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The Promotion Of Social Awakening Through The Speech Of Lewis Richardson: A Metaphorical Lens That Is Echoed Today, Suha Mohammed

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

This analysis will illustrate how a journey through the lens of metaphorical criticism can openly display the hardships, life, and reality of past African American voices, as their stories echo through the rhetor, Lewis Richardson. An examination of a striking speech that speaks volumes, recited by Lewis Richardson, will unravel the depth in imagery, interpretation, and symbolism from an application of a metaphorical critical lens that tells a story that just keeps getting louder and louder as it grows unheard. “When metaphor is seen as a way of knowing the world, it plays a particular role in argumentation” [8]. This …

2021 International Crisis And Risk Communication Conference Program, Conference Organizers

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

Program to the to the 11th Annual International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference sponsored by the Nicholson School of Communication and Media.

Perceptions And Health Effects Of Electronic Cigarettes Among College Students, Safia Centner

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are devices that allow users to inhale an aerosol, which contains chemical additives. E-cigarettes are becoming common for nicotine delivery in addition to traditional cigarettes. The goal of this study was to determine how college students perceive e-cigarettes, how often college students use e-cigarettes, and how they view e-cigarettes compared to tobacco cigarettes. This was accomplished through sending a survey built on Qualtrics to UCF students via Knights Email. This survey included questions about demographics, perceptions, and usage of e-cigarettes. The collected data was downloaded into SPSS and analyzed to compare data among different groups. The …

High Rates Of Misdiagnosis Of Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome And How To Reduce Them, Aliya Centner

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) is a clinical diagnosis characterized by sudden onset of obsessive compulsive disorder and is considered a type of Autoimmune Encephalitis. Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder associated with Streptococcal Infection (PANDAS) is a subset of PANS characterized by a similar presentation but specifically results from infection by Group A β-hemolytic streptococcus. Early and accurate diagnosis is essential, as PANS can become a chronic condition. PANS and PANDAS are frequently misdiagnosed. There are a variety of differential diagnoses. The intent of this thesis is to evaluate differences in symptoms between PANDAS patients and those with a differential diagnosis …

Fake News And Women: Fake And Real Media's Impact On Sexism In Consumer Attitudes, Alexandra C. Oropallo

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Gender-based discrimination is an issue that permeates many aspects of today's society and is influenced by numerous factors, including the presence of fake news, or emotionally driven, factually inaccurate, and misleading media. This study aimed to examine fake news' impact on consumer attitudes regarding women and to investigate how certain demographic factors relate to consumers' attitudes towards women. The current study had two main hypotheses: (1) participants exposed to fake news materials will report higher levels of both old-fashioned and modern sexism than those in other conditions and (2) participants with higher levels of sociodemographic factors such as right-wing authoritarianism …

Exposure To Parental Conflict And Anxiety In Justice-Involved Youth, Logan B. Ewing

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the link between exposure to domestic violence (DV) and the presence of symptoms of anxiety in a population of justice-involved juveniles. The categories of DV were broken down into verbal abuse and physical abuse, along with a third category of juveniles that witnessed both forms of abuse within their households. This study compared the prevalence of anxiety in juveniles when faced with the different instances of DV through the use of data collected from a longitudinal study conducted by the Pathways to Desistance Project. The goal of the study was to further …

Gastrointestinal Symptoms And Belly Pain During The Phases Of The Menstrual Cycle In Healthy Young Females, Preethashree Anbukkarasu

Honors Undergraduate Theses

There are significant differences between the incidence of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms between males and females. A recent review found that females report having more severe GI health problems compared to males. One explanation for the higher reporting rates of GI symptoms in females could be attributed to menstrual cycle influences rather than GI processes.

This research aims to examine the relationship between how gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms experienced by women covary with the different stages of the menstrual cycle. Additionally, a secondary purpose is to determine the moderating effect of health anxiety on the severity of menstrual and GI symptoms.

