Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Honorary White Population: Fighting For Self-Identification, Reina E. Chehayeb

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to explore the history of classification of Arab-Americans within the United States, showcase how Arab-Americans have encountered systematic racism, and give reasons why Arab-Americans should be able to self-identify. Currently, according to the Census definition, Middle Easterners fall under the "White" category. This is a misrepresentation of Middle Easterners as they should be considered a minority in light of societal treatment and policies set forth by policy makers. Even though much research has been conducted by the Census, they have elected to withhold the Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) category from the 2020 …

Chinese Economic Development And Its Global Implications, Robert T. Hill

Honors Undergraduate Theses

While Chinese economic development is often at the forefront of conversations by scholars shaping economic policy, further investigation into the state of China's economy has left a gap in research. Through analyzing the 13th Five Year Plan (FYP) and looking specifically at the effect it will have on unemployment, international trade, overcapacity rates, and the Belt and Road Initiative, the goal of this research is to understand if China will be able to obtain sustained economic growth. In order to achieve this, this research employs a qualitative discourse analysis, focusing on pre-existing works that discuss Chinese economic development. It will …

The Use Of Children's Literature And Reflective Writing As A Means To Help Primary Elementary Students Cope With Natural Disaster, Connie T. Zenz

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, tsunamis, and earthquakes frequently happen across the world. Many of these natural disasters bring destruction to homes, loss of loved ones, and emotional or physical trauma. For children who are still developing coping skills, these natural disasters can bring them emotional distress because they are unable to processes their experiences in a healthy way. In a review of literature on the topic of bibliotherapy and reflective writing to help children learn coping skills, I discovered a need for these processes to be introduced in normal settings, such as school and home, to help …

"Our Roots:": Latinx Parents' Language Ideologies Concerning Bilingualism, Akanne S. Torres Beltran

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Language is a fundamental component of one's identity, as well as a means of surviving in a globalizing world. This study draws upon sixteen narratives of first-generation Mexican and Puerto Rican parents in Central Florida to answer the research question: What are the language ideologies of Mexican and Puerto Rican immigrant parents towards the English Language acquisition and Spanish Language retention of their children? The information was gathered through semi-structured interviews and it aimed to learn how and if they value English and Spanish bilingualism and whether it was desired for their children. On the one hand, they are aware …

Protecting Online Privacy In The Digital Age: Carpenter V. United States And The Fourth Amendment's Third-Party Doctrine, Cristina Del Rosso

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to examine the future of the third-party doctrine with the proliferation of technology and the online data we are surrounded with daily, specifically after the United States Supreme Court's decision in Carpenter v. United States. In order to better understand the Supreme Court's reasoning in that case, this thesis will review the history of the third-party doctrine and its roots in United States v. Miller and Smith v. Maryland. A review of Fourth Amendment history and jurisprudence is also crucial to this thesis, as it is imperative that individuals do not forfeit …

Female Militarization And Women's Rights: A Case Study Of The Peshmerga And Ypj, Margaret Morgan

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Since 2012, there has been an increase of media attention on the Kurds, particularly women who are active in the YPJ and Peshmerga. Various publications have equated women's militarization with women's liberation. In an effort to more accurately measure this, the following question must be asked; what is the effect of women's military involvement on women's rights? Women that are active in both nationalist movements and traditional state armies are presented with changing gender roles. Post conflict, there is a struggle for women to transfer their newfound autonomy into political activism. The theory outlines a chain in which women participate …

Draining Your Brain: The Effects Of Four Fatiguing Task Domains On Executive Function And Prefrontal Cortex, Salim A. Mouloua

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The present study empirically examined the effects of four fatiguing task domains on executive function through participants' reaction time, accuracy, and brain activity in prefrontal cortex (PFC). Forty college-age participants were collected (16 males and 24 females), of which eleven were examined using a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) imaging system. The present study used a 4×2 mixed factorial design consisting of fatiguing task (arm contractions task, vigilance task, distance-manipulated Fitts' task, size-manipulated Fitts' task) as a between-participant variable and n-back testing period (pre-test versus post-test 3-back task) as a within-participant variable. Results indicated significant increases in 3-back performance after …

21st Century Engagement Among Ucf Students: Exploring Metrics & Platforms, Daniel N. Robles Duprey

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This research analyzes the political and social engagement of UCF College of Business students in order to grasp a better understanding of what youth engagement looks like in the 21^st century. Through the implementation of a survey, data is collected on the level of students' social involvement, political participation, and civic engagement – the three vital metrics of citizen engagement. These metrics are then split across the online and offline realm, as well as across key demographics of race, gender identity, political ideology, and party affiliation. Data is also collected about which social media platforms students engage most on, …

Effects Of Sme Access To Capital On Country Economic Performance: Understanding The Differences Between The Developed And The Developing World, William B. Reed

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to explore the effects of small-medium enterprises' (SME) access to capital on country economic performance and examine the differences between the developed world and the developing world. Specifically, two main questions are addressed: whether there are significantly higher barriers-to-entry through a lack of access to credit in developing countries as well as whether SMEs access to credit around the world has changed over time.

