Digital Commons Network^™

Consumer Perceptions Of Podcast Advertising: Theater Of The Mind And Story Selling, M. Olguta (Olga) Vilceanu, Kristine Johnson, Alexis Burns

AMTP Proceedings 2021

COVID-19 has changed the ways in which people manage education, work, and entertainment. This study sought to identify the types of attitudes and behaviors which promote mutually rewarding connections between podcasts, audiences, and advertisers. Survey results underlined the utmost importance for the podcast advertising industry to connect and engage listeners, in order for the overall billion-dollar ad buys to have the desired effect. About two-thirds of the participants listen to 6 or more shows during an average week and prefer live-narrated ads where podcast hosts banter and tell convincing stories about their experiences with advertised products. Key findings indicate that …

Less Talking, More Empathy: How To Use Emojis To Help People Feel Good, Farhana Nusrat, Yanliu Huang

AMTP Proceedings 2021

Text therapy is an affordable and convenient form of counselling that allows clients to text with a Therapist. It is quite common for therapists to use emojis while talking to their clients via texts. In this study, we examine how use of emojis in the context of text therapy impacts clients’ overall counselling experience. In two studies, we show that using emojis with concise messages (vs. long messages) lead to greater clients’ overall satisfaction, higher willingness to pay, and increased positive word of mouth.

Adapting To Slow-Moving Crises: The Personal Protection Equipment Supply Chain In The Time Of Covid19, Jennifer Shullih, Stephen Lemay

AMTP Proceedings 2021

In this paper, we look at the supply chain for PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. We look at the way the supply chain has responded to the pandemic, the coordination of the supply chain relative to the needs of primary users, and the consequences of its use. We find that the supply chain has continued to function more as a commercial supply chain than as an emergency supply chain largely because of a lack of centralized coordination. We include an analysis of existing concepts as they apply to this supply chain, but also incorporate preliminary results from a …

Post-Pandemic Impulse Buying Behavior: Exploring The Antecedents Of Impulsive Buying Across Product Categories During Post Covid-19 Era In The China, Pei Wang, Sindy Chapa

AMTP Proceedings 2021

Due to COVID-19 pandemic, online purchases have become the new normal. Based on the S-O-R framework, this study proposed a model to understand consumers’ impulsive shopping behavior during post COVID-19 era in China. This study investigated the antecedents of impulsive purchase behavior, while exploring the product categories most likely to be consumed because of the pandemic. An online survey was employed using a convenience national sample frame in China. A total sample of 322 was used to test the proposed model, hypotheses and answer the research questions. Theoretically, the study provides an alternative model that explains the role of website …

Are Virtual Assistants Effective In Generating Customer-Firm Engagement? The Role Of Social Media As A Component Of Marketing Strategies., Neda Mossaei

AMTP Proceedings 2021

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the effects of utilizing voice assistants in addition to integrating social media in firms’ communication strategies. Many consumers are increasingly using voice assistants to communicate with companies. At the same time, the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the way customers are interacting with companies due to social distancing, stay-at-home orders, and mental overload during this unprecedented time. Firms that provide consumers with easier ways of communication, such as utilizing a voice assistant in customer service, could benefit from higher consumer engagement. The cognitive load theory is proposed to explore its applicability in assessing whether less mental effort …

Effects Of An Educational Intervention On Students’ Knowledge And Attitude Towards Working With Older Adults, Johnna L. Kelley

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Many individuals report reservations about working with an older adult population. A potential factor that may influence this is openness to experience. Additionally, research shows that educational interventions are effective in increasing individuals’ level of knowledge on various topics including older adults and aging. This increased level of knowledge contributes to a higher level of willingness to work with an older adult population. In order to support and extend the existing literature on this topic, we examined the effect of a short-term education session on undergraduate students’ willingness to work with older adults in a variety of positions and settings. …

Athletics As A Life Curriculum: Lessons Learned Through Different Aspects Of Athletics, Thomas J. Davis

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

For my dissertation, I decided to write a memoir to have the opportunity to go through the self-reflection process and learn more about my inner self. I wanted to learn how the life experiences I write about have affected me as a student-athlete, coach, teacher, parent, and how they have shaped me into who I am today. I took instances from my life in athletics that I believe are significant in the development of my overall being. Educational scholars such as William Pinar (1995, 2004), John Dewey (1916/2019, 1933), Frederic Gros (2011), Immanuel Kant (1908/2015), Nel Noddings (2005), and Paulo …

Power And Control: An Exploration Of Health And Medicine At Camp Lawton (9js1), Emily L. Jones

