Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Evaluating Preference For And Effectiveness Of Telehealth And In-Person Parent Training, Jennifer Michelle Stich

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Telehealth provides an alternative delivery form of parent training that allows practitioners to disseminate information and feedback at a distance. Telehealth can be as effective as in-person training (Wacker et al., 2013a; Wacker et al., 2013b; Vismara et al., 2009). Despite most telehealth studies indicating high satisfaction, research on patient satisfaction using telehealth has depended mostly on survey instruments, which limits definitive conclusions and may not translate into actual use or selection (Whitten & Love, 2005). The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate a procedure for identifying parent preference of in-person or telehealth training modalities. Secondary purposes were …

Consumer Perception And Anticipated Adoption Of Autonomous Vehicle Technology: Results From Multi-Population Surveys, Nikhil Menon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Emerging automotive and transportation technologies, such as autonomous vehicles (AVs) have created revolutionary possibilities in the way we might travel in the future. Major car manufacturers and technology giants have demonstrated significant progress in advancing and testing AV technologies in real-life traffic conditions.

Results from multi-population surveys indicate that despite enjoying moderate familiarity with AVs, more than 40% of the respondents were likely to use them when they become available. Simply looking at the demographic differences without paying any regard to the perceptions might suggest that the demographic differences are the primary causal factors behind the differences observed in the …

Effect Of Empathy On Death Penalty Support In Relation To The Racial Divide And Gender Gap, Brian Godcharles

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to examine previous empirical literature indicating that death penalty support contains a divide among Blacks and Whites and a gap among males and females. Previous literature has indicated that there has been a persistent racial divide and gender gap in death penalty support that has spanned over 60 years of research. Attempts to attenuate these divides have failed to fully explain why Whites are more likely than Blacks to support the death penalty and men are more likely than women to support the death penalty. This study proposes the use of empathy to control for these divides …

Adolescent Females With High-Functioning Asd: Self And Mothers’ Perspectives Of Their School And Social Experiences, Lindsey Land

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is currently 1 in 68 (Centers for Disease Control, 2015) and research in this area is growing, high-functioning individuals on the spectrum are often overlooked. This is because of their relatively milder symptoms. The recent collapse of Asperger Syndrome (AS) with autism in the most recent version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5; APA, 2013) also has obscured the differences that may exist between those with higher vs. lower levels of functioning. Among youth with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (HFASD), girls are a particularly understudied and potentially vulnerable group. Previous research …

Finding A Home: Latino Residential Influx Into Progress Village, 1990-2010, Christopher Julius Pineda

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Progress Village in Tampa Florida was developed in the late 1950s in response to the dislocation of black families during the construction of Interstate-4. Furthermore this community became an opportunity for many black and more specifically, African American families, to live in a community devoid of racist attitudes and tensions rampant in inner city Tampa at the time. For over thirty years this community’s residential population was overwhelmingly (90 percent) black or African American. In the 1990s though this community would begin to experience the first wave of Latino residents and by 2000 this group would comprise over 2 percent …

Parent Predictors Of Social-Emotional Strengths In Kindergartners, Kayla Nicole Larosa

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Strengths-based assessment is providing an alternative to the typical way that psychologists approach mental health in the literature. Social-emotional strengths are multidimensional, positive indicators of mental health that include Social Competence, Self-Regulation, Empathy, and Responsibility. Limited research has been conducted to examine the potential connection between parental involvement in children’s education, specifically in the areas of supporting a child’s learning at home, parental involvement within educational settings, and parenting practices (discipline, Monitoring, use of Praise and Incentives) in connection with social-emotional strengths. With an emphasis on prevention of mental health problems, parents are an important and potentially untapped resource for …

Improving Elementary Teachers’ Well-Being Through A Strengths-Based Intervention: A Multiple Baseline Single-Case Design, Mollie Marie Mccullough

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Teaching is considered to be one of the most highly demanding professions, and one that is associated with high levels of stress and sometimes deleterious outcomes. Although research demonstrates that burnout and attrition are often associated with specific characteristics of the occupation (e.g., challenging workload, standardized testing, merit-based salary) minimal research focuses on how to better support teachers’ well-being. The field of positive psychology affords a new perspective in how to obtain quality mental health without solely focusing on psychopathology within a deficits-based approach. This includes the implementation of interventions (i.e., positive psychology interventions [PPI]) that target constructs of well-being …

Applying Voronoi Tessellations As A Non-Orthogonal Grid Methodology To Inform Public-Private Mix Efforts In Nigeria: An Examination Of The Distribution Of Private Healthcare Providers In Six States And The Covariates Underlying Their Utilization, Trinadh Dontamsetti

