Digital Commons Network^™

The Effect Of Thin-Slicing On Structured Interview Decisions, Gregory F. Schmidt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined whether hiring recommendations based on thin slices of a structured interview were associated with recommendations based on the interview in its entirety. After viewing 12 seconds of silent interviewee behavior, participants made hiring recommendations that were significantly correlated with those produced by individuals viewing a still-frame of the interview and the entire interview. In an effort to determine what sources of information participants were using to arrive at their recommendations, nonverbal behaviors were examined in detail. Applicants who appeared attentive, not anxious, competent, confident, dominant, optimistic, and professional were more likely to receive positive hiring recommendations than …

The Impact Of Management’S Tone On The Perception Of Management’S Credibility In Forecasting, Robert D. Slater

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of management altering its tone in communications on participants' perceptions of management credibility. Management's tone in communicating with participants was manipulated using communications from management under two treatment conditions. In period one of the study management's tone was manipulated within the management statement on internal controls as required by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's (PCAOB) Auditing Standards No. 2. In period one, participants had no knowledge of management's prior forecasting accuracy. Consistent with predicted hypotheses, the findings reveal that management can increase its credibility with participants by communicating its …

Scissors Paper Rock, Barbara St. Clair

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Scissors Paper Rock is based on the true story of Amy Biel, a young and idealistic American woman who went to South Africa to support the political effort against Apartheid. She worked there as a volunteer organizer during a time of great political turmoil, and was days away from returning home to the United States, when she was violently killed in a riot. While Amy's death was not an accident--four men were found guilty for taking her life--it is certainly possible to think of her death as a tragedy. Amy's idealism and belief in her power to do good, allowed …

Construct Validity Of Situational Judgment Tests: An Examination Of The Effects Of Agreeableness, Organizational Leadership Culture, And Experience On Sjt Responses, Jonathan Adam Shoemaker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Numerous factors are likely to influence response patterns to situational judgment tests, including agreeableness, leadership style, impression management, and job and organizational experience. This research presents background information and research on situational judgment tests and several constructs hypothesized to influence situational judgment test responses. A situational judgment test and manipulations to influence response patterns were developed and piloted with a small sample of management professionals and undergraduate students. Larger samples of management professionals and undergraduate students participated in the experimental research. Participants were asked to imagine that they are applying for a job. Each participant was presented with background information …

How Do Proficient Intermediate Grade Writers Percieve Writing In School?, Tammy Weiss Schimmel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine students' perspectives of writing instruction to gain insights into their awareness of the impact of high-stakes writing assessments on instructional practices and teaching strategies. Students in grades four and five who attended the 2004 Suncoast Young Author's Celebration (SYAC) served as the sample for this study. Data were gathered through surveys and interviews with 20 students who attended the SYAC. Survey questions were used to obtain general information about the students' perceptions of writing instruction and assessment. Interviews were conducted to gain a richer understanding of their perceptions of classroom experiences.The participants …

"A Woman's Face, Or Worse": Otto Rank And The Modernist Identity, Michael L. Shuman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Otto Rank is a significant but generally overlooked figure in the early history of psychoanalysis, and his work provides an illuminating context for the study of subjectivity and modernist culture. The "modernist identity" of my title is intended to represent, first, the concept of the individual self identified and expressed during this period and, secondly, the unique identity of modernist culture developed by artists through creative acts and emanating as the intellectual ambiance of the era. Through an examination of Rank's later theories and the work of prominent modernist artists, including Lawrence, Yeats, and Eliot, this dissertation will show that …

The Proliferating Sacred: Secularization And Postmodernity, Donald Surrency

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When analyzing the role religion plays in contemporary American society, one is forced to address the notion of secularization. This is a term that broadly refers to the marginalization of religious influence in culture and society that began at the outset of the Enlightenment, sometime during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but, as Peter Berger argues, can actually be traced back to the times of the great Israelite prophets who emerged during the Axial Age (800-200 BCE). Throughout the available literature, proponents of the secularization thesis extend the marginalization of religious influence from the societal level to the level of …

Clinical Supervision Of Child And Adolescent Counselors In Residential Foster Care: A Collective Case Study, Lee A. Teufel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A collective case study is the study of more than one case (Stake, 1995). One therapist supervisor and three therapist supervisees from a child and adolescent residential foster care facility were observed during their individual clinical supervision and interviewed post-supervision. Currently, the literature on clinical supervision seldom addresses the supervision of working professional counselors; particularly those who are child and adolescent counselors (CACs).

