Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Green Trust Perceptions Of Eco-Labels, Rebecca Dupont

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Sustainability in the United States trends a new marketing demand for eco-labels yet brands often skip regulation to obtain these labels and break consumer trust. The country currently has over 200 eco-labels, leaving consumers overwhelmed and confused. In the present study, 3 focus groups of 6-8 participants were interviewed about their opinions, perceptions and attitudes towards eco-labels. A thematic analysis of the focus group audio was completed. The results indicated that participants desire products with eco-labels yet paradoxically distrust eco-labeled products.

Interactions Between Humans, Virtual Agent Characters And Virtual Avatars, Tamara Griffith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Simulations allow people to experience events as if they were happening in the real world in a way that is safer and less expensive than live training. Despite improvements in realism in simulated environments, one area that still presents a challenge is interpersonal interactions. The subtleties of what makes an interaction rich are difficult to define. We may never fully understand the complexity of human interchanges, however there is value in building on existing research into how individuals react to virtual characters to inform future investments. Virtual characters can either be automated through computational processes, referred to as agents, or …

Food For Thought: Food Insecurity And Academic Performance, Justen Rosenberg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Objective: In 2018, 11.1% of American households were food insecure at least once. Annual reports on food insecurity conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture study the prevalence of household food insecurity; however, they fail to conceptualize the consequences that are associated with being food insecure. The objective of this study is to analyze the impacts of food insecurity on academic performance of children currently enrolled in an Orange County, Florida, K-12 public school. Methods: One focus group and 10 one-on-one interviews were conducted with parents who have at least one child currently enrolled in a K-12 public school …

Postcolonial Public Administration: A Critical Discourse Analysis, Esteban Santis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Four years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a group of Public Administration scholars met in New York's Adirondack Mountains to discuss the future of the field. At this gathering, the Minnowbrook I Conference, scholars acknowledged the need for social equity. Today, more than fifty years later, there is still a need for social equity. There is still a need to understand the history and role of oppression within Public Administration. Apropos, in this dissertation, I interrogate oppression, by way of postcolonialism and critical discourse analysis, to learn about the field's darkness and splendor. This project …

Paleoethnobotanical Analysis Of Starch Grains And Phytoliths From Pre-Columbian Ceramic Residues In The Bolivian Amazon, Danielle Young

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The Llanos de Mojos of the southwestern Amazon region of Bolivia once supported large Pre-Columbian indigenous populations who were regarded as skilled farmers, and whose agricultural pursuits are still documented on the landscape through tens of thousands of raised fields. Nevertheless, the plants that were cultivated on these fields that contributed to a large part of the local cuisine are not well understood. Microbotanical analyses using starch grains and phytoliths of food residues were conducted on 55 archaeological ceramic fragments from four forest islands in Mojos where people resided recurrently from cal BCE 1200 to cal CE ~1430. The results …

The Precariat And The Pandemic: Assessing The Wellbeing Of Metro Orlando's Hospitality Workers During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Caroline Austin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

In 2018, the Orlando metro area was visited by 126.1 million tourists, a new record which the area has broken for its eighth year (Sanata 2019). As the number of visitors to the area continues to rise, so has the number of people employed by the hospitality industry which currently makes up the largest sector of the area's job market, employing 280,000 workers as of December 2019 (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Consistent growth in various insecure and unstable jobs of this kind have prompted the development of theory regarding the emergence of a new class known as the precariat. The …

Improving Foreign Militaries -- The Effects Of U.S. Military Aid In The Form Of International Military Education And Training Programs, Sandor Fabian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Great powers have often sought to achieve their strategic goals through the allocation of military aid. The United States is no exception, as it has frequently used military aid to influence the policies and military capacity of its allies and partners. However, our understanding of the effects of US military aid on the conflict behavior of recipient states - and especially the mechanisms underlying these effects - remains poorly understood. The results of previous studies of U.S. military aid are often contradictory, and are mostly based on over-aggregated, country-level data. In this dissertation, I argue that examining the individual-level effects …

Experiences Of Loss And Growth: A Phenomenological Inquiry Of Mass Shooting Survivors And Their Family Or Family-Of-Choice Members, Amanda Dilorenzo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study explores the lived experiences of survivors of mass shootings and their family members' experiences of relational loss and growth. There is limited research on mass shooting survivors, with most of it focusing on post-traumatic stress disorder and other diagnosable mental health concerns. Until this study, the voices of survivors and their family members were absent from literature. The field of grief and traumatic loss typically refers to experiences related to the death of a loved one. However, this study seeks to expand the understanding on how exposure to a traumatic experience accompanies intangible, relational, and disenfranchised grief for …

100 Books To Think About, Cynthia M. Kisby

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The news is full of stories about intelligent people, at the top of their game, who hurtle into public humiliation. I dubbed this fascinating phenomenon the theory of “smart and dumb.” Sometimes we’re thinking, and sometimes clearly, we are not. My quest to understand these quirks of human nature shaped a lifetime of research, and I am not alone in my curiosity. People seek answers to their own compelling life issues including health, financial, and interpersonal topics. Librarians research solutions. Self-care books, such as those summarized here, remain popular because people always appreciate advice on how to succeed, get rich, …

Lights, Camera, Action: Tips And Tricks For Librarian Videographers And Video Managers, Rachel L. Edford

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Published conference proceedings for 2020 Charleston Conference.

