Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

University of Central Florida

Discipline
Keyword
Publication Year
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 5941 - 5970 of 41680

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Big Five Aspect Personalty Scales And Social Anxiety Severity In A Nonpsychiatric Sample, Samantha Simpson Dec 2021

Big Five Aspect Personalty Scales And Social Anxiety Severity In A Nonpsychiatric Sample, Samantha Simpson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Personality can be explored hierarchically with higher- and lower-order factors. Recent research suggests the personality hierarchy is comprised of higher-order Big Five traits with two lower-order factors per Big Five trait, termed aspects. There is a lack of research examining the relationship between these lower-order aspects and social anxiety (SA) severity. To better understand these relationships, 443 university undergraduate students (72.2% female; mean age = 20.48, SD = 4.64) completed the Big Five Aspects Scale (BFAS) and the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory- 23 (SPAI-23), and were retained following exclusionary criteria. Path analysis, covarying for sex, age, and general anxiety …


Enhancement And Evaluation Of An Online Module On Functional Behavior Assessment Using Universal Design For Learning, Sacha Cartagena Dec 2021

Enhancement And Evaluation Of An Online Module On Functional Behavior Assessment Using Universal Design For Learning, Sacha Cartagena

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of UDL-based enhancements of an online module on functional behavior assessment. The UDL framework is an instructional design framework designed to enhance access, engagement, and learning using three overarching principles: multiple means of engagement, multiple means of representation, and multiple means of action and expression. The researcher utilized a two-group randomized control trial (RCT) with pre- and posttest measures. The control group completed a publicly available module on functional behavior assessment while the intervention group completed an enhanced version of the same module. Results demonstrate that both the intervention and …


An Analysis Of Performance-Based Funding Policies At An Open Access Institution, John Brady Dec 2021

An Analysis Of Performance-Based Funding Policies At An Open Access Institution, John Brady

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Performance-based funding policies have become popular among state legislators seeking ways to hold public higher education institutions accountable. Approximately 30 states currently use performance-based funding policies to tie state appropriations to institutional outcomes according to a defined set of metrics. Despite the popularity of the policy approach, very little empirical evidence exists to suggest that performance-based funding is effective in producing the often-intended outcomes of increased student retention and degree attainment rates. Numerous studies have indicated that these policies may produce unintended outcomes including the restriction of access, the gaming of performance-based funding systems, and the widening of equity gaps. …


Creasing Of Polyimide Thin Film For Use In Solar Sails, Andrew Allen Dec 2021

Creasing Of Polyimide Thin Film For Use In Solar Sails, Andrew Allen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Polymer thin membranes are used in a variety of deployable structures that require large areas and compact stowage. Packaging membrane structures often involves creasing the membrane along predefined fold lines to enforce the desired kinematics under folding action. Inducing permanent deformation by folding to a high curvature is a common method to create creases, particularly in the design of solar sails. The distinct mechanical characteristics at the crease regions have a profound effect on the subsequent deployment and tensioning of the membrane structures. The mechanical and geometric properties at the crease are related to the crease formation process, but the …


How Does A Veteran Teacher Implement A Prekindergarten Math Curriculum?, Heidi Butterfield Dec 2021

How Does A Veteran Teacher Implement A Prekindergarten Math Curriculum?, Heidi Butterfield

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of this study was to explore how a veteran teacher implemented a state-approved commercial math curriculum in a prekindergarten classroom. In this action research study, guided by ethnographic principles, I employed Spradley's (2016) developmental research sequence to study what resources from the curriculum the teacher used, how the teacher adapted the curriculum, and what influenced the decisions the teacher made while implementing the curriculum. Data collected for this study included: the teacher guide provided by the commercial curriculum; teacher lesson plans; photographs of student created artifacts; the teacher's reflection journal and notes; and videos of a teacher implementing …


An Exploration Of Enrollment And Graduation Rates As A Result Of Title V Funding At Hispanic-Serving Four-Year Universities, Kelly D'Agostino Dec 2021

An Exploration Of Enrollment And Graduation Rates As A Result Of Title V Funding At Hispanic-Serving Four-Year Universities, Kelly D'Agostino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

While the Latinx population continues to grow faster than any other racial population in the United States, Latinx students are graduating from four-year institutions at a rate 12 percent lower than their White peers (Excelencia in Education, 2020b). As first defined in 1992 by the Higher Education Act reauthorization, Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) are accredited, degree-granting, non-profit institutions with undergraduate populations made up of at least 25 percent Latinx students. The role of HSIs is important because the majority (66 percent) of Latinx students enrolled in college attend an HSI (Excelencia in Education, 2019). The problem under investigation is that HSI …