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

TB care and prevention is led by the public sector, but many TB symptomatics first seek care in the private sector, highlighting the importance of engaging these facilities. This report examines basic TB epidemiology (such as the gap in case finding that could be addressed in part via private sector activities), health-seeking behaviors (HSB) and diagnostic delays, the size of the private sector, activities of professional societies, and financing. It examines the potential utility of integrating Voronoi tessellations as a GIS-based method for informing and improving Public-Private Mix (PPM) efforts throughout six states in Nigeria. Further, it explores a potential …

The Cultivation Of Eating Disorders Through Instagram, Kendall O'Brien

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A profusion of research has been dedicated to the effects of new media on body image. In an attempt to explain the inflation of eating disorders, several researchers have turned to the cultivation theory, postulating that increased interaction with these medias will lead to internalizations of the messages they disseminate. The over presence of extremely thin models and actresses can create a new reality for media users, who begin to equate thinness with beauty, power, femininity and happiness. While an abundance of research has delved into the impact of this thin ideal through television and magazines, the Internet as a …

Online Game Advertising And Chinese College Students: Attitudes, First- And Third-Person Effects, Yan Tang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationships among Chinese college students’ attitudes toward online games and online game advertising, their perceived influence of online game advertising on themselves and others, and their attitude toward restrictions on online game advertising. The growing popularity of online games and the frequent use of advertising in promoting online gaming activities make it necessary to examine empirically the relationships among these variables. Based on a survey among 518 Chinese college students, the study found support for the mediating role of the third-person effect. It also found evidence for the first-person effect through …

Using Auditory Feedback To Teach Dance Skills To Adults With Intellectual Disabilities, Aracely Abreu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of auditory feedback for teaching individuals with intellectual disabilities the “Mississippi Cha Cha Slide.” Participants consisted of six males ages 35 to 61. During baseline, line dance skills were low for all participants. During the auditory feedback intervention, the trainer used a clicker to reinforce dance steps and forward chaining to chain movements into a sequence. Once auditory feedback was implemented, line dance skills increased substantially for all participants. Generalization assessments for four of the participants resulted in performance levels similar to baseline and demonstrate the need for future training …

Modeling Intrastate Air Travel: A Case Study Of The State Of Florida, Kai Liao

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Florida is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. Its infrastructure allows for several travel modes including: rail, automobile, bus, aircraft, and ship. However, most intrastate travelers in Florida are limited to two practical choices: travel by car (ground mode) or travel by air (air primary mode). Due to the dramatic growth of Florida’s population over recent years, traffic has become a critical factor that impacts Florida’s development. This thesis focuses on intrastate air primary mode and develops decision making models that could aid government and airline companies to better understand travelers need and as such plan …

The Influence Of Negative Information On Trust In Virtual Teams, Tiffany T. Lee

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Organizational work is characterized by positive as well as often negative work behaviors from employees. The same may be said of work done in virtual teams, where computer-mediated communication among team members can be particularly uncivil and inflammatory (Wilson, Straus, & McEvily, 2006). Accordingly, trust has been theorized as more difficult to develop in these types of teams compared to traditional face to face teams. Using a computer simulation of a collaborative team task, this study examined how individuals in virtual teams integrate conflicting pieces of positive and negative information about a teammate into one overall rating of trust. Data …

Getting Ahead: Socio-Economic Mobility, Perceptions Of Opportunity For Socio-Economic Mobility, And Attitudes Towards Public Assistance In The United States, Alissa Klein

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this research I first examine how Americans’ perceptions of what it takes to get ahead are influenced by their income and then compare those perceptions to measured levels of intergenerational socio-economic mobility. By better understanding these relationships I hope to gain insight into the paths people see to upward mobility, how this varies by income, and to what extent this belief is reflected in past mobility measurements. Additionally, I compare perceptions of what it takes to get ahead with responses regarding attitudes towards public assistance. The results of such a comparison could have important implications for public policy.

