Current Search:   Stephens, Daniel (x)

View All Items

  • CSV Spreadsheet
(1 - 6 of 6)
BENEFITS OF THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT: HOW AMERICA IS STEPPING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
Title
BENEFITS OF THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT: HOW AMERICA IS STEPPING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
Creator
Gip, Huy Q, Stephens, Daniel, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), sometimes referred to as Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act (ACA), has been vital as far as health matters go in the United States of America. Regardless of reports that brand the legislation as unfair, it has to a great extent improved the healthcare sector in the country. It is also important to note that the act has faced numerous social, political or economic challenges (D'Elia, & Norpoth, 2014). The ACA was signed into law by...
Show moreThe Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), sometimes referred to as Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act (ACA), has been vital as far as health matters go in the United States of America. Regardless of reports that brand the legislation as unfair, it has to a great extent improved the healthcare sector in the country. It is also important to note that the act has faced numerous social, political or economic challenges (D'Elia, & Norpoth, 2014). The ACA was signed into law by president Barack Obama on March, 23, 2010, and then supported by the Supreme Court on June, 28, 2012. This act has been one of the key changes in the U.S health sector brought about by the Obama administration. It has developed a system making it mandatory for all citizen's to acquire health insurance coverage, in which they are to pay the monthly premiums. If U.S citizens fail to comply with these guidelines a penalty will be imposed as a result of being uninsured. This paper will primarily focus on the advantages of the ACA to the American citizens. It will include an introduction, literature review, research methodology, findings, conclusion and recommendations.
Show less
Date Issued
2016
Identifier
CFH2000133, ucf:46039
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000133
ACCEPTING TECHNOLOGY AND OVERCOMING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE USING THE MOTIVATION AND ACCEPTANCE MODEL
Title
ACCEPTING TECHNOLOGY AND OVERCOMING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE USING THE MOTIVATION AND ACCEPTANCE MODEL.
Creator
Siegel, Daniel, Sivo, Stephen, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
This research analyzed why some university faculty resisted a new software program using a new model of motivation. The new model, called the motivation and acceptance model (MAM), was inspired by the technology acceptance model and the commitment and necessary effort model of motivation. This model was tested on faculty at a college in a large southeastern university who were resisting a new software program called LiveText. This research used regression analysis to determine the...
Show moreThis research analyzed why some university faculty resisted a new software program using a new model of motivation. The new model, called the motivation and acceptance model (MAM), was inspired by the technology acceptance model and the commitment and necessary effort model of motivation. This model was tested on faculty at a college in a large southeastern university who were resisting a new software program called LiveText. This research used regression analysis to determine the relationship between the variables of the MAM: perceived usefulness, perceived organizational support, perceived ease of use, and attitude toward LiveText. The research was conducted during the Spring 2007 semester. The data were analyzed with regression, independent-sample t-tests, and descriptive statistics using SPSS v15. This research demonstrates that the MAM accurately measured the relationship between professors' perceptions and their use of LiveText. The research also suggests that the perceived utility of LiveText and users' attitudes toward LiveText were statistically significant predictors of LiveText use and that perceived ease of use also predicted whether the professors found LiveText useful. Additional research should seek to develop a greater understanding of technology acceptance and employee resistance to innovations using larger sample sizes, a variety of environments and organizations, diverse populations, and different types of technologies and technology-implementation strategies.
Show less
Date Issued
2008
Identifier
CFE0002154, ucf:47515
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002154
GENERAL EDUCATION REFORM AT A COMMUNITY COLLEGE: A GROUNDED THEORY STUDY
Title
GENERAL EDUCATION REFORM AT A COMMUNITY COLLEGE: A GROUNDED THEORY STUDY.
Creator
Dutkofski, Daniel, Sivo, Stephen, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
The attempts to reform general education programs in higher education have been applied and studied throughout the history of higher education in the United States, but with even greater frequency and urgency over the past fifty years. Countless studies show the high percentage of institutions participating in these efforts and further studies lament the state of general education both as a reason to initiate reforms and as a result of the reforms. This effort is difficult enough for...
