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Title: Development and Validation of the Client Ratings of Counselor Competence: Applying the Rasch Measurement Model.
Creator: Jo, Hang, Jones, Dayle, Robinson, Edward, Hundley, Gulnora, Bai, Haiyan, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: An important part of becoming a counselor is developing strong counselor competence, particularly for counselors-in-training. Thus, the main goal in counselor education is to develop students' competence to be capable to practice as a professional counselor. Assessing the competence of counselors-in-training remains the primary focus in counselor education and supervision (Bernard (&) Goodyear, 2014; McAuliffe (&) Eriksen, 2011; Swank (&) Lambie, 2012). There have been various attempts to...
Show moreAn important part of becoming a counselor is developing strong counselor competence, particularly for counselors-in-training. Thus, the main goal in counselor education is to develop students' competence to be capable to practice as a professional counselor. Assessing the competence of counselors-in-training remains the primary focus in counselor education and supervision (Bernard (&) Goodyear, 2014; McAuliffe (&) Eriksen, 2011; Swank (&) Lambie, 2012). There have been various attempts to measure the true construct of counselor competence (e.g., Hughes, 2014; Swank, Lambie, (&) Witta, 2012; Urbani, Smith et al., 2002). Those attempts tried to involve diverse voices around counselor competence in more comprehensive ways. Although there are numerous measures assessing supervisor ratings of counselor competence, there is still a lack of clients' voice in assessing counselor competence and performance in counselor education literature. In particular, there has been a deficit of direct measures to assess counselor competence by clients (Tate et al., 2014). Therefore, a new client-rated scale of counselor competence is required to provide invaluable information for enhancing a counselor's own professional competence as well as the quality of counselor preparation programs. The purpose of this study is to assess the psychometric properties using a Rasch model on a newly developed client-rated scale of counselor competence, named Client Ratings of Counselor Competence (CRCC). For this purpose of this study, the CRCC was developed, following the procedures for a scale development that the Rasch measurement model proposed. The development process consisted of (a) defining hierarchical attributes of what to measure, (b) generating a pool of items corresponding to the defined attributes, (c) determining the scale-type of measurement, (d) expert reviewing, (f) conducting a field test to a research sample, (g) evaluating the items using Rasch analysis, and (h) determining the final scale. Specifically, the initial pool of 85 items was generated and reduced to 36 items through expert review and a pilot test. The participants in this study were 84 adult clients who received counseling service from counselor trainees in a community counseling center. This study investigated diverse aspects of validity in the 36-item CRCC using the Rasch model, following the guideline by Wolfe and Smith (2007). In specific, content evidence, substantive evidence, structural evidence, generalizability, and interpretability evidence were investigated with the results of the Rasch analysis. The result showed that negatively worded items were commonly misfitted to the model. The rating scale analysis result showed that a 3-point rating scale format could be more appropriate than the current 4-point scale. In addition, the investigation of item difficulty hierarchy perceived by clients were mostly consistent with the assumed hierarchical structure in the test specification, empirically supporting microskills hierarchy (Ivey et al., 2013). The dimensionality analysis result showed the presence of possible additional dimension in the current CRCC. The reliability level of CRCC was acceptable as well as some bad items functioning differently across gender were detected with the DIF analysis. Additionally, the practicum level counselors-in-training in this study showed higher level of competence above the level that the current CRCC items could measure. Lastly, implications of the study, limitations, and future research were discussed. Some implications of the findings include: (a) the use of the Rasch model to assess the psychometric properties of the CRCC scale can make the developing instrument more valid and reliable, overcoming the major weakness of the classical test theory; (b) item difficulty level in the Rasch analysis can be a useful tool to empirically demonstrate whether a theoretical concept or model, especially with hierarchical or developmental structure, exists with real data; (c) the item-person map in the Rasch model can provide useful information for evaluating the instruments as well as interpreting the test scores; and (d) after more revisions and further validation studies, the CRCC could be utilized as additional assessment when counselor educators want to assess whether the trainees develop the competence above the expected level, especially from clients' perspective.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006466, ucf:51419
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006466

Title: Modeling Mass Transfer and Assessing Cost and Performance of a Hollow Fiber Nanofiltration Membrane Process.
Creator: Yonge, David, Duranceau, Steven, Sadmani, A H M Anwar, Lee, Woo Hyoung, Clausen, Christian, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Bench-scale water treatment testing of three next generation hollow-fiber (HF) nanofiltration (NF) membranes was conducted to characterize divalent ion rejection capabilities and investigate removal mechanisms. Existing mathematical models were investigated to describe solute transport using synthetic magnesium sulfate solutions including the size exclusion model, homogenous solution diffusion (HSD) model, dimensional analysis, and the HSD model incorporating film theory. Solute transport for...
Show moreBench-scale water treatment testing of three next generation hollow-fiber (HF) nanofiltration (NF) membranes was conducted to characterize divalent ion rejection capabilities and investigate removal mechanisms. Existing mathematical models were investigated to describe solute transport using synthetic magnesium sulfate solutions including the size exclusion model, homogenous solution diffusion (HSD) model, dimensional analysis, and the HSD model incorporating film theory. Solute transport for two of the membranes were described by HSD theory and were predictive of their 90% divalent ion removal. A third membrane was more accurately modeled using size exclusion and was found to be predictive of its 40% divalent ion rejection. Feed ionic strength variation was shown to significantly impact rejection. In this work, semi-empirical models were developed to describe solute transport under varying feed ionic strength conditions. Bench-scale testing of aerated groundwater confirmed the HFNF membrane divalent ion rejection capabilities. Pilot testing of a commercially available HFNF membrane was shown to remove divalent ions and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) by 10% and 25%, respectively. Financial evaluations indicated that HFNF offered cost savings over traditional spiral-wound (SW) NF, $0.60/kgal versus $0.85/kgal operating costs, respectively. Traditional SWNF membranes produced superior water quality achieving 90% divalent ion removal and 96% DOC removal but required media and membrane filtration pretreatment. When considering the costs of constructing a new 2 million gallon per day (permeate) HFNF process, conceptual cost comparisons revealed that HFNF technologies could reduce capital costs by approximately $1 million, and operating costs by $0.27/kgal for an 85% recovery plant.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006549, ucf:51346
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006549

