Ai-Assisted Task Completion: Consumer Sentiments By Effort Level, Jason Mickey Martin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study examines consumer anger in reaction to firms’ use of artificial intelligence (AI) to assist them in the completion of tasks. Specifically, we focus on instances when AI supplements rather than replaces human effort. Using cognitive appraisal theory and psychological contract constructs, this research investigates how the amount of effort consumers invest into a service review and the effort reciprocated by firms influences emotional reactions. Across two studies, using scenario-based experiments, we find that consumers report higher levels of anger when AI is used to aid in responding to high-effort reviews compared to low-effort reviews. The results suggest that …

Among The Remnants, Jade-Lynn B. Lewis Vance

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This written thesis serves as supporting documentation and research for my Master of Fine Arts thesis exhibition, Among the Remnants, at West Virginia University. This dissertation will explain how my artistic vision, influences, research, and thesis exhibition fits into larger art and cultural contexts. Drawing from art history and theory, my work explores memory, touch, and fragmentation. My fascination with artifacts and the stories they hold inspires my research and drives me to create personal connections within my own art. The figurative sculptures serve as a vessel for recalling impactful experiences and embodying personal perception and these interactions. The …

White Lies Of Time: Temporal Racialization In 19th-20th Century American Literature, Yu Uchida

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

By examining mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth century American literary texts, this dissertation project aims to theorize the ways in which whiteness relies on conceptualizations of time to hegemonize non-white subjects and prescribe their historical representations. Because whiteness is dynamic in its emergence and effects and ubiquitous in sociopolitical and cultural realms, this dissertation holistically turns to white, Black, and Indigenous writers to delineate how whiteness functions throughout the period and how racialized subjects negotiate it. Portraying the nation’s history as lived experience rather than objectified knowledge, the racialized authors I examine undermine the concept of linear progressive time that subtends structural …

The Effects Of Brand Activism On Brand Performance, Lin Zhao

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Brand activism—the explicit demonstration of a brand’s sociopolitical beliefs—has become increasingly prevalent and consequential. Concurrently, consumers now hold higher expectations for firms to engage in sociopolitical conversations, driven by the rise of belief-drive purchase in consumers’ decision-making and the growing ideological polarization worldwide. The interaction of brand activism and consumer behavior presents unique potential for brands to gain competitive advantages while contributing to social welfare. This dissertation comprises three essays that examine the effects of brand activism through multiple understudied yet compelling perspectives.

Essay One investigates how brand activism influences consumer-brand relationships through both transactional and relational lenses. This research …

Transforming The Athlete Through Occupational Therapy-Facilitated Mentorship Programming, Cecelia D. Simons

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

There is a high prevalence of role strain experienced among collegiate athletes with increased attention and awareness surrounding its impact on the transition out of sport and into the next phase of their lives. Many colleges and universities throughout the United States have developed career readiness programs focused on mental health, career transitions, and resilience training preparation for life after sport. However, these programs are often delivered in a group format, making it difficult to provide individualized support to student-athletes. This project elaborated on the role occupational therapy serves in both program development and the transition out of sport. This …

La Valse And The Parisian Salon: Nostalgic Continuities And Sonorous Modernisms, Claire Weydt

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Immediately following World War I and the death of prominent French composer Claude Debussy, French composers and music critics were concerned that the war created an unbridgeable chasm between generations of composers who, through their various aesthetic allegiances, worked to define musical sounds as undeniably French. Numerous scholars have characterized this process as an aesthetic rupture brought on by the World Wars. French composer Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), however, seems to have bridged this gap, at least for some influential critics. My project challenges notions of wartime rupture by resituating musical modernism within a framework of aesthetic continuity. Ravel’s choreographic poem …

The People Of The North: Influencer Histories And Miniaturization In Eleventh-Century Italy, Evan Anthony Simonetti