Responses …

The Moderating Effect Of Organizational Policies And Procedures In Relation To The Consequences Of Sexual Harassment Of Women, Nicole Aranda

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Sexual harassment is common in the workplace and leads to negative outcomes for individuals and organizations. Previous research has shown that turnover is a negative outcome of sexual harassment. Organizations can implement policies and procedures, but little research exists examining the impact of these policies on employee perceptions and intentions. Thus, the aim of this study is to examine perceived enforcement of organizational policies and procedures as a moderator of the relationship between sexual harassment and turnover intentions. Social exchange theory is used to explain this concept between women from male-dominated professions and gender-balanced professions. Participants were 66 employed females …

A Model For Assessing Staff Resilience To Improve Organizational Resilience In Emergency Departments, Stefani Baz

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Organizational Resilience is defined as the ability of an organization to anticipate sudden disruptions, effectively respond, and adapt in a changing environment to deliver its objectives, as well as successfully recover. In order to increase resilience at an organizational level, it is important to understand how individuals collectively contribute to resilience capability of an organization. Emergency Departments (EDs) are considered to be particularly well suited to investigating resilience capability due to their highly unpredictable and complex operating environment. Further, the resilience capability of EDs and their staff is suggested to be essential to successful delivery of safe, high-quality, and timely …

All Good Things Must Come To An End: Finding The Connection Between Citizenship Pressure, Organizational Citizenship Behaviors, And Job-Related Affective Well-Being, Skylar D. Oney

Honors Undergraduate Theses

A plethora of extant research focuses on the positive outcomes of organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB). However, there has been a relatively recent shift of focus that sheds light on the changing parameters and workplace perceptions of what such behaviors entail, as well as their adverse outcomes. As organizations and their employees endure changes, work expectations have consequently changed through differing perceptions of job tasks that individuals feel required or obligated to do, even when it is not included in their formal job description. Such feelings point to the concept of citizenship pressure (CP), which this thesis further explores and adds …

Designing An Expressive Writing Unit For Students With Asd In Mind: The Synthesis Of Social-Emotional Learning And Writing Strategy Instruction, Maya Govea

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In general education classrooms across the United States, students with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) learn how to write and cultivate their writing skills. Teachers of students with ASD have the unique responsibility of carrying out effective instruction to all students. However, the growing body of research around evidence-based practices and approaches for students with ASD is limited. Two effective practices that have shown positive statistical significance for students with ASD are the self-regulated strategy development model (SRSD) and the social-emotional learning (SEL) framework. General education instruction faces a research-practice gap because of the widespread lack of strategy instruction and lack …

Domestic Migrant Workers In Lebanon: Between Precarity And Resiliency, Jasmine L. Masri

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The proliferation in the number of domestic migrant workers (DMWs), who travel from poorer countries to work in homes in wealthier countries, represents an essential dimension of globalization in the 21st century. This project focuses on DMWs in Lebanon. In an increasingly globalized world, the study of DMWs, who number around 250,000 in Lebanon (Amnesty International, 2019), provides a critical case to understand how the transborder movement of humans generates unique and challenging human rights issues. Lebanon practices the kafala system, which is prevalent in other Middle Eastern countries and makes foreign workers legally dependent on their employment. This system …

The Prevalence Of E-Cigarette Use According To Educational Attainment Among Young Adults In The Population Assessment Of Tobacco And Health (Path) Study, Akhila Cheekati

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Prior studies indicate a link between poor academic performance and e-cigarette use in high school students (18 years and below). However, the effect of post high school education on e-cigarette use is poorly summarized in literature.

The objective of the current study was to determine if there was a difference in prevalence of past 30-day e-cigarette use in a national sample of young adults due to different educational levels. Four groups of young adults were studied based on their level of education: High School Dropouts, High School Graduates/GED, Current College Students, and College Graduates. Data from the Population Assessment of …

Examining One Teacher's Practices In Supporting Students With Exceptionalities In An Online Setting, Alyson L. Hepler

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis explored how students with exceptionalities learned literacy skills in an online learning environment and how the teacher was supported in the online classroom environment through professional development. Analysis of classroom observations and interviews with a teacher resulted in five findings: (1) There was limited professional development for teaching exceptional education students online. (2) Meeting exceptional student educational needs in the online environment was challenging for the teacher. (3) During the teacher's online lessons, there were some elements of literacy present such as comprehension and real-world examples. (4) The teacher missed out on some key components for literacy development …

Utilizing Fitts' Law To Examine Motor Imagery Of Self, Other, And Objects, Sean D. Hinkle

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Past research has indicated that motor imagery, or imagined movement, follows Fitts' law similarly to physical movement. Additionally, motor imagery has been shown to improve real motor performance in multiple contexts, showcasing a remarkable connection with real motion. The current study examines how the subject of motor imagery, imagining oneself, another person, or an object, impacts this faithfulness to real movement, specifically in following Fitts' law. Participants viewed 2D photos of a virtual environment with an "X", a humanoid, or a disc facing a gate at 6 distances and 4 widths for 24 combinations. Each combination was repeated twice randomly …

