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Hannibal Lecter And A Friend Walk Into A Bar: The Role Of Psychopathy In Peer Drinking Behaviors, Matthew Kramer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

OVERVIEW: College student drinking remains a concern on campuses, with many interventions for college students not showing the desired effect in lowering alcohol use and problems. Thus, examining possible underlying factors, such as psychopathy, is important. Psychopathy includes elements of callousness, manipulativeness, charm, and impulsivity. Additionally, psychopathy has been associated with increased alcohol use and problems. Despite the overwhelming evidence of psychopathy's role in alcohol pathology writ large, and that psychopathy is considered to include predatory interpersonal skills and antisocial behaviors, there is little research examining the role of psychopathy in peer influence related to alcohol use and protective strategies. …

From The Femme Fatale To The Femme Fatalist: Re-Envisioning Gendered Iconography In Classic Hollywood Cinema, Noah Volz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This thesis re-imagines cultural-historical texts from contemporary perspectives to argue for the visibility of the femme fatalist figure in classic Hollywood cinema. The project contends that the femme fatalist, as an identity, more substantively accounts for women's multidimensionality as filmic characters, beginning with an assessment of this figure in two films noir and arriving at an assessment of her presence in a psychological thriller. To demonstrate the necessity of re-envisioning female multiplicity in the cinema, this study investigates how the motion pictures The Killers (1946), Gilda (1946), and The Spiral Staircase (1946) contribute to an understanding of the femme fatalist …

Investigating The Effects Of Negative Influence Gradients And Emotion Contagion On The Information Processing Capacity Of Social Media Users: Information Diffusion Modeling Approach, Nisha Baral

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

With the growing use of Online social media (OSM), users are observing a substantial amount of information in their social feeds. Moreover, people often use multiple OSM platforms because of each platform's unique features. Because of the huge volume of information present in social feeds, it restricts a user's ability to process the relevant information since the most important information may be overwhelmed by unimportant information. For information to diffuse in OSM, the receiver's attention is the most important condition. Cognition plays an important role in determining a user's attention/responsiveness. If OSM users receive the information above their cognition limits …

The Effects Of Traumatic Experiences On Identity Among People With Expressive Language Disorders, Bailey Wagaman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study aims to address the lack of standardized measurement of the effects of trauma on identity. Waterman's (2020) theory, taxonomy, and Trauma Impacts on Identity Functioning Scales were used to evaluate the effects of traumatic brain injury on identity. TBI survivors compared their sense of identity from pre-to-post TBI. Data collection consisted of 2 interviews and participants were compensated with $60 gift cards. Participants (N = 15, Mage = 52.67) were recruited from several language disorder groups. In terms of identity functioning post-brain injury, participant reports of their experiences varied quite a bit from identity loss to a strengthened …

Social Support And Empowerment Among Caregivers Of Children With Asthma, Lauren Lebo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of this study was to better understand the concept of empowerment among caregivers of children with asthma. This study investigated what is already known about empowerment among caregivers and the instruments available to measure caregiver empowerment. This study then examined the relationship between social support and caregiver empowerment as well as income level and empowerment amongst caregivers of children with asthma. This study used the Federal Poverty Guidelines, Family Empowerment Scale and MOS Social Support Survey to measure these relationships. It was found that there was no relationship between income level and empowerment, but there was a significant …

A Novel Virtual Reality Executive Function Assessment, Christine Parsons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Executive Function (EF) is related to cognitive ability and includes such constructs as working memory, inhibition control, and cognitive flexibility (i.e., set shifting). The individual constructs work together to allow a person to set and achieve goals. Student success and achievement have been linked to satisfactory EF skills. Research indicates the testing methods for executive function are diverse and may lack sensitivity. Currently, the NIH Toolbox-Cognitive Battery (NTCB) assessment is a nationally normed standardized battery used to measure individual constructs of executive function in isolation. However, this assessment does not allow measurement of EF as the individual constructs interoperate. Virtual …

Quality Of Life: How Does Race Influence Residential Satisfaction In Cities, Alexis Kelly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The main concepts addressed within this study are neighborhood security, culture in cities, immigration, White flight, and gentrification. Although Whites originally settled in cities, an influx of foreigners encouraged racial dispersion and seclusion. Ultimately, Whites fled to suburban and rural areas while racial minorities remained in the city. The historic relocation of Whites led to the neglect of the city and its occupants, Thus, the motivation for this study revolves around the idea that race-related exclusion influences quality of life and residential satisfaction in cities. Data were obtained from the General Social Survey to examine the relationship between quality of …

