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(1 - 5 of 5)
- Title
- Motivations Behind Negative Reviews.
- Creator
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Salehi Esfahani, Saba, Wang, Youcheng, Ozturk, Ahmet, Torres Areizaga, Edwin, Fesenmaier, Daniel, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Online reviews play a strategic role in the decision-making of individuals and accordingly, the sales and reputation management of businesses. Despite the significant role of reviews, the subject of motivations for posting reviews has been relatively less investigated. This is specifically important since when the online review is negative, it can immediately and negatively affect a company financially by deteriorating its image. Therefore, further investigation regarding negative online...
Show moreOnline reviews play a strategic role in the decision-making of individuals and accordingly, the sales and reputation management of businesses. Despite the significant role of reviews, the subject of motivations for posting reviews has been relatively less investigated. This is specifically important since when the online review is negative, it can immediately and negatively affect a company financially by deteriorating its image. Therefore, further investigation regarding negative online reviewing motivation with the accompany of theory building and empirical study is needed. To address this gap, this study adopted the two motivational theories of self-determination and expectancy to investigate the relationship of motivation quality and motivation force with the intention to write negative reviews. In order to empirically test the proposed model, a pilot study was first conducted to ensure the quality of the questionnaire. After the necessary refinement of the pilot questionnaire, the final questionnaire was developed, and a two-step PLS-SEM along with a CMB analysis was conducted on the collected data. The study responded to recent calls on developing a more comprehensive understanding of negative review writing motivations. The study offered a new perspective with regards to the quality of motivations for engaging in such actions by empirically indicating that individuals' behavioral intention to write a negative review is a result of intrinsic motivation and a variety of extrinsic motivations. Furthermore, this study allowed for the examination of the dynamic, inter-related impact of motivations on one another in addition to taking into consideration the aspects of each motivation that an individual considers to carry out an action. While providing important theoretical contributions in the context of negative review writing motivations, the findings of the study also offer valuable practical implications for practitioners of the hospitality industry.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007721, ucf:52441
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007721
- Title
- STORMWATER IRRIGATION OF SAINT AUGUSTINE GRASS:NITROGEN BALANCE AND EVAPOTRANSPIRATION.
- Creator
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Hulstein, Ewoud, Wanielista, Martin, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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A change in surface condition of a watershed, which is usually caused by development, can have measured effects on the naturally occurring hydrologic cycle and nitrogen cycle. This could result in environmental problems, such as reduced springflow and eutrophication. In an effort to address these issues, a combination of best management practices (BMPs) can be adhered to. The practice of using excess stormwater as a source for irrigation is proposed as a BMP for the minimization of impacts by...
Show moreA change in surface condition of a watershed, which is usually caused by development, can have measured effects on the naturally occurring hydrologic cycle and nitrogen cycle. This could result in environmental problems, such as reduced springflow and eutrophication. In an effort to address these issues, a combination of best management practices (BMPs) can be adhered to. The practice of using excess stormwater as a source for irrigation is proposed as a BMP for the minimization of impacts by development to the hydrologic and nitrogen cycles. To study the proposed BMP, a field experiment was installed in an outdoor location on the UCF main campus in Orlando, Florida. The experiment consists of three soil chambers, (2x2x4 ft, L:W:H), filled with compacted soil and covered with St. Augustine grass to simulate a suburban lawn. The grass was irrigated up to twice a week with detained stormwater with a nitrate nitrogen concentration of up to 2 mg/L. A mass balance and a total nitrogen balance were performed to determine evapotranspiration (ET) and impacts on groundwater nitrogen content. It was determined that the groundwater characteristics are largely dependent on the characteristics of the soil. The input nitrogen (precipitation and irrigation) was mostly in the form of nitrate and the output nitrogen (groundwater) was mostly in the form of ammonia. A total nitrogen mass balance indicated the mass output of nitrogen was significantly larger than mass input of nitrogen, which was due to ammonia leaching from the soil. Only small concentrations of nitrate were detected in the groundwater, resulting in an estimated nitrate removal (conversion to ammonia) of 97 percent at a depth of four feet when the input nitrate concentration was 2 mg/L. The average ET of the three chambers was compared to the estimated ET from the modified Blaney-Criddle equation on a monthly basis and a yearly basis. The modified Blaney-Criddle equation was proven to be accurate for estimating the actual ET for this application: irrigated St. Augustine grass in the Central Florida climate. In conclusion, using the available literature and the data collected from the field experiment, it was shown through an example design problem that the proposed BMP of using excess stormwater as a source for irrigation can help achieve a pre- versus postdevelopment volume balance and can help control post-development nitrate emissions.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- Identifier
- CFE0000611, ucf:46511
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000611
- Title
- CRISIS, SHELL-SHOCK, AND THE TEMPORALITY OF TRAUMA: CULTURAL MEMORY AND THE GREAT WAR COMBATANT EXPERIENCE IN OWEN, GRAVES, AND BARKER.
