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Title: COMMUNICATION MODALITY AND AFTER ACTION REVIEW PERFORMANCE IN A DISTRIBUTED IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT.
Creator: Kring, Jason P., Salas, Eduardo, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Virtual teams, in which geographically separate individuals interact via a technology bridge to perform collective activities, are becoming commonplace in the military, business, and education. Despite numerous benefits, virtual teams often lack face-to-face (FTF) interaction which may alter communication processes and subsequently affect team factors necessary for successful performance. Previous research indicated local teams, with members at the same physical location, outperformed...
Show moreVirtual teams, in which geographically separate individuals interact via a technology bridge to perform collective activities, are becoming commonplace in the military, business, and education. Despite numerous benefits, virtual teams often lack face-to-face (FTF) interaction which may alter communication processes and subsequently affect team factors necessary for successful performance. Previous research indicated local teams, with members at the same physical location, outperformed distributed teams, with members at different locations, in a series of military-style missions in an immersive virtual environment (VE). The present study replicated and extended this effort by measuring how communication modality affects three team factors often cited as facilitating performance: shared mental models (SMMs), cohesion (task and interpersonal), and trust (cognitive and emotional). Local teams were expected to again perform better than distributed teams and exhibit greater SMM similarity, cohesion, and trust. Furthermore, a brief team communication training (TCT) program was administered to half of the teams on the premise training would improve distributed team performance. Thirty two, 2-person teams were distributed into four experimental conditions (n = 8) based on location (local vs. distributed) and training (TCT vs. no-TCT) and then conducted five VE missions. Each mission required the team to search a 10-room building for hazardous materials and opposing forces while protecting neutral bystanders. Results showed local teams again performed better than distributed teams on overall mission performance, however the difference was less robust than anticipated. Analyses of the three team factors revealed a main effect of location as local teams reported higher levels of cognitive trust and more agreement on one of 10 SMM measures than distributed teams. A similar difference was found for the main effect of TCT with trained teams exhibiting higher cognitive trust than no-TCT teams. Results support that distributed teams operating in a common virtual setting experience performance deficits when compared to their physically co-located counterparts. Future research is needed to address the role of cognitive trust for virtual teams, the time required to develop detectable levels of emotional trust and cohesion, and how social presence between team members influences performance.
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Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: CFE0000054, ucf:46074
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000054

Title: DESIGNING FOR A JAPANESE HIGH-CONTEXT CULTURE: CULTURE'S INFLUENCE ON THE TECHNICAL WRITER'S VISUAL RHETORIC.
Creator: Carpenter, Russell, Flammia, Madelyn, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This thesis analyzes the challenges technical writers face when designing documents for high-context cultures, such as the Japanese. When developing documents intended to cross cultural gulfs, technical writers must take into consideration cultural expectations, preferences, and practices in document design and communication. High-context cultures, such as Japan, design documents using drastically different design strategies than those used in the United States. Japanese communication habits...
Show moreThis thesis analyzes the challenges technical writers face when designing documents for high-context cultures, such as the Japanese. When developing documents intended to cross cultural gulfs, technical writers must take into consideration cultural expectations, preferences, and practices in document design and communication. High-context cultures, such as Japan, design documents using drastically different design strategies than those used in the United States. Japanese communication habits are more ambiguous than communication in the United States. Thus, the Japanese often use visuals for their aesthetic appeal, not for their ability to complement the text that surrounds the visual. The ambiguous nature of high-context culture communication habits often pose problems when Americans try to communicate--whether through written or oral communication--with a high-context audience. Without careful analysis and research into these cultural implications, the technical writer risks developing unsuccessful documents that do not accomplish the goals of the communication. It takes years of research to understand cultural differences, especially in the case of Japanese communication habits. With the research presented in this thesis, technical writers will understand better how to address document design issues when designing for high-context cultures in general and the Japanese culture specifically. In order to effectively analyze document design strategies across cultures, I have collected documents from two cultures--from the United States and from Japan. These two cultures represent a low-context culture, the United States, and a high-context culture, Japan. The United States and Japan are opposite each other on Edward T. Hall's cultural continuum, providing ideal subjects for a cross-cultural document design analysis. Using previous research in document design and cultural studies, I have established a grid for analyzing visual elements in the documents I have collected--full color automobile sales booklets. I analyze both high- and low-context documents against this grid. The various document design grids allow for visual representation of document design decisions in both cultures. American international technical communicators can use these grids as a starting point for addressing the cultural implications of document design for high-context audiences. The research presented in this thesis shows that high- and low-context cultures use visuals much differently. Readers, in both cultures, are persuaded differently by visual elements. By exploring and analyzing the use of visuals such as photos, diagrams, line drawings, and the way both cultures use visuals to approach their audiences, this thesis attempts to present an explanation of visuals in high-context cultures that will aid American technical writers who design documents for international audiences. This thesis uses Japanese cultural analysis and Japanese design theories to explain high-context design decisions applied to Japanese documents.
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Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: CFE0000372, ucf:46336
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000372