The …

Employee Retaliation Against Abusive Supervision: Testing The Distinction Between Overt And Covert Retaliation, Derek Michael Hutchinson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study attempted to expand previous research on employee retaliation against abusive supervision by evaluating both overt and covert retaliatory behaviors and the different mechanisms behind these behaviors. Initial confirmatory factor analysis did not find substantial support for a two-factor retaliation construct, but this may have been a result of the nature of behavioral retaliation items that composed the measures. Correlational analyses did not demonstrate clear discriminate validity between overt and overt retaliation; additionally, regression analyses did not find support for high performing or highly political skilled employees retaliating primarily through one form of retaliation. Highly political skilled and high …

Framing Occupy Central: A Content Analysis Of Hong Kong, American And British Newspaper Coverage, Mengjiao Yu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Grounded in framing theory, this thesis presents a quantitative content analysis of newspaper reporting of the Hong Kong protests, also known as the Occupy Central Movement or the Umbrella Revolution, between September 28 and December 11, 2014. The political, economic and legal implications involved have made the protests one of the most newsworthy events in the history of Hong Kong since the transfer of its sovereignty from the United Kingdom to China in 1997. This study aims to examine the various frames used in the coverage of the protests in three major newspapers that operate within different political, economic and …

First- And Third-Person Effects Of Alcohol Advertising On Chinese College Students, Dong Xue

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol consumption among Chinese college students has become a serious problem. The present research examines the relationships among attitudes towards alcohol advertising, attitudes towards alcohol products, the perceived influences of alcohol advertising on the self, the perceived influences of alcohol advertising on others, and attitudes toward government restrictions on alcohol advertising. Data were collected from 578 Chinese college students via an online survey. The results supported the hypothesized relationships between attitude toward alcohol products and alcohol advertising, as well as the relationship between attitude toward alcohol advertising and perceived influence of alcohol advertising on oneself. Results also supported the looking …

How Overqualification Impacts Job Attitudes And Well-Being: The Unique Roles Of Perceptions And Reality, Marijana L. Arvan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The recent global economic downturn has stimulated a growing interest among scholars in how employees interpret and respond to the circumstance of being overqualified. However, the overqualification literature has been hindered by uncertainty regarding the extent to which employees’ perceptions of being overqualified are based in reality. The present study sought to address this concern by proposing and testing a theoretical model of objective overqualification, perceived overqualification, job satisfaction, and well-being using a cross-sectional sample of full-time employees who had recently graduated from college. Additionally, the present study investigated cognitive ability, achievement striving, and trait negative affectivity as potential moderators …

Reel Or Reality? The Portrayal Of Prostitution In Major Motion Pictures, Raleigh Blasdell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined media portrayals of street-level prostitution. The objectives of this research were twofold. The first was to examine the nature of the film industry’s portrayal of females engaging in street-level prostitution in the United States in the following areas: 1) entry into sex work; 2) the economic need behind the women’s involvement; 3) experiences of childhood victimization; 4) presence and role of pimps; 5) drug/alcohol abuse; 6) victimization; and 7) mental/physical health. The second objective was to determine if this media coverage is analogous to extant research on these aspects of prostitution culture.

The Unified Film Population Identification …

The Effect Of Neoliberalism On Capabilities: Evaluating The Case Of Mexico, James Paul Walker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this thesis is to examine the effect of neoliberalism on developing nations. Specifically it will look at how neoliberalism has affected Mexico via the North American Free Trade Agreement. Mexico was chosen because since its depression in 1982 it has adopted continuing neoliberal policy, which according to its leaders, United States leaders, and international governmental bodies, is the path to development and the improvement of the standard of living for all people. This work begins by examining the historical path of neoliberalism to provide context for choosing Mexico for the focal point of this thesis, as well …

Trust In People And Trust In Technology: Expanding Interpersonal Trust To Technology-Mediated Interactions, Evgeniya Evgenieva Pavlova Miller

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Trust is necessary for human interactions. It provides the ability to participate in risky behaviors without engaging in a laborious risk-benefit analysis about the situation at hand. The introduction of information and communication technologies has brought about new ways of communicating (e.g., text messaging, video conferencing). Despite the benefits stemming from the ability to communicate through technology, the lower quality and quantity of communication cues exchanged during a technology-mediated interaction can hamper the development of trust.

This study examined the relationship between interpersonal trust and trust in technology during a technology-mediated dyadic interaction and aimed to determine whether interpersonal trust …

Mediated Relationships: An Ethnography Of Family Law Mediation, Elaina Behounek

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In my dissertation, I use multi-ethnographic methods to examine how mediators talk about, manage, and process families going through divorce. I show how a dominant narrative about marriage and the cultural expectations of parenthood provide a framework for mediators to manage the discourse of divorcing parties so assets and care giving can be split 50/50. The dominant P.E.A.C.E. narrative (P=parenting plan, E=equitable distribution, A=alimony, C=child support, E=everything else) restricts available discourse in mediation and guides mediators’ behaviors in ways that homogenize families by providing a linear formula for mediators to follow which results in only certain stories being allowed to …

The Effects Of Parent-Adolescent Communication And Parenting Style On The Physical Activity And Dietary Behaviors Of Latino Adolescents, Dianna Mary Boone