Tailoring Of The Left Ventricular Assist Device Cannula Implantation Using Coupled Multi-Scale Multi-Objective Patient Specific Optimization., Abubakar Dankano Dec 2021

Tailoring Of The Left Ventricular Assist Device Cannula Implantation Using Coupled Multi-Scale Multi-Objective Patient Specific Optimization., Abubakar Dankano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Despite advancements in device design and anti-coagulation treatments, there are numerous adverse events that may occur following implantation of LVADs. The most devastating involves the embolization of thrombus into the brain causing a stroke, with incidence of up to 14-47% over a 6–12-month period. This study aims to elucidate ways to reduce this risk by surgical maneuvers guided by a multi-scale computational fluid dynamics analysis wrapped around a multi-objective shape optimization scheme which optimizes the anastomosis location of the VAD outflow graft (OG) along the ascending aorta to minimize the incidence of thrombi reaching the cerebral vessels and reduce particle …


Capsule Networks For Video Understanding, Kevin Duarte Dec 2021

Capsule Networks For Video Understanding, Kevin Duarte

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

With the increase of videos available online, it is more important than ever to learn how to process and understand video data. Although convolutional neural networks have revolutionized the representation learning from images and videos, they do not explicitly model entities within the given input. It would be useful for learned models to be able to represent part-to-whole relationships within a given image or video. To this end, a novel neural network architecture - capsule networks - has been proposed. Capsule networks add extra structure to allow for the modeling of entities and has shown great promise when applied to …


Change Sustainment Model (Csm) To Address Industry 4.0 In A Classified Environment, Hamilton Ervin Dec 2021

Change Sustainment Model (Csm) To Address Industry 4.0 In A Classified Environment, Hamilton Ervin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Business and engineering have long intersected with each other in industry. In actuality, they are inseparable. That notion drove the thought process and actions taken to observe phenomena within a U.S. Fortune 500, Aerospace & Defense industry, Department of Defense, independent contractor. In Aerospace & Defense, the ability to implement technology freely and change to address an ever-evolving technological landscape in the world has proven to be difficult given the nature of the work performed. U.S. national security must be protected at all times, therefore information sharing guided by a "need-to-know" basis create an inability to easily implement organizational change …


An Exploratory Investigation Of Grit And Its Relationship To Student Integration In Athletic Training Education Programs, Carlos Gual Dec 2021

An Exploratory Investigation Of Grit And Its Relationship To Student Integration In Athletic Training Education Programs, Carlos Gual

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Students must enroll in rigorous accredited academic programs and pass the National Board of Certification (BOC) examination to become athletic trainers. Therefore, studies in athletic training and student achievement focus on student persistence/retention and BOC Examination pass rates. The majority of studies conclude that cognitive measures like grade point average (GPA) have a relationship with both retention and exam pass rates. However, research should also consider meta-cognitive factors (i.e., personality traits). The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between athletic training students' grit (a metacognitive factor) and their academic, clinical, and social integration. The population for this …


Topology Optimization Of Internal Cooling Channels In Turbulent Flows, Shinjan Ghosh Dec 2021

Topology Optimization Of Internal Cooling Channels In Turbulent Flows, Shinjan Ghosh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Topology optimization, introduced by Bendsoe and Sigmund in 1988 has been a topic of research in the structural mechanics field for several decades. This technique is commonly used to optimize system performance of structural components with minimum material usage by varying the distribution of materials in a given domain. Fluid dynamic topology optimization, a relatively new research topic uses a method of adding or subtracting materials to a given flow domain to obtain an optimal flow-path for a given objective function. While the structural TO creates a solid structure by introducing holes into the domain, fluid TO introduces solid into …


Secondary Teachers' Perceptions Of Teacher Authenticity, Robert Hovel Dec 2021

Secondary Teachers' Perceptions Of Teacher Authenticity, Robert Hovel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Teachers are confronted with many obstacles when learning to be the best teacher they can for their students. Teachers face challenges such as working with introverted students, developing activities that are fruitful and sustainable for varying students, and keeping students all focused on the goal of learning (Tasgin & Tunc, 2018). However, the authenticity of an instructor, while being researched in college and counseling settings, has not been sufficiently examined in high school settings. The authenticity of the instructor is a motivating factor for students at the college level (Kreber & Klampfleitner, 2013; Kreber & Klampfleitner, 2012; Kreber et al., …


Using Expectation Violation Theory To Evaluate Dialectal Bias In Courtroom Contexts, Christina Joseph Dec 2021