Title: THE EFFECTIVENESS OF "DELIVERING UNFAVORABLE NEWS TO PATIENTS DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER" TRAINING PROGRAM FOR ONCOLOGISTS IN UZBEKISTAN.
Creator: Hundley, Gulnora, Robinson, Edward H., University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Effective physician-patient communication is primary to successful medical consultation and encourages a collaborative interactional process between patient and doctor. Collaborative communication, rather than one-way authoritarian, physician-led medical interview, is significant in navigating difficult circumstances such as delivering "bad news" to patients diagnosed with cancer. Additionally, the potential psychological effects of breaking bad news in an abrupt and insensitive manner can be...
Show moreEffective physician-patient communication is primary to successful medical consultation and encourages a collaborative interactional process between patient and doctor. Collaborative communication, rather than one-way authoritarian, physician-led medical interview, is significant in navigating difficult circumstances such as delivering "bad news" to patients diagnosed with cancer. Additionally, the potential psychological effects of breaking bad news in an abrupt and insensitive manner can be devastating and long-lasting for both the patient and his or her family. The topic of delivering unfavorable news to patients is an issue that many medical professionals find to be challenging and is now getting the attention of medical professionals in many countries, including the former Soviet Union (FSU) republics. The limited literature on communication skills in oncology in the FSU republics supports that the physician-patient communication style is perceived as significantly physician-oriented rather than patient-oriented. More specifically, the Soviet medical education system, as well as post-graduate medical education, has placed little to no emphasis on physician-patient communication training. Physician-oriented communication leads to patients being less forthcoming and open regarding their own feelings about being diagnosed with cancer, which may exacerbate the overall communication problem. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the training program "Delivering Unfavorable News to Patients Diagnosed with Cancer" (Baile et al., 2000) conducted in Uzbekistan, one of the FSU republics. A total of 50 oncologists from the National Oncology Center of Uzbekistan (N = 50, n = 25 , n = 25 ) completed Self-Efficacy, Interpersonal skills (FIRO-B), Empathy (JSPE), and Physician Belief (PBS), and demographic instruments before, immediately after, and then two weeks after the training intervention. Results of MANOVA and bivariate statistical analyses revealed significant differences in self-efficacy, empathy, and PBS scores within the experimental group, but not within the control group, from pre-test to post-test. The follow-up data analysis suggested that participants maintained the level of change that occurred immediately after the training intervention.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: CFE0002043, ucf:47596
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002043

Title: DEVELOPMENT OF SEVENTH GRADE PRE-ALGEBRA STUDENTS' MATHEMATICAL PROBLEM SOLVING THROUGH WRITTEN EXPLANATIONS AND JUSTIFICATIONS.
Creator: Jones, Rebecca, Dieker, Lisa, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: In this action research, the interactions of seventh grade pre-algebra students in a mathematics classroom shared their explanation and justification processes through group work. Prior to the start of the study students were given a written pre-test to determine current conceptual thinking in mathematics. Over the next nine weeks, the teacher engaged the students in problem solving activities that included reasoning skills, communication and making connections through discussion with their...
Show moreIn this action research, the interactions of seventh grade pre-algebra students in a mathematics classroom shared their explanation and justification processes through group work. Prior to the start of the study students were given a written pre-test to determine current conceptual thinking in mathematics. Over the next nine weeks, the teacher engaged the students in problem solving activities that included reasoning skills, communication and making connections through discussion with their peers. Following nine weeks of written and verbal discourse, students were provided a post-test to determine changes in their conceptual thinking. Overall students' grades, journal writings and test scores showed positive gains with the greatest changes occurring in written explanations of their conceptual thinking in mathematics.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: CFE0002180, ucf:47510
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002180