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The obesity epidemic among children and adolescents has been growing rapidly over the past 10 years, particularly in Latino children. Multiple researchers have found support for positive associations between parent-child communication and healthy nutrition and exercise behaviors. The present study examined the relations between parent-adolescent communication and parenting style and the dietary and exercise behaviors of Latino adolescents. The study included 79 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18 years and their parents (100% are Latino). Correlation and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to determine which parenting style and communication variables are significantly associated with adolescents’ dietary and physical …

I Threw My Pie For You: Engagement And Loyalty On Tv Show Facebook Pages, Tracy M. Wisneski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Facebook boasts an audience approximately three times as large as the next most popular social media networks, so it comes as no surprise that brands are devoting substantial resources to engage with their fans on the world’s most widely used social networking site. Television shows are among those brands using Facebook as a platform to connect with consumers, and their potential for fan relationships is unique from those of other brands, but there are, as of yet, no published scholarly articles for driving Facebook fan engagement and loyalty for a television show. This mixed methods study uses an ethnographic content …

The Experience Of Chronic Pain Management: A Multi-Voiced Narrative Analysis, Loren Wilbers

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since the late 1990s, the abuse of prescription opioid painkillers has been constructed as a major social problem in the United States, commonly referred to in the media as the “prescription painkiller epidemic.” Stories of addiction, overdose deaths, robberies, and other tragedies related to prescription opioids have been, and continue to be, commonly featured in the media. In response to public outcry regarding the “epidemic,” government and medical institutions have enforced strict regulations on the distribution of opioids, targeting most of these regulations at the treatment of chronic pain in particular. In this dissertation, I examine the experience of chronic …

Rape, Race, And Capital Punishment In North Carolina: A Qualitative Approach To Examining An Enduring Cultural Legacy, Douglas Wholl

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite positive steps toward the suppression of racial discrimination in the United States capital punishment process, the enduring effects of a cultural legacy of Black oppression (e.g., slavery; segregation; lynching) and historic and systemic racial discrimination in the criminal justice system have persisted to the present day. The purpose of the current study is to explore whether this enduring cultural legacy still exists by examining whether juries in rape-involved capital murder trials in North Carolina are more likely to recommend a sentence of death when the defendant is a Black male and the victim is a White female (compared to …

Narrating Climate Change At The San Juan National Historic Site At The Community Level, Leslie Paul Walker Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While the National Park Service is charged with interpreting and preserving areas designated as park resources, they must also manage environmental issues such as erosion resulting from climate change. This research sets out to narrate how Palo Seco, Puerto Rico, a neighboring community of the San Juan National Historic Site, perceives similar environmental conditions and motivations for addressing these issues. My research sits at the intersection between the park’s charter and understanding community implications of environmental changes that affect local heritage. Using Authorized Heritage Discourse and environmental justice as theoretical frameworks, I suggest that the National Park Service should include …

A Socio-Ecological Model Of Affordable Care Act Acceptance, Pratiksha Vaghela

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: Since 1965, there have not been any major revisions of the healthcare laws in the United States, until the recent implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). However, ACA is not well understood and is often controversial. The purpose of this study is to: (1) evaluate the relationship between the employers’ and the employees’ perceptions regarding the ACA mandates for small businesses, (2) evaluate the relationship between the self-reported and the tested knowledge of individuals regarding the ACA mandates for small businesses, and (3) determine if socio-demographic factors influence individual’s perception of the law. Based on the gathered information, …

On The Convergence Of Cinema And Theme Parks: Developing A Predictable Model For Creative Design, Ryan Luke Terry

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research study is to develop a model of information that will enable media conglomerates and other companies, with theme park investments, to make informed and effective decisions based on scholarly and empirical evidences. In order to do this, the following research study uses historic, scholarly, journalistic, and focus group evidences to consolidate the information necessary to create a model to support concepts and designs. The paper begins with establishing why it is important for media conglomerates, with theme park investments, to integrate cinema into the park’s design. Then it looks back through the history of cinema …

Health-Related Quality Of Life And Positive Mental Health Indicators In Youth With Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Sim Yin Tan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a chronic health condition that is increasingly affecting both children and adolescents (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). Although many studies have investigated the impact of HIV on cognitive, physical, academic, and psychosocial functioning, little is known about the self-perception of health-related quality of life, subjective well-being, social-emotional well-being, and psychopathology risks of youth who are infected with HIV. This study is one of first to examine the presence of these positive and negative health indicators and the relationship among these factors in youth with HIV and a community-based sample.

A total of 84 …