Title: Approximated Control Affine Dynamics Mode For an Agricultural Field Robot Considering Wheel Terrain Interaction.
Creator: Menendez-Aponte, Pablo, Xu, Yunjun, Lin, Kuo-Chi, Moslehy, Faissal, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: As populations and the demand for higher crop yields grow, so to does the need forefficient agricultural wheeled mobile robots. To achieve precise navigation through a fieldit is desirable that the control system is designed based on an accurate dynamic model. Inthis paper a control affine model for a custom designed skid-steer differential drive wheeledmobile robot is found. The Terramechanic wheel terrain interaction is adopted and modifiedto consider wheels with a torus geometry. Varying...
Show moreAs populations and the demand for higher crop yields grow, so to does the need forefficient agricultural wheeled mobile robots. To achieve precise navigation through a fieldit is desirable that the control system is designed based on an accurate dynamic model. Inthis paper a control affine model for a custom designed skid-steer differential drive wheeledmobile robot is found. The Terramechanic wheel terrain interaction is adopted and modifiedto consider wheels with a torus geometry. Varying slip ratios and slip angles are consideredin the terrain reaction forces, which is curve-fitted using a nonlinear least squares approachsuch that the achieved model is control affine. The parameters in the proposed model isidentified through an extended Kalman filter so that the state variables in the model arematched. Both simulation and experiments in a commercial farm validated the proposedmodel and the identification approach.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006480, ucf:51410
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006480

Title: Analysis of Driving Behavior at Expressway Toll Plazas using Driving Simulator.
Creator: Saad, Moatz, Abdel-Aty, Mohamed, Eluru, Naveen, Lee, JaeYoung, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The objective of this study is to analyze the driving behavior at toll plazas by examining multiple scenarios using a driving simulator to study the effect of different options including different path decisions, various signs, arrow markings, traffic conditions, and extending auxiliary lanes before and after the toll plaza on the driving behavior. Also, this study focuses on investigating the effect of drivers' characteristics on the dangerous driving behavior (e.g. speed variation, sudden...
Show moreThe objective of this study is to analyze the driving behavior at toll plazas by examining multiple scenarios using a driving simulator to study the effect of different options including different path decisions, various signs, arrow markings, traffic conditions, and extending auxiliary lanes before and after the toll plaza on the driving behavior. Also, this study focuses on investigating the effect of drivers' characteristics on the dangerous driving behavior (e.g. speed variation, sudden lane change, drivers' confusion). Safety and efficiency are the fundamental goals that transportation engineering is always seeking for the design of highways. Transportation agencies have a crucial challenging task to accomplish traffic safety, particularly at the locations that have been identified as crash hotspots. In fact, toll plaza locations are one of the most critical and challenging areas that expressway agencies have to pay attention to because of the increasing traffic crashes over the past years near toll plazas.Drivers are required to make many decisions at expressway toll plazas which result in drivers' confusion, speed variation, and abrupt lane change maneuvers. These crucial decisions are mainly influenced by three reasons. First, the limited distance between toll plazas and the merging areas at the on-ramps before the toll plazas. In additional to the limited distance between toll plazas and the diverging areas after the toll plazas at the off-ramps. Second, it is also affected by the location and the configuration of signage and pavement markings. Third, drivers' decisions are affected by the different lane configurations and tolling systems that can cause drivers' confusion and stress. Nevertheless, limited studies have explored the factors that influence driving behavior and safety at toll plazas. There are three main systems of the toll plaza, the traditional mainline toll plaza (TMTP), the hybrid mainline toll plaza (HMTP), and the all-electronic toll collection (AETC). Recently, in order to improve the safety and the efficiency of the toll plazas, most of the traditional mainline toll plazas have been converted to the hybrid toll plazas or the all-electronic toll collection plazas. This study assessed driving behavior at a section, including a toll plaza on one of the main expressways in Central Florida. The toll plaza is located between a close on-ramp and a nearby off-ramp. Thus, these close distances have a significant effect on increasing driver's confusion and unexpected lane change before and after the toll plaza. Driving simulator experiments were used to study the driving behavior at, before and after the toll plaza. The details of the section and the plaza were accurately replicated in the simulator. In the driving simulator experiment, Seventy-two drivers with different age groups were participated. Subsequently, each driver performed three separate scenarios out of a total of twenty-four scenarios. Seven risk indicators were extracted from the driving simulator experiment data by using MATLAB software. These variables are average speed, standard deviation of speed, standard deviation of lane deviation, acceleration rate, standard deviation of acceleration (acceleration noise), deceleration rate, and standard deviation of deceleration (braking action variation). Moreover, various scenario variables were tested in the driving simulator including different paths, signage, pavement markings, traffic condition, and extending auxiliary lanes before and after the toll plaza. Divers' individual characteristics were collected from a questionnaire before the experiment. Also, drivers were filling a questionnaire after each scenario to check for simulator sickness or discomfort. Nine variables were extracted from the simulation questionnaire for representing individual characteristics including, age, gender, education level, annual income, crash experience, professional drivers, ETC-tag use, driving frequency, and novice international drivers. A series of mixed linear models with random effects to account for multiple observations from the same participant were developed to reveal the contributing factors that affect driving behavior at toll plazas. The results uncovered that all drivers who drove through the open road tolling (ORT) showed higher speed and lower speed variation, lane deviation, and acceleration noise than other drivers who navigate through the tollbooth. Also, the results revealed that providing adequate signage, and pavement markings are effective in reducing risky driving behavior at toll plazas. Drivers tend to drive with less lane deviation and acceleration noise before the toll plaza when installing arrow pavement markings. Adding dynamic message sign (DMS) at the on-ramp has a significant effect on reducing speed variation before the toll plaza. Likewise, removing the third overhead sign before the toll plaza has a considerable influence on reducing aggressive driving behavior before and after the toll plaza. This result may reflect drivers' desire to feel less confusion by excessive signs and markings. Third, extending auxiliary lanes with 660 feet (0.125 miles) before or after the toll plaza have an effect on increasing the average speed and reducing the lane deviation and the speed variation at and before the toll plaza. It also has an impact on increasing the acceleration noise and the braking action variation after the toll plaza. Finally, it was found that in congested conditions, participants drive with a lower speed variation and lane deviation before the toll plaza but with a higher acceleration noise after the toll plaza. On the other hand, understanding drivers' characteristics is particularly important for exploring their effect on risky driving behavior. Young drivers (18-25) and old drivers (older than 50 years) consistently showed a higher risk behavior than middle age drivers (35 to 50). Also, it was found that male drivers are riskier than female drivers at toll plazas. Drivers with high education level, drivers with high income, ETC-tag users, and drivers whose driving frequency is less than three trips per day are more cautious and tend to drive at a lower speed.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006492, ucf:51391
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006492

