Digital Commons Network^™

Circumventing Ableism: A Grounded Theory Study Exploring Caregiver Strategies To Promote A Positive Identity, June Furr

All Dissertations

This qualitative research study explores how caregivers and persons with disabilities navigate the rhetoric of disability and caregiving through the interviews of fifteen caregivers and fifteen persons with disabilities using the lens of grounded theory and Burke’s (1952) dramatistic pentad. Significant findings describe how focused disability description can circumvent ableism when rhetorical resources that assist caregivers and persons with disabilities to navigate the rhetoric in disability descriptions are provided. Disability description theory includes the three stages that define, collaborate and revise, and practice and apply a disability description. This qualitative research offers an introduction into the phenomenon of …

Trauma, Found Family, And Their Influence On The Creation Of A Pitch Bible, David Scheele

All Theses

Trauma is a very common theme in works of fiction, as it is something that all of us
experience in our lives and as a result is emphasized in art. Whether it is injuries, abuse, the loss of loved ones, and much more, trauma is ubiquitous within the human experience. Sometimes trauma can have lasting impacts on an individual’s mental health, often taking the form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD as it is more commonly known. We see this form of mental illness portrayed quite often in the media that we consume. Examples across various artistic mediums include Sarah …

Serious Leisure, Job Task Load, & Satisfaction, Carson Matsick

All Theses

The study examined the relationship between degree of leisure seriousness and leisure, job, and life satisfaction, as moderated by perceived job mental workload. Serious leisure has largely been studied in reference to general life satisfaction and health outcomes, and less research exists to examine whether serious leisure participation may influence work. This study tested the following hypothesis: the relationship between serious leisure participation and employee well-being is moderated by mental workload on the job, such that a) as mental workload increases, then serious leisure participation and satisfaction will be less strongly positively correlated, and b) as mental workload decreases, then …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Recreational Therapists Working In Inpatient Mental Health Settings, Summer Matics

All Dissertations

Since 2020, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has impacted the lives of the general public, but healthcare workers including those that work in inpatient mental health settings have seen long-lasting impacts in their workplace. Recreational therapists (CTRSs) are among the mental healthcare workers that have been impacted by the pandemic but there is no existing research that specifically studies their lived experiences. This study used the theoretical foundations and methods of hermeneutic phenomenology in order to describe how COVID-19 has impacted CTRSs’ workplace from a safety perspective, their stress and coping, and also their supervisory duties. Seventeen participants were recruited and …

Three Essays About Preventing Mental And Behavioral Disorders, Snehal Lopes

All Dissertations

Prevention efforts in the public health field operate at various levels, including primary prevention among those without a disease of interest, secondary prevention among persons at high risk or showing early signs of the disease, and tertiary prevention among persons with the disease. The three essays presented in this dissertation are centered around the theme of prevention, and taken together, have implications for prevention at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. Specifically, the essays focus on the prevention of depressive disorders and the prevention of behavioral and mental health correlates for depression in the context of various populations (general adult, …

Using Online Videos To Improve Attitudes Toward Shared Automated Vehicles: Age And Video Type Differences, Kathryn Baringer, D. J. Souders, J. Lopez

Publications

Introducing shared automated vehicles (SAVs) should lead to several societal benefits, but both automated vehicles (AVs) and ridesharing must overcome barriers to acceptance. Previous research has investigated age differences in ridesharing usage and factors influencing acceptance of AVs. We investigate age differences in how two online introductory videos (educational or experiential) affect anticipated SAV acceptance. Participants in three different age groups were randomly assigned to watch 1.) an educational video about SAV technologies and potential benefits, 2.) an experiential video showing a SAV navigating traffic, 3.) both the experiential and educational videos, or 4.) a control video explaining how current …

Looking For Age Differences In Self-Driving Vehicles: Examining The Effects Of Automation Reliability, Driving Risk, And Physical Impairment On Trust, Ericka Rovira, Anne Collins Mclaughlin, Richard Pak, Luke High

Publications

Purpose

Self-driving cars are an extremely high level of autonomous technology and represent a promising technology that may help older adults safely maintain independence. However, human behavior with automation is complex and not straightforward (Parasuraman and Riley, 1997; Parasuraman, 2000; Rovira et al., 2007; Parasuraman and Wickens, 2008; Parasuraman and Manzey, 2010; Parasuraman et al., 2012). In addition, because no fully self-driving vehicles are yet available to the public, most research has been limited to subjective survey-based assessments that depend on the respondents’ limited knowledge based on second-hand reports and do not reflect …

Validity Of Evaluative Factors From Big Five And Hexaco Questionnaires, Michael D. Biderman, Samuel T. Mcabee, Nhung T. Hendy, Zhuo Job Chen

Publications

Highlights

• Applied bifactor models to NEO-FFI-3, HEXACO PI-R, and BFI-2 data estimating domain, evaluation, and acquiescence factors.

• The evaluation factor was a significant, positive predictor of GPA.

• The acquiescence factor was not a strong predictor of GPA.

• Domain factor score validities were more negative than corresponding summated scale validities.

• Results suggest that extraneous factor contamination can be measured and used with the modeling techniques employed here.