Using Expectation Violation Theory To Evaluate Dialectal Bias In Courtroom Contexts, Christina Joseph

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

There is much evidence to indicate the role of speaker accent expectations and its impacts on the subsequent rating of the speaker. Additionally, examples including the Central Park Five as well as Rachel Jeantel of the Trayvon Martin case indicate the impacts of this speaker rating particularly in the context of the courtroom. This necessitates the further evaluation of the impact of dialectal bias on speaker ratings especially in the context of a courtroom due to the severity of the impacts. Utilizing a 4x2 between subjects experimental design manipulating on the basis of both dialect and speaker expectation, this study …


An Exploration Of The Impact Of Student Employment And Retention: A Correlational Analysis, Noreen Lewis Dec 2021

An Exploration Of The Impact Of Student Employment And Retention: A Correlational Analysis, Noreen Lewis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

"With so many students working, and such large numbers devoting a considerable amount of time to one or more jobs, work is – after going to class- the most common activity in which undergraduates engage" (Kuh, 2018, p. ix). An under-researched factor to investigate why students retain, is participation in an on-campus student employment program. The purpose of the study is to explore the relationship between a student's participation in student employment and if the student retains from their first to second year. Understanding this relationship can provide an opportunity to create positive impact for both the student and institution …


Acoustoelectric Amplification In Piezoelectric-Silicon Micromachined Lamb Wave Devices, Hakhamanesh Mansoorzare Dec 2021

Acoustoelectric Amplification In Piezoelectric-Silicon Micromachined Lamb Wave Devices, Hakhamanesh Mansoorzare

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

In this dissertation, heterostructured micro-acoustic devices are explored that leverage the interactions between acoustic phonons and electrons to enable radio frequency (RF) signal amplification or attenuation. Thin films of piezoelectric and semiconductor material are tailored into a heterostructure that allows for a strong acoustoelectric (AE) effect due to the combination of high electromechanical coupling and high electron drift velocity in said films respectively. In such devices, the relative electron drift and acoustic velocities could determine whether the RF signal undergoes AE gain or loss, rendering the device non-reciprocal. This is a highly sought-after property for building isolators and circulators which …


A Mixed-Methods, Grounded Theory Study Of Online Meaning-Making During The Pandemic, Kaitlyn Montcrieff Dec 2021

A Mixed-Methods, Grounded Theory Study Of Online Meaning-Making During The Pandemic, Kaitlyn Montcrieff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

To be human is to seek to understand the known and unknown world. The Covid-19 pandemic offers researchers the opportunity to examine online meaning-making on a more ubiquitous magnitude than ever experienced in history, without positioning the digital world as less authentic, or distinct, from the physical. Using mixed-methods grounded theory, this study posed the research question: (RQ) How do high school parents use an online community to (re)conceptualize aspects of contemporary society? The NRC Emotion Intensity lexicon (Mohammed, 2018) was used to score online forum posts from 2018-2021 using eight emotions to quantitatively represent changes over time. The qualitative …


Data Driven Methods For Large Scale Network Level Traffic Modeling, Rezaur Rahman Dec 2021

Data Driven Methods For Large Scale Network Level Traffic Modeling, Rezaur Rahman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Rapid growth in population along with urban-centric activities impose a massive demand on existing transportation systems, thus increasing traffic congestion and other mobility related challenges. To overcome such challenges, we need network-scale models to accurately predict real-time traffic demand and associated congestion. However, traditional network modeling approaches have shortcomings due to the complexity in traffic flow modeling, limited scope to incorporate real-time data available from emerging data sources and requiring excessive computation time to generate accurate estimation of traffic flows. Advancement in traffic sensing technologies with big data has created a new opportunity to overcome these challenges and implement deployable …


Self Adaptive Reinforcement Learning For High-Dimensional Stochastic Systems With Application To Robotic Control, Sayyed Jaffar Ali Raza Dec 2021

Self Adaptive Reinforcement Learning For High-Dimensional Stochastic Systems With Application To Robotic Control, Sayyed Jaffar Ali Raza

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

A long standing goal in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) is to develop agents that can perceive richer problem space and effortlessly plan their activity in minimal duration. Several strides have been made towards this goal over the last few years due to simultaneous advances in compute power, optimized algorithms, and most importantly evident success of AI based machines in nearly every discipline. The progress has been especially rapid in area of reinforcement learning (RL) where computers can now plan-ahead their activities and outperform their human rivals in complex problem domains like chess or Go game. However, despite encouraging …