Show moreThe attempts to reform general education programs in higher education have been applied and studied throughout the history of higher education in the United States, but with even greater frequency and urgency over the past fifty years. Countless studies show the high percentage of institutions participating in these efforts and further studies lament the state of general education both as a reason to initiate reforms and as a result of the reforms. This effort is difficult enough for universities, but is further complicated when the curriculum for general education is part of a community college degree program. A grounded theory study was conducted to identify the underlying understanding of general education at one community college as well as the process for implementing and reforming the curriculum, especially the general education curriculum. Members of the curriculum committee as well as other administrators and faculty at the college who have a voice in the curriculum were interviewed and their responses were coded following classic grounded theory methodology. The resulting theory showed a divergence of understanding of general education when speaking about it abstractly and when speaking about the process to change the collegeÂÂ's existing general education program. The abstract understanding of general education is very consistent with the stated purposes of general education and the educational goals of the college. The practical understanding, however, indicates that the work of curriculum reform is compliance with guidelines from legislation and accreditation requirements. Thus, any efforts to establish a model of general education that would be more consistent with the understood purpose of general education that would require modifying the existing structure would meet great resistance because of the perceived need to comply with the existing model. Further studies concerning the same issue at other community colleges within the state, as well as the understanding of general education within the university system would contribute to a better understanding of the role of general education at the college and throughout the state system of higher education. The use of grounded theory as a methodology to achieve this reform provides a way to engage everyone involved more openly and to permit the efforts to be far more intentional.
Show less
Date Issued
2010
Identifier
CFE0003439, ucf:48387
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003439
Declarative Memory, Theory of Mind, and Community Functioning in Schizophrenia
Title
Declarative Memory, Theory of Mind, and Community Functioning in Schizophrenia.
Creator
Deptula, Andrew, Bedwell, Jeffrey, Paulson, Daniel, Sims, Valerie, Fiore, Stephen, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
Cognitive impairments are highly prevalent in individuals with schizophrenia and are now considered hallmark features of the disorder. Over the past decade, considerable evidence has demonstrated the functional significance of social and nonsocial cognitive impairments in individuals with schizophrenia. However, the nature of the relationship between specific domains of social and nonsocial cognition and how they relate to functional outcome in this population is less clear. In particular,...
Show moreCognitive impairments are highly prevalent in individuals with schizophrenia and are now considered hallmark features of the disorder. Over the past decade, considerable evidence has demonstrated the functional significance of social and nonsocial cognitive impairments in individuals with schizophrenia. However, the nature of the relationship between specific domains of social and nonsocial cognition and how they relate to functional outcome in this population is less clear. In particular, declarative memory impairment has been suggested to have critical consequences for the everyday life of individuals with schizophrenia and may play a role in their social integration difficulties. Preliminary evidence also indicates that theory of mind (ToM) may be an important intermediary between nonsocial cognition and functional outcome. The current study aimed to better understand the relationships between declarative memory, ToM, and functional outcome in individuals with schizophrenia.
Show less
Date Issued
2016
Identifier
CFE0006096, ucf:51207
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006096
Building a Foundation for Goal-Attainment and Problem-Solving in Interdisciplinary Studies: Reimagining Web-Based Core Curriculum through a Classical Lens
Title
Building a Foundation for Goal-Attainment and Problem-Solving in Interdisciplinary Studies: Reimagining Web-Based Core Curriculum through a Classical Lens.
Creator
Jardaneh, Said, Fiore, Stephen, Sims, Valerie, McDaniel, Rudy, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
The core curriculum of interdisciplinary studies undergraduate programs represents interdisciplinarity as a consciously applied process, whether individually or collaboratively, of drawing and integrating insights from various disciplinary perspectives toward complex problem-solving and innovation. At the front-end of these programs students are often introduced to interdisciplinarity through terminology, metaphors, concepts, and context that are intended to familiarize them with the process....