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In late 1864, as the American Civil War was entering its final stages, the Confederacy built a prison to ease the overcrowding at the infamous Andersonville prison. This prison, located in Millen, Georgia, would be known as Camp Lawton. Camp Lawton was abandoned in November of 1864 but has recently been the site of ongoing archaeological investigation. Despite this, little research has been done focusing specifically on health and medicine at Camp Lawton. In this thesis, I use qualitative analysis of Civil War prisoner and guard accounts and analysis of artifacts from Camp Lawton to understand the nature of access …

Study Of Student Resource Use In Introductory Chemistry Courses, Sarah E. Melvin

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), college textbook prices have increased by 186% from 1986 to 2004.1 The impact of rising cost of textbooks is increasingly apparent as students are becoming more selective in the courses they enroll in, as well as more concerned with the quality of the learning experience they receive once enrolled in a course.¹ In response to high textbook prices, open-education resources (OER) are increasingly becoming more accepted for student use as an alternative to traditional textbook options. OERs are open-source textbook and/or materials that are free to use without worrying about copyright …

The Relationship Between Emotion Regulation And Health Status In Southeast Rural Firefighters, Catherine G. Gallagher

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Firefighters are continuously interacting within high-stress and high physical demanding tasks. Minimal research investigates the influence of emotion regulation on health status among firefighters. PURPOSE: To determine the relationship between emotion regulation constructs and health status fitness metrics in a sample of career firefighters from southeast Georgia. METHODS: Forty-four career firefighters from southeast rural Georgia participated in a yearly fitness assessment. Body composition and fitness variables were collected. Emotion regulation was examined using the 36-item Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Survey. Inferential analysis including a Kruskal Wallis test was used to reveal differences between variables in health status (i.e., Perceived Health, …

Surface, Depth And The Ephemeral Experience, Naghmeh Hachempour

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Music has long been an important medium for fulfilling and expressing emotional needs. In fact, music can become a powerful tool to create emotional responses in humans, such as happiness, sadness, awareness, as we see in recent decades in cinema, social media and advertisement. Today, a combination of different media is used to arouse our emotion and feeling, but often music has been used to accompany a visual realization, rather than vice versa. In my work I explore new modes of communication between people and sound by transfiguring music notation to a visual graphic. The scope and scale of my …

Ex-Tensions: Material Entanglement And Intensities, Zohreh Galdizadeh Garmeh

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This thesis is an exploration of the intrinsic capacity of matter and material formations and utilization of art as a mode of inquiry. Ex-tensions: Material Entanglement and Intensities investigates the animism and vibrancy of objects and the hidden interplay between materials and intensities that flow through and around within the spaces that confine us. In this body of work, all forms of material configurations are understood as animated and agential and as different representations of the same substance that are only formally diverse.

Supervisor Knowledge, Attitudes, And Interventions Methods Of Burnout Among Healthcare Providers, Wendy Deal

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Context: Burnout is prevalent among healthcare providers. Research has identified evidence-based intervention and preventative methods for use against burnout. There is limited research surrounding perceptions of burnout among those that supervise healthcare providers. Purpose: To explore supervisors’ knowledge, attitudes, and interventions related to burnout of healthcare providers within a hospital or clinic setting. Design: Consensual qualitative research with emergent design Methods: Eight supervisors were interviewed using a semi-structured interview approach via virtual platform. Participants were asked questions that aimed to capture supervisor perceptions of burnout. Interview transcripts were coded based on categories and themes developed through a consensus process …

Identifying Strategies To Increase The Recruitment And Retention Of Minority Males In The Public Health Workforce: A Two-State Comparative Case Study Approach, Melicent R. Miller

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Non-White males have higher rates of morbidity and mortality from chronic health conditions as compared to Whites. An essential element for achieving success in eliminating health disparities is to increase the presence of racial/ethnic minorities (i.e., people of color) within public health careers. One of the most important competencies for a public health professional is the ability to work in culturally and racially diverse populations. Yet, individuals are significantly more likely to receive their care and experience greater satisfaction from providers that are of the same racial or ethnic background. The racial/ethnic composition of the health professions workforce continues to …

Identifying Collegiate Athlete's Motivation To Continue Training In Quarantine Compared Between Sexes, Delaney A. Jamison

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Purpose: To identify the type of motivation that was most common among NCAA Division I athletes to continue training during a period of quarantine and how this differs between sexes. Methods: Male and female student-athletes from a university in the southern United States were recruited for the study. 47 participants (males = 13, females = 34) completed the Sport Motivation Scale-II (SMS-II) and Basic Needs Satisfaction in Sport Sale (BNSSS) questionnaire to determine their motivation and basic needs satisfaction during the period of imposed quarantine. Data Analysis: A Mann-Whitney-U test was calculated to determine the differences of composite intrinsic motivation …