An Examination Of Precollegiate Education Programs In The K-12 Context: The Role Of Student Motivation And Perception And Recruitment And Retention Strategies For Successful Outcomes, Daniel Santos Dec 2021

An Examination Of Precollegiate Education Programs In The K-12 Context: The Role Of Student Motivation And Perception And Recruitment And Retention Strategies For Successful Outcomes, Daniel Santos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

State leaders have responded to recruiting and retaining teachers in the workforce with Grow Your Own (GYO) programs for recruiting secondary students or community members into education. An example of a GYO is the precollegiate Teacher Academy (TA) program offered in local high schools as a career and technical education pathway. The TA provides guidance for high school students thinking about the teaching profession. TA educators foster students' interest and recruit and retain them in education by exploring their motivations. This study was a triangulated mixed methods study with the quantitative/qualitative model of utilizing both data sets to determine student …


The Effects Of A Tactile Display On First Responder Performance, Michael Schwartz Dec 2021

The Effects Of A Tactile Display On First Responder Performance, Michael Schwartz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Firefighting is a dangerous and difficult task. Simulation affords researchers and practitioners the ability to examine performance and training in adverse conditions while preserving life, offering repeatable scenarios, and reducing costs. Multiple Resource Theory is used in this study as a model for assessing alternate sensory channels for information delivery when the optimal channel is not available. Specifically, this study tests the influence of a waist-worn vibrotactile display to assist navigation when visibility is reduced in a firefighter simulation. The present study measures participants' objective performance and self-reported workload while navigating a simulated fireground. Results from 70 research participants revealed …


Professional Development In Florida College System Institutions, Elizabeth Terranova Dec 2021

Professional Development In Florida College System Institutions, Elizabeth Terranova

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This is a phenomenological study focused on a small, suburban Florida College System institution that has implemented a three-year induction program for new faculty, as part of its professional development program. It is related to retention of new faculty through the first five years. This study was undertaken to define and exemplify professional development and how it is utilized by practitioners. Secondly, it outlines induction programs and what works best to retain skilled faculty in FCS institutions. Members of several cohorts of the induction program were asked to participate in the study and were interviewed about their experiences in the …


Directional Spectral Solar Energy For Building Performance: From Simulation To Cyber-Physical Prototype, Joseph Del Rocco Dec 2021

Directional Spectral Solar Energy For Building Performance: From Simulation To Cyber-Physical Prototype, Joseph Del Rocco

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The original research and development in this dissertation contributes to the field of building performance by actively harnessing a wider spectrum of directional solar radiation for use in buildings. Solar radiation (energy) is often grouped by wavelength measurement into the spectra ultraviolet (UV), visible (light), and short and long-wave infrared (heat) on the electromagnetic spectrum. While some of this energy is directly absorbed or deflected by our atmosphere, most of it passes through, scatters about, and collides with our planet. Modern building performance simulations, tools, and control systems often oversimplify this energy into scalar values for light and heat, when …


The Social And Behavioral Influences Of Interactions With Virtual Dogs As Embodied Agents In Augmented And Virtual Reality, Nahal Norouzi Dec 2021

The Social And Behavioral Influences Of Interactions With Virtual Dogs As Embodied Agents In Augmented And Virtual Reality, Nahal Norouzi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Intelligent virtual agents (IVAs) have been researched for years and recently many of these IVAs have become commercialized and widely used by many individuals as intelligent personal assistants. The majority of these IVAs are anthropomorphic, and many are developed to resemble real humans entirely. However, real humans do not interact only with other humans in the real world, and many benefit from interactions with non-human entities. A prime example is human interactions with animals, such as dogs. Humans and dogs share a historical bond that goes back thousands of years. In the past 30 years, there has been a great …


An Examination Of The Relationship Between Institutional Financial Aid Programs And Four-Year Graduation Rates, Dawn Herrod Dec 2021

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Institutional Financial Aid Programs And Four-Year Graduation Rates, Dawn Herrod

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Institutions are increasingly searching for strategies for using institutional financial aid awards to improve graduation in four years. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between institutional award programs with graduation in four years. Furthermore, there was investigation into any interaction that existed between ethnicity, Expected Family Contribution (EFC), and the type of award on graduation in four years. Covariates were tested from a theoretical framework that included elements from sociological and economic theories, academic components, and the concept of liquidity constraints. Data was queried from the student information system at the selected site for students who …


Bringing Instagram Posts Into Being: A Study Of Fyc Students' Self-Sponsored Posting Practices And Transfer Opportunities, Jessica Kester Dec 2021

