Digital Commons Network^™

Factors Perceived To Contribute To Mathematics Avoidance Or Mathematics Confidence In Non-Traditional Age Women Attending A Community College, Jo Ann K Rawley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over the past decade, the number of students entering postsecondary institutions immediately after high school has been decreasing, while the number of non-traditional aged students, defined as adults over 25, has substantially increased, with women making up the majority of this adult student group. Mathematics education is an area where non-traditional age women tend to have difficulty. Fifteen individual interviews were conducted with non-traditional age women enrolled in a community college, 10 identifying mathematics as the subject they would least enjoy and 5 identifying mathematics as the subject they would most enjoy. Data were analyzed by comparing the women's stories …

The Impact Of Reward Power On Creativity: Does It Depend On The Nature Of The Reward?, Edward Rickamer Hoover

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This experiment investigated the influence of reward property and reward power on creative performance. It was hypothesized that the magnitude of reward power would moderate the relationship between reward property and creativity. Fifty undergraduate students (45 females, 5 males, X age = 20.72 years, SD age = 4 years) participated. The experimental design was reward power ($0.00, $0.50, or $2.00 per trial) x reward property (informational vs. controlling undertones in the script) x trials (5). Results demonstrated a positive correlation between intrinsic motivation and creative performance (r = .411, p = .03, n = 50). Hypotheses concerning the moderating influence …

Perceptions Of Group Exercise Participants Based On Body Type, Appearance And Attractiveness Of The Instructor, Jennifer Mears

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Physical activity reduces the risk for disease, improves overall health, and quality of life. Group exercise classes are large contributors for meeting physical activity recommendations. Improving long-term adherence to group exercise classes is essential in order to receive health and fitness benefits. Many contributing factors affect adherence rates including the role of the instructor. The instructor has great influence over the decision to return to a group exercise class. It is important to find out what qualities and characteristics are preferred among those who take classes to increase long-term adherence. Another important factor relating to adherence is body type, appearance …

The Effects Of Goal Message And Goal Orientation On Learning In A Web-Based Tutorial, John M. Bunch

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study investigates instructional design factors that can be manipulated to enhance learner motivation. A goal-based approach to enhancing motivation is discussed, along with current theory concerning the goal orientation an individual learner brings to an instructional situation. The efficacy of Prospect Theory as a cognitive mechanism underlying the valuation of effort toward a goal is discussed, and an experiment is presented in which goal messaging is manipulated based on the predictions of Prospect Theory as well as Goal Setting Theory. A Web-based tutorial consisting of ten sections of text, each with a recall test, was used. An ability …

Life Stories Of Nikkeijin Seeking Better Opportunities: The Motivation Of Brazilian Immigrants In Japan, Marisa Utida Bellini

Theses and Dissertations

The immigration of Brazilian-Japanese to Japan has started as recently as the early 1980s as a result of an economic downturn in Brazil and labor shortages in Japan. In a recent study published by the Ministry of Justice in Japan, there are about 250,000 Brazilians currently working throughout Japan. Even though most of the Brazilians are second or third generation of Japanese descent, they are not fluent in Japanese, thus resulting in many cultural problems and misunderstandings. Some research has examined about the immigration of Brazilians (nikkeijin) to Japan, but none has investigated their acquisition of Japanese as a second …

Clarifying The Cohesion-Performance Relationship In Teams: Backup Behavior As A Mediating Mechanism, Matthew S. Prewett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between team cohesion and team performance has been extensively studied, but behavioral mediators of this relationship have not been adequately assessed. This study proposed that backup behavior mediates the relationship between team cohesion and team performance. In addition, it was also hypothesized that team goal commitment would moderate the relationship between team cohesion and team backup behavior. 138 participants forming 46 teams of three were assigned to one of fours conditions to test this framework: high cohesion/high goal commitment, high cohesion/low goal commitment, low cohesion/high goal commitment, and low cohesion/low goal commitment. Results indicated no significant differences between …

Examining The Attitudes Toward Mathematics Of Preservice Elementary School Teachers Enrolled In An Introductory Mathematics Methods Course And The Experiences That Have Influenced The Development Of These Attitudes, Joy Bronston Schackow

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The reform movement in mathematics education has recognized affective factors as an important area where change is needed. This study examined the attitudes toward mathematics of preservice elementary teachers entering an introductory mathematics methods course. The methods course utilized constructivist instructional methods, such as the use of manipulatives, cooperative group work, problem solving, and calculators. Qualitative methods were used to explore participants attitudes toward mathematics and the experiences that have led to the development of these attitudes. The study sought to determine the extent to which preservice teachers attitudes toward mathematics changed during the methods course and the correlation between …

Organizational Citizenship Behavior: A Career Development Strategy, Martha J. Sutton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goals of the present study were to 1.) develop a model of career related factors that could be related to organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB); and 2.) determine if the proposed relationships between the career focused variables and OCB differed across rating source. A total of 262 volunteers from a Corporation and University completed a survey in either online or by paper and pencil that included demographics and measures of: job involvement, career motivation, occupational commitment, perceptions of career plateau, career stage, and OCB. Ratings of OCB were obtained from approximately 195 participant supervisors and/or coworkers.

Correlational and multiple regression …

A Strategy For The Motivation Of The Uninvolved Church Member: A Pilot Project In The Gloucester Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Michael G. Hamilton

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

In the average Seventh-day Adventist church in the South England Conference the pastor is often not equipped with the time and the resources to conduct an adequate training and education program for the uninvolved member. Spiritual Gifts seminars, outreach, and witnessing seminars are often conducted away from the local church and are largely supported only by those who are already deeply committed, but the shy, introverted, and uninformed member is increasingly uninvolved in the work of soul winning and the local ministries, and is not involved in the training activities of the church.