Using a qualitative approach, two fundamental questions guided this inquiry: (a) what is the nature of clinical supervision involving a supervisor who provides clinical supervision to counselors in a child and adolescent residential foster care center that …

Local Strategies In A Global Network: Disability Rights Advocacy In Jamaica, Joan A. Tucker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The declaration of the International Year of Disabled Persons in 1981 and the international activism of persons with disabilities resulted in the globalization of disability, which involved a new framework for the treatment of PWDs. Although disability activism was being played out globally, it has been about PWDs gaining equality and full participation in their local societies. Therefore, at the heart of an international movement was the strategic organization of PWDs, most of who live in the developing world. This dissertation is based on a case study of activism for disability rights in one particular developing society, Jamaica. The Jamaican …

The Relationship Between School Connectedness And Bullying Vicitmization In Secondary Students, Janet Urbanski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bullying is a complex behavior that can cause academic and social problems for students and can contribute to a negative school climate. Students who feel isolated or do not feel connected to their school may experience similar risks to those who are victimized by peers. Recent school violence incidents have led to an increase in bullying behavior research. The importance of the school climate is also emerging in educational discourse prompting a growth of research in school connectedness and positive relationships. However, research on the impact that relationships and school connectedness may have on bullying victimization at school is limited. …

Assistive Force Feedback For Path Following In 3d Space For Upper Limb Rehabilitation Applications, Ramya Swaminathan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary objective of this research was the design of an easy to use C++ Graphical User Interface (GUI) which helps the user to choose the task that he/she wants to perform. This C++ application provides a platform intended for upper arm rehabilitation applications. The user can choose from different tasks such as: Assistive Function in 3D Space to Traverse a Linear Trajectory, User Controlled Velocity Based Scaling, Fitts' Task in X, Y, Z Directions. According to a study conducted by the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology, stroke patients aided by robotic rehabilitation devices gain significant improvement …

Job Satisfaction Among High School Assistant Principals In Seven Florida Counties, John R., Taylor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study replicated the study by Mary E. Neal, Job Satisfaction of Florida's High School Assistant Principals as a Factor in the Maintenance of an Administrative Workforce (2002) and extended the research by examining the job satisfaction of high school assistant principals in seven Florida county school districts. The present study utilized quantitative and qualitative data. Respondents (n = 128) were surveyed using the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ short form), Individual Demographic Questionnaire, and Telephone Interview Questionnaire. One assistant principal from each of seven counties volunteered to complete the Telephone Interview Questionnaire. The 128 respondents represented 60% of 214 assistant …

Narrative Efforts At Social Redemption By People With Aids/Hiv, Andrea Zolnier Thelen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores four narrative texts written about AIDS/HIV and evaluates each one by applying Kenneth Burke's redemption drama, consisting of guilt, purification, and redemption. The methodology is a close textual analysis using rhetorical analysis as a way to highlight the use of the redemption drama in language. The first chapter explores the history of AIDS/HIV and makes the argument for using Burke's rhetorical approach. The second chapter briefly highlights the plot of the four narratives and provides background information and context for each book. The third chapter applies the concept of guilt to all four narratives. The fourth chapter …

A New Questionnaire To Determine The Frequency And Severity Of Symptoms Caused By Inhaled Odors, Chemicals And Irritants In Normal Subjects And Their Relation To Health-Related Quality Of Life, Stephen E. Williamson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Individuals may develop symptoms in response to inhaled odors, chemicals, and irritants. This may affect their quality of life. Little is known about the prevalence and severity of symptoms that result from exposure to odors, chemicals and irritants. This study demonstrates the development of a new respiratory questionnaire to detect the prevalence and severity of symptoms experienced upon exposure to chemicals, odors, and irritants, and relates these symptoms to quality of life. This questionnaire was submitted to 96 volunteers at the University of South Florida College of Public Health who responded to items regarding symptoms developed in response to exposure …

Media Exposure And Males’ Evaluation Of The Appearance Of Females, Yuko Yamimiya

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The adverse effect of the exposure to images of attractive females on women's body image and mood has been well-documented in studies conducted in various western and westernized nations. However, research designed to determine the effect of exposure to attractive female images on men has been rather neglected. Past findings indicate that after being exposed to exceptionally attractive female images, males report less satisfaction for a current relationship, rate average-looking females as less attractive, and express less affection for their significant other compared to those men exposed to control images. It is currently not known, however, whether a psychoeducational intervention …

The Appeal Of The Underdog: Definition Of The Construct And Implications For The Self, Nadav Goldschmied