Title: Online, Supervised and Unsupervised Action Localization in Videos.
Creator: Soomro, Khurram, Shah, Mubarak, Heinrich, Mark, Hu, Haiyan, Bagci, Ulas, Yun, Hae-Bum, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Action recognition classifies a given video among a set of action labels, whereas action localization determines the location of an action in addition to its class. The overall aim of this dissertation is action localization. Many of the existing action localization approaches exhaustively search (spatially and temporally) for an action in a video. However, as the search space increases with high resolution and longer duration videos, it becomes impractical to use such sliding window...
Show moreAction recognition classifies a given video among a set of action labels, whereas action localization determines the location of an action in addition to its class. The overall aim of this dissertation is action localization. Many of the existing action localization approaches exhaustively search (spatially and temporally) for an action in a video. However, as the search space increases with high resolution and longer duration videos, it becomes impractical to use such sliding window techniques. The first part of this dissertation presents an efficient approach for localizing actions by learning contextual relations between different video regions in training. In testing, we use the context information to estimate the probability of each supervoxel belonging to the foreground action and use Conditional Random Field (CRF) to localize actions. In the above method and typical approaches to this problem, localization is performed in an offline manner where all the video frames are processed together. This prevents timely localization and prediction of actions/interactions - an important consideration for many tasks including surveillance and human-machine interaction. Therefore, in the second part of this dissertation we propose an online approach to the challenging problem of localization and prediction of actions/interactions in videos. In this approach, we use human poses and superpixels in each frame to train discriminative appearance models and perform online prediction of actions/interactions with Structural SVM. Above two approaches rely on human supervision in the form of assigning action class labels to videos and annotating actor bounding boxes in each frame of training videos. Therefore, in the third part of this dissertation we address the problem of unsupervised action localization. Given unlabeled videos without annotations, this approach aims at: 1) Discovering action classes using a discriminative clustering approach, and 2) Localizing actions using a variant of Knapsack problem.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0006917, ucf:51685
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006917

Title: TryOpenJML - A Verily based web application for learning about the Java Modeling Language.
Creator: Deshpande, Tushar, Leavens, Gary, Turgut, Damla, Dechev, Damian, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This thesis has a two-fold purpose. On the one hand, the web applications are an important part of life. On a day to day basis, from managing our heath care choices to banking, to connecting to a friend, almost everything is done through a web application. Development of these applications is also a very trend-driven domain. Numerous web frameworks are available today, but almost none has been created taking reliability into consideration. With the combination of application construction...
Show moreThis thesis has a two-fold purpose. On the one hand, the web applications are an important part of life. On a day to day basis, from managing our heath care choices to banking, to connecting to a friend, almost everything is done through a web application. Development of these applications is also a very trend-driven domain. Numerous web frameworks are available today, but almost none has been created taking reliability into consideration. With the combination of application construction recipes and static analysis, the Verily framework was created to build more reliable web applications.On the other hand, the goal of the Java Modeling Language (JML) has to be conveyed to the world. It is a language that can go hand in hand with existing code, having a wide range of tools that help build practical and effective designs. There are many tools available for JML: jmldoc for web pages, jmlunit for unit tests, jmlc for class files, etc. I will be using the tools for Runtime Assertion Checking (RAC) and Extended Static Checking (ESC). These checks warn about the possible runtime exceptions and assertion violations. The benefits of JML assert statements over Java assertions are that they support all JML features.The question that I am concerned with, in this thesis, is how the Verily Framework can contribute to the domain of web application development. Keeping this question in mind, my objective is to create a tutorial which will aid in learning about JML. The tutorial will let the potential users read and write JML specifications and use JML tools, explain basic JML semantics, and let them know where to go for help if they need more details.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006293, ucf:51614
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006293

Title: Quantitative Framework For Social Cultural Interactions.
Creator: Bhatia, Taranjeet, Boloni, Ladislau, Turgut, Damla, Sukthankar, Gita, Fiore, Stephen, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: For an autonomous robot or software agent to participate in the social life of humans, it must have a way to perform a calculus of social behavior. Such a calculus must have explanatory power (it must provide a coherent theory for why the humans act the way they do), and predictive power (it must provide some plausible events from the predicted future actions of the humans).This dissertation describes a series of contributions that would allow agents observing or interacting with humans to...
Show moreFor an autonomous robot or software agent to participate in the social life of humans, it must have a way to perform a calculus of social behavior. Such a calculus must have explanatory power (it must provide a coherent theory for why the humans act the way they do), and predictive power (it must provide some plausible events from the predicted future actions of the humans).This dissertation describes a series of contributions that would allow agents observing or interacting with humans to perform a calculus of social behavior taking into account cultural conventions and socially acceptable behavior models. We discuss the formal components of the model: culture-sanctioned social metrics (CSSMs), concrete beliefs (CBs) and action impact functions. Through a detailed case study of a crooked seller who relies on the manipulation of public perception, we show that the model explains how the exploitation of social conventions allows the seller to finalize transactions, despite the fact that the clients know that they are being cheated. In a separate study, we show that how the crooked seller can find an optimal strategy with the use of reinforcement learning.We extend the CSSM model for modeling the propagation of public perception across multiple social interactions. We model the evolution of the public perception both over a single interaction and during a series of interactions over an extended period of time. An important aspect for modeling the public perception is its propagation - how the propagation is affected by the spatio-temporal context of the interaction and how does the short-term and long-term memory of humans affect the overall public perception.We validated the CSSM model through a user study in which participants cognizant with the modeled culture had to evaluate the impact on the social values. The scenarios used in the experiments modeled emotionally charged social situations in a cross-cultural setting and with the presence of a robot. The scenarios model conflicts of cross-cultural communication as well as ethical, social and financial choices. This study allowed us to study whether people sharing the same culture evaluate CSSMs at the same way (the inter-cultural uniformity conjecture). By presenting a wide range of possible metrics, the study also allowed us to determine whether any given metric can be considered a CSSM in a given culture or not.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006262, ucf:51047
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006262