Invisible Strings: The Impacts Of Race On Attitudes Toward Abortion Among The Highly Religious, Marin Deevers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Following an influential Supreme Court decision regarding the legality of abortion, America seems to be split now more than ever on their attitudes towards this care. At the same time, researchers have shown that America has been shifting towards a more diverse and liberal population on social issues. With the increased presence of diverse groups, cross-pressures have grown in individuals belonging to multiple social groups that may hold conflicting opinions about political issues such as abortion care. Race and frequent religiosity have been salient identities in predicting attitudes towards abortion. This research set out to test whether these identities can …

The Dialectics Of Ambivalent Identification In The Supervisor-Subordinate Dyad, Barret Vermilion

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Ambivalent interpersonal relationships in organizations are known to have deleterious effects on employee health and wellbeing, work performance, counterproductive work behaviors, and more. However, little research has examined ambivalent relationships in the supervisor-subordinate dyad. In the present study, I contribute to the supervisor-subordinate literature by examining the interaction between abusive supervision and supervisor support. Furthermore, I extend past findings by investigating the mediating role of ambivalent supervisor identification, hypothesizing that support in an otherwise abusive supervisor relationship will lead to ambivalent supervisor identification and, consequently, negative health outcomes. Finally, I explore the role of dialectical thinking style, an Eastern mode …

The Sociology Of God: The Case Of Homeless Believers, John L'Hommedieu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This research began as personal curiosity about the religious beliefs of persons experiencing homelessness, and in particular their beliefs about God. What do they believe about God, and how are their beliefs socially constructed? Social research has generally limited its focus to assessing religion as an asset in ameliorating homelessness as a social problem with little attention to the religious behaviors and thought processes of persons experiencing homelessness themselves. I conducted a classic grounded theory (CGT) analysis based on 14 in-depth interviews with homeless believers (HB's) and three interviews with pastors-service-providers (PSP's) for comparative analysis. The findings include two major …

An Anthropological Study Of The Effects Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Drug Treatment In The United States, Abigail Shepherd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This thesis examined the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the structure of drug treatment in the United States and how the effects have influenced the experience of undergoing and providing services in a variety of contexts. The COVID-19 pandemic emerged amid an opioid epidemic, which has taken the lives of over 564,000 Americans since the late 1990s. With overdose deaths increasing since the onset of the pandemic and government agencies responding with policy changes, recent research in the social sciences and on drug treatment services has necessarily shifted its focus to the effects of the pandemic on …

Homicide Patterns In Urban Places:A Geospatial Analysis Of Homicide In Baltimore, M.D., Kayla Toohy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Extant criminological research examining research questions oriented on understanding the spatial distribution of violent crime instances, such as homicide, have often employed the theoretical foundations of both social disorganization theory and routine activities theory. Though there is much research using these theories independently and in conjunction with one another, few studies have integrated the theories in analyses of homicide at multiple levels of aggregation. The current study is conducted to analyze homicide incidents in Baltimore, Maryland from 2014 through 2018. The analysis conducted considers both social disorganization and routine activities theory variables to test the explanatory power of each theory …

Uncovering Ophelia: The Reclamation Of Women's Madness Through Feminist Disability Studies, Amy Crawford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

In his essay "The Philosophy of Composition," Edgar Allan Poe proclaims that "the death of a beautiful woman is unquestionably the most poetical topic in the world," and this sentiment remains curiously persistent within the literary world. Artists have looked towards their beautiful muses for centuries as a source of inspiration and introspection, and the faces that these muses wear were often swooning, longing, or even dead. Nineteenth-century British aesthetics solidified a gendered ideology that remains prevalent to this day; in particular, one subculture of Victorian aesthetics that emerged during this period was the Cult of Ophelia: a collection of …

Team Virtuality And Psychological Safety: An Experiment, Moses Rivera

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Working from home as part of a virtual team has become the status quo for many workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, modern organizations require teams skilled at complex problem-solving, innovation, and adaptability. Psychological safety enhances these skills, by means of fostering an environment in which team members can fully engage and learn. Given the theoretical possibility that team virtuality may dampen the development of team psychological safety, the present study empirically investigated relationship between these two constructs. A hypothesized model was tested, in which team virtuality has an indirect effect on team psychological safety, via intrateam perceived other-to-self …

Exploring The Response To Covid-19 In Puerto Rico, Richard Colon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

In recent years Puerto Rico has faced a series of unfavorable events including financial turmoil, massive population loss, earthquakes, and droughts. These events had significantly impacted its resources and capacity to confront a major public health crisis. As such, Puerto Rico was expected to poorly manage the ongoing pandemic. Despite this, nearly all data surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico has indicated the contrary. The purpose of this study was to explore and understand the COVID-19 response in Puerto Rico. The Conservation of Resources theory guided the analysis of resource consumption and management of the Puerto Rican government and …

Covid, Inequalities And Health: A Sociological Analysis About The Resilience Found In Unique Student Life Experiences, Sarah Da Silva

