Digital Commons Network^™

Stage Fright: An Examination Of Horror-Based Theatre Through Theory And Practice, Ramon Paradoa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The horror genre wears masks of various shapes, sizes, and textures in the creative outlets in which it exists. While often criticized and chastised by the craftiest of pop culture critics, the general agreement is that the genre successfully fulfills its purpose in satisfying a craving for screams while providing a sub-cultured home for a specific demographic of misfits. Although the reasoning behind the genre's ever-growing popularity and continued financial success can easily be accredited to surface-level identifiers such as these, for the purposes of horror-based theatre, I believe they can more accurately be attributed to reasons far more psychoanalytical. …

Who Am I, And Why Does It Matter? Reflections Of Identity And The Need For Culturally Sustaining Theatre, Bianca Alamo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The question of "who am I" created an involuntary domino effect which led me to my most valued work I have done as a graduate student, serving predominantly Latino/a students in educational theatre settings. This thesis explores three productions I worked on and the questions that have evolved in my understanding of identity and cultural sustainability as a Latina theatre artist and educator working in educational theatre. As an Orlando Repertory teaching artist, I began a residency with HOPE CommUnity Center along with some colleagues. We worked with high school students from their youth group to devise a show titled …

First-Year Doctoral Students' Academic Writing Development: The Native- And Nonnative-Speaking Perspectives, Ying Xiong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Academic writing is central to doctoral growth. The purpose of this study was to better understand the similarities and differences between first-year native- and nonnative-speaking doctoral students in terms of academic writing and writer development. Data were collected for two semesters, including observational notes, transcribed audio diaries and interviews, and writing samples from three first-year doctoral students from an applied field of social science. Ethnographic data analysis described how text production and composing processes changed over the first year in relation to social and cultural factors. The first year of the doctoral program was critical to their growth as writers …

Towards Large-Scale And Robust Code Authorship Identification With Deep Feature Learning, Mohammed Abuhamad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Successful software authorship identification has both software forensics applications and privacy implications. However, the process requires an efficient extraction of quality authorship attributes. The extraction of such attributes is very challenging due to several factors such as the variety of software formats, number of available samples, and possible obfuscation or adversarial manipulation. We focus on software authorship identification from three central perspectives: large-scale single-authored software, real-world multi-authored software, and the robustness assessment of code authorship identification methods against adversarial attacks. First, we propose DL-CAIS, a deep Learning-based approach for software authorship attribution, that facilitates large-scale, format-independent, language-oblivious, and obfuscation-resilient software …

Comparing Human And Machine Learning Classification Of Human Factors In Incident Reports From Aviation, Claas Tido Boesser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Incident reporting systems are an integral part of any organization seeking to increase the safety of their operation by gathering data on past events, which can then be used to identify ways of mitigating similar events in the future. In order to analyze trends and common issues with regards to the human element in the system, reports are often classified according to a human factors taxonomy. Lately, machine learning algorithms have become popular tools for automated classification of text; however, performance of such algorithms varies and is dependent on several factors. In supervised machine learning tasks such as text classification, …

Pre-Service Teacher Perceptions Of Pronunciation Teaching: A Qualitative Investigation, Madelyn Diller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Pronunciation teaching has long been overlooked in areas of research, especially those of language teacher cognition (Couper, 2017; Macdonald, 2002). In language teacher education, narrative inquiry provides a basis for expert mediation and growth in perceived areas of challenge (Johnson, 2009; Johnson & Golombek, 2002) through the lens of language teacher cognition (Baker & Murphy, 2011). Through tracking reflections of pre-service teachers who observed a pronunciation course led by an experienced English teacher, this study examines a secondary data set of narrative reflections in correspondence with an observed pronunciation course. The results are organized into themes and subthemes which highlight …

Forests And Farmers: A Landscape Approach To Settlement Pattern Analysis In The Bolivian Amazon, Thomas Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The Llanos de Mojos of the Bolivian Amazon is a domesticated landscape with a long history of management by pre-Columbian communities. This project uses a landscape approach to interpret the settlement patterns of pre-Columbian raised field farmers in west central Mojos. The pre-Columbian landscape was reconstructed by mapping the distribution of three types of landscape features: forest islands, raised agricultural fields and water systems (rivers, streams & wetlands). Previous research has identified four types of patterned clustering or 'constellations' of these landscape features in west central Mojos. These constellations and the immediate area of the landscape that surrounds them afforded …

Culturally Responsive Leadership: Beliefs, Espoused Practices And Supports In High Performing Urban Schools, Jessica Schofield