Title: Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Policies and Youth Tobacco Use in Florida Public Schools.
Creator: Terry, Amanda, Zhang, Ning, Martin, Lawrence, Gammonley, Denise, Delnevo, Cristine, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and premature death in the United States. In 2014, an estimated 16.8% of adults were current cigarette smokers, and 9.2% of high school students smoked cigarettes. Nearly 90% of smokers developed their habit as teenagers, and students' tobacco use in high school influences their behaviors later in adulthood. Smoking behaviors appear to be inseparable from the social environment, physical environment, small social groups, and cognitive...
Show moreTobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and premature death in the United States. In 2014, an estimated 16.8% of adults were current cigarette smokers, and 9.2% of high school students smoked cigarettes. Nearly 90% of smokers developed their habit as teenagers, and students' tobacco use in high school influences their behaviors later in adulthood. Smoking behaviors appear to be inseparable from the social environment, physical environment, small social groups, and cognitive and affective processes. Preventive strategies, such as advertising bans, clean indoor air laws, education programs, increased taxes, labeling limitations, mass-media campaigns, and youth access regulations, have been commonly used to prevent and reduce youth tobacco use nationwide. In Florida, local public school districts were authorized to develop new tobacco-free school policies through an amendment to the Florida Clean Indoor Air Act in June 2011. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the recently implemented smoking cessation policies, as well as individual-level factors and interpersonal-level factors, on youth tobacco use in Florida public schools. This study employed a pooled cross-sectional design with data for high school students from the Florida Youth Tobacco Survey (FYTS) in 2010 (n=37,797) and 2014 (n=32,930). It was guided by a theoretical framework based on the reasoned action approach and the social ecological model. Hierarchical logistic regression was used to analyze the data. The four models were binary logistic regression for cigarette use, multinomial logistic regression for cigarette use, binary logistic regression for cigar use, and multinomial logistic regression for cigar use. The results of this study support the importance of the individual-level constructs of background factors, behavioral beliefs, and control beliefs, the interpersonal-level construct of normative beliefs, and the policy-level construct of actual behavioral control when applied to youth tobacco use. These findings led to a better understanding of which policies, environments, and cognitions contribute to preventing and reducing teenage tobacco use, which is imperative in controlling the risks related to smoking and improving youth health. Now that the individual-level factors, interpersonal-level factors, and policy-level factors that contribute to youth tobacco use were recognized, preventative and therapeutic programs and interventions can be suggested and improved. This study provided evidence-based knowledge for improving public policies and interventional strategies towards smoking prevention and cessation for youth.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006188, ucf:51128
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006188

Title: Investigation of the effect of rain on sea surface salinity.
Creator: Santos Garcia, Andrea, Jones, W Linwood, Mikhael, Wasfy, Wahid, Parveen, Junek, William, Asher, William, Wilheit, Thomas, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The Aquarius/SAC-D mission provided Sea Surface Salinity (SSS), globally over the ocean, for almost 4 years. As a member of the AQ/SAC-D Cal/Val team, the Central Florida Remote Sensing Laboratory has analyzed these salinity measurements in the presence of precipitation and has noted the high correlation between the spatial patterns of reduced SSS and the spatial distribution of rain. It was determined that this is the result of a cause and effect relation, and not SSS measurement errors....
Show moreThe Aquarius/SAC-D mission provided Sea Surface Salinity (SSS), globally over the ocean, for almost 4 years. As a member of the AQ/SAC-D Cal/Val team, the Central Florida Remote Sensing Laboratory has analyzed these salinity measurements in the presence of precipitation and has noted the high correlation between the spatial patterns of reduced SSS and the spatial distribution of rain. It was determined that this is the result of a cause and effect relation, and not SSS measurement errors. Thus, it is important to understand these salinity changes due to seawater dilution by rain and the associated near-surface salinity strati?cation. This research addresses the effects of rainfall on the Aquarius (AQ) SSS retrieval using a macro-scale Rain Impact Model (RIM). This model, based on the superposition of a one-dimension eddy diffusion (turbulent diffusion) model, relates SSS to depth, rainfall accumulation and time since rain. To identify instantaneous and prior rainfall accumulations, a Rain Accumulation product was developed. This product, based on the NOAA CMORPH precipitation data set, provides the rainfall history for 24 hours prior to the satellite observation time, which is integrated over each AQ IFOV. In this research results of the RIM validation are presented by comparing AQ and SMOS measured and RIM simulated SSS. The results show the high cross correlation for these comparisons and also with the corresponding SSS anomalies relative to HYCOM.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006175, ucf:51133
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006175