Using a sample of 46 countries and grouping them two different ways (developed vs developing and free-market vs non-free-market), I find a negative correlation between the SMEs access to capital …

It Takes A Village To Raise Water Quality: The Effects Of Residential Voluntary Taxation Mechanisms On Lake Water Quality In Orange County, Florida, Andrew P. Hutchens

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Achieving environmental standards with efficient and cost-effective economic systems is a subject whose importance is increasing in conjunction with growing technological innovation and urbanization. This project contributes to the subject's literature by empirically examining the effects of a voluntary taxation mechanism on the water quality of designated lakes in Orange County, Florida. One of two taxing district types is voluntarily formed by lakefront or near-lakefront property owners: a Municipal Service Taxing District (MSTU), wherein participants pay an ad valorem tax based on property values, or a Municipal Service Benefit Unit (MSBU), wherein participants pay an equal flat rate tax independent …

When To Strike: Exploring The Variables That Lead To Successful Decapitation Strikes, Renzo Pierres

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to determine how different variables can affect a terrorist group's reaction to a targeted leadership strike, known as a decapitation strike. Decapitation strikes often produce unwanted results, such as a splintering of the terrorist group, or a failure to destroy the group. It is important that we understand which variables can lead to a group's destruction after a decapitation strike, to maximize the decapitation's effectiveness. In my research I have determined that group size, group ideological extremism, and the role of the leader targeted all have a substantial impact on the success of the …

Is Perceived Intentionality Of A Virtual Robot Influenced By The Kinematics?, Jordan Sasser

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Research has shown that in Human-Human Interactions kinematic information reveals that competitive and cooperative intentions are perceivable and suggests the existence of a cooperation bias. The present study invokes the same question in a Human-Robot Interaction by investigating the relationship between the acceleration of a virtual robot within a virtual reality environment and the participants perception of the situation being cooperative or competitive by attempting to identify the social cues used for those perceptions. Five trials, which are mirrored, faster acceleration, slower acceleration, varied acceleration with a loss, and varied acceleration with a win, were experienced by the participant; randomized …

A New Measure Of The Authoritarian Personality: Untangling The Personal And The Political, Melodie Spiegel

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Despite the existence of multiple scales designed to measure authoritarianism as a personality trait, current research disagrees as to whether current measures reliably measure all three dimensions of authoritarianism: submission, aggression, and traditionalism. This study focused on the development of a new scale in response to methodological and validity concerns of previously-used measures. This new scale was found to be a reliable measure of authoritarian belief in two subsequent studies of college-aged adults. Factor analysis of responses to the items of the new measure also provided evidence of the multidimensionality of authoritarianism as a construct. Further, significant correlations were found …

A Survey Of Dissociation, Identity Distress, And Rejection Sensitivity In Adult Adoptees, Lee J. Mclamb

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study quantitatively measures dissociation, rejection sensitivity, and identity distress among adults who experienced adoption as a child and the relationship between these factors. This study also compares groups of adoptees recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and social media to assess whether these two recruitment methods achieve similar results. An online survey was conducted of adopted adults and non-adopted adults to serve as controls using both MTurk and social media. A total of 539 participants were recruited representing 151 non-adopted individuals recruited exclusively through Mturk, and 388 adoptees, 247 of whom were recruited through MTurk and 141 through social …

Recruit Quality And College Football Team Performance In The Cfp Era, Jordan Aaron Izenwasser

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Recruiting is a major component of college football. Teams compete for recruits since the quality of a recruiting class contributes to on-field success. Previous studies have investigated the relationship between recruit quality and on-field performance and have found that a positive relationship exists. This thesis contributes to the literature by empirically examining how recruit quality affects team performance in the College Football Playoff (CFP) era using various measures of success. Panel data econometric models are used to determine the effect of recruits between schools, as well as within both conferences and schools on team performance. It also considers the validity …

Current Perceptions Of Undocumented Immigrants In The United States, Gabriela Lozano