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study demonstrates how adversity during the covid pandemic has impacted the lives of diverse college students. Specifically, this study analyzes students' perspectives on how they respond through resilience to daily academic, financial, and social stressors impacting their health during the pandemic. For this study, the research questions are: 1) what themes and forms of coping emerge among marginalized racially, ethnically diverse U.S. college students about their mental health and daily life experiences exacerbated by the covid pandemic? 2) And to what do experiences with stressors in combination with the covid pandemic reveal about the mental health of marginalized groups …

Deadly Combinations: Factors That Are Associated With Simultaneous And Concurrent Polysubstance Use, Laura Lightfoot

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Mortality reports show that most overdose deaths include more than one substance. In addition, there is a gap in the literature that discusses risk factors for polysubstance use. The objective of this study was to explore what factors relate to the likelihood of engaging in polysubstance use, defined as using more than one substance. Specifically, the goal was to evaluate predictors of simultaneous (i.e., the use of alcohol and another substance at the same time in the past six months) polysubstance use and concurrent (i.e., the use of any two substances in the past six months) polysubstance use, vs. no …

The Universal Story: Coming-Of-Age In Contemporary Animation, Christina Christie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Cycles is a 3D animated short film about a father who struggles to keep up with his daughter as she races through life. Whereas most coming-of-age films focus solely on the journey of the adolescent, Cycles subverts the expectations of the genre by exploring the impact growing up has on both the parent and child in tandem. As a film, Cycles relies on the careful and deliberate use of tropes, informed character and environment design, and established cinematic devices to support the story's theme of accepting change. Though my personal experience inspired this film, it evolved into a contemporary and …

The Twinning Of Crisis: Intimate Partner Violence, State-Level Policy, And Female-Headed Family Poverty Across The United States, Julio Montanez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Intimate partner violence (IPV) and poverty plague populations as twin social crises. Just as IPV has implications in terms of gender, race, magnitude, and deleteriousness—so does poverty. IPV cuts across demography but has concentrated burden for certain groups. In addition to the many dimensions of violence survivors may face, survivors may face economic abuse, as well as difficulty working or attaining an education. Poverty, measured in relative and absolute terms, is stratified by various demographic categories (e.g., disability, ethnicity, gender), with certain groups facing an enhanced prevalence of the issue. With these demographic disparities working in the background of the …

An Ethnographically Informed Case Study Exploring The Culture Of Writing Instruction In One Middle School English Language Arts Class, Misha Zaidi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This qualitative, ethnographically informed case-study examines how social, psychological, and organizational factors of a culture impact writing instruction and practice within an English Language Arts middle school class. In order to explore possible reasons for stagnant writing instruction in middle schools, two research questions guided this study: (RQ1) What do the components of writing instruction look like in one middle school class?, and (RQ2) How does one middle school ELA class exhibit identity distinction, writing development, and discourse surrounding writing instruction? I examined how one middle school class exhibits identity distinction among students and teachers within writing, development of writing, …

The Impact Of Covid-19 Precautions On Teachers' Preparation Programs In Kuwait, Nour Alshammari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

COVID-19 has changed the world we know, especially our educational system. This study explores the impact of schools' lockdown during COVID-19 on teachers' preparation programs in Kuwait. This qualitative research explores the adjustments that higher education institutes in Kuwait adopted to fulfill their teachers' preparation programs. Two public higher education institutes were the focus of this study by investigating the available syllabi and curricula of their teachers' preparation programs. The reviewed data revealed in-school learning stopped as institutions adhered to the government's closure directive. This study also revealed that higher learning institutions introduced changes to their training curriculum to prepare …

Cultivating Culturally Responsive, Equity-Centered, And Trauma-Informed Attitudes Among Educators, Jasmine Haynes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This qualitative study explored the influence of implementing a culturally responsive and equity-centered trauma-informed professional development series with educators. Seven middle school educators from various regions of the U.S. participated in a culturally responsive and equity-centered trauma-informed professional development series in the 2021-2022 academic year. Educators participating in the series received three live virtual two-hour trauma-informed modules highlighting racial trauma, race-related trauma triggers, and deficit versus asset-based perspectives of racially diverse students, along with case studies and critical discourse. Data collection included pre-and post-interviews (n = 14), participant journal reflections (n = 14), and intervention module case study reflection transcripts …

Advancing Medical Education By Optimizing The Use Of Formal And Informal Curriculum Resources, Ziana Bagot

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Current and aspiring medical school students are inundated by curriculum resources. To optimize the curriculum resources that are offered in medical education, the present work examines both institutionally and commercially developed resources from the lens of various stakeholders through three separate, yet related, studies. The first study, a scoping review, synthesizes and recognizes gaps in scholarship regarding obstacles that underrepresented, pre-medical students encounter in applying to medical school, specifically focusing on the impact of access to commercial test preparation resources. A review of existing literature regarding this population's medical school admission difficulties yielded a majority of non-empirical, deficit-focused articles that …