Title: Emergency Room Utilization Disparities among Older Adults Treated by Rural Health Clinics.
Creator: Bagwell, Matt, Wan, Thomas, Zhang, Ning, Ortiz, Judith, Hofler, Richard, Bushy, Angeline, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Examining the persistence of disparities over time is an important obligation in terms of rectifying, maintaining, and improving community health and social well-being for all. This study analyzed the individual factors of (a) race/ ethnicity and (b) dual eligibility, as a proxy measure of socioeconomic status, as well as the environmental factor of (c) place of residence, and the organizational factor of (d) Rural Health Clinic (RHC) type on emergency room (ER) utilization of older adult...
Show moreExamining the persistence of disparities over time is an important obligation in terms of rectifying, maintaining, and improving community health and social well-being for all. This study analyzed the individual factors of (a) race/ ethnicity and (b) dual eligibility, as a proxy measure of socioeconomic status, as well as the environmental factor of (c) place of residence, and the organizational factor of (d) Rural Health Clinic (RHC) type on emergency room (ER) utilization of older adult Medicare patients treated by RHCs within the Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS) Region 4. A prospective, multi-level, longitudinal design was employed to analyze potential health disparities or gaps that may exist among RHC Medicare beneficiary patients (+65) using longitudinal, mixed multilevel modeling in SPSS. The years of investigation were 2010 through 2012. R4 has continually lagged behind other Regions in the Nation in having higher Health Disparities and ER Utilization rates related to Race, Poverty, and Rural Isolation. A key question is: Do these disparities persist? This study's findings support that dual eligible RHC patients utilized ER services at higher rates than non-dual eligible, Medicare only RHC patients at: 77%, 80%, and 66%, in 2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively; and above the White reference group, Black RHC Medicare patients utilized ER services at higher rates of: 18%, 20%, and 34%, in 2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively. These findings support that dual Medicare and Medicaid eligibility, as a proxy measure of socioeconomic status, and race continue to influence higher rates of ER utilization in Region 4. In terms of health and utilization disparities, strikingly and persistently, as recent as 2012, Black, dual eligible RHC Medicare beneficiary patients age 65 and over are twice as likely to utilize ER services for health care than their more advantaged counterparts. Health care leaders and policymakers are seeking evidence-based performance measures as tools for detecting gaps in health care and using those subsequent findings as leverage to implement policy change for the purpose of increasing health care delivery performance system-wide while lowering health disparities across various patient populations. Toward that goal, communicating and disseminating the findings of this study contributes to the body of knowledge and enables policy leaders to better make decisions based on empirical evidence in order to strengthen the health care delivery system for older adults in diverse rural contexts. From a health and public affairs policy perspective, crafting in tandem targeted, top-down, population health and bottom-up, community interventions to curb poor health outcomes and high health care utilization would be in the public interest at-large within this region of the Southeastern United States.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006259, ucf:51051
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006259

Title: How does brief cognitive behavioral therapy work? Potential mechanisms of action for veterans with physical and psychological comorbidities.
Creator: Deavers, Frances, Cassisi, Jeffrey, Bowers, Clint, Eldridge, Gloria, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Depression and anxiety are commonly comorbid among patients with chronic medical conditions. These comorbidities are associated with negative outcomes including poorer quality of life and worse physical functioning. Evidence that traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is less effective for these populations has led to the development of brief CBT protocols that incorporate physical health self-management skills and are delivered in primary care. To continue refining treatment packages...
Show moreDepression and anxiety are commonly comorbid among patients with chronic medical conditions. These comorbidities are associated with negative outcomes including poorer quality of life and worse physical functioning. Evidence that traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is less effective for these populations has led to the development of brief CBT protocols that incorporate physical health self-management skills and are delivered in primary care. To continue refining treatment packages, it is important to understand how brief CBT works. The present study used the transactional model of stress and coping as a framework for investigating potential mechanisms of action of brief CBT. Veterans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and/or heart failure and elevated symptoms of depression and/or anxiety were randomized to receive brief CBT (n =180) or enhanced usual care (EUC; n = 122). At 4-month follow-up, depression and anxiety symptoms were significantly lower in veterans who received brief CBT, compared to EUC. Multiple mediation analyses revealed that brief CBT was associated with higher self-efficacy and less avoidant coping at 4-month follow-up, which were in turn associated with less depression and anxiety symptoms. Illness intrusiveness was also a significant mediator of the relationship between brief CBT and anxiety symptoms, but not depression symptoms. In contrast, increases in active coping attributable to brief CBT were not associated with improvements in depression or anxiety symptoms. These results demonstrate the utility of the transactional model of stress and coping as a framework for understanding mechanisms of action of brief CBT in patients with comorbid physical and psychological conditions.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0006733, ucf:51884
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006733

Title: Tensile-Compressive Asymmetry and Anisotropy of Fused Deposition Modeling PLA under Monotonic Conditions.
Creator: Perkowski, Casey, Gordon, Ali, Kassab, Alain, Divo, Eduardo, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Additive Manufacturing (AM) continues to gain popularity for its ability to produce complexly-shaped final use components that are impractical to manufacture by traditional methods; however, additive manufactured parts contain complex mesostructures that result in directionally-dependent mechanical properties that have yet to be fully characterized. This effort demonstrates a framework of experimental and analytical methods needed to characterize the uniaxial monotonic behavior of fused...
Show moreAdditive Manufacturing (AM) continues to gain popularity for its ability to produce complexly-shaped final use components that are impractical to manufacture by traditional methods; however, additive manufactured parts contain complex mesostructures that result in directionally-dependent mechanical properties that have yet to be fully characterized. This effort demonstrates a framework of experimental and analytical methods needed to characterize the uniaxial monotonic behavior of fused deposition modeling PLA using tensile and compressive experiments on specimens printed at various orientations. Based on experimental results, the asymmetry and anisotropy of the tensile and compressive response was analyzed for a candidate material. Specimens from different orientations underwent microscopy and failure surface analysis to correlate test data. The material was observed to exhibit tetragonal behavior with tensile-compressive asymmetry. The experimental and simulated results show a strong correlation. Based on the collection of results, analysis, and computations, this work demonstrates a practice that can be used to characterize similar materials for use in AM components.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0006778, ucf:51847
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006778