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The racial academic achievement gap, identified as the underachievement of racially, culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse (RCELD) students and documented by research, is visible in all education organizations (Griner & Stewart, 2013; National Center for Education Statistics, 2019; O'Connor, Hill, & Robinson, 2009). Since the United States Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, repudiating the concept of separate but equal, laws concerning the need for equal education access have been enacted and educational policies have been created and implemented, but this achievement gap continues to exist (Williams, 2011). Culturally responsive leadership and culturally relevant …

Party For One: A Monologue Of The Importance Of Oneself Through Book Arts, Jacob Zhefu Wan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This thesis explores the importance of oneself through sexuality, context, and introspection in the art of book arts. I work with memories, imagination, and consciousness in the form of book arts to express the importance of the self from my personal experience. Through the use of colors, materials, spatial compositions, and other visual components to manifest the content of my art, I want to illuminate the awareness of otherness including gender issues and an individual's vulnerability. Playing with the texts of Chinese and English, I intend to create narratives with languages, images, and other mixed media. In addition to crafting …

Paleoethnobotanical Analysis Of Starch Grains And Phytoliths From Pre-Columbian Ceramic Residues In The Bolivian Amazon, Danielle Young

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The Llanos de Mojos of the southwestern Amazon region of Bolivia once supported large Pre-Columbian indigenous populations who were regarded as skilled farmers, and whose agricultural pursuits are still documented on the landscape through tens of thousands of raised fields. Nevertheless, the plants that were cultivated on these fields that contributed to a large part of the local cuisine are not well understood. Microbotanical analyses using starch grains and phytoliths of food residues were conducted on 55 archaeological ceramic fragments from four forest islands in Mojos where people resided recurrently from cal BCE 1200 to cal CE ~1430. The results …

Transforming English As A Second Language Story Readers Into Storytellers: Examining Learners' Experiences In A Video Book Trailer Project, Shizhong Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Reading is a challenging task for English as a Second Language (ESL) students (Pang, 2008; Nassaji, 2011). Instructors and researchers have explored various ways to promote ESL students' reading development. Since research on story-based pedagogy has shown benefits in the area of language development, stories can be used to promote ESL reading development. Furthermore, research on Digital Booktalk shows that when students engaged in after-reading video production activities they found a new purpose in reading (Gunter & Kenny, 2012). Additionally, digital storytelling (DST) research has revealed that DST can foster learner motivation and autonomy (Hafner & Miller, 2011; Kim, 2014). …

Breaking The Cycle Of Intergeneration Literacy Deficits: Describing Linguistic Interactions Between Adolescent Mothers And Their Young Children, Diana Abarca

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of this pilot descriptive study was to begin the exploration of adolescent mothers' and their children's sociodemographic characteristics and language and literacy skills, the home literacy environment (HLE) provided by adolescent mothers, and the quality of linguistic interactions between adolescent mothers and their children. Eight adolescent mother-child dyads were recruited from local school counties. Data were collected through demographic and HLE questionnaires, various language standardized measures (i.e., Preschool Language Scales, Fifth Edition and Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, Fifth Edition), and scored interactions between mother-child dyads using the Parenting Interactions with Children: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes …

Learning Transferable Representations For Visual Recognition, Yang Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

In the last half-decade, a new renaissance of machine learning originates from the applications of convolutional neural networks to visual recognition tasks. It is believed that a combination of big curated data and novel deep learning techniques can lead to unprecedented results. However, the increasingly large training data is still a drop in the ocean compared with scenarios in the wild. In this literature, we focus on learning transferable representation in the neural networks to ensure the models stay robust, even given different data distributions. We present three exemplar topics in three chapters, respectively: zero-shot learning, domain adaptation, and generalizable …

Using The Enneagram As A Lens For Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy In The Ninth Grade English Language Arts Classroom, Catherine Caudle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study explores the relationship between student personality, student choice in novel selection in the high school language arts classroom, and student reading self-efficacy and enjoyment. Throughout a student's educational journey, from elementary school to high school, it is typical to see a decrease in student choice regarding the literature they read. In elementary grades, students learn about the parts of a book, are frequently read to with animated voices, and look forward to shelves of choice on library trips. Yet as students move into their middle and high school years, the excitement often dwindles. Choice is removed, for a …

The Case For Grammar: What Preservice Teachers Need To Know About Metalinguistic Awareness, Aimee Schoonmaker, Kerry L. Purmensky

Journal of English Learner Education

The present study focused on preservice teachers’ grammar knowledge and its importance for their future students’ understanding and use of language, particularly English Learners. This quasi-experimental one-group pretest-posttest study investigated the grammar knowledge of preservice teachers who were enrolled in an undergraduate applied linguistics course at an urban university in the southern United States. The results confirmed prior research which found that preservice teachers are not knowledgeable enough about English grammar when explaining sentence level errors. This study demonstrated that preservice teachers’ basic understanding of English grammar can be increased in a short time, particularly in the recognition of simple …