Design Of Compact Signal Distribution Device For Hoffman Reflex Methodologic Applications In Sports Medicine, Abayomi E. Folaranmi

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

A study is presented on the design of compact sized signal distribution device for Hoffman reflex methodological applications in sports medicine. Established conventional method for measuring and recording human or animal nervous system response to external electrical stimulus was considered in this study. Challenges with measuring and recording techniques which introduces inaccuracies and unreliability of reflex response data obtained was analyzed, this work is aimed at improving the reliability of H-reflex d measuring and recording technique for the purpose of reducing inaccuracies introduced to data obtained because of conventional methodologic approach. Inaccuracies due to changes in subject muscle geometry and …

The Association Of Demographic Characteristics And Social Vulnerability With Covid-19 Outcomes, Gloria D. Boone

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The Association of Demographic Characteristics and Social Vulnerability With COVID-19 Outcomes

by

Gloria Boone

(Under the Direction of Gulzar Shah)

ABSTRACT

This research explored 102 Illinois counties' COVID-19 data to determine whether demographic characteristics and social vulnerability are associated with increased vulnerability to COVID-19 infections and deaths. COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting vulnerable groups and has been deadlier for African American and Hispanic people. The findings of this research will contribute to the knowledge base regarding social vulnerability and assist public health officials in targeting resources and designing interventions. This study used a retrospective cross-sectional design to assess demographic characteristics of …

Qualitative Study Of Factors Contributing To Fertility Service Use Among Cancer Survivors Of Reproductive Age In The Us, Angela Rodgers Moore

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the United States; however, there has been a decline in incidence and mortality due to advances in screening and treatment. Currently 16.9 million survivors are thriving within the United States, and the population of cancer survivors has been projected to grow to 22.2 million by 2030. Although cancer survivors report an increased surge of vitality and vigor, they often face physical, mental, psychosocial, or financial challenges that threaten their quality of life. A late treatment effect of particular concern for cancer survivors of reproductive age that has both physical and psychosocial …

Southern Ways: One Girl’S Experience With Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse, And Neglect, Merry Trammell

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This autobiographical inquiry will explore my own experiences with physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. Using the method of currere as a lead theory. The four-step process – regressive, progressive, analytical, synthetic – helped me work towards understanding the parts of myself affected by these traumas. Investigation of my own family’s generations of abuse as well as reflecting on these experiences helped me deconstruct my own story as I search for my own meaning and purpose. This study utilized aesthetics, depth psychology, and place as central themes in this work. I learned the valued of active imagination and the role …

Cultures And Colonization In Tamora Pierce's Young Adult Novels, Jessica R. Dube

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The content represented in young adult literature can be a shaping force for adolescents as they begin to understand more about themselves and the world around them. Fantasy fiction is especially powerful, as it allows readers to consider issues outside of their own experiences and learn through the characters of a fictional world. This thesis focuses specifically on the works of Tamora Pierce, and the ways in which she represents sociopolitical issues in her fictional world of Tortall. I analyze the ways in which Pierce’s works fulfill Landt’s standards of good multicultural literature, and how the representation she presents can …

Languages, Cultures, And Identities: Cross-Cultural Experiences Of Hbcu Students In A Study Abroad Program In Costa Rica, Irina M. Tedrick

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation was to illuminate how an immersive study abroad program enabled my Black and African American Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) students to have meaningful language acquisition, cultural exploration, and identity expansion experiences. The methods used in this research reflect the qualitative narrative nature of the cross-cultural narrative inquiry (He, 2003, 2006, 2010; Phillion & He, 2008; Phillion et al., 2009; Sharma & Phillion, 2021). Thus, to accurately capture the participants’ stories, I employed a variety of methods, gathering data through semi-structured interviews and the collection of personal artifacts, such as journal writings, pictures, and …

Culturally Contested Curriculum? African American Students And Classical Education, Mary E. Negley

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation is a series of speculative essays that explore the intersections of classical education, African American education, and culturally responsive/relevant/sustaining pedagogy. For centuries, classical education dominated the educational scene, and even today many people consider it to be a paragon of learning. However, it contains elitist and outdated ideas. By recognizing the miseducation of Blacks in the United States and exploring the educational journeys of four prominent African Americans: Marva Collins (1936-2015), W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963), August Wilson (1945-2005), and Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950), I explore possibilities that classical education can be culturally empowering for African American …

Using Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) To Evaluate The Use Of Food Waste Based Feed In Sustainable Small-Scale Aquaculture, Caitlin May