Title: Implementation of Refining Statements in OpenJML and Verification of Higher Order Methods with Model Program Specifications.
Creator: Gurramkonda, Sai Chandesh, Leavens, Gary, Turgut, Damla, Jha, Sumit Kumar, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The Java Modeling Language (JML) describes the functional behavior of Java classes and methods using pre- and postconditions. However, standard pre- and postcondition specifications cannot verify calls to higher order methods (HOMs). JML uses model program specifications to reason about HOMs. This thesis describes the implementation of model programs in the OpenJML tool. The implementation includes parsing, type checking, and matching of model program specifications against the code.
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0006743, ucf:51831
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006743

Title: The Attitude-Engagement Model Within-Persons: An Experience Sampling Study of Job Attitudes and Behavioral Engagement.
Creator: Glerum, David, Wooten, William, Fritzsche, Barbara, Yee, Kevin, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Although a large body of research has attempted to answer the question, (")Is a happy worker a more productive worker?(") by examining the relationship between job attitudes and behaviors, results are often inconsistent. Drawing upon Fishbein and Ajzen's (1974) compatibility principle as well as theory on job attitude change and dynamic performance, the current study sought to answer this question by examining the attitudes-performance relationship at the within-persons level of analysis....
Show moreAlthough a large body of research has attempted to answer the question, (")Is a happy worker a more productive worker?(") by examining the relationship between job attitudes and behaviors, results are often inconsistent. Drawing upon Fishbein and Ajzen's (1974) compatibility principle as well as theory on job attitude change and dynamic performance, the current study sought to answer this question by examining the attitudes-performance relationship at the within-persons level of analysis. Specifically, an Attitude-Engagement Model that specifies a broad conceptualization of job attitudes and behavioral engagement should exhibit the strongest relationship between job attitudes and job behaviors (Harrison, Newman, (&) Roth, 2006; Newman, Joseph, (&) Hulin, 2010) within-persons. Although relationships between these two domains have been theorized and examined within a between-subjects framework, no attempts have been made to examine these broad factors at the within-subjects level. Using experience sampling methodology (ESM), job attitudes and job behavior data were collected from 52 hairdressers, cosmetologists, and barbers across 1,438 observations. Using intensive longitudinal methods (Bolger (&) Laurenceau, 2013), evidence for large within-persons variability in both job attitudes and behavioral engagement was found. Evidence for the Attitude-Engagement model at the within-persons level of analysis was also provided, even after introducing a one (")moment(") and one (")day(") time lag. Furthermore, in order to provide evidence for the construct validity of the A-Factor and the E-Factor within-persons, evidence for the within-persons reliability of the assessment of change was established employing a generalizability framework. The findings have both research and practical implications for the study of attitudes and behaviors in the workplace and suggest several interesting avenues for future research.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006107, ucf:51205
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006107

Title: Evaluating Floating Treatment Wetlands to Improve Nitrogen Removal in a Wet Detention Pond.
Creator: Marimon, Zachary, Chang, Ni-bin, Fauth, John, Bohlen, Patrick, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Wet detention ponds are used for stormwater treatment across the United States and reduce most pollutants by at least 60%, but only remove 30% of total nitrogen. Floating Treatment Wetlands (FTWs) are an emerging technology that uses aquatic plants suspended in the pelagic zone to remove nitrogen through vegetative assimilation and microbial denitrification. A before-after field experiment evaluated nitrogen removal in a an existing pond in Orlando, FL, retrofitted with BioHaven(&)#174; FTWs...
Show moreWet detention ponds are used for stormwater treatment across the United States and reduce most pollutants by at least 60%, but only remove 30% of total nitrogen. Floating Treatment Wetlands (FTWs) are an emerging technology that uses aquatic plants suspended in the pelagic zone to remove nitrogen through vegetative assimilation and microbial denitrification. A before-after field experiment evaluated nitrogen removal in a an existing pond in Orlando, FL, retrofitted with BioHaven(&)#174; FTWs planted with the aquatic macrophytes Juncus effusus (Soft Rush) and Pontederia cordata (Pickerelweed). Surface water samples were used to compare the nitrogen-removal performance of the pond under both storm and non-storm conditions during a pre-analysis phase (control) to post-analysis after FTW deployment. The evaluation revealed similar TN removals in non-storm conditions during pre-analysis and post-analysis periods (-1% and -3%, respectively). During storm conditions, there was a negative TN removal of -26% in the pre-analysis compared to the positive 29% removal post-analysis. In addition, nitrogen concentrations for organic-nitrogen, ammonia/ammonium, and nitrites/nitrates were used as input for calibrating and validating a system dynamics model to predict multiple, interacting nitrogen species' transformation and translocation across the abiotic and biotic components of water, sediment, plants, and atmosphere. The validated model created in STELLA v.9.4.1 was used to simulate alternative designs to achieve maximum nitrogen removal based on the treatment efficiency in the evaluation. Simulations predicted 60% FTW coverage at the experimental planting density (22 per square meter) could achieve maximum nitrogen removal. Alternatively, similar nitrogen removal could be achieved at only 15% FTW coverage by increasing plant density. The model can be used as a low-cost tool for designing FTW technology applications and monitoring nitrogen transport.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006140, ucf:51168
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006140

