Digital Commons Network^™

The Effect Of Music Familiarity On Driving: A Simulated Study Of The Impact Of Music Familiarity Under Different Driving Conditions, Zachary N. Jimison

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Music is one of the most popular activities while driving. Previous research on music while driving has been mixed, with some researchers finding music to be a distractor and some research finding music to be facilitative to driving performance. The current study was designed to determine if familiarity with the music might explain the difference found between self-selected and experimenter-selected music, and whether the difficulty of the driving conditions affected music’s relationship to driving performance. One hundred and sixty-five University students participated in a driving simulation both with music and without music. Under the “with music” condition, participants were randomly …

Beyond High School Readiness In The 21st Century: A Multi-Case Study Of The Perspectives Of African American High School Students In Accelerated Learning Programs And Their Experiences Of Success In Terms Of Efficacy, Ethnicity, And Future Aspirations, Phyllis Findley Pearson

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Secondary Education reform efforts have focused on perpetual achievement gaps for more than a decade, highlighting the essence of state level standardized test scores in reading and math, among diverse student groups in relation to their white peers. The reauthorization of ESEA (2013), is a reform effort described as the Student Success Act, whereby the expectation of student success is described in terms of all students graduating from high school, both college and career ready. The concept of no child left behind remains at the base of the law, which designates federal funds for education programs designed to ensure equal …

Leadership With Liberal Arts : From Ehebia To Jepson, Shaye Ellis

Honors Theses

“Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena.” Despite his extensive research and knowledge in the field, James MacGregor Burns still professes the complexity of the concept of leadership. The abstract nature of the topic does not lend itself to a brief synopsis or a limited understanding of a specific aspect of leadership. In many ways it eludes being confined to a particular category and exists across and between different academic disciplines. In the absence of a prescribed curriculum or method of study, institutions of higher education establish programs and departments that disseminate a distinct model or …

Measuring Sense Of Presence And User Characteristics To Predict Effective Training In An Online Simulated Virtual Environment, Gianluca De Leo, Leigh A. Diggs, Elena Radici, Thomas W. Mastaglio

VMASC Publications

Introduction: Virtual-reality solutions have successfully been used to train distributed teams. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between user characteristics and sense of presence in an online virtual-reality environment where distributed teams are trained. A greater sense of presence has the potential to make training in the virtual environment more effective, leading to the formation of teams that perform better in a real environment. Being able to identify, before starting online training, those user characteristics that are predictors of a greater sense of presence can lead to the selection of trainees who would benefit most from the online simulated …

Obesogenic Environmental Influences On Young Adults: Evidence From Randomized Dormitory Assignment, Kandice A. Kapinos, Olga Yakusheva, Daniel Eisenberg

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

This study utilizes a natural experiment—conditionally random dormitory assignments of first-year US college students—to investigate the influence of obesogenic environmental factors in explaining changes in weight and exercise behavior during the 2009–2010 academic year. The design addresses potential selection biases resulting from the likelihood that individuals sort into built environments that match their preferences for exercise and healthy eating. We find some evidence that the food environment, specifically access to campus dining, significantly affected the weight of female students in our study. Females assigned to dormitories where the nearest campus dining hall was closed on the weekends gained about 1 …

Emerging Adults' Friendships And Group Identification : Differential Associations With Well-Being, Ethan Wolf

Honors Theses

Happiness is a universally desirable state that humans inherently strive to achieve. Researchers have come up with different ways of operationalizing this universal construct, but have generally agreed that happiness can be considered as the frequent presence of positive affect (Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005). There is a reason we love being happy, and the associations between happiness and success in numerous life domains have been long documented. However, research shows that happiness is more than just a byproduct of successful outcomes and in fact contributes to life success. Positive affect and emotions leads to feelings of confidence, self-efficacy, optimism, …

Application Of Carhart Four-Factor Model To The Aaii-Generated Portfolios, Teo Lagvilava

Honors Theses

American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) provides stock screens that follow the investment strategies of some of the most well-known investors. This paper uses Carhart’s Four Factor Model and adjusts returns for transactions costs to see whether these portfolios generate abnormal returns. I find that number of portfolios with excess returns significantly decreases under the restrictions of the four factor model and transaction costs assumptions. In addition, I find that a momentum is a statistically significant factor in explaining the returns of these portfolios. The results of this study suggest that markets are inefficient in the weakest form.