As librarians, we are often asked to fill roles outside of our areas of expertise, and that is particularly true now when we are trying to find innovative ways to engage with our users. While my institution has created library videos in the past, there is certainly an increased demand now to create and also manage our video collection. This paper will provide practical advice and tips for librarians who find themselves serving as videographers, producers, or video administrators. We will explore the different types of instructional video options as well as the …

Effective Pedagogical Practices In Elementary School Libraries: An Appreciative Inquiry Approach, Maureen Scanlan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

School libraries were designed to provide equitable access to reading and research materials for all students. Over the past few decades, staffing of school libraries has become a controversial topic as school leaders opt to eliminate school librarians due to budget constraints. Consequently, there is staffing variability in school libraries. Research indicates that a school librarian is a critical component of a successful school library program. Despite this, some schools with staffing variability in the school library are finding ways to implement an effective school library media program. This research study examined effective school library pedagogical practices in elementary school …

Rethinking Burnout In Informal Caregivers: Development And Validation Of The Informal Caregiver Burnout Inventory - 10 Item Form, Nicholas James

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Measurement of informal caregiver burnout is typically achieved by re-purposing scales of occupational burnout. Such approaches have several methodological and theoretical weaknesses. This paper proposes a new tool for measuring caregiver burnout: The Informal Caregiver Burnout Inventory (ICBI). In the first portion of this study, focused feedback was collected from within-field experts and caregivers. Following item revision, an online sample of informal US caregivers of an individual with dementia was collected. Item Response Theory analysis was used to prune low-information or low-consistency items from the scale. The finalized ICBI contained 10 items and showed strong convergent validity, adequately differentiated burnout …

Incels And The Manosphere: Tracking Men's Movements Online, Annie Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Throughout history, men have responded to feminist progress with political backlash. Pre-internet men's groups used biological constructions of gender as a method of reinforcing patriarchal power by restricting the rights of women. Today, the same methods are used in a loose collection of men's rights groups online called 'the manosphere'. Within the manosphere, men who identify as involuntarily celibate (incels) blame women for their perceived loss of masculine power. Some incels have taken their anti-feminist backlash offline through acts of mass violence, suggesting an emergent need for social science research into the incel identity. This paper outlines the theoretical orientation …

Social Support And Mental Health Outcomes Of Lgb People Of Color, Jessica Ruiz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual people of color (LGB PoC) continue to remain an understudied population. Research supports that LGB PoC may experience greater negative health consequences compared to LGB racial/ethnic majority populations. Social support, including family and peer support, is often associated with positive health outcomes for sexual minorities of all backgrounds. The present study sought to evaluate differences between types of social support, including what occurs when one is faced with significant loss of support (i.e., family support). Comparisons between groups sought to determine whether alternative systems of support (i.e., peer social support) buffers against the negative impact of …

Reducing Information Overload In Situated Visualization For Firefighting: A Human Factors Evaluation Of User Interface Prototypes For Pre-Incident Planning, Katelynn Kapalo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

High profile structure fires, like the Grenfell Tower tragedy, have demonstrated that the quality of the information provided to firefighters arriving on the scene of an emergency is a matter of life or death. It has been suggested that access to structural information such as electronic building plans or unmanned aerial vehicle footage may bridge the information gap to help first responders build situation awareness at the incident scene. However, these technologies have not been fully evaluated from a human performance perspective. The use of pre-incident plans (PIPs), information captured systematically about a facility prior to an emergency, provides a …

Food, Familiarity, And Forecasting: Modeling Coups With Computational Methods, Joshua Lambert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Military coups are the most consequential breakdown of civil-military relations. This dissertation contributes to the explanation and prediction of coups through three independent quantitative analyses. First, I argue that food insecurity is an important determinant of coups. The presence of hunger can generate discontent in society and subsequently alter coup plotter opportunities. Furthermore, I show that the presence of chronic hunger can condition the effect of increasing development. While increasing levels of development have been shown to limit coup proclivity, a state experiencing chronic hunger will recognize the fundamental failure of basic needs provision. As development increases, the presence of …