Title: Near-road Dispersion Modeling of Mobile Source Air Toxics (MSATs) in Florida.
Creator: Westerlund, Kurt, Cooper, Charles, Radwan, Ahmed, Randall, Andrew, Hall, Steven, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: There is a growing public concern that emissions of mobile source air toxics (MSATs) from motor vehicles may pose a threat to human health. At present, no state or federal agencies require dispersion modeling of these compounds, but many agencies are concerned about potential future requirements. Current air pollution professionals are familiar with Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements for dispersion modeling to produce predicted...
Show moreThere is a growing public concern that emissions of mobile source air toxics (MSATs) from motor vehicles may pose a threat to human health. At present, no state or federal agencies require dispersion modeling of these compounds, but many agencies are concerned about potential future requirements. Current air pollution professionals are familiar with Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements for dispersion modeling to produce predicted concentrations for comparison with appropriate standards. This research examined a method in which the potential near-road concentrations of MSATs were calculated. It was believed that by assessing MSATs in much the same way that are used for other pollutants, the model and methods developed in this research could become a standard for those quantifying MSAT concentrations near-roadways.This dissertation reports on the results from short-term (1-hour) and long-term (annual average) MSATs dispersion modeling that has been conducted on seven intersections and seven freeway segments in the state of Florida. To accomplish the modeling, the CAL3QHC model was modified to handle individual MSAT emissions input data and to predict the concentrations of several MSATs around these roadway facilities. Additionally, since the CAL3MSAT model is DOS based and not user-friendly, time was invested to develop a Windows(&)#174; graphical user interface (GUI). Real-world data (traffic volumes and site geometry) were gathered, worst-case meteorology was selected, mobile source emission factors (EFs) were obtained from MOVES2010a, and worst-case modeling was conducted. Based on a literature search, maximum acceptable concentrations (MACs) were proposed for comparison with the modeled results, for both a short-term (1-hour) averaging time and a long-term (1-year) averaging time.Results from this CAL3MSAT modeling study indicate that for all of the intersections and freeway segments, the worst-case 1-hour modeled concentrations of the MSATs were several orders of magnitude below the proposed short-term MACs. The worst-case 1-year modeled concentrations were of the same order of magnitude as the proposed long-term MACs.The 1-year concentrations were first developed by applying a persistence factor to the worst-case 1-hour concentrations. In the interest of comparing the predicted concentrations from the CAL3MSAT persistence factor approach to other dispersion models, two EPA regulatory models (CAL3QHCR and AERMOD) with the ability to account for yearly meteorology, traffic, and signal timing were used. Both hourly and annual MSAT concentrations were predicted at one large urban intersection and compared for the three different dispersion models. The short-term 1-hour results from CAL3MSAT were higher than those predicted by the two other models due to the worst-case assumptions. Similarly, results indicate that the CAL3MSAT persistence factor approach predicted a worst-case annual average concentration on the same order of magnitude as the two other more refined models. This indicated that the CAL3MSAT model might be useful as a worst-case screening approach.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0004772, ucf:49804
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004772

Title: Total Ownership Cost Modeling of Technology Adoption Using System Dynamics: Implications for ERP Systems.
Creator: Esmaeilian, Behzad, Karwowski, Waldemar, Mollaghasemi, Mansooreh, Xanthopoulos, Petros, Ahram, Tareq, Kincaid, John, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Investment in new technologies is considered by firms as a solution to improve their productivity, product and service quality and their competitive advantages in the global market. Unfortunately, not all technology adoption projects have met their intended objectives. The complexity of technology adoption along with little consideration of the long term cost of the technology, are among the factors that challenge companies while adopting a new technology. Companies often make new technology...
Show moreInvestment in new technologies is considered by firms as a solution to improve their productivity, product and service quality and their competitive advantages in the global market. Unfortunately, not all technology adoption projects have met their intended objectives. The complexity of technology adoption along with little consideration of the long term cost of the technology, are among the factors that challenge companies while adopting a new technology. Companies often make new technology adoption decision without enough attention to the total cost of the technology over its lifecycle. Sometimes poor decision making while adopting a new technology can result in substantial recurring loss impacts. Therefore, estimating the total cost of the technology is an important step in justifying the technology adoption. Total Ownership Cost (TOC) is a wildly-accepted financial metric which can be applied to study the costs associated with the new technology throughout its lifecycle. TOC helps companies analyze not only the acquisition and procurement cost of the technology, but also other cost components occurring over the technology usage and service stage. The point is that, technology adoption cost estimation is a complex process involving consideration of various aspects such as the maintenance cost, technology upgrade cost and the cost related to the human-resource. Assessing the association between the technology characteristics (technology upgrades over its life cycle, compatibility with other systems, technology life span, etc) and the TOC encompasses a high degree of complexity. The complexity exists because there are many factors affecting the cost over time. Sometimes decisions made today can have long lasting impact on the system costs and there is a lag between the time the decision is taken and when outcomes occur. An original contribution of this dissertation is development of a System Dynamics (SD) model to estimate the TOC associated with the new technology adoption. The SD model creates casual linkage and relationships among various aspects of the technology adoption process and allows decision makers to explore the impact of their decisions on the total cost that the technology brings into the company. The SD model presented in this dissertation composes of seven sub-models including (1) technology implementation efforts, (2) workforce training, (3) technology-related workforce hiring process, (4) preventive and corrective maintenance process, (5) technology upgrade, (6) impact of technology on system performance and (7) total ownership cost sub model. A case study of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system adoption has been used to show the application of the SD model. The results of the model show that maintenance, upgrade and workforce hiring costs are among the major cost components in the ERP adoption case study presented in Chapter 4. The simulation SD model developed in this dissertation supports trade-off analysis and provides a tool for technology scenarios evaluation. The SD model presented here can be extended to provide a basis for developing a decision support system for technology evaluation.?
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0004836, ucf:49686
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004836