Prison Health Care After The Affordable Care Act: Envisioning An End To The Policy Of Neglect, Evelyn Malave

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

Inadequate prison health care has created a health crisis for reentering prisoners and their communities--a crisis that is exacerbated by barriers to employment and other collateral consequences of release. This Note will first examine how current Eighth Amendment doctrine has failed to sufficiently regulate prison health care so as to have any significant effect on the crisis. Next, it will argue that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) alters the Eighth Amendment analysis by triggering a change in the "evolving standards of decency" that guide the doctrine. Specifically, this Note will argue that, after the passage of the ACA, releasing sick, …

Examining The Effects Of Human-Animal Interaction On Individuals With Developmental Disabilities, Jennie Feinstein

Theses and Dissertations

Companion animals play a pivotal role in typical human development. It remains unknown how animals affect individuals with developmental disabilities. Based on the knowledge that companion animals help typically developing individuals, this research examined the effects of human-animal interactions on individuals with developmental disabilities.

Human-animal interactions are based on the Biophilia hypothesis, an assertion that an emotional and beneficial relationship exists between humans and nature, in which there is an “innate tendency to focus on life and lifelike processes.” These are the shared, dynamic associations between people and animals, and the effects of those relationships on health and well-being. Sparse …

Mistakes Were Made, Michael Paul Adams

Master's Theses

Daniel Sorlin proposes that he and his wife, Claire, engage in an open marriage. Daniel has already been cheating on Claire for years, so the open marriage will allow him to stop feeling guilty for being a philanderer. Little does he know that Claire has fantasized about having an affair with one of their neighbors, an artist named Greg. Claire takes Daniel up on his offer, leading to an exploration of what happens to a relationship when the idea of fidelity is removed. The novel shows how a series of unplanned events (pregnancy, an early marriage, extramarital affairs, the death …

University Of Texas At Tyler Catalog, 2014 - 2015, University Of Texas At Tyler

Catalogs

No abstract provided.

University Of Texas At Tyler Course Catalog, 2014 - 2015, University Of Texas At Tyler

Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Emotional Bond Between The Creator And The Avatar: Changes In Behavioral Intentions To Engage In Alcohol-Related Traffic Risk Behaviors, Hokyung Kim

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examines the joint impact of relationship with one's avatar and negative consequences to the avatar on changing behavioral intentions (CBI) in terms of alcohol-impaired driving. Avatars are users' visual self-representation in a virtual world, and play a major role to build the users' digital identity. One hundred eleven participants volunteered to participate in several experimental conditions where the degree of choice of avatar features and the degree of active control of the avatar were manipulated in Second Life, an immersive 3D virtual environment. Participants who were allowed to customize their avatar viewed their avatar more similar and …

Perceptions Of Control In Midwifery Assisted Childbirth: A Qualitative Examination Of The Midwifery Assisted Experience Of Childbearing, Sarah Jordan Keels

Theses and Dissertations

This study looks to uncover some of the reasons that the sub-group of women who give birth outside of a hospital setting, and the midwives who serve them, choose to have an alternative birth plan and are willing to undergo social criticism for their decision. This is a qualitative analysis based on interview data with women who utilized midwifery care and midwives themselves. In-depth interview questions focus on the decision to use a midwife, definitions of control in the prenatal and birthing experience, and any kind of facilitation midwifery is seen to give expectant mothers in relation to these concepts. …

Clarissa's Suffering: Theorizing Sympathy And Physical Pain In The Eighteenth Century, Audrey Hungerpiller

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines theories of pain in the eighteenth century, and what it meant to sympathize with the pain of another. I begin briefly with the theories of Descartes and his adherents before focusing on David Hartley and John Locke. Physicians and natural philosophers of the period understood pain as a pure mechanism of the nervous system, confined to the tubelike fibers that run through the body. Naturally everyone feels pain by some means, whether illness or injury, so men ought to be able to sympathize with the afflictions of others. Yet, according to Adam Smith in The Theory of …

Professional Educators Of Iowa Member Perspectives About Iowa State Education Association And National Education Association Membership And Political Activities, Melissa Kay Reade

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

As Moe (2011) contended, “The teachers unions have tremendous influence over the nation’s schools, yet they have been poorly studied” (p. 18). The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine the attitudes, beliefs, and values of current Professional Educators of Iowa (PEI) members who either opted to join, discontinue, or bypass membership with Iowa State Education Association/National Education Association (ISEA/NEA). Specifically, this study aimed to understand the factors that influenced their membership decisions. Lastly, this study further explored the degree to which former ISEA/NEA members were aware, involved, and aligned with NEA political activities and how the political activities …

