Digital Commons Network^™

Cool Under Fire: Psychopathic Traits And Decision-Making In Law Enforcement-Oriented Populations, Sean J. Mckinley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Law enforcement is an occupation that is typically characterized by high stress, physical danger, and potential for use of excessive force to subdue suspects of criminal activity. Compared to other jobs, the law enforcement profession is considered a high-stakes occupation that has the potential to greatly impact public safety, and officers must face daily dangers not experienced in other professions. While much research has focused on traditional models of personality and police performance (i.e., Big Five traits; Schneider, 2002; Twersky-Glasner, 2005), there may be utility in examining police officer performance through the lens of the triarchic psychopathy domains (Patrick, Fowles, …

Testing The Congruence Of Espousals And Enactments Predicting Team Innovation, Rylan M. Charlton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study employs a social identity perspective (Hogg, 2008) to test whether perceptions of both espoused and enacted values drive team innovation, and tests whether both their level and congruence determine their impact on innovation. This relationship is tested in a multilevel latent polynomial regression model (MLPM) framework (Zyphur, Zammuto, & Zhang, 2016). The study also leverages block variable procedures (e.g., Edwards & Cable, 2009) to model the combined effects of espoused and enacted values, and tests whether these combined effects mediate between leader behavior and team innovation. This represents the first test of Zohar and Hofmann’s (2012) proposition that …

Resilience And Health Outcomes Of Sexual Minority Middle-Aged And Older Adults, Christi L. Nelson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While research on lesbian, gay, and bisexual (hereafter referred to as sexual minority) middle-aged and older adults has increased over the past decade, there is still a critical need for more research on the health and resilience in this growing subpopulation. Research has provided evidence that sexual minority adults have an increased risk of negative health outcomes when compared to heterosexual adults. Research has also demonstrated possible resilience in sexual minority middle-aged and older adults; however, few studies have measured resilience in middle-aged and older adults. Gaining a better understanding of resilience in sexual minority adults may help identify modifiable …

Learning, Planning For, And Reflecting On Teaching Mathematics For Social Justice: A Case Study Investigation Of A High School Mathematics Methods Course, Queshonda J. Kudaisi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While much is known about learning to teach for social justice in other content areas, less is known about how mathematics education students learn to teach mathematics for social justice, specifically at the high school level. Hence, this mixed-methods convergent case study addresses this gap in the research literature by examining and describing the experiences of mathematics education students learning to teach mathematics for social justice within the context of a high school mathematics methods course at a large research university in the southeastern United States. The data sources accessed for this study include a survey measuring beliefs about teaching …

Mobile Response Teams And The Youth Emergency Behavioral Health System, Paige J. Alitz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: This dissertation includes three separate manuscripts that coalesce under the shared topic of mobile crisis response and the emergency behavioral health system. Method: The first manuscript includes a synthesis of the research on mobile crisis response from the 1960s to present day to assess whether mobile crisis services can improve mental health care access in the U.S. for youth and adults. The second manuscript includes bivariate and multivariate analyses of MRT participant data to characterize participants who receive an involuntary psychiatric evaluation versus those who do not, and to assess factors associated with involuntary psychiatric evaluation or referral to …

The Use Of Video Games In Teaching Efl Students To Write Arguments, Dalal Boland

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to investigate how playing an online digital video game, Quandary, during a university writing course affect the quality of argumentative writing produced by adult EFL students in Kuwait and how playing the same video game is different between male and female adult EFL students when learning how to write argumentative essays. The sample of the study consisted of 42 students who were enrolled in English composition 2 at Gulf University for Science and Technology, Kuwait. The students were divided to control and experimental group and were part of the study for 3 weeks. Students in the control …

Community Assessment Of Water Perceptions And Household Point-Of-Use Treatment Methods In Madagascar, Isabella Rose Silverman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One in four people around the world do not have access to safe drinking water, which means that two billion people globally lack access. In high-income countries, 0.02% of yearly deaths are attributed to unsafe water sources; however, an alarming 10.6% of deaths occur in Madagascar, for the same reason.

To achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all, a collaboration between public health and engineering is critical. Within the public health sector, social marketing is commonly utilized to address a problem by using commercial marketing principles to change behavior for the good of society. …

The Media Reproduction Of Racial Violence: A Content Analysis Of News Coverage Following The Death Of George Floyd Jr., Keylon Lovett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The media has played a critical role in reproducing anti-Black violence in the United States, which has often harmed African American communities. Historically, the white press has depicted graphic imagery and descriptions of Black people being brutalized, with little ethical regard to their harmful effects. The Black press has historically challenged negative portrayals in the white media and shown more nuance, to protect the Black audience it represents. This dynamic underpins media depictions of racial violence still seen today. Darnella Frazier’s video capture of George Floyd’s death by Minneapolis police, was widely shared in the weeks following the incident, across …