Show moreThe core curriculum of interdisciplinary studies undergraduate programs represents interdisciplinarity as a consciously applied process, whether individually or collaboratively, of drawing and integrating insights from various disciplinary perspectives toward complex problem-solving and innovation. At the front-end of these programs students are often introduced to interdisciplinarity through terminology, metaphors, concepts, and context that are intended to familiarize them with the process. This initiation usually precedes what will ultimately entail a limited number of upper-division courses within the several disciplines or areas that will encompass a unique plan of study characterized by its breadth. The philosophy underlying current pedagogy in interdisciplinary studies appears in many ways to mirror the cognitive habitudes and socio-cultural zeitgeist that have emerged with our increasing connectedness with and reliance on digital technology.This dissertation proposes that through a revised front-end core curriculum revisiting both classical and Ramist pedagogy, and perhaps reframing how we think about interdisciplinarity itself, we need not sacrifice depth for breadth. Rather, we may be able to encourage a broadly applicable self-directed goal-centered mindset in our students that places equal emphasis on both breadth and depth in terms of deliberate knowledge acquisition. Through adapting the initial phases of a cognitivist instructional design model provisional week-by-week, curricular content is presented to illustrate how this endeavor might be realized within the context of interdisciplinary studies or like programs. This core curricular model is intended as an alternative well-suited to both the fully online and mixed mode format as well as the diversity of students within the typical undergraduate interdisciplinary studies program.
Show less
Date Issued
2016
Identifier
CFE0006120, ucf:51180
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006120
Effects of Electronic Media Messages on the Perceived Self-Efficacy of Pedestrian Commuters Living in the Unincorporated Central Florida Community of Conway
Title
Effects of Electronic Media Messages on the Perceived Self-Efficacy of Pedestrian Commuters Living in the Unincorporated Central Florida Community of Conway.
Creator
Stephens, Daniel, Yu, Chia-Yuan, Martin, Lawrence, Hawkins, Christopher, Seigler, Daniel, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
Urban pedestrianism is increasingly perceived as a dangerous form of travel. While roadway design has been historically scaled to cars instead of people, planning professionals are now re-thinking their approach to make roads more inclusive for all travelers. Scholars, however, have learned harbored fear can trump behavior even under ideal travel conditions. Such fear can adversely impact perceived pedestrian self-efficacy, which is the self-generated internal assessment or belief in a...
Show moreUrban pedestrianism is increasingly perceived as a dangerous form of travel. While roadway design has been historically scaled to cars instead of people, planning professionals are now re-thinking their approach to make roads more inclusive for all travelers. Scholars, however, have learned harbored fear can trump behavior even under ideal travel conditions. Such fear can adversely impact perceived pedestrian self-efficacy, which is the self-generated internal assessment or belief in a traveler's agentive abilities to navigate the travel environment. The challenge thus becomes twofold: improve the built environment while bolstering traveler confidence. The following study, therefore, employed a qualitative phenomenological research design to ascertain the concerns and perceptions of vulnerable travelers as it pertained to and was affected by travel-specific media. The study employed denizens selected from the Central Florida community of Conway, who were interviewed using a multi-method approach employing a semi-structured interview technique utilizing individual interviews and small focus group sessions. Using Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) as the theoretical framework, the researcher studied and documented the elements contributing to the perceptions of pedestrian travelers. The rationale for this approach is found in the dynamic relationships that exist between the objective travel environment, the perceived travel environment, and travel behavior (-) all representing the triad of cognition, the external environment, and social stimuli, which encompass Bandura's Triadic Reciprocal Determinism (TRD). The four themes that emerged from the data analysis (-) communication, safety, cost, and happiness (-) characterize the experiences of the participants as they watched positively-themed media images modeling civil travel behavior. This research adds to existing literature on the magnitude such themes have on perception, to include latent perceptions harbored by pedestrian commuters concerning dangers (-) real or imagined (-) of traveling on local roadways.
Show less
Date Issued
2018
Identifier
CFE0007376, ucf:52100
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007376