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to examine current perceptions that U.S. Americans have about immigrants coming to the U.S. illegally/ undocumented. There is currently an ongoing debate around immigration in today's political climate. Historically, immigration has always happened in the U.S. and has sparked a vast array of feelings from the U.S. population (Obinna 2018). This study aims to contribute to the existing literature on undocumented immigration to the U.S. and opinion surrounding it. The current study uses the opinion of 177 people to compare current perceptions of undocumented people based on gender, income, and political standing. This study …

After Hurricane Maria: Puerto Rican Migrants And Residential Segregation In The Orlando Msa, Gabriella Ospina

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to analyze the racial attitudes of residents in the Orlando MSA towards Puerto Rican migrants that have moved as a result of Hurricane Maria and analyze the effects these attitudes may have on racial residential segregation in Central Florida. As the state with the third largest population of Latinos, Florida's residential landscape continues to be uniquely formed by a diverse, and markedly Latino, population. Florida's location in relation to South American and Caribbean countries has made it an opportune destination for immigrants and refugees. Therefore, it came as no surprise that when Hurricane Maria …

Determining The Relationship Between Weight Dissatisfaction And Attention To Calories, Eleanor Didden

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Laws which require the display of calorie information on menus are becoming more prominent throughout the United States and the world, but the efficacy of this information has not yet been studied on an individual level. An Eyetracker and two menus (which were identical save for the inclusion or exclusion of caloric information) were utilized to determine how much time college-aged women spent looking at calories. We also gathered their personal measure of weight dissatisfaction using a body image scale and participants’ self-reported weight dissatisfaction. Using random assignment, 22 participants were placed in the experimental group and 25 participants were …

How The Body Moves The Mind: Exploring The Effects Of Perspective Of Physical Sensation On Embodied States And Perception, Kathryn G. Satoski

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to explore how surface engagement through touch affects perception of stimuli and mood. Researchers have found psychological, physiological and cognitive benefits associated with exposure to and interaction with nature. Stress Reduction Theory with Psychoevolutionary framework, and Attention Restoration Theory are often used to explain and interpret results. However, studies that focus on individuals with negative perspectives of nature find a positive affective response to nature is not universal. Rather, individuals respond differently based on their own experience with nature. Childhood exposure and culture have been found to influence attitudes towards nature. Theories of embodied …

The Effects Of Parenting And Identity On Decision-Making Styles, Natasha Reyes

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This paper explores the influences of parenting and identity on decision-making style. Although links have been found between certain aspects of (1) parenting and identity, (2) identity and decision-making, and (3) parenting and decision-making, no study prior to this one, has examined all three variables together. In a college sample (N = 136), parental psychological control was found to be associated with ruminative identity exploration and identity distress. In regard to decision-making, Rational Decision-Making style was found to be related to identity exploration and identity commitment, while Spontaneous Decision-Making was associated with parental Psychological Control. A hypothesis that identity would …

"I'M A Strong Independent Black Woman": The Cost Of Strong Black Woman Schema Endorsement, Stephanie Castelin

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The Strong Black Woman Schema (SBWS) is a cultural expectation placed on black women to unfailingly display signs of strength and caretaker qualities, while suppressing their emotions. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between the SBWS and psychological distress, suicidal behaviors, and resilience. Researchers expected to find a positive relationship between the SBWS and psychological distress, a positive relationship between the SBWS and resilience, and an undefined relationship between the SBWS and suicidal behaviors. The study also examined the potential moderating effects of the SBWS and resilience on the existing psychological distress-suicidal behaviors relationship. Lastly, the study examined …

Conceptions About Terrorism: How Fearful Are We And How Does That Affect Us?, Rebecca Jackson

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Since the crusades, terrorism has been a form of violence used to promote some kind of agenda, whether political, social, religious or ideological (Martin 2018). With many different definitions of what constitutes terrorism, it is somewhat difficult to measure what exact impact terrorism has had globally. Attacks such as those on 9/11 in the United States and the Manchester bombings have been accepted worldwide as examples of acts of international terrorism. International terrorist attacks have lasting effects on both those directly affected as well as the larger community and beyond. Studies have shown that Americans are overly afraid of terrorism …

Relationships Between Broad Aspects Of Personality Functioning And Generalized Anxiety Severity, Ashley A. Lee Lum