Move Your Body, Change Your Mind: Physical Activity In The Morning And Its Implications For Work, Charlotte Holden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Drawing upon the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions (Fredrickson, 2001), this study examines the links between morning physical activity, subsequent positive emotions, broadened thinking, and psychological resource accumulation at work. Fifty-two participants who worked full-time completed a daily diary for 10 workdays that included measures of their emotions and physical activity each morning and measures of broadened thinking each afternoon. Psychological resources were assessed at the beginning and end of the 10-day period. Data were analyzed using multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) with Mplus. Results did not support the mediating role of positive emotions and broadened thinking between morning physical …

Why Experienced Incivility Triggers Instigated Incivility: Combining The Affect-Based And Resource-Based Pathways, Xin Peng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Ever since Andersson and Pearson's seminal work (1999), incivility has become one of the most commonly studied forms of mistreatment in the organizational sciences (Hershcovis, 2011). While research to date has yielded significant findings about the effects of experienced incivility, far less is known about the underlying mechanisms that linked experienced incivility and instigated incivility. Among the limited studies investigating the positively relationship between experienced incivility and instigated incivility, two distinct theoretical frameworks, affective-based perspective and resource-based, were drew upon. And these two perspectives have never been examined in the same model. To this end, I investigated negative affect (affect-based …

Changes In Likely Activation Patterns Of Alcohol Expectancies After Exposure To The Expectancy Challenge Alcohol Literacy Curriculum (Ecalc), Jessica Flori

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Alcohol is the most commonly used substance by adolescents in the United States with underage alcohol use being associated with a variety of harms. The Expectancy Challenge Alcohol Literacy Curriculum (ECALC) is a 45-minute interactive expectancy challenge intervention that has been found to be effective in reducing alcohol use. Although ECALC is thought to produce reductions in drinking by changing expectancies, the nature of these expectancy changes has yet to be explored. The purpose of the present study was to link ECALC outcome studies with a memory model approach to understanding the mechanism by which expectancies influence behavior. Participants (n …

The Effects Of Social Conformity In Human-Robot Interaction, William Volante

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

While previous work has investigated aspects of the robot, the human, and the environment as influential factors in the human-robot relationship, little work has examined the role of social conformity in this relationship. As social conformity has been shown to affect human-human choice, relationships, and trust, there are a-priori reasons to believe that it will play an influential role in human-robot interaction (HRI) scenarios as well. Early research into the influence of social conformity in human-robot interaction (HRI) did not find the effect to be present with robots, however more recent work has adapted the methodological paradigm to find more …

Forests And Farmers: A Landscape Approach To Settlement Pattern Analysis In The Bolivian Amazon, Thomas Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The Llanos de Mojos of the Bolivian Amazon is a domesticated landscape with a long history of management by pre-Columbian communities. This project uses a landscape approach to interpret the settlement patterns of pre-Columbian raised field farmers in west central Mojos. The pre-Columbian landscape was reconstructed by mapping the distribution of three types of landscape features: forest islands, raised agricultural fields and water systems (rivers, streams & wetlands). Previous research has identified four types of patterned clustering or 'constellations' of these landscape features in west central Mojos. These constellations and the immediate area of the landscape that surrounds them afforded …

Transplant Center Criteria And Inequalities Within Transplant Wait Listing Process, Melanie Bergeron

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

More than 650,000 people per year in the United States are affected by End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) (US Renal Data System, 2013). This diagnosis affects many areas of the patient's life and patients have limited options for treatment. Kidney transplantation for patients with ESRD continues to be noted as the most optimal treatment (Rubin & Weir, 2015; Maggiore, et al., 2014; Patzer, Platinga, Krisher, & Pastan, 2014). However, despite this information, utilization of transplantation remains inconsistent and variable in the population. There are many areas of disparities regarding the kidney transplant waitlist including wait times, gaining access to the …

A Person-Centered Approach Of Dynamic Needs: Demographic Characteristics, Static Factors, And Justice-Related Outcomes Among Juvenile Offenders In Florida, Caitlin Brady

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Prior research examining criminogenic risk and need suggests that dynamic factors (i.e., criminogenic needs) are best suited for intervention and treatment as they are changeable over time. Thus, dynamic factors can be targeted to reduce the likelihood of recidivism among youth in the juvenile justice system. The assessment of needs is critical as it allows for the prediction of future delinquency and the ability to provide appropriate services/treatment for juvenile offenders. Several studies have shown that youth present with multiple needs and that these needs differ by gender. Therefore, the current study utilized a sample of adjudicated youth under community …