- Creator
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Kelly, Dylan, Grajeda, Anthony, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The year 2014 will mark the centennial of the outbreak of World War I in August 1914. This historic anniversary will likely provoke several discussions from all fields in the humanities concerning the Great War's significance on contemporary culture through history, visual art, and in the case of this essay: literature. In light of this event, any serious discussion among scholars should undeniably begin with how the war continues to be represented today through a thorough, contemporary...
Show moreThe year 2014 will mark the centennial of the outbreak of World War I in August 1914. This historic anniversary will likely provoke several discussions from all fields in the humanities concerning the Great War's significance on contemporary culture through history, visual art, and in the case of this essay: literature. In light of this event, any serious discussion among scholars should undeniably begin with how the war continues to be represented today through a thorough, contemporary analysis of its many key literary texts. This thesis will examine, in this regard, how past and contemporary discourses in literary theory—primarily concerned with how an individual combatant subject attempts to construct and understand their own traumatic experiences through poetic and literary discourse—can continue to incite discussion on why literature of the Great War and its influential role in defining how it has come to be understood in our cultural memory remains relevant even today. Under the guiding influence of Paul Fussell's classic The Great War and Modern Memory, I will discuss how three important works—a poetry collection, a memoir, and a modern work of historical fiction—all contribute to how the war has become represented as a tragic rupture in history that reversed the idea of human progress and left an entire generation disillusioned in its aftermath, regardless of the historical veracity of this legacy. The texts I will be examining include: select poems of Wilfred Owen, Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves, and Regeneration by Pat Barker. In addition to this, I will conclude with an analysis of how a contemporary reading of these texts can contribute to a larger discussion of the crisis of historicity in our current post-modern cultural landscape.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFH0004557, ucf:45210
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004557
- Title
- A CONTACT ANALYSIS OF CALDECOTT MEDAL AND HONOR BOOKS FROM 2001-2011: EXAMINING GENDER ISSUES AND EQUITY IN 21ST CENTURY CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOKS.
- Creator
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Yello, Nicole, Hoffman, Ph.D., Elizabeth S., University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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An abundance of research has been conducted about the importance of including books and literature as part of a young child's developmental process. Much of this research suggests that picture books are vital to a young child's healthy development and "are important influences that shape us by reflecting the politics and values of our society". This study was completed to analyze character roles and gender representation of male and female characters exclusively in children's picture books....
Show moreAn abundance of research has been conducted about the importance of including books and literature as part of a young child's developmental process. Much of this research suggests that picture books are vital to a young child's healthy development and "are important influences that shape us by reflecting the politics and values of our society". This study was completed to analyze character roles and gender representation of male and female characters exclusively in children's picture books. The entire population of Caldecott Award and Honor Medal books published between 2001 and 2011 was utilized for a frequency analysis. Each Caldecott Award and Honor Medal book meeting this study's criteria was examined, read and analyzed. Books included only works of fiction and were delimited to exclude biographies, autobiographies, informational books, concept books and poetry. A total of 24 books were used in the data analysis. This research attempted to answer the following question: Are males and females equitably represented in recently published children's literature? From a content-analysis approach, within a historical perspective, this research aimed at examining if gender bias still dominates the literature, and if so, to what extent. The intellectual interest of this project is in discovering male and female presence and imagery in children's picture books.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFH0004186, ucf:44840
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004186
- Title
- SELLING "DREAM INSURANCE": THE STANDARDIZED TEST-PREPARATION INDUSTRY'S SEARCH FOR LEGITIMACY, 1946-1989.
- Creator
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Shepherd, Keegan, Crepeau, Richard, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This thesis analyzes the origins, growth, and legitimization of the standardized test preparation ("test-prep") industry from the late 1940s to the end of the 1980s. In particular, this thesis focuses on the development of Stanley H. Kaplan Education Centers, Ltd. ("Kaplan") and The Princeton Review ("TPR"), and how these companies were most conducive in making the test-prep industry and standardized test-preparation itself socially acceptable. The standardized test most frequently discussed...
Show moreThis thesis analyzes the origins, growth, and legitimization of the standardized test preparation ("test-prep") industry from the late 1940s to the end of the 1980s. In particular, this thesis focuses on the development of Stanley H. Kaplan Education Centers, Ltd. ("Kaplan") and The Princeton Review ("TPR"), and how these companies were most conducive in making the test-prep industry and standardized test-preparation itself socially acceptable. The standardized test most frequently discussed in this thesis is the Scholastic Aptitude Test ("SAT"), especially after its development came under the control of Educational Testing Service ("ETS"), but due attention is also given to the American College Testing Program ("ACT"). This thesis argues that certain test-prep companies gained legitimacy by successfully manipulating the interstices of American business and education, and brokered legitimacy through the rhetorical devices in their advertising. However, the legitimacy for the industry at-large was gained by default as neither the American government nor the American public could conclusively demonstrate that the industry conducted wholesale fraud. The thesis also argues that standardized test manufacturers were forced to engage in a cat-and-mouse game of pseudo-antagonism and adaptation with the test-prep industry once truth-in-testing laws prescribed transparent operations in standardized testing. These developments affect the current state of American standardized testing, its fluctuating but ubiquitous presence in the college admissions process, and the perpetuation of the test-prep industry decades after its origins.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFE0003746, ucf:48792
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003746