Title: MINORITY PHYSICIAN JOB SATISFACTION: AN ANALYSIS OF EXTRINSICALLY-CONTROLLED ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS.
Creator: Fletcher, Shaun, Barfield II, Rufus, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Few organizational communication studies examine the organizational aspects influencing career satisfaction specifically among non-white cultures in the medical physician population. This study examines minority physicians' perceptions of extrinsically controlled work environment factors in comparison to their white counterparts. Three research questions were analyzed from a 17-question survey tool to measure: physician satisfaction levels with autonomy over medical decision-making; autonomy...
Show moreFew organizational communication studies examine the organizational aspects influencing career satisfaction specifically among non-white cultures in the medical physician population. This study examines minority physicians' perceptions of extrinsically controlled work environment factors in comparison to their white counterparts. Three research questions were analyzed from a 17-question survey tool to measure: physician satisfaction levels with autonomy over medical decision-making; autonomy over non-medical workplace decisions; and hospital cost containment efforts. These organizational variables have served as major points of discourse within the healthcare arena and they relate to the enigmatic nature of career satisfaction. Determined by the volume of respondents representing each race and ethnicity, five categories were selected for comparison: Asian/Pacific Islander, Indian/Pakistani, White/Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, and Black/African American. Participants that were surveyed included all physicians listed on the medical staff roster of a Southeastern, not-for-profit hospital group, regardless of status and medical specialty. The primary findings indicate that substantial variance exists among racial and ethnic subgroups regarding satisfaction with the dependent measures. Due to low numbers of minority health care physicians, previous studies have commonly measured physician job satisfaction aggregately, failing to differentiate cultural groups. Interestingly, when minority and non-minority groups were aggregately juxtaposed, no significant differences were reported in the data. However, when satisfaction was measured contrasting minority subgroupings with that of non-minority physicians, significant variations emerged from the data set. This study contributes to understanding better the organizational experiences of minority physicians in healthcare and the body of knowledge concerning minority health research as a whole.
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Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: CFE0000502, ucf:46454
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000502

Title: AFFECTIVE DESIGN IN TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION.
Creator: Rosen, Michael, Kitalong, Karla, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Traditional human-computer interaction (HCI) is based on 'cold' models of user cognition; that is, models of users as purely rational beings based on the information processing metaphor; however, an emerging perspective suggests that for the field of HCI to mature, its practitioners must adopt models of users that consider broader human needs and capabilities. Affective design is an umbrella term for research and practice being conducted in diverse domains, all with the common thread of...
Show moreTraditional human-computer interaction (HCI) is based on 'cold' models of user cognition; that is, models of users as purely rational beings based on the information processing metaphor; however, an emerging perspective suggests that for the field of HCI to mature, its practitioners must adopt models of users that consider broader human needs and capabilities. Affective design is an umbrella term for research and practice being conducted in diverse domains, all with the common thread of integrating emotional aspects of use into the creation of information products. This thesis provides a review of the current state of the art in affective design research and practice to technical communicators and others involved in traditional HCI and usability enterprises. This paper is motivated by the developing technologies and the growing complexity of interaction that demand a more robust notion of HCI that incorporates affect in an augmented and holistic representation of the user and situated use.
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Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: CFE0000590, ucf:46474
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000590