Driving Health Care Results With Authenticity, Kindness, And Vulnerability: A New Model Of Authentic Leadership, John D. Couris

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current management scholars have defined authentic leadership as consisting of four dimensions: relational transparency, self-awareness, balanced processing, and internalized moral perspective. This research extends the concept of authentic leadership to include kindness and vulnerability. I created two scales to measure kindness and vulnerability within the context of leadership and used them to examine perceptions of authentic leadership and its impact on three organizational outcomes: trust in one’s leader, work engagement, and psychological safety. Using a two-group, pretest-posttest experimental design, 44 Tampa General Hospital managers were either selected to participate in a four-hour authentic leadership training that included instruction on kindness …

Criminalizing Lgbtq+ Jamaicans: Social, Legal, And Colonial Influences On Homophobic Policy, Zoe C. Knowles

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Based on colonial and neocolonial models of oppression, Jamaica has adopted many laws, policies, and systems mandated by the British monarchy. Many of these laws contain anti-LGBTQ+ policies which remain in effect today. To address the criminalization of LGBTQ+ identities, I used queer theory and queer criminology to analyse the ways Jamaica constructs LGBTQ+ people as criminals and how they are treated in the legal and criminal justice systems from a postcolonial standpoint. Using a qualitative text-based feminist and queer policy analysis, I investigated social, legal, and colonial influences on current anti-LGBTQ+ policy by looking at the Offences Against the …

Experiences Of Saudi Arabian Mothers Of Young Children With Disabilities: An Exploratory Study, Samirah Bahkali

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that seeks to provide and develop services for children with disabilities and their families. As times have progressed, regulations and laws have placed an emphasis on providing suitable and better services for children with disabilities and their families. However, a gap exists in the literature regarding the overall experiences of Saudi Arabian mothers of children with disabilities in the early childhood years from birth to age ten (Al Otaibi & Al Sartawi, 2009; Alazemi, 2010). This study explored the experiences of Saudi Arabian mothers of children with disabilities. A qualitative interview approach, utilizing …

Cultural Values As A Moderator Of The Emotion Suppression To Strain Relationship: A Comparison Of Two Dominant Theoretical Mechanisms, Roxanne C. Lawrence

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although the relationship between emotion regulation and deleterious health outcomes is a robust finding in Western cultures, studies show that this effect is attenuated in non-Western cultures. The present study employed an experience sampling method to examine the mitigating effect of cultural values (i.e., individual-level collectivism) on the relationship between emotion regulation and employee strain (i.e., job satisfaction and anxiety) through the theoretical models of emotional dissonance and resource loss (operationalized as inauthenticity and emotional exhaustion). Using data collected from 182 adults working in the service industry, I ran a multilevel path analysis to test the study’s hypotheses. Results indicated …

Constructing Frameworks For Task-Optimized Visualizations, Ghulam Jilani Abdul Rahim Quadri

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Visualization is crucial in today’s data-driven world to augment and enhance human understanding and decision-making. Effective visualizations must support accuracy in visual task performance and expressive data communication. Effective visualization design depends on the visual channels used, chart types, or visual tasks. However, design choices and visual judgment are co-related, and effectiveness is not one-dimensional, leading to a significant need to understand the intersection of these factors to create optimized visualizations. Hence, constructing frameworks that consider both design decisions and the task being performed enables optimizing visualization design to maximize efficacy. This dissertation describes experiments, techniques, and user studies to …

Barriers And Motivating Factors To Parent Involvement In The Well-Being Promotion Program, Alexis C. Elvy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Well-Being Promotion Program (WBPP) is a school-based positive psychology intervention implemented in both primary and secondary schools to increase subjective well-being in children and adolescents. Through the inclusion of a parent information session and weekly parent contacts, parents of students enrolled in the program are encouraged to enhance their child’s generalization of positive activities and relationship building skills. However, previous implementation of the WBPP provides evidence for the existence of barriers to parental involvement in the intervention. Although the literature on parental involvement in school-based positive psychology interventions is sparse, research conducted with a variety of school-based and clinical …

Unintended Consequences? Testing The Effects Of Adolescent-Targeted Anti-Vaping Media Upon Adult Smokers, Leslie E. Sawyer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A great deal of controversy surrounds e-cigarettes, with some arguing that protection of youth and non-users is paramount and others maintaining that these products are beneficial from a harm reduction perspective for use by adult smokers for switching from combustible cigarettes and for smoking cessation. Opponents of e-cigarettes have allocated tremendous funds toward advertising campaigns aimed at youth deterrence; however, to date, the effects of these ads upon adult smokers have yet to be examined. The current study used a between-subjects experimental design to investigate the effects of an FDA-distributed youth-targeted anti-vaping PSA, “Vaping is an Epidemic,” upon adult smokers …