Teacher Trainees’ Reasoning About Teaching Mathematics To English Learners In An Era Of Core Content State Standards, Sultan Turkan, Megan Schramm-Possinger

Journal of English Learner Education

Research has indicated over the years that English learners (ELs) are not supported to achieve their goals in learning academic content and acquiring English. Despite a growing body of research on the essential teacher knowledge-base for teaching ELs and effective linguistically-responsive teacher education, there is still a dearth of research on candidate content teachers’ reasoning and instructional decision-making especially regarding teaching mathematics to ELs. This paper explored how a group of ten future mathematics teachers reasoned about a handful of scenarios illustrative of teaching mathematics to ELs. Qualitative analyses of the candidates’ discourse revealed that pre-service mathematics teachers’ perceptions of …

Three Ways To Help Esl Content Linger Beyond The “El Course” In Teacher Preparation Programs, Melanie Gonzalez

Journal of English Learner Education

Like many other states, our teacher preparation program arrived at this compartmentalized, “single-experience” ESL-focused course model as a result of local, state, and federal policies in the United States that have increasingly placed ELs into mainstream classrooms rather than into language and literacy development courses (de Jong, 2014). TESOL faculty might have questioned: how can everything related to effective ESL teaching be covered in one semester? The fact of the matter is that the onus on this work largely rests upon teacher candidates’ shoulders after they depart the ESL-focused course. What follows are three practices that largely have arisen …

Featured Bookshelf: 2019 Staff Favorite Reads, Megan M. Haught

Featured Bookshelf

For the month of December, the UCF Libraries Bookshelf celebrates the favorite books of employees of the UCF Libraries. And you know a major thing about librarians? They love talking about their favorite books. The books listed below are some of the favorite non-fiction books we read in 2019.

Keep reading below to see the full list, descriptions, and catalog links for the favorite non-fiction titles read in 2019 by UCF Library employees. These 30 books plus many, many more are also on display on the 2nd (main) floor of the John C. Hitt Library next to the bank of …

Best Practices: An Exciting Showcase Of Inclusive, Innovative, & Interconnected Libraries In Asia And The Usa, Buenaventura (Ven) Basco, John Hickok

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Conference Presentation presented at PLAI 2019 National Congress in Tagaytay City, Philippines.

Libraries across the world—especially in the US and Asia—are rapidly changing. New technology, trends, and user needs are all driving libraries to adapt. This includes being more inclusive (meeting all users’ needs, of diverse backgrounds), more innovative (overcoming challenges and seizing opportunities), and more interconnected (forging partnerships and making creative connections). This paper presentation will showcase inspiring, real-life examples of just such libraries! The two co-presenters bring first-hand experience in featuring these showcased libraries. The first leads the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), a professional library organization …

The Effects Of Institutional Support Of Endangered Languages On Language Ideologies, Christy Box

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

Endangered languages are those that are spoken by a very small percentage of the population and are at risk of disappearing with all the knowledge and diversity they contain. Endangered languages often become endangered because the speakers and the society perceive the language as low status or of little use, and a positive change in perception of the language could aid in revitalizing the language. Institutions such as governments, businesses, and universities have recently begun supporting endangered languages in several areas, and this support could greatly affect language ideologies, perceptions of and attitudes about the language. In this research project, …

Bending The Binary: Effects Of Nonbinary Gender Media Representations On Disposition Formation And Media Enjoyment, Diana Higley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Today, the issue of gender plays a larger role in our social discussions than in the past. Over the last decade, new and groundbreaking television shows and movies that showcase gender nonconforming characters and plots that challenge traditional gender roles have become more common. The aim of the present study was to examine the potential effects of gender-neutral representations in media programming and particularly whether different representations of gender might influence audience attitudes toward characters and overall enjoyment of the media. Affective Disposition Theory and Moral Foundations Theory were used as a framework for understanding people's perceptions of gender-neutral media …

Fanfiction Reviews And Academic Literacy: Potential Impacts And Implications, Regina Weiler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study is meant to elucidate how fanfiction-related activities can incorporate many types of critical review, to call attention to what has been overlooked as significant forms of learning, and to understand and take advantage of the opportunities fanfiction's unconventional writing affords in lieu of more deliberate learning environments. This thesis was undertaken due to the significant gap in work done by aca-fan — a portmanteau of academic and fan— scholars who have strong links to the fanfiction community and culture. The aspects explored are the technical writing skills and techniques demonstrated in fanfiction reviews, the influence of the nontraditional …

Hearing The Voices Of The Deserters: Activist Critical Making In Electronic Literature, Laura Okkema