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Norman invasion of Italy in the eleventh century was a process that required political support and legitimacy for its leaders, the Hauteville dynasty. The members of this dynasty either commissioned or financed three individuals as they wrote three respective histories of the Norman conquest in order to accomplish this legitimation. In these sources, each author took inspiration from the classic works of history and poetry of the Greek and Roman world and applied symbolism and direction from their understanding of medieval Christian theology. In addition, these works catalogued examples of events, people, places, animals, and behavior as exotic objects …

Parental Behavioral Control Across Domains In Indian And Indian American Families, Avneet Batra

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Prior research literature has often found parental behavioral control to have mixed associations with varied adolescent outcomes (Bean et al., 2006; Finkenauer et al., 2005). However, a relatively lesser explored topic of research focusses on the domain specificity of this kind of control and its association with internalizing and externalizing behaviors in sample of Indian and Indian American parents (Arim et al., 2010). The current study adds to the limited literature by emphasizing the five domains of control (e.g., moral, conventional, prudential, personal and overlapping) based on the social cognitive domain theory and explores their association with adolescent adjustment outcomes …

Application Of Machine Learning And Natural Language Processing To Understand The Partisan Mobilization Of Ethnic Minorities, Ani Tepnadze

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation explores how competing interests across secondary dimensions of identity shape marginalized groups' capacity to institutionalize their grievances, particularly ethnic minorities. More specifically, I explore two mechanisms, intragroup cohesiveness and distinctiveness, as a driving force of grievance mobilization. This research is interdisciplinary, drawing on theories from political sociology, political communications, and computational social science. I examine the question of ethnic group particization in two stages. In the first stage, I developed an original machine learning pipeline to process large text corpora and identify the indicators of the strength of collective ethnic grievances in online group discussions. In the second …

Behavioral Effects Of Prenatal Ecig Aerosol Exposure On Sprague-Dawley Rats, Erin Elizabeth Wylie

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Maternal electronic cigarette (ECIG) use during pregnancy raises concerns about potential risks to offspring, yet its behavioral effects remain unclear. The present studies were designed to investigate how prenatal exposure to ECIG aerosols, with and without nicotine, influences the behavior of Sprague-Dawley rat offspring. Dams were exposed to aerosols containing base liquid alone, aerosols containing base liquid with 18 mg/ml nicotine, or filtered air (control) throughout gestation. Following postnatal day 65, male offspring from 17 litters completed lever-press acquisition (Experiment 1), sustained-attending (Experiment 2), and nicotine self-administration (Experiment 3) tasks. One-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were used to compare task …

Motivation And Well-Being: A Study Of Wvu Extension Volunteers, Amber Renae Goff

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Volunteers are the heart of the land-grant outreach model. They bring education and resources to communities across West Virginia. Volunteers have been relied upon in many aspects of Extension programming and current budget conditions have reduced the level of staffing within WVU Extension. There may be an increased demand for volunteers to help with programming. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between motivation and the perceived level of well-being within the WVU Extension volunteer programs. The study yielded 464 responses from a descriptive survey. Based on the results, WVU Extension volunteers are motivated based on their …

What Does It All Mean? Differences In Self-Defining Memories Between Community And Adjudicated Youth, Hannah Elias

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Identity development is driven in large part by self-defining memories, or memories though which we base our definition of who we are (Habermas & Bluck, 2000). In adolescence, cognitive skills are gained that allow us to make meaning, or learn lessons and gain insight, from self-defining memories (Bluck & Habermas, 2001; McLean & Thorne, 2003). To determine whether there are differences in their ability to make meaning from their self-defining memories, this study compares narratives of self-defining memories between community youth and adjudicated youth. Additionally, the ability to be specific in self-defining memory recollection may differ between these groups, which …