Title: COLLEGE STUDENTS' WELL BEING: THE ROLE OF PARENT-COLLEGE STUDENT EXPECTATION DISCREPANCIES AND COMMUNICATION.
Creator: Agliata, Allison, Renk, Kimberly, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Parental influence on college students' well being is underestimated frequently in the developmental literature. College students often set social and academic goals according to their perception of what their parents expect from them. The discrepancy between college students' performance and their perceptions of parents' expectations can impact their quality of life. The purpose of this study was to examine various parent-college student expectation discrepancies and communication levels as...
Show moreParental influence on college students' well being is underestimated frequently in the developmental literature. College students often set social and academic goals according to their perception of what their parents expect from them. The discrepancy between college students' performance and their perceptions of parents' expectations can impact their quality of life. The purpose of this study was to examine various parent-college student expectation discrepancies and communication levels as predictors for college students' psychological well being. Results revealed that college students reported experiencing higher levels of anger, depression, and anxiety and lower levels of self-esteem and college adjustment when higher expectation-performance discrepancies were present. Results also indicated that a higher perceived level of communication, particularly by the college student, served as a predictor of distress and was related to lower levels of affective distress and higher levels of self-esteem and college adjustment. Such findings underscore the importance of teaching assertive communication skills to college students and their parents as a means of diminishing the deleterious effects of perceiving one another inaccurately.
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Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: CFE0000556, ucf:46424
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000556

Title: THE PROBLEM OF TECHNOLOGY: HUMAN COMMUNICATION IN THE AGE OF AUTOMATION.
Creator: Leontyeva, Alyona, White, Grace, Jentsch, Florian, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: With the introduction of technology, our existence became different. Today we use technology for every aspect of our lives. We can study, work, communicate, and entertain ourselves. We find it very convenient to communicate via e-mail, text messaging, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Myspace, and Snapchat to connect with people in work, school, social and familial networks. Mark Zuckerberg proclaimed that Facebook's new mission is to "bring the world closer together" (Zuckerberg, 2017)...
Show moreWith the introduction of technology, our existence became different. Today we use technology for every aspect of our lives. We can study, work, communicate, and entertain ourselves. We find it very convenient to communicate via e-mail, text messaging, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Myspace, and Snapchat to connect with people in work, school, social and familial networks. Mark Zuckerberg proclaimed that Facebook's new mission is to "bring the world closer together" (Zuckerberg, 2017). The means of accomplishing that is through technological communication. According to research on close relationships and the use of technology as a way of communication, "mobile phone-based channels had stronger associations with friendship closeness" (Liu and Yang, 2016). However, it is also possible that something essential is lost in these electronic interactions. It is possible that both the value and meaning of the interaction changes when using technology rather than human communication. The primary purpose of this research was a) to examine whether technology use makes people feel more connected to others or lonelier, b) to discover how relationships are affected by online communication, particularly as it relates to satisfaction or closeness, and c) to see if people's personalities play a role in their technology use. It is essential to continue to expand and explore this research. Technology continues to develop and change at an increasingly fast rate. The impact of how we use and interact with this dynamic product can only be fully understood through continued examination and research.
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Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: CFH2000463, ucf:45767
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000463

Title: EFFECTS OF GAMIFICATION ON SPEED AND ACCURACY ON AN INTERDEPENDENT PAPER SORTING TASK.
Creator: Tinkle, Davis, Salas, Eduardo, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study examined the effects of gamification, i.e. (what makes games challenging, engaging and fun), and its effects on speed and accuracy on an interdependent paper sorting task. Undergraduate students (N=42) at the University of Central Florida participated by working interdependently in groups to sort numbered pieces of paper into piles before and after either playing video games or doing back-to-back drawing(basic team building exercises). It was hypothesized that participants who...
Show moreThis study examined the effects of gamification, i.e. (what makes games challenging, engaging and fun), and its effects on speed and accuracy on an interdependent paper sorting task. Undergraduate students (N=42) at the University of Central Florida participated by working interdependently in groups to sort numbered pieces of paper into piles before and after either playing video games or doing back-to-back drawing(basic team building exercises). It was hypothesized that participants who played video games would sort pieces of paper into the piles faster and more accurate than those who did back-to-back team exercises. Results showed that playing video games was not better than doing basic team exercises, but that the two tasks were relatively equal. Although groups were formed and dissolved quickly, there was improvement between the pre and posttests. While the experiment did not yield significant results, it is possible that using different video games or different interdependent tasks could foster increases in speed and accuracy compared to back-to-back drawing.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFH0004797, ucf:45331
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004797