Comparison Of Parameter Estimation Approaches For Multi-Unidimensional Pairwise Preference Tests, Naidan Tu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Multidimensional forced choice (MFC) testing has been proposed as a way of reducing response biases in noncognitive measurement. Although early item response theory (IRT) research focused on illustrating that trait scores with normative properties could be obtained using various MFC models and formats, more recent attention has been devoted to exploring the processes involved in test construction and how that influences MFC scores. This research compared two approaches for estimating Multi-Unidimensional Pairwise Preference model (MUPP; Stark et al., 2005) parameters based on the Generalized Graded Unfolding Model (GGUM; Roberts et al., 2000). More specifically, we compared the efficacy of statement …

Impacts Of Model Misspecification On Individual-Level Differential Item Functioning Detection In Multilevel Data Using Hierarchical Generalized Linear Model, Yue Yin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hierarchical generalized linear modeling (HGLM) has become more and more popular in detecting differential item functioning (DIF) items in multilevel contexts due to its flexibility and efficiency. This dissertation aims to investigate and compare four different HGLM DIF detection models under various DIF conditions with multilevel data. Three studies were conducted in this dissertation. The first two studies were simulation studies and the third one was an empirical study. Simulation Study One compared the performance of two-level HGLM and three-level HGLM with the individual-level covariate (HGLM-IL) on detecting individual-level DIF items with two-level and three-level data structures. Simulation Study Two …

Employees Breaking Bad With Technology: An Exploratory Analysis Of Human Factors That Drive Cyberspace Insider Threats, Marcus L. Green

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As implementation of computer systems has continued to grow in business contexts, employee-driven cyberspace infractions have also grown in number. Employee cyberspace behaviors have continued to have detrimental effects on company computer systems. Actions that violate company cybersecurity policies can be either malicious or unmalicious. Solutions, by and large, have been electronic and centered on hardware and software. Those proposing solutions have begun to shift their focus to human risk vulnerabilities.

This study was novel in that its focus was identification of individual, cultural, and technological risk factors that drive cyberspace insider threat activities. Identifying factors that reduce insider threat …

Retaining And Supporting Graduate Racially Minoritized Students: A Critical Analysis, Patricia Y. Gills

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to critique the racial status quo of a school psychology graduate training program by gaining the perspectives of former and current racially minoritized students from the program. Additionally, this study aimed to utilize this information to provide implications for how to dismantle the racist and oppressive structures within the school psychology program. This study also aimed to analyze the success of research recommendations in helping racially minoritized students defeat the systemic barriers to completing a school psychology program. I conducted one-hour, semi-structured interviews of eight school psychology graduate racially minoritized students from the school psychology program. I …

Strengthening The Entrepreneurial Support Community, Andrew J. Hafer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to discover ways of improving the impact and effectiveness of entrepreneurial support organizations (ESOs) in the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem of Tampa Bay, Florida. First, the study establishes a comprehensive catalog (called the “Superset”) of potential support programs that might be offered by ESOs and consumed by entrepreneurs. Through empirical data collection, the programs in the Superset are ranked by entrepreneurs and ESO leaders according to their opinion of perceived value and importance for gaining the competency in said program. The rankings allow a mapping of the regional ecosystem to identify gaps, inefficiencies, and improvement opportunities.

The study …

Public Budgeting As Moral Dilemma, Ben Wroblewski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Government budget managers are responsible for the proper stewardship of public funds and facilitating the business transactions necessary to meet the public’s needs. Sometimes, during these decisions, managers can experience pressure to make an unethical decision. A better understanding of this issue can help organizations prevent misallocation of funds and adverse effects within the community. The problem is that the general pressure model lacks a framework to explain the decision-making process. Moral utility theory can provide insight into how people weigh or score choices with ethical considerations. This study found that government budget managers included their self-interests when experiencing tension …

Managing Health Locus Of Control In Patient-Provider Relationships, James Wallace

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Patient locus of control is a strong determinant of health outcomes, yet health care professionals do not typically address it in care plans. In fact, management of most medical conditions is hindered because the treating physician has little information about the patient’s locus of control. This research addresses the question “How can locus of control be used to enable health care practitioners to improve medical outcomes?”