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

From politics to sports to business, people are quick to categorize those at a considerable competitive disadvantage as "underdogs." Moreover, there is ample support that most unattached observers do not hesitate to align themselves with underdogs, a phenomenon termed "the underdog effect." While most dictionary definitions state that underdogs are "especially expected to lose," the present investigation argues that people often attribute optimistic qualities to underdogs and the exceeding of expectations. A series of studies was conducted to examine the lay-person definition of what an underdog means, as well as what motivations may play a role in the underdog effect. …

The Relationships Between Students’ Perceptions Of School Climate, Attitudes Towards School, And Substance Use Among Early Adolescents, Jason D. Hangauer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the relationships between early adolescent substance use and perceptions of school climate and attitudes towards school using self-report data from a sample of 443 middle school students. The present study examined school climate and attitudes towards school comprehensively in order to identify important relationships between these classes of variables and multiple types of substance use in early adolescents. The results of the study include that the model of school climate consisting of six factors (fairness, order and discipline, parental involvement, sharing or resources, student interpersonal relations, and student-teacher relations) accurately predicted 11% of the variance in middle …

A Paradox Of Diversity: Billions Invested, But Women Still Leave, Rebekah S. Heppner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 2005, women made up 46.4 percent of the United States labor force but only 1.6 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs (Catalyst 2006). Although gains have been made since the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, there is clearly something stopping women from equal representation at the top. Since the late 1980s, businesses have spent billions of dollars on initiatives designed to assist them in dealing with the anticipated increase in the "diversity" of their workplaces (Lubove 1997; Stodghill II 1996; Johnston and Packer 1987). Is there potential for diversity initiatives to help women conquer the "glass ceiling?" …

The Pedagogy And Politics Of Online Education In Anthropology, Linda J. Hose

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation reports on the key findings of an exploratory study of online education in anthropology. The study was designed to collect information on the extent and types of online offerings at four-year and above degree-granting public institutions in the US. It was also designed to report on the teaching strategies and methods that anthropologists employ online, and to inquire into the conditions and institutional structures that encourage or discourage the development of online education in anthropology. Recent growth in online education has been explosive in many disciplines, but little is known about anthropology's participation in the trend, or lack …

What Are The Socio-Emotional Experiences And Perceptions Of Third Grade Students With High-Stakes Testing?, Anne Marie Juola-Rushton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of third grade students with high-stakes testing. The study was designed to address this issue from the perspective of the third grade student's experience and offer a venue for them to share their stories. The following research question guides this study: What are the socio-emotional experiences and perceptions of third grade students with high-stakes testing? Data analysis employed here falls under the rubric of qualitative approaches of symbolic interaction and phenomenology written in a narrative format with the provisions of portraiture. This study uses the analytical procedures set …

The Effects Of Organizational Structure On Faculty Job Performance, Job Satisfaction, And Counterproductive Work Behavior, Stacey R. Kessler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Organizational researchers focus on group level variables such as organizational climate and organizational structure. The purpose of the current meso-level study is to examine the effects of the structure of an academic department on faculty members' job performance, job satisfaction, and prevalence of counterproductive work behavior (CWB), or harmful behaviors while at work. The sample consisted of 1135 full time faculty members working in 229 academic departments throughout the United States and Canada. Results of the study suggested that faculty members working in a more organically structured department report higher levels of job satisfaction. Additionally, productive faculty members working in …

The Gothic As Counter-Discourse: Mark Twain, Charles Chesnutt And Toni Morrison, Hyejin, Kim

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Revisiting the American Gothic via Julia Kristeva's theory of "the abject" demonstrates how Gothic strategies expose the historical contradictions of race in works by Mark Twain, Charles W. Chesnutt, and Toni Morrison. As theorized by Kristeva in Powers of Horror, the archaic process in which the subject attempts to constitute itself as homogeneous by casting off or "abjecting" all that cannot be assimilated to the self-same necessarily opens the way to repeated returns of the abject(ed) and the "horror" it provokes. Because the Gothic enacts the return of the abject, it was itself abjected from the literary canon until recently. …

The “Dark Side” Of Ocb: Examining The Relationship Between Citizenship Behavior And Work-To-Family Conflict, Rebecca H. Klein

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research on organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) has focused on the positive aspects of the construct, neglecting the possibility that individuals who engage in OCB may suffer negative consequences. Thus, the present study expands the literature by examining the possibility that OCB is also related to negative individual-level factors, such as work-to-family conflict (WIF). In a replication and extension of Bolino and Turnley's (2005) research, the present study offers an in-depth analysis of the relationship between OCB and WIF, examining two potential mediators (work time and role overload) and two potential moderators (gender and perceptions of OCB as discretionary). Two hundred …