The Relationship Between Creative Hobbies And Visual Spatial Ability, Victoria Alexander

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Recent developments in educational practices have identified the teaching of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) areas as important, but this emphasis on STEM fields has sacrificed educational focus on the Arts (Cohen, 2016). This is a significant loss, not only in terms of the loss of humanities education in itself, but through the potential loss of foundational skills through practice in artistic areas. The current paper explores this idea by investigating the correlational relationship between visual spatial abilities and participation in a variety of creative activities. Spatial ability is known to be a cognitive skill that underlies success in …

Physicians And Their Patience: Redefining Healthcare Relationships Through Readability Optimization, Rachel V. Ball

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The present study takes legibility research and extends it to the medical setting. Internal Medicine Physicians from UCF developed six passages of medical text detailing a History of Present Illness (HPI) Report from an emergency department as well as comprehension questions for the purpose of our study. In our study, we first presented non-medical passages and comprehension questions in six common fonts to identify participants' individual fastest and slowest fonts. We then gave participants medical passages in both their best and worst fonts while measuring reading speed and comprehension. This study was delivered to a population of Amazon Mechanical Turk …

Can Underdog Stories Help Students To Overcome College Barriers? A Study On Gender And Ethnic Differences, Daniela Gonzalez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Previous organizational research has shown that people who perceived discrimination can bounce back from their negative experiences by constructing underdog stories: narratives in which others do not believe an individual could succeed, but in the end, the person succeeds. However, this concept has not been tested in the educational setting. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine if constructing underdog stories can influence how college students perceive potential barriers in education. Participants were randomly assigned conditions: Underdog and control (neutral stories) condition. We hypothesized that creating underdog stories would reduce perceived barriers in college. We further hypothesized that …

Traditional Healing Beyond The Homeland: Yezidi Shamanic Healing In The Diaspora, Sophia G. Griemert

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The goal of this qualitative study is to evaluate whether shamanism, practiced by koçeks and faqrya (the Yezidi terms for traditional shamanic practitioners), continues as a practice among diasporic Yezidis, and, if so, in what manner. I accomplish this through a series of oral, remote interviews with Yezidis living in Germany. The interview subjects comprise a cross-sectional sample that includes men and women from the three Yezidi castes (Sheikh, Pir, Murid). Through the multiple testimonies these interviews garnered regarding shamanic praxis in the context of Germany, I determine that, in spite of the disruptions of forced migration and geographical distance, …

The Readability Of Cochlear Implant Brochures: A Potential Factor In Parent Choice, Jennifer Dannemarie La Scala

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The early diagnosis of hearing loss can be a life-changing event for families. Parents are required to make several prompt decisions where they might be overwhelmed with all the information being shared with them. Patient education materials (PEMs) are often provided by clinical health professionals – yet these materials are often written above the average reading level of adults in the United States, thus presenting an additional challenge to many parents.

The purpose of this study was to examine the ease of reading cochlear implant (CI) brochures that are provided to parents who are making informed decisions about the management …

Examining The Role Of Protests In South Korean Democratization, Abigail J. Bass

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This research examines how relative deprivation theory can be applied to study the success of protest movements and their subsequent impact on the process of democratization of the South Korean state. This study hopes to provide a more comprehensive approach to how the role of protests in the development of a democratic state is explained within the field of political science. Utilizing both a quantitative and qualitative research design, this work applied a case study analysis as well as a supplemental data analysis regarding the success of Korean protest movements and their impact on democratization as well as global views …

Recapture: A Virtual Reality Interactive Narrative Experience Concerning Perspectives And Self-Reflection, Indira Avendano

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This project presents a virtual reality (VR) Interactive Narrative aiming to leave users reflecting on the perspectives one chooses to view life through. The narrative is driven by interactions designed using the concept of procedural rhetoric, which explores how rules and mechanics in games can persuade people about an idea, and Shin's cognitive model, which presents a dynamic view of immersion in VR. The persuasive nature of procedural rhetoric in combination with immersion techniques such as tangible interfaces and first-person elements of VR can effectively work together to immerse users into a compelling narrative experience with an intended emotional response …

A Mixed Methods Study On Food Insecurity Screening And Patient-Centered Care: Perspectives Of Patients And Healthcare Providers On Practices And Barriers To Effective Screening In Outpatient Medical Settings, Christina Bernhardt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of this study was to better understand the relationship between elements of patient-centered care and patient/provider comfort with conversing about food insecurity and related social determinants of health. A mixed methods study was conducted. Patients and healthcare providers were surveyed on their experiences with patient-centered care and comfort discussing food insecurity and related social concerns. Telephone interviews were conducted to gain a richer understanding of the concepts under investigation. In the survey and telephone interviews, both samples were also asked about changes in communication during COVID-19 times. Quantitative findings show that patient involvement in care and cultural sensitivity …