Simulated Slot Machine Gambling In Relation To Sign-Tracking, Polina Krom

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The propensity to attribute incentive salience to reward-related cues, or sign-tracking (ST) has been linked to addiction in animal models and some initial human data. The current study explores the role of sign-tracking (ST), as a potential risk factor for problematic slot machine gambling, which abundantly features audiovisual reward-related cues, henceforth sensory features. A sample of healthy participants without gambling problems (n = 30) completed a Pavlovian-to-Instrumental Transfer (PIT) paradigm to assess ST propensity and played on a realistic slot machine simulator consisting of two versions: with sensory features (SF+) and without (SF-). Each game version had fixed bet sizes, …

The Effect Of Alternative Work Regimes On Recruiter Productivity, Keith Sean Cogdell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation examines the impact of different work regimes, onsite, remote, and hybrid, on recruiter productivity within the staffing industry. As workforce models evolve, organizations encounter challenges in determining how these structural changes influence employee performance. Existing studies are often cross-sectional and rely heavily on self-reported data, limiting their capacity to capture long-term trends and contextual factors. To address this issue, the present research utilizes a longitudinal design with five years of recruiter-level performance data from a national staffing firm, which includes over 27,000 observations. Using Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as a framework, the study investigates how intrinsic motivation mediated by …

Tobacco And Trouble: Exploring The Health Consequences Of Electronic Cigarette Use In Adolescents, Noor Ibrahim Abdulhay

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background: Tobacco use remains one of the leading causes of preventable disease and death in the United States (U.S.). Although conventional cigarette use among youth has declined, the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) has become highly prevalent and poses emerging public health concerns. Adolescence represents a critical developmental period for both oral and mental health, making it essential to understand the consequences of tobacco and nicotine exposure during this stage. The goal of this dissertation is to examine the health impacts of tobacco use in adolescents across multiple domains. Specifically, this research (1) synthesizes existing evidence on the relationship between …

Rethinking Compliance: How Goal Congruence Can Lead To Noncompliance And Positive B2b Performance, Paige Harrison Fender

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Traditional marketing theories (e.g., agency theory) suggest that aligning goals with a partner firm will enhance compliance and lead to better overall performance for both firms. The research on positive deviance, in contrast, suggests that a firm may deviate from contractual terms in order to accomplish shared goals and enhance performance. Merging these perspectives and pulling from more nuanced discussions of compliance, this dissertation explores the potential deleterious effects of goal congruence on compliance. Specifically, we examine the conditions in which goal congruence leads to both compliance and noncompliance and how these conditions impact performance. Additionally, this dissertation examines how …

Feasibility Testing Of A Web-Based Phq-9 Test For Student Depression, Israel Oluwagbenga Odugboye

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Feasibility Testing of a Web-Based PHQ-9 Test for Student Depression

Israel Odugboye

Student depression stands as a critical public health issue because it affects numerous young adults who experience academic decline, disability, absenteeism, productivity reduction, and suicidal thoughts. The general population shows a 10% to 15% lifetime risk of developing depression which leads to a twentyfold elevation in suicide risk for depressed individuals [3]. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) serves as a popular tool for detecting depressive symptoms and determining severity levels among students from different cultural backgrounds. The assessment contains 27 possible scores which follow DSM depressive symptom criteria …

The Effects Of Operatic Voice Type On Singer Identity, Adelaide J. Mcdonald

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Within Western art music, voices are typically classified using the Fach system, which is based upon vocal characteristics and separates singers into the categories of soprano, mezzo soprano, contralto, counter tenor, tenor, bass, and baritone. Over time, these categories have become embedded with social and cultural meaning within the operatic world, leading to the development of stereotypes and expectations surrounding singers, as well as social categories and identities, referred to in this study as “sociocultural vocal categories” and “sociocultural vocal identity,” respectively. Currently, there are limited explorations of the sociocultural vocal categories and their associated stereotypes, with research on singer …