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Critical making is an approach to scholarship which combines discursive methods with creative practices. The concept has recently gained traction in the digital humanities, where scholars are looking for ways of integrating making into their research in ways that are inclusive and empowering to marginalized populations. This dissertation explores how digital humanists can engage critical making as a form of activism in electronic literature, specifically in the interactive fiction platform Twine. The author analyzes the making process of her own activist Twine game The Deserters and embeds the project within digital humanities discourses on activism and social justice, hypertext, electronic …

Threatening Instructions During A Hurricane Influence Risk Perceptions: The Case Of Fear Appeals And Changing Hurricane Projections, Daphne Whitmer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research was to examine the effectiveness of persuasive language in the protective action recommendation of an emergency warning, which instructs people how to prepare and stay safe. Study 1 was a pilot study, which suggested that participants were able to make distinctions between hurricane categories. In study 2, the presence of fear language and second-person personal pronouns (i.e., "you") in a recommendation was manipulated. Overall, fear language was more influential than a pronoun on risk perceptions. To understand how context influences risk perceptions, participants in study 3 made decisions after each piece of information received. The …

A Critical Race Analysis Of Transition Level Writing Curriculum To Support The Racially Diverse Two-Year College, Jamila M. Kareem

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This article applies critical race theory to an institutional analysis of writing curricular outcomes to assist two-year college writing program administrators, curriculum coordinators, and instructors with examining the racist implications of writing curriculum outcomes and to develop antiracist curricula that support the academic, professional, and civic success of the majority of their students.

Moving Towards A Dialogic Pedagogy: Using Video Feedback As A Teaching Tool To Respond To Writing Across Disciplines, Paul Martin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the impact of video feedback (VF) as a teaching tool for responding to writing activities and assignments across disciplines and whether or not VF can help instructors facilitate dialogic exchanges between students and teachers. I conducted three case studies with three different instructors from three different disciplines: psychology, history, and nanoscience. To determine the potential of video feedback to facilitate dialogic pedagogies, this dissertation examined the presence of transformational leadership theory (Parkin, 2017), the voices of teaching and learning (Collison et al., 2001), and gesture theory (Bavelas et al., 2014; Peräkylä & Ruusuvuori, 2008) for the paralinguistic …

The Rhetoric Of Camp: Adam Lambert's Identification And Division Strategies In His American Idol Performances, Isabelle Lanthier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes camp style as a rhetorical strategy for Burkean rhetorical identification. Through a case study of Adam Lambert's use of this style on American Idol in 2009, this study produced a rhetorical theory of camp that challenges the typically dialectical relationship between identification and its opposite: division. This study responds both to Susan Sontag's seminal essay on camp style and to other conversations surrounding identification, which revolve around how rhetors avoid division (Borrowman and Kmetz; Jones and Rowland), how rhetors appeal to conflicting audiences (DeGenaro; Helmbrecht and Love), how rhetors create new narratives as a means of identification …

Readability Of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures For Persons With Aphasia, Sara Gray

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between positive health outcomes in persons with aphasia (PWA) and personcentered care is highlighted by personally relevant information obtained directly from the PWA. Such is often facilitated via patient reported outcome measures (PROMs). In order to provide accurate responses to PROMs, PWAs must to read, comprehend, formulate and generate answers to a variety of questions. PROMs designed for other clinical populations assessed/treated by speech-language pathologists have been found to be largely unreadable. Despite the significant role of PROMs in assessment and management of aphasia, no study to date has examined the readability of these measures. Four readability formulae …

Implementation Of The Roles And Responsibilities Of Speech Language Pathologists In The Schools, Tamar Nir

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine how the roles and responsibilities of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in schools are being implemented, whether speech-language pathologists in schools feel comfortable with their roles, and whether they are willing to engage in professional learning activities to hone knowledge and skills in role areas in order to inform pre-service and in-service learning This study utilized an online survey to collect responses. The survey included questions related to the rate of implementation, comfort level, and desire for further professional learning with regards to the roles and responsibilities prescribed by American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) …

The Migration Of Indians To Eastern Africa: A Case Study Of The Ismaili Community, 1866-1966, Azizeddin Tejpar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Much of the Ismaili settlement in Eastern Africa, together with several other immigrant communities of Indian origin, took place in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth centuries. This thesis argues that the primary mover of the migration were the edicts, or Farmans, of the Ismaili spiritual leader. They were instrumental in motivating Ismailis to go to East Africa. Although there were other Indian groups from the general geographical area of Western Indian and Gujarat who also migrated to East Africa, the crucial factor in the migration of Ismailis were the edicts or Farmans of the Imams. My thesis argues …