The Effects Of Alcohol And Nicotine Pretreatment During Adolescence On Adulthood Responsivity To Alcohol, Antoniette M. Maldonado

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adolescence is a period of development that is associated with increased risk taking behaviors and experimenting with drugs of abuse, including alcohol and nicotine. Early onset of use of these agents may be associated with long-term changes in behavior and enhanced sensitivity to the subsequent effects of alcohol in adulthood. The present experiment was designed to assess the long-term behavioral alterations that occur due to adolescent exposure to ethanol and nicotine, either alone or in combination, on adulthood responsivity to the rewarding properties of environmental cues paired with ethanol. It was hypothesized that adolescent rats exposed to the combination of …

Real Challenges, Virtual Challengers: The Democracy For America Movement, Noah Porter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The project examines the effects of Internet use by the social movement organization (SMO) Dean for America/Democracy for America (DFA). This study describes the relationship between Internet usage and SMO beliefs, organization, causes, reasons for joining, strategies, reactions, and effects. Dean for America started out with few resources or supporters, and was seen as an unlikely contender for the 2004 presidential campaign. From its humble beginnings, it skyrocketed from being virtually unknown to frontrunner status in the span of a year. After Howard Dean withdrew from the race in February 2004, Dean for America transformed itself into Democracy for America, …

Factors Perceived To Contribute To Mathematics Avoidance Or Mathematics Confidence In Non-Traditional Age Women Attending A Community College, Jo Ann K Rawley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over the past decade, the number of students entering postsecondary institutions immediately after high school has been decreasing, while the number of non-traditional aged students, defined as adults over 25, has substantially increased, with women making up the majority of this adult student group. Mathematics education is an area where non-traditional age women tend to have difficulty. Fifteen individual interviews were conducted with non-traditional age women enrolled in a community college, 10 identifying mathematics as the subject they would least enjoy and 5 identifying mathematics as the subject they would most enjoy. Data were analyzed by comparing the women's stories …

Examining The Issues Surrounding Violating The Assumption Of Independent Observations In Reliability Generalization Studies: A Simulation Study, Jeanine L. Romano

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Because both validity and reliability indices are a function of the scores on a given administration of a measure, their values can often vary across samples. It is a common mistake to say that a test is reliable when in fact it is not the test that is reliable but the scores on the test that are reliable. In 1998, vacha-haase proposed a fixed-effects meta-analytic method for evaluating reliability that is similar to validity generalization studies called reliability generalization (rg). This study was conducted to evaluate alternative analysis strategies for the meta-analysis method of reliability generalization when the reliability estimates …

Credibility Perceptions Of Television And Online News, Charmy G. Sabigan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Three major factors influence audience's credibility perception of mediated news on television and on the internet. This study found that reporters' credibility, media credibility, and news credibility had direct influence to the credibility of news presented on both media. Reporters' credibility on both media could be measured by their expertise, intelligence, education, trustworthiness, and authoritativeness. Television and the internet were evaluated differently. Television was measured by its comprehensiveness, concern for the interest of the public, and fairness. The internet was assessed on its trustworthiness, consideration of public interest, and objectivity. News credibility for both media, however, could be evaluated using …

An Experimental Analysis Of Activist Message Strategy Effect On Receiver Variables, Andrea Schuch

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing communication and activist organization perspectives, this empirical study examined activist message strategies and how they influence variables related to the receiver of activist communication. Specifically, J.E. Grunig's (1997) situational theory of publics and Fishbein and Ajzen's (1975) theory of reasoned action were used to explain the communication effects of the seven activist message strategies developed from Hazleton and Long's (1988) public relations process model. The findings of this study support the premise of situational theory of publics and contribute to the extension of the theory through the inclusion of goal compatibility as a predictor of information seeking behavior and …

Enduring Changes In Reward Mechanisms After Developmental Exposure To Cocaine: The Role Of The D2 Receptor, Kirstie H. Stansfield

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

During adolescent brain maturation, there are likely sensitive periods where environmental conditions, including drug exposure, may influence development by modifying neuronal connections. Altering neuronal function may produce different phenotypes than expected under normal conditions that may influence subsequent responding to drugs of abuse after the brain is fully mature. Experiment one investigated the relationship between novelty preference and cocaine place preference in adolescent and adult rats. High responding adolescent rats displaying greater free choice novelty exploration (but not forced novelty locomotion) expressed decreased cocaine place conditioning compared to low responding rats. No relationship was found in adult rats. Experiment two …