Oldtimers & Newcomers In Collective Action, Stefanie R. Chamberlain

Theses and Dissertations

Most work on groups facing collective action assumes that group membership is static, or fixed. Yet static membership is rare, with members joining and leaving groups. In this thesis, I propose to explore how the presence of newcomers to groups affects group coordination. Past research has shown an overall negative effect of newcomers on group contributions. The proposed thesis attempts to further establish the effect by determining whether newcomers, oldtimers, or both are responsible for the declining cooperation in groups. While the empirical component is focused solely on establishing who is responsible for driving down cooperation rates in dynamic groups, …

Intraindividual Personality Change: Situational Influences, Patterns Of Change, And Frequency-Based Measurement, Carol Tweten

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

A large amount of research supports the idea that little change in personality occurs over time (e.g., Caspi & Roberts, 2001). However, changes in an individual’s personality across different situations, known as intraindividual, or within-person, variability, has not received nearly as much empirical attention, in part due to the difficulties inherent in measuring personality across situations. The present study evaluated a measure of within-person variability called frequency-based measurement by comparing it with situational personality expression. The study involved two phases: a one-time measure of trait personality using frequency-based measurement and a five day experience sampling (ESM) study involving repeated measures …

Bayesian Analysis Of Continuous Curve Functions, Wen Cheng

Theses and Dissertations

We consider Bayesian analysis of continuous curve functions in 1D, 2D and 3D spaces. A fundamental feature of the analysis is that it is invariant under a simultaneous warping/re-parameterization of all target curves, as well as translation, rotation and scale of each individual if necessary. We introduce Bayesian models based on a special curve representation named Square Root Velocity Function (SRVF) introduced by Srivastava et al. (2011, IEEE PAMI). A Gaussian process model for the SRVFs of curves is proposed, and suitable prior models such as the Dirichlet distribution are employed for modeling the warping function as a cumulative distribution …

Effectiveness Of Preschool Lessons For Active Youngsters (Play) Curriculum On The Gross Motor Development And Physical Activity Level Of Preschool Children, Karyn K. Finn

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Presumably, energy balance can help to stabilize and ultimately reverse the rising rates of childhood obesity. Research findings generally point to a positive association between preschool children’s motor skill competence and their level of physical activity. This study was conducted as part of Project PLAY (Preschool Lessons for Active Youngsters) to objectively evaluate Project PLAY curriculum in order to provide childcare centers with an outcome-based curriculum that can improve motor skill development and positively affect physical activity level. This study used a quasi-experimental, cross over design with pre-mid-post assessment of motor skills and physical activity. The study was conducted with …

Accessing Law: An Empirical Study Exploring The Influence Of Legal Research Medium, Stefan H. Krieger, Katrina Fischer Kuh

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

The legal profession is presently engaged in an uncontrolled experiment. Attorneys now locate and access legal authorities primarily through electronic means. Although this shift to an electronic research medium radically changes how attorneys discover and encounter law, little empirical work investigates impacts from the shift to an electronic medium.

This Article presents the results of one of the most robust empirical studies conducted to date comparing research processes using print and electronic sources. While the study presented in this Article was modest in scope, the extent and type of the differences that it reveals are notable. Some of the observed …

Judging Similarity, Shyamkrishna Balganesh, Irina D. Manta, Tess Wilkinson‐Ryan

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

Copyright law’s requirement of substantial similarity requires a court to satisfy itself that a defendant’s copying, even when shown to exist as a factual matter, is quantitatively and qualitatively enough to render it actionable as infringement. By the time a jury reaches the question of substantial similarity, however, the court has usually heard and analyzed a good deal of evidence: about the plaintiff, the defendant, the creativity involved, the process through which the work was created, the reasons for which the work was produced, the defendant’s own creative efforts and behavior, and on occasion the market effects of the defendant’s …

A Game Changer For The Political Economy Of Economic Development Incentives, Stephen Ellis, Grant Hayden, Cynthia Rogers

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

State and local governments have embraced their authority to offer economic development incentives for the purpose of attracting, retaining, or enhancing economic activity within their borders. Collectively, these programs represent an enormous, but largely overlooked, transfer of wealth from public entities to private firms. The increasing use of economic development incentives runs counter to the guidance offered by academic researchers. With their proliferation comes the increasing need for accountability in the decision-making process. We consider whether the duty of care standard used in corporate governance should be applied to the public decision-making context regarding economic development incentives.