Research Methodology. Using an engaged scholarship approach incorporating the Elaborated Action Design Research methodology, the research drives the guided, emergent design of a novel protocol and two separate artifacts for management of health locus …

Asking The Experts: Perception Of The Relative Importance Of Antecedents Of Optimal Financial Behavior, Chad M. Jones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although there is ample research on financial behavior, the inclusion of financial planners in the sample frames of such research is rare. This study used certified financial planners (CFPs) as the sole sample population to identify antecedents of optimal financial behavior and their relative importance. Data from a nationally representative sample of 167 CFPs indicated that (a) financial literacy lost relative importance as CFP tenure increased, (b) romantic partnership closely rivaled financial literacy in importance, (c) financial literacy was more weakly correlated with romantic partnership than with the other antecedents investigated, and (d) romantic partnership was universally accepted as a …

Social Constructivism In Chemistry Peer Leaders And Organic Chemistry Students, Aaron M. Clark

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social constructivist learning is a goal in many STEM programs. The goal of this dissertation is to shed light on what that pedagogy looks like in the context of organic chemistry courses and by peer leaders whose job is to implement this pedagogy with general chemistry and organic chemistry students. Learning is complex; the social constructivist ideas presented in this dissertation, however, are a straightforward means for promoting learning. Qualitative and quantitative methods used to explore social constructivist learning are outlined.

Three investigations were conducted: First, approaches to learning by students completing the first semester of a yearlong organic chemistry …

The Is Social Continuance Model: Using Conversational Agents To Support Co-Creation, Naif Alawi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the rise of Agentic IS Artifact and the increasing integration of this technology within organizations, our understanding of the impact of this technology on individuals remains limited. Although IS use literature provides important guidance for organization to increase employees’ willingness to work with new technology implementations, the utilitarian view of prior IS use limits its application in light of the new evolving social interaction between humans and Agentic IS Artifacts. To that end, we contribute to the IS use literature by implementing a social view to understand the impact of Agentic IS Artifacts on an individual’s perception and behavior. …

Development And Validation Of A Scale To Measure Songwriting Self-Efficacy (Sses) With Secondary Music Students, Patrick K. Cooper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social cognitive theory was developed to explain how individuals learn, in part, by witnessing the behavior of others. Self-efficacy is a construct within social cognitive theory which indicates the beliefs that an individual can be successful at a task under specific situational demands. The sources of self-efficacy include self-evaluating past experiences to predict future success, comparing our abilities to those around us, the verbal and social feedback we get from others, and the physiological feelings we experience when engaged in or thinking about the task. Measures of self-efficacy have been shown to be accurate predictors of successful learning outcomes, achievement, …

Bad Bunny’S Purplewashing As Gender Violence In Reggaeton: A Feminist Analysis Of Solo De Mi And Yo Perreo Sola, Dairíne Hoban

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bad Bunny has skyrocketed to fame in the past few years, gaining worldwide recognition as one of the best reggaetoneros of his time. His self-promoted image as an ally to women’s movements and the Queer community has garnered him the recognition of being a role model for youth and as an anomaly in the misogynistic genre of reggaeton. However, few have looked beyond the assertion of allyship to see if his work truly does support women and anti-gender violence ideology. While scholarship on reggaeton has well documented the prevalence of gender violence in the lyrics, videos and overall culture of …

Multidimensional Well-Being Across Time Scales In Caregivers And Non-Caregivers, Victoria R. Marino

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Contemporary research on informal caregiving recognizes that, though stressful, providing care for a disabled family member or friend can bring psychological benefits, such as increased meaning or purpose in life, growing closer to the care recipient, and learning new skills. Scales of eudaimonic well-being (EWB – e.g., meaning in life, personal growth, and positive relations with others) developed in positive psychology literature offer an innovative solution to incorporating caregiving benefits into between-groups comparisons of caregiver and non-caregiver well-being, which have typically focused on cross-sectional assessment of hedonic well-being (HWB – i.e., negative/positive affect and life satisfaction). Moreover, using daily using …

"25 Years Later And I'M Still Here...Still Positive": Older Black Males' Lived Experiences Of Aging With Hiv In Hillsborough County, Fl, Bernice Kathleen Lopez-Mccoy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Today, adults aged fifty and older are the fastest growing segment of those living with HIV/AIDS. Yet, little remains known about the socio-cultural consequences of aging with HIV, and whether social and health care infrastructure is currently adequate to meet the unique needs of this population. Particularly understudied are older minority men aging with HIV. Drawing from an anthropological life course perspective and tenets of Becker’s (1997) framework on life disruption and reorganization, this dissertation research investigated older, Black males’ experiences of disruption and reorganization from aging with HIV in the present landscape of HIV care.This research comprised of the …

Informing Indigent Health Care Service Programs Within A Local Government Context: Strategies For Population-Based Service Planning, Assessment, And Policy Development, Joshua Troy Barnett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The number of medically indigent adults continues to grow in the United States, despite recent expansions in health care coverage to individuals who are non-disabled, low income, and uninsured. Indigent health care programs (IHCPs) are safety net services that are often funded and operated by local governments. These IHCPs provide access to health services at low to no-cost which protect the health and financial welfare of the individuals these programs serve and support the sustainability of the health systems that treat them. Although localities continue to expand their presence in safety net health care delivery, little is known about locally …