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Food waste is rich in nutrients and a valuable resource, but currently its primary method of disposal in the United States (US) is unsustainable. In 2018 the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that the commercial, institutional, and residential sectors of the US economy wasted 63 million metric tons of food, most of which was sent to landfills. Instead, food waste could be recycled and used to supplement or replace commercial feed in aquaculture to sustainably stimulate production of fish. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are a well characterized animal model closely related to other fish species that are important …

Dying For Change: The Impact Of Awareness Prevention And Intervention On Graduate Assistant Stress, Marla Bruner

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

As challenges surrounding mental health and well-being in doctoral graduate students (GAs), continue to rise, it is imperative that higher education institutions evaluate the stressors that GAs experience, their awareness and use of campus resources for dealing with stressors, and the impact that additional resources and programming may have on stress. The research questions for this study sought to examine the stressors experienced by doctoral level graduate students working in GA positions and their corresponding awareness and use of campus resources, and to determine what impact, if any, providing additional services, resources, and programming in had after a three-year implementation …

United States Nursing Homes And Health Equity During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Carla Cooper

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected older populations, with nursing homes impacted early on by the disease. The contribution of race/ethnicity of nursing home residents and facility characteristics on COVID-19 were unknown. The Donabedian model framework was used to study the relationship between the racial/ethnic characteristics of nursing home residents and COVID-19 outcomes and to examine if this relationship was moderated by the racial/ethnic composition of the county of nursing home location.

Method: Cross-sectional research design merging data from five publicly available sources. Laboratory confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths were compared by the racial composition of the county and nursing …

How Do Special Education Teachers View The Phenomenon Of Black Male Overrepresentation In Special Education?, Lelon B. Jeffers

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

As the student population in many U.S. public schools grows increasingly more diverse, the need to assess the educational practices utilized in public schools grows as well. It is imperative for educators to make a concerted effort to ensure the rights and needs of minority students are being addressed in public schools. It is the duty of educators and policy makers to protect those students who are most marginalized by society. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the phenomenon of Black male overrepresentation in special education, and to ascertain the views and perspectives of special education teachers …

An Examination Of Faculty And Staff Collaboration And Relationships In Higher Education, Jennifer Syno

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Collaboration between academic and student affairs professionals is an important means of increasing student success; however historical divides between these units have made implementation of these efforts challenging. This quantitative study sought to evaluate the perceptions of faculty and student affairs staff towards collaborative efforts and toward one another within a single campus of a comprehensive regional university within the southeast. Findings show that while both faculty and staff value collaborations and believe they positively impact student success, these units do not experience equitable voice and responsibility within collaborative efforts when conducted. Additionally, differences were found in enjoyment of collaborative …

Perceptions Of Local Board Of Health Effectiveness In Georgia, Amber Erickson

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of the local board of health chairpersons in Georgia on their engagement in six governance functions and examining the challenges faced and facilitators perceived by local boards of health in performing the governance functions properly. Methods: For this descriptive mixed method study design, a survey was administered to all local board of health chairpersons and key informant interviews were conducted with a small selection of board of health chairpersons. Descriptive statistics were produced for recoded survey data variables and themes from qualitative data collected through the surveys and interviews …

Design And Development Of Soft Earthworm Robot Driven By Fibrous Artificial Muscles, Beau Ragland

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Earthworm robots have proven their viability in the fields of medicine, reconnaissance, search and rescue, and infrastructure inspection. These robots are traditionally typically hard-shelled and must be tethered to whatever drives their locomotion. For this reason, truly autonomous capabilities are not yet feasible. The goal of this thesis is to introduce a robot that not only sets the groundwork for autonomous locomotion, but also is safe for human-robot interaction. This was done by ensuring that the actuation principle utilized by the robot is safe around humans and can work in an untethered design. Artificial muscle actuation allowed for these prerequisites …

Evaluating St. Catherines Island's Shoreline, Vegetation Line, And The Locations Of Loggerhead Sea Turtle Nests, Sydney O. Davis

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

St. Catherines Island is a highly dynamic barrier island on the Georgia coast that is also federally listed critical nesting habitat for loggerhead sea turtles. Understanding how St. Catherines’ shoreline and vegetation is changing over time is geographically important as a potential template for other barrier islands. Measuring sea turtle nest locations will provide insight into their natural patterns and how they adjust those locations on a changing barrier island. Analyzing Moving Boundaries Using R (AMBUR) is implemented in this research to assess the movement of the vegetation and shorelines from 2005-2017 using the End Point Rate (EPR) and Linear …