Analyzing Commercial Video Game Instruction Through The Lens Of Instructional Design, Susan E. Copp, Rebecca L. Fischer, Tian Luo, David R. Moore, Seann Dikkers

STEMPS Faculty Publications

This paper will examine how Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction (1992) may appear, perhaps inadvertently, within commercial games that guide the user from novice to expert player. By employing a qualitative artifact analysis methodology, we examine a popular action adventure video game to determine if game designers encourage players to build game expertise by employing similar events to Gagne’s instructional design model. We demonstrate that our artifact of analysis does consistently employ Gagne’s events, though often in a manner unique to a digitally mediated space. We conclude that an experiential game setting has the potential to be a platform for …

Investigating Estimation: Influences Of Time And Confidence Of Urban Middle School Students, Robert Q. Berry Iii, Melva R. Grant, Sueanne E. Mckinney, Clair Berube

STEMPS Faculty Publications

This study sought to determine the estimation processes used by 10 urban middle school students for solving computational estimation problems, and if there was a difference in the estimation processes utilized for straight computation and application problems. An adapted model of the Accessing Computational Estimation Test (ACE) was used to determine the estimation strategies employed by the subjects within timed and un-timed settings. Qualitative methods were used to analyze the data. The timed ACE tests were administered using an interview format and included computation and application problems. The findings indicated that there were no differences in estimation processes for straight …

State Responsibility For Gender Stereotyping, Barbara Stark

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

Scholars have recently re-discovered Justice Ruth Bader Ginburg’s early anti-stereotyping work. As Cary Franklin notes, Justice Ginsburg’s approach "was grounded not in a commitment to eradicating sex classifications from the law, but in a far richer theory of equal protection involving constitutional limitations on the state’s power to enforce sex-role stereotypes." Some of these scholars believe that this approach holds great promise for issues at the "frontiers of equal protection law" such as same-sex marriage and the work-family conflict. As Ginsburg herself has come to realize, however, anti-stereotyping is only the beginning. This Article explains why anti-stereotyping is insufficient, what …

Teachers' Experiences With Disengagement In Physical Education Classes At Secondary School Level In The Perth Metropolitan Area, Nuno Matos Oliveira

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Students’ disengagement from school has been one of the major concerns in educational research (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004). According to researchers (Alexander et al., 1997; Finn & National Center for Education Statistics, 1993; Finn & Rock, 1997; Finn & Voelkl, 1993; Fredricks & Blumenfeld et al., 2004) the more disengaged the students are, the more likely they will be to fail academically and ultimately drop out. Although researchers have already identified several risk factors that can influence students’ engagement (Fulton, 2007; Lee & Burkam, 2003; Newmann, 1992), very few studies have explored teachers’ views of this educational issue. The …

Evolutionary Approaches For Feature Selection In Biological Data, Vinh Q. Dang

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Data mining techniques have been used widely in many areas such as business, science, engineering and medicine. The techniques allow a vast amount of data to be explored in order to extract useful information from the data. One of the foci in the health area is finding interesting biomarkers from biomedical data. Mass throughput data generated from microarrays and mass spectrometry from biological samples are high dimensional and is small in sample size. Examples include DNA microarray datasets with up to 500,000 genes and mass spectrometry data with 300,000 m/z values. While the availability of such datasets can aid in …

The Perceived Personal Characteristics Of Entrepreneurial Leaders, Ling He

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The concept of entrepreneurial leadership has attracted growing interest from leadership scholars but research is still in an early stage and empirical studies are rare. This thesis explores this new concept in an empirical study of the personal characteristics of entrepreneurial leaders (ELs). The study is underpinned by the “common characteristics” model in which ELs have characteristics of both entrepreneurs and leaders. Semi-structured interviews and a short questionnaire were used to explore business owners’ and corporate managers’ perceptions of the personal characteristics of ELs. Responses were summarised with thematic analysis and descriptive statistics.

The findings show participants perceived EL as …

The Australian Football League And The Closet, Andrew Douglas

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis examines the complete absence of openly gay males from the ranksof the professional players in the Australian Football League (AFL). It seeks to explain this absence in the context of the modern gay rights movement. incontemporary Australian society. It compares and contrasts the effects of thismovement on both the AFL and other mainstream Australian social institutions.

Over more than four decades, the gay rights movement has effected a number of social changes. These changes include both specific legal reforms and more general trends such as the increasing social visibility of gay men across a range of mainstream institutions …