Bringing Instagram Posts Into Being: A Study Of Fyc Students' Self-Sponsored Posting Practices And Transfer Opportunities, Jessica Kester

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Social media platforms have offered students—and all of us—more opportunities for self-sponsored writing. In response to calls from researchers to explore students' 21st-century writing practices and their relevance to college writing instruction, this dissertation articulated and applied a feminist teacher research methodology and a mixed-methods research design to explore first-year composition (FYC) students' self-sponsored writing practices, attitudes, and transfer opportunities on a popular, albeit under-examined, social media application: Instagram. This study found that students have developed elaborate, rhetorical, multimodal composing processes that include planning, drafting, evaluating, selecting, and styling images as well as planning, drafting/revising, and styling captions. Additionally, though …


Inheritance, Kenneth Noguera Dec 2021

Inheritance, Kenneth Noguera

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Inheritance follows the journey of a boy finding himself through the discovery of family secrets and his own sexuality. This hybrid work, part poem, part essay, explores a boy transitioning to adulthood while unearthing secrets about himself and where he comes from. He finds solace in the retelling of stories passed down from within his family and encounters creatures which shift, morph, and lie. In this surreal world, people commune with spirits, the dead find a voice, and a boy breaks and remakes himself. The work divides into three parts, beginning with memoiresque poems from the speaker leading to an …


Design Of Miniaturized Antipodal Vivaldi Antennas And A Microwave Head Imaging System For The Detection Of Blood Clots In The Brain, Farhana Parveen Dec 2021

Design Of Miniaturized Antipodal Vivaldi Antennas And A Microwave Head Imaging System For The Detection Of Blood Clots In The Brain, Farhana Parveen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Traditional brain imaging modalities, for example, MRI, CT scan, X-ray, etc. can provide precise and high-resolution images of the brain for diagnosing lesions, tumors or clots inside the brain. However, these modalities require bulky and expensive test setups accessible only at specialized diagnostic centers, and hence may not be suitable or affordable to many patients. Furthermore, the inherent health risks limit the usability of these modalities for frequent monitoring. Microwave imaging is deemed a promising alternative due to its being cost-effective, portable, non-ionizing, non-intrusive. Therefore, this work aims to design an effective microwave head imaging system for the detection of …


Using Peptide Design To Engineer Polyelectrolyte Complex Biomaterials, Sara Tabandeh Dec 2021

Using Peptide Design To Engineer Polyelectrolyte Complex Biomaterials, Sara Tabandeh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The self-assembly of oppositely charged polymers provides a versatile platform to design materials for diverse applications in biology and medicine. Electrostatically-driven phase separation of oppositely charged polymers in aqueous solution gives rise to the formation of a polymer-rich phase called a polyelectrolyte complex (PEC). PECs can be in the form of liquid droplets (complex coacervates) or amorphous solid precipitates. Unlike synthetic polymers, peptides are good candidates for developing tailor-made formulations and structure-property relationships due to their biocompatibility, precise control over sequences, and ability to program hydrogen bonding interactions. However, little is known about the effect of combining additional molecular interactions …


Leveraging Multimodal Learning Analytics To Understand How Humans Learn With Emerging Technologies, Elizabeth Cloude Dec 2021

Leveraging Multimodal Learning Analytics To Understand How Humans Learn With Emerging Technologies, Elizabeth Cloude

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Major education and training challenges are plaguing the United States in preparing the next generation of the future workforce to meet the demands of the 21st Century. Several calls have been released to improve education programs to ensure learners are acquiring 21st century knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs). As we embark on the digital and automation ages of the 21st century, it is essential that we move away from traditional education programs that define and measure KSAs as static constructs (e.g., standardized assessments) with little consideration of the actual real-time deployment of these processes, missing critical information on the degree …


Study Of Mos2/High-K Interface And Implementation Of Mos2 Based Memristor For Neuromorphic Computing Applications, Durjoy Dev Dec 2021

Study Of Mos2/High-K Interface And Implementation Of Mos2 Based Memristor For Neuromorphic Computing Applications, Durjoy Dev

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The scientific world is witnessing an unprecedented triumph of artificial neural network (ANN)- a computing system inspired by the biological neural network. With the enthralling quest for Internet of Everything (IoE), it is expected to have an unparalleled dominance of ANN in our day-to-day life. In recent times, memristor has come as an emerging candidate to realize ANN through emulating biological synapse and neuron behavior. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), one well-known two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), has drawn interest for high speed, flexible, low power electronic devices since it has a tunable bandgap, reasonable carrier mobility, high Young's modulus, and …