Title: Predicting the development of counselor self-efficacy in counselors-in-training during their first semester in practicum using embedded, rich media in a distributed learning environment.
Creator: Super, John, Young, Mark, Hundley, Gulnora, Hagedorn, William, Ieva, Kara, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The first semester of practicum is a difficult time for counseling students as they learn to integrate knowledge and theory into clinical practice, often evoking high levels of anxiety (Barbee, Scherer, (&) Combs, 2003; Ronnestad (&) Skovholt, 1993) and limiting counselor self-efficacy (Bernard (&) Goodyear, 2009; Melchert et al., 1996). Practicum is the first opportunity counselors-in-training have to apply theoretical knowledge in a professional setting, use new clinical skills, and test...
Show moreThe first semester of practicum is a difficult time for counseling students as they learn to integrate knowledge and theory into clinical practice, often evoking high levels of anxiety (Barbee, Scherer, (&) Combs, 2003; Ronnestad (&) Skovholt, 1993) and limiting counselor self-efficacy (Bernard (&) Goodyear, 2009; Melchert et al., 1996). Practicum is the first opportunity counselors-in-training have to apply theoretical knowledge in a professional setting, use new clinical skills, and test how well they fit into the field of counseling (O'Connell (&) Smith, 2005). Additionally, if counselor educators do not fully understand the process counselors in training develop counselor self-efficacy, they may be overlooking opportunities to educate a new generation of counselors or using their time, energy and resources in areas that may not be the most efficient in counselor development. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of an embedded, rich-media distributed learning environment added to practicum had on the development of counselor self-efficacy, reduction of anxiety and effect on treatment outcomes for counselors in training in their first semester of practicum. This study found the use of distributed learning to extend education beyond the classroom significantly and positively affected the development of counselor self-efficacy, had mixed statistical results on the reduction of anxiety and did not have an affect on treatment outcome. Furthermore, the study used hierarchical linear modeling to see if the characteristics of individual practicums affected the three main constructs, the results did not find a significant effect from the groups.The results of the study produced several implications for counseling. First, if counselor educators help counselors in training become more aware of counselor self-efficacy, the students can better understand how the construct affects their anxiety, their comfort with expanding or improving their clinical skills and the approach they take to a client, session or treatment plan. A second implication is that using an embedded, rich-media learning environment may help the counselors in training to develop their clinical skills. The results of this study imply that utilizing technology and discussions beyond the classroom is beneficial for (a) increasing the students' counselor self-efficacy, (b) normalizing the emotions the students may experience and (c) improving the methods for development through vicarious learning. Also, as technology continues to evolve and as education continues to adapt by integrating technology into the classrooms, counselor educators should begin exploring how to best use technology to teach students during practicum. Traditionally, based on the nature of counseling, practicum has been an interpersonal experience, but the results of the current study imply the methods of extending learning beyond the traditional class time is beneficial. Finally, as counselor educators strive to increase students' counselor self-efficacy early in practicum, in an environment that contains anxiety and self-doubt (Bernard (&) Goodyear, 2009; Cashwell (&) Dooley, 2001) using vicarious learning through video and online discussions can assist in accomplishing the goal.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0004758, ucf:49762
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004758

Title: Population dynamics and environmental factors influencing herbs in intact and degraded Florida Rosemary scrub.
Creator: Stephens, Elizabeth, Quintana-Ascencio, Pedro, VonHolle, Mary, Fauth, John, Levey, Douglas, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Species have complex and contextual relationships with their environment; both the relative contributions of life-history stages to population growth and the effect of environmental factors on each stage can be different among co-existing species. Timing and extent of reproduction, survival, and mortality determine population growth, species distributions, and assemblage patterns. I evaluate the role of habitat (intact, degraded) and microsite (shrub, leaf litter, bare sand) on population...
Show moreSpecies have complex and contextual relationships with their environment; both the relative contributions of life-history stages to population growth and the effect of environmental factors on each stage can be different among co-existing species. Timing and extent of reproduction, survival, and mortality determine population growth, species distributions, and assemblage patterns. I evaluate the role of habitat (intact, degraded) and microsite (shrub, leaf litter, bare sand) on population dynamics of Florida scrub herbs. Isolated overgrown shrubs and extensive bare sand areas in degraded scrub were expected to decrease seed predation, reduce competition of herbs with shrubs, and provide larger habitat for recruitment. I provide evidence that habitat and microsite variation influenced demography of five endemic and two common native species through effects on seed removal, emergence, and establishment. Habitat and species affected seed removal: endemic species with large seeds were removed in higher frequency in degraded habitat, likely by vertebrates, while species with small seeds were removed in higher frequency in intact habitat, by invertebrates. There was no evidence of differences in individual seed production between habitats for the two common species, C. fasciculata and B. angustifolia. Invertebrates were primarily responsible for seed removal of both species, although peak season of removal and microsite varied with species. Removal of seeds, emergence, and establishment increased with seed density. Matrix modeling indicated that population growth of C. fasciculata was greater in degraded habitat and greatest in litter microsites, and population growth of B. angustifolia was similar between habitats and greatest in bare sand. Contrasting responses among species to environmental factors in intact and degraded scrub indicated that natural disturbances are not ecologically equivalent to anthropogenic disturbances. Idiosyncratic species dynamics in common environments suggest that understanding relationships between life-history traits and environmental conditions will be required to facilitate restoration.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0004754, ucf:49791
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004754

Title: The influence of trait anxiety on information processing: An elaboration likelihood study.
Creator: Appelbaum, Michael, Miller, Ann, Weger, Harry, Rubenking, Bridget, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study explored the influence of trait anxiety on information processing in persuasive situations, and investigated cognitive load as a mediator of this relationship. The research presented was based off DeBono and McDermott's (1994) framework for exploring trait anxiety and persuasion. The theoretical lens used to explore information processing, the elaboration likelihood model (Petty (&) Cacioppo, 1986) posits that motivation and ability are necessary components to elaborate on a...
Show moreThis study explored the influence of trait anxiety on information processing in persuasive situations, and investigated cognitive load as a mediator of this relationship. The research presented was based off DeBono and McDermott's (1994) framework for exploring trait anxiety and persuasion. The theoretical lens used to explore information processing, the elaboration likelihood model (Petty (&) Cacioppo, 1986) posits that motivation and ability are necessary components to elaborate on a message. However, very little research has addressed ability variables like trait anxiety. I predicted that students high in trait anxiety would be persuaded by the attractiveness of the source (peripherally) whereas students low in trait anxiety would be persuaded by the strength of the arguments presented (centrally).Undergraduate students were asked to view a picture of a policy presenter and listen to a recording of the student's proposed policy statement. After listening to the recording participants wrote down their thoughts during the presentation and were tested on their ability to recall the arguments presented. They then completed a few scale items assessing their attitudes toward the policy as well as questions to maintain the cover story.Findings showed no difference in processing between low and high trait anxious individuals. However, there was a significant effect of anxiety on attitudes. Additionally, cognitive load was not found to be a mediator of the relationship between anxiety and attitudes.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005572, ucf:50262
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005572

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