Youth Sport Organizational Leaders’ Perceived Strengths And Challenges Working With Volunteer Coaches: A Case Study, Hannah Swartz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Youth sport organizations in the United States rely heavily on volunteer coaches to deliver accessible and developmentally aligned programming, yet little research has examined how organizational leaders perceive and manage this volunteer workforce. Existing scholarship has focused primarily on volunteer coach motivations and experiences from the coach perspective, leaving a gap in understanding the views of those responsible for recruiting, training, retaining, and supporting volunteers. Guided by the youth sport social-ecological model (NYSS, 2019), the recent USOPC Commission Report, and principles of self-determination theory (Ryan. & Deci, 2000), this instrumental case study explored youth sport organizational leaders’ perceptions of working …

Multifaceted Life Skills Training And Job-Orientation Supports For Individuals In Vocational Rehabilitation Programming, Laura R. Mccray

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

There is growing support for those with an intellectual or developmental disability (IDD) in the transition process and within the workplace, however, there are areas that need to be addressed to facilitate further inclusion and success in this domain. There are structured institutions within the community that extend support for those transitioning out of high school, focusing on aligning with life training and professional skills while promoting societal integration by delivering services directly and avoiding isolation within traditional service environments (Accardo & Whitman, 2011). Growing research highlights the necessity of providing resources that support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities …

The Quick Dash Reformed: Increasing The Holisticity And Occupational Nature Of Upper Extremity Therapeutic Evaluation, Lauren E. Garcia

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background: The QuickDASH is one of the most common upper extremity (UE) focused patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) utilized within current practice. Despite its high utilization rate, there are still many concerns surrounding the QuickDASH, including its applicability to certain populations, difficulty with cross-cultural adaptation, and limited psychosocial evaluation. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop and implement a reformed version of the QuickDASH, the OT-DASH, that included modernized and occupation-focused language to achieve increased client applicability and yield more accurate comparisons between client perceptions of dysfunction and their true clinical presentations. Theoretical framework: The Person-Environment-Occupation-Performance model was utilized …

Media Power And Racial Representation: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Football Player, Tyreek Hill’S Police Encounter, Paulina Serwaa Gyamfi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis critically examines how mainstream media outlets construct and perpetuate racial narratives through their coverage of high-profile incidents involving Black public figures. Using the case study of NFL player Tyreek Hill’s encounter with Miami-Dade police on September 8, 2024, the research employs Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Critical Race Theory (CRT) to analyze news articles from six major outlets: The New York Times, NBC News, CBS News, ESPN, Fox News and CNN. The study explores how language choices, framing techniques, and contextual elements in media reporting influence public perceptions of race, celebrity and criminal justice. Findings reveal that while …

A Post Apocalyptic Romp: Designing Costumes For Phoebe In Winter, Emmalee Berger

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis will document the process of costume designing for Phoebe in Winter by Jen Silverman. It will examine the process from first read of the script through initial and final design meetings and to execution and production of the design. This will report on challenges specific to this production, such as nudity and violence on an academic stage, and the subsequent solutions. Phoebe in Winter was produced by West Virginia University School of Theatre and Dance in October of 2024. The design process began in February of the same year.

Sleep, Endocannabinoid Signaling, And Cortical Processing In Mouse Models Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Bryan Rodriguez

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Sleep plays a crucial role in memory consolidation, neuronal plasticity, and cognitive function. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience sleep disturbances, which are positively correlated with symptom severity. However, on the surface, sleep architecture is remarkably normal under baseline conditions in many rodent models of ASD. The goals if this dissertation were to investigate whether regulation of sleep, biochemical signaling during sleep, and downstream consequences of sleep on behavior are altered in two mouse models of ASD. In Aim 1, we tested the hypothesis that sleep phenotypes emerge in ASD models under conditions of high sleep pressure. We …

Quantitative Assessment Of Knee Joint Stability Using Inertial Measurement Units In Patients With Acl Reconstruction Performing Single-Legged Hopping Tasks, Haley Hartman-Mongold