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study looked at the relationship between personality functioning and generalized anxiety severity with the use of the Level of Personality Functioning – Self-Report Scale (LPFS-SR). This scale looks at the four core functions of personality: Identity, Intimacy, Empathy and Self-Direction. The population consisted of undergraduate students from the University of Central Florida who completed the study online (n = 1335; 63.7% female; mean age = 19.85, SD = 3.64, range = 18-57). Findings revealed that generalized anxiety severity related to more identity and empathy problems in both men and women. For both findings, women showed a stronger effect size …

European Migration And The Far-Right: 2011-2017, Lauren Wilson

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study investigates the relationship between the current migration crisis in Europe and the escalation of far-right voting which has been witnessed since it's beginning. In order to do so this study utilized correlation experiments and detailed case studies to explore the relationship between legislative vote shares and asylum applications for the years 2009-2017 in the EU member states of Hungary, Germany, France, Greece and the UK. Control variables of GDP, unemployment and terrorist attacks have also been utilized to measure alternative causes of far-right voting. Results of these experiments vary quite a bit from state to state - finding …

Comparison Of Scrupulosity Self-Report In Mexico Versus The United States, Johanna E. Hidalgo

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The prevalence rate for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is between 0.8% to 2%. Many of these individuals experience scrupulosity or religious obsessive-compulsive disorder. Although scrupulosity is a salient theme for those who suffer from OCD, there is limited amount of research on scrupulosity across cultures. Research is particularly limited in relation to individuals from Latin American countries, including Mexico. In response to this limitation, the purpose of this study is to determine if there is a significant difference in symptoms of scrupulosity in non-referred samples of college students from the U.S. and Mexico. Results indicated that scrupulosity is a valid and …

The Psychological Basis Of Threat Perception And Its Effect On The Use Of Force By Us Presidents, Collin J. Kazazis

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis creates a new variable for threat perception built upon psychological concepts and then applies this new variable to the question of why leaders use military force in certain situations. The concept of threat perception has a long history in the field in terms of its effect on leaders choosing to use military force. However, while the concept of threat perception is inherently psychological, previous proxies for the variable have included only situational factors, which is highly problematic. By utilizing the Operational Code, this study creates a new threat-perception variable based on cognitive constructs. Using a sample of US …

"Worse Than Guards:" Ordinary Criminals And Political Prisoners In The Gulag (1918-1950), Elizabeth T. Klements

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This paper explores the volatile relationship between the political prisoners and the common criminals in the Soviet GULAG. Lenin's theories on crime and punishment shaped the early Soviet penal system; he implemented policies which favored the common criminals and repressed the political prisoners. He deemed that the criminals, as "social allies" of the working class, were more likely to become good Soviet citizens than the political prisoners, considered "counterrevolutionaries" and "enemies of the state." In the decade after the Bolshevik revolution, the prison administration empowered the criminals in the GULAG by giving them access to the life-saving jobs and goods …

Sex Determination Using Discriminant Function Analysis Of Carpals From Maya Sites In Belize From Pre-Classic To Spanish Colonial Period, Michelle D. Labbe

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The sexing of human skeletal remains is important for identification and demographic purposes. It is made more difficult when elements such as the skull and pelvis are not recovered or are in too poor of a condition to assess. Previous studies have used carpal (wrist) bones of contemporary populations to assess the viability of these skeletal elements exhibiting sexual dimorphism, as these bones are small, compact elements that are usually recovered in good condition. This study evaluates the use of carpal bones recovered from an ancient Maya population from Belize to determine the biological sex of individuals. The study sample …

The Effects Of Medical Cannabis Use Among Adults With Chronic Pain: An Integrative Review Of The Literature, Bridget A. Asevedo

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this integrative literature review was to understand the effects of medical cannabis for chronic pain management in adults. Anecdotal reports suggest the use of medical marijuana as a pain management therapy could be an alternative to opioids and other medications which have long term consequences. Potential uses span the health care continuum, from prescribed outpatient symptom management, to acute care, extended care, home care, and hospice treatment settings. The methodology included a review and synthesis of relevant research articles from 2012 to 2018, written in the English language. The findings suggest medical cannabis has the potential of …

The Use Of Behavioral Pain Assessment Tools And Pain Outcomes In Nonverbal Patients, Patrick A. Healy

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Acute and critical care patients experience significantly more pain than those patients on a general nursing unit. Due to the severity of their condition, acute care patients may be nonverbal and unable to self-report their pain. Behavioral pain assessment tools are a method of objectively measuring pain in patients who are unable to communicate. While the use of these tools has been shown to improve short- and long-term outcome for patients, there is a paucity of evidence as to nurses' perceptions related to their use. The purpose of this study is to investigate acute care nurses' perceptions of the relationship …