Method

A church involvement survey was …

Influence Of Perceived Self-Efficacy On Treatment Outcomes For Aphasia, Allison B. Dunn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Perceived self-efficacy has been shown to be an accurate predictor of one's performance capabilities (Zimmerman, 2000). Low levels of perceived self-efficacy have been found to correlate with negative performance outcomes; while high levels of perceived self-efficacy correlate with positive performance outcomes. This construct has also been found to influence an individual's motivation level, goal setting ability, and risk for depression (Resnick, 2002; Phillips & Gully, 1997; Blazer, 2002). Therefore, perceived levels of self-efficacy may predict and influence performance of individuals with aphasia during a treatment program. However, the influence of self-efficacy on treatment for aphasia has not been sufficiently studied. …

Self-Determination Theory And Locus Of Control As Antecedents Of Voluntary Workplace Behaviors, Kimberly E. O'Brien

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Antecedents of organizational citizenship behaviors and counterproductive work behaviors have been studied in depth, focusing on both individual differences and environmental variables. However, motivation has been largely overlooked as a contributor to these voluntary behaviors. Self-Determination Theory, a motivational framework, posits that environmental support in the form of fulfilled basic psychological needs leads to activities geared towards growth and development, whereas a lack of environmental supports thwarts these attempts towards self-growth. It is hypothesized that environmental support will account for unique variance above and beyond previously studied antecedents of voluntary workplace behaviors. This was supported using hierarchical regression. It was …

Hypocrisy Induction To Alter Selection Decisions Among Aversive Racists: Analyzing The Role Of External Motivation To Respond Without Prejudice, Andrew Biga

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study will examine the effects of hypocrisy induction on selection decisions for two populations: Aversive Racists and truly non-prejudiced individuals. Aversive Racists are operationally defined as individuals who are low in explicit prejudice and high in implicit prejudice, whereas truly non-prejudiced individuals are defined as being low in both explicit and implicit prejudice. These two groups of people will differ on their ratings of job applicants, so that Aversive Racists will rate Black applicants lower than White applicants (with comparable job credentials) while truly non-prejudiced individuals will rate them similarly. The induction of hypocrisy will serve as a …

Simplification And Personalization Of French Grammar, Regina Dee

MA TESOL Collection

The materials included in this project have been developed as a result of my emerging understanding of French grammar since I began studying it in 1976. I began teaching a French Activities class in 1986 to eighth graders at St. Andrews and third and fourth graders at an elementary school in Baltimore as a student at Morgan State University. While I was completing my student teaching at Baltimore City College Preparatory School, I found that my students had difficulties understanding textbook explanations. I therefore began to create my own explanations during sessions when students came for after school help. I …

Time As Motivation: Selected Theories As Compared To Modern Revelation, Jill Judkins

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis proposes that human beings by virtue of living in each new present moment are motivated to develop strategies to secure the best possible outcome in their lived experience. A personal account of the phenomenological experience of time is presented and a brief history is given. The implications associated with being thrown into the present moment make apparent the weaknesses of the current assumptions that the slices of the present moment form a continuity of past and future and create a coherent synthesis of life. The assumption that human beings are intentional, goal-directed, and prone to seek meaning in …

Programa De Reclutamiento, Capacitación Y Motivación De Líderes De Grupos Pequeños, Jose Javier Sol Martinez

Professional Dissertations DMin

The success or failure of small groups in a church is determined by the leadership of the groups. A good group begins with a good leader. The quality of a group depends on the qualifications of its leader. Because this fact has not been kept in mind in Mexico City, the small group program has been weak. The purpose of this dissertation was to remedy this situation by developing a program for recruitment, training, and motivation of small group leaders. Moses used the small group to minister to the people of Israel. To do so he carefully chose thousands of …

An Approach To Motivation For Volunteer Church Ministries, A Wayne Owen

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

One of the important aspects of the minister's work is that of motivating his parishioners in the work of ministry. This involvement is not only necessary to the work of the church but also for the development of the parishioners' faith and growth in Christian maturity. It is the purpose of this study to determine the results of the implementation of psychological and sociological principles outlined in the literature of business and education in the administration of a local church.

Method

The principles of motivation that would apply to volunteer ministries were implemented in the various departments of the …

A Functional View Of Human Motivation In The Local Seventh-Day Adventist Church Based On Theological And Psychological Principles, Willmore Duncan Eva

Professional Dissertations DMin

The hypothesis o f the study states that an internalized grasp of the pardoning love of God revealed in Jesus Christ will tend to motivate Christians to a life of Godly activity . At the same time it is recognized that the human being is motivated on the basis of certain natural needs, the need for a sense o f belonging, esteem, and self- fulfillment. The study shows how the motive force o f God's forgiveness through Christ affects the natural motivational drives of humanity in the local church setting . The possible effect on the local church of intentionally …

A Comparison Of The Uses Of Astrology In The Works Of John Gower And Geoffrey Chaucer, George Rufus Wyatt Jr.

Master's Theses

The literary interest in astrology which had been gradually increasing during the fourteenth century in England, culminated in the works of Geoffrey Chaucer and John Gower. It is not surprising that these two poets have used astrology very extensively in writing stories for their medieval audiences since the average man in the Middles Ages believed that life depended upon the influences of the seven planets in their positions in the zodiac. It is the purpose of this thesis to present a comparison of the uses of the astrological material in the works of Geoffrey Chaucer and John Gower. In this …