Brain Interhemispheric Alterations In Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Using Structural Neuroimaging Features, Cintya Dutta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This dissertation examines brain lateralization and interhemispheric asymmetry patterns found in youths with Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Prior research groups have found mixed findings with respect to left and right hemisphere alterations from ADHD subjects using structural magnetic resonance imaging. In these investigations, we propose the use of Asymmetry Index (AI), a subject-specific metric that quantifies the extent of brain asymmetry and allows each subject to serve as their own control, thus reducing variability when pooling across different sites. We compare AI metric with laterality across volumetric, surface area, thickness, morphology, and white matter measures in order to characterize …

Predicting Employee Performance: A Meta-Analysis And Systematic Review On Data Mining Methods, Turku Erengin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Data mining methods have been used to study a variety of topics in industrial and organizational psychology, including predicting employee performance. With the increased interest in predictive analytics in human resources, the present study aimed to review and explore the application of two commonly used data mining methods, decision trees (DTs) and artificial neural networks (ANNs), for predicting employee performance in organizational settings. Out of 103 studies reviewed, eight studies were retained and used for the meta-analyses. The number of employee performance classifications meta-analyzed was 2430 in total. The results suggested that both data mining methods showed good performance in …

Exploring The Academic Workload Of Second Year Medical Students, Jason Pollock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Excessive academic workload has been cited as a leading cause of medical student stress, depression, and drop out. A study was conducted at a Southeastern Medical School to identify a relationship between institutionally prescribed workload (objective workload) and the students' perceptions (subjective workload). The existing school workload policy and the Rice University Center for Teaching Excellence workload estimator were utilized to calculate time to complete two types of academic artifacts: (1) assigned (required) course materials and (2) recommended (optional) course materials, which we compared at the Module level to identify difference in objective workload. The students' perceptions of workload were …

Comparing Teacher Responses To The Covid-19 Pandemic In Venezuela And The United States, Maria Spinetti Rincon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The COVID-19 Pandemic has impacted the entire world. Teachers have been challenged throughout this time to adapt their teaching practices amidst a constantly changing environment. The purpose of this study was to answer the research questions: (1) how did teachers' responses to the COVID-19 pandemic vary between the United States and Venezuela? And (2) what do teachers perceive they need to better support children in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic? This research used an interpretive, case study approach through kindergarten teacher interviews and curricula analysis. Teachers were included in the study if they had taught for more than five …

The Impact Of Misspecification Of Within-Person Autocorrelated Covariance Structure On Nonlinear Latent Growth Curve Models: A Monte Carlo Simulation Study, Mingming Zhou

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of misspecification (i.e., under-specification, over-specification, and general misspecification) of the within-person level errors in longitudinal data under quadratic, exponential, and logistic latent growth curve models and to make a contribution to the literature in this area. A Monte Carlo simulation in R uncovered a common bias pattern throughout this study. For under-specification of autocorrelated processes and general misspecification of MA as AR, the mean intercept was more likely to be downward- biased, but the linear slope and nonlinear slope for an individual tend to be upward-biased. On average, the variation …

An Investigation Of Student Mental Health Supports In Florida Public School Districts, Rebecca Carter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of this study was to determine the mental health services being provided to students in the state of Florida, specifically the identification of mental health concerns among students, prevention strategies, and interventions utilized. This study consisted of a document analysis of the Mental Health Assistance Allocation Plans submitted to, and posted by, the Florida Department of Education, for the purpose of developing a grounded theory to standardize the recommended practices in serving the mental health needs of students. Standardized recommended practices that emerged from the analysis included (a)universal screening to identify students demonstrating or developing mental health concerns, …

An Examination Of Factors Associated With Lgbtq+ College Students' Adoption Of Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (Pep) As An Hiv Prevention Method, Shayna Forgetta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is an effective human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention medication taken after exposure, yet it is not widely used in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) community. Understanding its acceptability is vital, given this population's increased risk for contracting HIV. Drawing from the Health Literacy Skills Framework and the Theory of Planned Behavior, this study provides an examination of PEP-related awareness and knowledge, as well as intention to request and use PEP. Using a cross-sectional survey design, a convenience sample of 131 LGBTQ+ college students from a Southeastern university was recruited through email and social media. …