An Examination Of Florida's High Stakes Testing: A Post-Hoc Study Of The Academic Achievement Of Students With Borderline Intellectual Functioning, Rhonda Mcmahon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study compares achievement of students with borderline intellectual functioning by investigating differences in Florida Standards Assessment results for those who received special education services and those who did not receive services. A review of the literature finds research focused on this population is limited with few effective strategies identified to help these students keep pace with the increasing demand of today's classrooms. This post-hoc causal-comparative study uses an analysis of variance to determine if there are statistically significant achievement differences in Florida Standards Assessment results in English Language Arts and Mathematics for students when examining the effect of the …

Evolution And Effectiveness Of The Governmental Risk And Crisis Communication On Twitter In The Covid-19 Pandemic: The Case Of Switzerland, Albena Björck, Audra Diers-Lawson, Felix Dücrey

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

The Covid-19 pandemic has challenged the risk and crisis communication capabilities of governmental authorities: A new global phenomenon had to be managed and explained on a national and local level to protect public health. In the form of a single case study, the current research investigates this complex event as a cumulative crisis, the evolution of the communication strategies, and the effectiveness of messaging using Twitter in the context of Switzerland. The study identifies improvement potential in existing theoretical frameworks and provides a method for governmental authorities to track and assess their communication efforts.

The Perils Of The Boomerang Effect: White House Messaging To Deter Border Crossing Backfires, Mariely Valentin-Llopis, Jessica Delgado

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

The Boomerang Effect explains how a given persuasive message produces attitude change in the direction opposite to that intended. We seek to explain how the convergence of Central American migrants at the southwest border since 2014 is, in part, produced by the United States (U.S.) White House messaging misstep. We propose a bottom-up persuasive approach to effectively spread awareness of the dangers of unauthorized border crossing. Instead of state authority voices, local native voices can effectually convey the message. The bottom-up approach of persuasion is a foundational strategy to effectively design a public awareness campaign focusing on ethos. The objective …

Public Opinion In A Pandemic: Four Surveys Conducted With Americans Throughout The Covid-19 Pandemic, Lauri M. Baker, Chen-Xian Yang, Angela B. Lindsey, Ashley Mcleod-Morin, Ricky W. Telg, Anissa Zagonel, Sydney Honeycutt, Naik Wali, Shelli Rampold

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

The UF/IFAS Center for Public Issues Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (PIE Center) conducted a series of national public opinion surveys to examine the perceptions of Americans related to COVID-19. The PIE Center conducted four surveys with ~1,500 Americans per survey from mid-March 2020 to January 2021. The surveys sought to understand Americans’ perceptions of a range of topics including health and communication concerns, vaccination perceptions and acceptance, mask understanding and willingness, and compound disasters and stress. Presentations in this panel highlight key areas of research from this survey series and share how communicators can use this research to …

Limited Court Access V. Poor And Indigent, Chinyere Anunobi

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In criminal cases, poor individuals must qualify as legally indigent to receive legal representation. In civil cases, poor and indigent individuals must find their own resources to support themselves since the government does not guarantee counsel. Without counsel, poor and indigent individuals are forced to find legal representation for these cases on their own, which can be difficult considering the expenses of fees and fines. Cognitive processes, including bias and stereotypes, create a barrier in advocacy because they cloud judgement of decision-makers, which can diminish the voice of this vulnerable community. Barriers like these create an invisible wall where limited …

The Effect Of Technological Advancements On Interactions In The Agricultural Commodities Market, Savannah B. Armas

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The objective of this research is to find, if and how, real and financial technological advancements influence interactions in the agricultural commodities market. Statistical testing was conducted to identify potential correlation and any positive linear relationships in the price data between agricultural commodities and their complementary agricultural chemical producers. Testing if higher trade volumes in this industry result from higher technology usage were initiated by identifying shared linear growth between general index volumes and agricultural commodities, alongside their chemical complement stock volumes. The scientific development of chemical engineering mirrors financial technologies influencing trader behavior as a significant contributor to agricultural …

Cancer Survivors' Physical Activity Advice: A Guide For Assessment And Implementation For Nurses And Healthcare Workers, Kayla Burd

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Background: Physical activity (PA) improves cancer-related symptoms (e.g., fatigue, sleep) in cancer survivors, although there is low adherence due to barriers. Cancer survivors are interested in participating in PA but healthcare providers feel they have inadequate knowledge in PA and lack guidance to provide PA support.

Purpose: Examine PA advice for cancer survivors and healthcare providers from cancer survivor interviews to understand cancer survivors’ PA and create an algorithm to help healthcare providers assess and provide PA advice to cancer survivors.

Method: Qualitative content analysis of twenty interviews with cancer survivors regarding PA.

Results: Cancer survivors advised health care providers …