Under Pressure: Analysis Of An Undergraduate Intervention For Stem Students In Academic Decline, Dena Ford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Students who successfully persist in STEM majors often gain positive attention highlighting their preparation and ability, though far too often, students who struggle while persisting in the major go unnoticed. This research analyzed demographics and characteristics of select undergraduate STEM majors with a focus on biology and forensic science who were not reaching the major GPA benchmark requirements. These students were persisting while in academic decline. Characteristics of interest in this study include self-reported level of familial pressure to be in the major, anxiety level of current declared major, and course workload anxiety level as well as admit type (either …

The Arrest And Prosecution Of Cyber Stalkers: How "Rational" Are Criminal Justice Decision Makers?, Trisha Whitmire

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The emergence and continuous development of technology continues to create opportunities for people to communicate and keep track of one another. Numerous websites and cellular applications exist that allow individuals to anonymously send messages, track other's whereabouts, or expose private information. Many of these tools, while innocuously created to enhance friendships and make it easier to stay in touch, are being nefariously used to stalk and harass others through electronic means. The rise of stalking using electronic methods, also known as cyber stalking, gravely complicates the ability of law enforcement officers and prosecutors to adjudicate cases of stalking. This study …

Two Pink Lines: Exploring Florida's Pregnancy-Associated Intimate Partner Homicides, Sonya Spence

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Pregnancy-associated Homicides (PAHs) are homicides committed while a woman is pregnant, and recent reports from Florida's Pregnancy-associated Mortality Review (PAMR) suggest that it is a leading cause of unnatural deaths for pregnant women. However, a study has not examined the motives, characteristics, and underlying factors behind these homicides. Therefore, this study explored Florida's Pregnancy-associated Intimate Partner Homicides (PAIPHs) using a sample of women that were reportedly pregnant at the time of their mortality (n=33), as well as a comparison group of not-pregnant women (n=33). To conduct the study, reported homicide data from news sources, police reports, and other public records …

Best Practices: An Exciting Showcase Of Inclusive, Innovative, & Interconnected Libraries In Asia And The Usa, Buenaventura (Ven) Basco, John Hickok

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Conference Presentation presented at PLAI 2019 National Congress in Tagaytay City, Philippines.

Libraries across the world—especially in the US and Asia—are rapidly changing. New technology, trends, and user needs are all driving libraries to adapt. This includes being more inclusive (meeting all users’ needs, of diverse backgrounds), more innovative (overcoming challenges and seizing opportunities), and more interconnected (forging partnerships and making creative connections). This paper presentation will showcase inspiring, real-life examples of just such libraries! The two co-presenters bring first-hand experience in featuring these showcased libraries. The first leads the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), a professional library organization …

Falling Down The Rabbit Hole: Exploring The Unique Partnership Between Subject Librarians And Scholarly Communication, Buenaventura (Ven) Basco, Sandy Avila, Sarah A. Norris

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Conference Presentation presented at Charleston Conference 2019 in Charleston, South Carolina.

Subject librarians are uniquely poised to facilitate conversations and assistance about scholarly communication topics to faculty and students -- helping make the connections between scholarly communication and discipline-specific research. The University of Central Florida (UCF) Libraries offers a unique intersection between scholarly communication and subject librarians by implementing a robust subject librarian model that includes activities related to scholarly communication and partnering with UCF’s Office of Scholarly Communication to provide support on a variety of topics to the campus community. In particular, this model has been particularly effective with …

Getting The Word Out - Review And Best Practices From Textbook Affordability And Oer Websites, Katy A. Miller

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This is the slides and talking points for a presentation at the 16th Annual Open Education Conference.

Two hot topics in education are Textbook Affordability (TA) and Open Educational Resources(OER). These initiatives can be under one umbrella at an institution, a collaborative effort, or led by completely different departments.

To assess and improve the current Textbook Affordability website, the Student Success/Textbook Affordability Librarian conducted a review of websites on Textbook Affordability and Open Educational Resources. The review examined websites from US academic institutions who were members of SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). Using this sample group, over …

Leveraging Embedded Undergraduate Research To Bolster Research Culture: A Multi-Pronged Approach Case Study, Marshall Jones, Darby Proctor

Florida Statewide Symposium: Best Practices in Undergraduate Research

Introducing research into UG curriculum is critical toward the development of empirically informed future researchers and practitioners. Developing mechanisms to embed research into curriculum and culture can be challenging. To address these challenges, our UG psychology program has implemented initiatives to increase research participation. We will discuss several which include embedded class research, laboratory experiments, poster opportunities, and faculty research team participation. We also facilitate UG through research centers, partnering with public and private organizations, and novel approaches such as Roach Lab (roachlab.org). We will specifically highlight outcomes attributed to engaging students in research.