behavioral excesses such as stereotypies (Hill, 2015). The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of equivalence-based instruction (EBI) on acquisition of piano skills, novel piano performance, and generalization and maintenance of taught and untaught piano skills among children with autism. Training consisted of auditory-visual musical stimuli in a matching-to-sample format. Training was conducted using simultaneous matching in a one-to-many arrangement (relations between one stimulus are trained to multiple …

A Preliminary Examination Of The Effects Of Repeated Observation On Productivity As An Analog Of Micromanagement, Christopher Lytle

Theses and Dissertations

The current study evaluated the effect of repeated observation on work-related behavior in an analog setting. The goal was to determine the effects of repeated intrusive observation on productivity. The study was designed as an analog analysis of the effects of micromanagement in an organizational setting. Participants were 60 undergraduate psychology students at a private university in the southeastern United States. A between-subjects group design was used to evaluate the effects of observation. Participants were exposed to varying levels of observation, (nine, two, and zero instances per session), and their productivity and accuracy on a data entry task were measured. …

Designing Selection Systems To Reduce Turnover, Joshua David Bush

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to explore and predict voluntary turnover as a critical dependent variable in selection systems. I describe how using competency modeling to build measures of person-organization (P-O) fit may serve as a theoretical launching point for designing selection assessments to predict voluntary turnover. I tested this theoretical framework by analyzing an archival selection database of 3,332 current and former employees who went through a competency model-based selection system, which includes five different assessment methods all designed to measure P-O fit. I hypothesized that scores on these assessments would negatively predict turnover risk because research has demonstrated a strong …

Norms For Baseline Concussion Tests, Kaci Lee Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The present study was designed to establish Baseline concussion normative data for non-athlete students using the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT-5), Rey Word Recognition Test (RWRT), The A Random Letter Test of Auditory Vigilance (A-Test) and the Rey Dot Counting Test (DCT). The study considers the comparative differences when the non-athletes are told to complete the task to the best of their ability, to those who are told to perform poorly on purpose, and those who are instructed how to perform badly. Method: Sixty non-athlete students at Florida Institute of Technology volunteered in the study using the university’s online …

The Role Of Athletic Scholarship On Suboptimal Performance In Baseline Concussion Testing, Lauren E. Goworowski

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: To date, there is a very limited amount of research regarding the topic of sandbagging (i.e., intentional poor performance) during concussion baseline testing in a collegiate athlete population. It is known that student-athletes may underreport their concussive symptoms so they can return to play more quickly, and may purposefully lower their baseline results to appear less impaired following a head injury so as to avoid exclusion from play (Echemendia & Cantu, 2003; Reilly 2011). At this point in time, it is difficult to make statements regarding sandbagging because the incidence of this behavior is unknown. Accordingly, this study had …

An Examination Of Generational And Gender Differences Among Baby Boomers On The Scale Of Accurate Personality Perception (Sapp), Nicole Lane Murray

Theses and Dissertations

Generations and their differences, as well as the construct of self-knowledge, have been studied at length due to their potential predictive power over an individual’s behaviors. This research proposes to build upon these constructs by blending them together in order to see the differences that exist on various personality dimensions, as well as on self-knowledge, between the Baby Boomer generation and the general population. In order to test these hypotheses, archival data were used. Participants in the archival data set were grouped based on their generation depending on the year of their birth. The federal government, specifically the U.S. Census …