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine proximal tibial IMU accelerations between the involved limb and uninvolved limbs of individuals who have undergone ACL reconstruction performing the single-leg hop test battery and to correlate these results to deficits in quadriceps strength and distance hopped. Methods: Thirty-four subjects (19 male, 15 female; age = 20.5 ± 6.7 years; mass = 76.4 ± 15.8 kg; height = 1.74 ± .08 cm) who have undergone unilateral ACL reconstruction were recruited for this study. An isokinetic dynamometer was used to assess the knee extension peak torque on the involved and uninvolved limbs. …

Risk Factors And Fraud Loss Magnitude: Informing Anti-Fraud Strategies, Robert Elias

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Fraud research posits risk factors may be utilized to identify individuals who are predisposed to perpetrate fraud (ACFE 2024). I find perpetrators who exhibit the following risk factors result in statistically higher fraud losses: living beyond their means, excessive pressure to perform within the organization, having excessive control issues regarding their job, are reluctant to take vacations, have a “wheeler-dealer” attitude, or addiction problems. I further find perpetrators who exhibit risk factors which are likely to be observed in a work setting are more likely to result in higher fraud losses. However, perpetrators who exhibit risk factors which are more …

Performance Is In The Eye Of The Beholder: Exploring The Moderating Role Of Psychological Perspective Distancing Within Thought Self-Leadership In An Organizational Context, Christopher Bryton Neck

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Self-leadership, or the process through which individuals perform various cognitive and behavioral strategies to attain the self-direction and self-motivation necessary to perform in desired ways, has consistently been evidenced to enhance individuals’ performance through promoting a variety of positive individual cognitions, such as self-efficacy, positive affect, and engagement and through diminishing key threatening mental states such as stress, negative affect, and dysfunctional thinking (Harari et al., 2021; Knotts et al., 2022). The cognitive component of self-leadership, thought self-leadership (TSL) has been found to be particularly impactful, aiding the individual to modify and adapt their dysfunctional thinking to be more constructive …

An Epidemiological Study Of Finger, Hand, And Wrist Injuries In The Department Of Air Force And Us Workers, Melody Kay Gwilliam

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

ABSTRACT

An Epidemiological Study of Finger, Hand, and Wrist Injuries in the Department of Air Force and US workers

Melody Gwilliam

Background and Objectives: Fingers, hands, and wrists (FHW) are the leading injured body parts in work-related injuries in the United States (U.S.) and in the U.S. Department of the Air Force (DAF). There has been limited research on risk factors for FHW injuries. Workers across all industries are at risk for these injuries. The objectives of these studies are to 1) describe and compare FHW injuries among enlisted, officer, and civilian U.S. Department of the Air Force (DAF) …

Effects Of Pubertal Stress On Later Pup-Directed Behavior In Pregnant And Non-Pregnant Adult Female Mice, Marissa Marylin Nicodemus

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Beginning in adolescence and throughout adulthood, women are at an increased risk for anxiety and mood disorders compared to men. Several risk factors for these disorders have been identified, but it is not clear how they interact. One such factor is pregnancy. The normative changes to the brain and behavior that occur during and after pregnancy are associated with an increased risk for anxiety and mood disorders. Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) has also been associated with an increased risk of mood disorders, and compared to men, women appear to be particularly vulnerable to the lasting effects of stress …

Exploration Of Occupational Therapy's Consultative Role For Social Emotional Development In The Rural Childcare Setting, Katherine M. Conley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Little research has been conducted investigating the consultative role of occupational therapy (OT) in childcare, especially their role in supporting the social and emotional development of children aged 1 – 5 years. This project takes place in a rural childcare setting where a needs assessment found gaps in classroom routines' functionality, the accessibility of center-wide age-appropriate resources, and the use of social and emotional supports in the classroom. The occupational therapy doctoral student utilized the coaching model, evidence-based research, and the foundations of occupational therapy with the intention to improve teachers’ confidence in implementing social and emotional content in the …