Task-Dependent Cold Stress During Expeditions In Antarctic Environments, Drew M. Morris, June J. Pilcher, Robert B. Powell

Publications

This study seeks to understand the degree of body cooling, cold perception and physical discomfort during Antarctic tour excursions.

Eight experienced expedition leaders across three Antarctic cruise voyages were monitored during occupational tasks: kayaking, snorkelling and zodiac outings. Subjective cold perception and discomfort were recorded using a thermal comfort assessment and skin temperature was recorded using a portable data logger. Indoor cabin temperature and outdoor temperature with wind velocity were used as measures of environmental stress. Physical activity level and clothing insulation were estimated using previous literature.

Tour leaders experienced a 6°C (2°C wind chill) environment for an average of …

Decreasing Sedentary Behavior: Effects On Academic Performance, Meta-Cognition, And Sleep, June J. Pilcher, Drew M. Morris, Stewart A. Bryant, Paul A. Merritt, Hayley B. Feigl

Publications

There is growing interest in using activity workstations as a method of increasing light physical activity in normally sedentary environments. The current study (N = 117) compared the effects of studying in college students while slowly pedaling a stationary bike with a desktop with studying at traditional desks across 10 weeks in an academic semester. The students were assigned to study either on the stationary bike or at a traditional desk located in the campus library for a minimum of 2 h a week. During the 10 weeks, the students studied for tests or worked on other required academic …

Interactions Between Sleep Habits And Self-Control, June J. Pilcher, Drew M. Morris, Janet Donnelly, Hayley B. Feigl

Publications

Good sleep habits and effective self-control are important components of successful functioning. Unfortunately chronic sleep loss and impaired self-control are common occurrences for many individuals which can lead to difficulty with daily self-control issues such as resisting impulses and maintaining attentive behavior. Understanding how self-control is depleted and how good sleep habits may help replenish and maintain the capacity for self-control is an important issue. A sleep-deprived individual who has expended the necessary resources for self-control is at an increased risk for succumbing to impulsive desires, poor attentional capacity, and compromised decision making. To date, few studies have investigated how …

Impact Of Physical And Psychosocial Workplace Hazards On Employee Health: An Irish T Ale Of Civil Servant Workers, Kyle R. Stanyar

All Dissertations

Obesity, mental health problems, and absenteeism are both economic and health burdens for employers and employees. Research suggests that physical and psychosocial hazards in the workplace contribute to health risks and health problems among employees. There is a need for researchers to examine how exercise, diet, and age interact with the negative effects of workplace hazards upon health. Hypotheses 1a through 3b predicted that physical and psychosocial workplace hazards would negatively impact body mass index (BMI), general mental health, and sickness absences. Further, hypotheses 4a through 9b predicted that exercise and diet would buffer stress from occupational hazards upon BMI, …

Controlled Attention And Sleep Deprivation: Adding A Self-Regulation Approach?, June J. Pilcher, Holly A. Geldhauser, J. Adam Beeco, Tracy A. Lindquist

Publications

The current study examined performance on an automated task battery under short-term sleep deprivation and non-sleep deprivation conditions. Twenty-six volunteers completed the sleep deprivation study. Twenty-three volunteers completed the non-sleep deprivation study. Performance was examined across five test sessions during 25 hours of acute sleep deprivation conditions and during two days of non-sleep deprivation conditions. ANOVAs examining changes in performance from baseline levels indicated that performance under sleep deprivation conditions resulted in a decrease in performance in some tasks and an increase in estimated blood alcohol concentration. Non-sleep deprivation resulted in stable or increasing performance and a decrease in estimated …

I Remember - Memories Of An Academic Neophyte, June J. Pilcher

Publications

This past year, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Psychology June Pilcher spent six months in Austria as a Fulbright-Freud Scholar, researching, teaching, training and traveling. It was a marvelous experience for her, and one that she pursued in part because of another Fulbright award almost 30 years ago. Clemson World asked her to share her reflections.

Stress And Fatigue In Foreign Language Professionals: Implications For Global Security, James A. Mccubbin, June J. Pilcher, Thomas W. Britt, Thomas Wallsten

Publications

Information critical to the security of nations is embedded in an array of foreign languages. Foreign language professionals must often analyze complex information from different language sources, and the integrity of their analyses can significantly affect corporate and government decision-making, policy development, and response to world events. Psychological stress and fatigue can degrade the performance of foreign language professionals resulting in errors that may adversely affect security. Optimal design of work organization and work environments, individual stress management training, and augmented cognitive linguistics may facilitate the performance of foreign language professionals. Strategic assessment and management of stress and fatigue in …

Effect Of Day Length On Sleep Habits And Subjective On-Duty Alertness In Irregular Work Schedules, June J. Pilcher, Heather M. Teichman, Stephen Popkin, Krista Hildebrand, Michael Coplen

Publications

The human circadian system is sensitive to environmental conditions, such as those created by shift work, that affect the timing and duration of sleep. Previous research on the effects of shift work, however, has focused primarily on regularly scheduled shifts. Few studies have focused on irregular and unpredictable on-call shift systems, such as those found in much of railroad operations. The purpose of the current study was to examine the effect of irregular shift systems experienced by locomotive engineers on the length of sleep-wake periods and the effect of different length sleep-wake periods on self-reported sleep quantity, sleep quality, and …