Title: HEBREW AND COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION: THE EFFECTS OF A LANGUAGE MANIPULATION ON PERCEPTION, IDENTITY, AND PRESERVATION.
Creator: Nir, Tamar, Sims, Valerie K., University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study aimed to explore the ways in which Hebrew is currently being manipulated online through a linguistic deviation called Fakatsa. In this study, participants were asked to rate random statements of frivolous or serious topics in either standard grammatical Hebrew or Fakatsa Hebrew conditions on specific judgment values. It was hypothesized that participants would rate the Fakatsa writer negatively on certain characteristics, such as intelligence, education, religiosity, and...
Show moreThis study aimed to explore the ways in which Hebrew is currently being manipulated online through a linguistic deviation called Fakatsa. In this study, participants were asked to rate random statements of frivolous or serious topics in either standard grammatical Hebrew or Fakatsa Hebrew conditions on specific judgment values. It was hypothesized that participants would rate the Fakatsa writer negatively on certain characteristics, such as intelligence, education, religiosity, and nationalism and positively on other characteristics, such as femininity and creativity. Twenty-four participants completed this experiment. Results showed that participants responded as expected for certain negative attributes typical of Fakatsa and deviations to computer-mediated communication and did not respond as expected for any the positive attributes typical of Fakatsa. The results showed that fluent Hebrew speakers viewed users of the Fakatsa manipulation differently than users of standard Hebrew and may suggest personal biases and perceptions when encountering computer-mediated communication.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFH2000043, ucf:45531
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000043

Title: ENHANCING COMMUNICATION THROUGH THE USE OF AUGMENTATIVE AND ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATION IN PATIENTS STATUS POST TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY.
Creator: Greene, ReAnna, Amidei, Christina, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Patients who suffer from traumatic brain injury often face communication deficits during their hospital stay. This thesis intended to examine approaches the nurse can use to facilitate communication in collaboration with the speech-language pathologist. A review of literature was conducted to examine current research on the most effective devices used to facilitate communication in this patient population. Research revealed that low-technology devices were the most effective means of...
Show morePatients who suffer from traumatic brain injury often face communication deficits during their hospital stay. This thesis intended to examine approaches the nurse can use to facilitate communication in collaboration with the speech-language pathologist. A review of literature was conducted to examine current research on the most effective devices used to facilitate communication in this patient population. Research revealed that low-technology devices were the most effective means of communicating in the hospital setting. Barriers to effective communication were identified as lack of time, education and access to the devices. Recommendations for future research include developing a documentation component that emphasizes nursing assessment and intervention through collaboration with the SLP. Additional recommendations for research include the examination of impact of AAC use on patient satisfaction and outcomes. Communication using AAC is necessary in order to improve patient outcomes for traumatic brain injured individuals. This can be achieved through increased collaboration with the SLP, and increased nursing knowledge of the available devices and their implementation.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFH0003859, ucf:44702
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0003859

Title: HOW SPORTS FRANCHISES COMMUNICATE VIA SOCIAL MEDIA.
Creator: Jones, Christopher, Coombs, Timothy, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The aim of the research is to evaluate how professional sport organizations communicate via social media and lay groundwork on how to effectively do so in the future. The research focuses on the history of social media and its involvement in sport, how it's used today, examples of effective communication and how it can eventually drive revenue for a sport franchise and build a stronger fan base at the same time.
Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFH0004325, ucf:45050
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004325

Title: USING COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES IN THE LOW-PERFORMING MATHEMATICS CLASSROOM: A STUDY OF FRACTIONS,DECIMALS,PERFORMANCE AND ATTITUDES.
Creator: Guyton, Pamela, Ortiz, Enrique, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Within a low-performing seventh grade mathematics classroom, communication techniques including discourse, collaborative groups, listening, reading, and writing were implemented during a six week period. This study shows how the use of these techniques led to the twenty four students' conceptual understanding of fraction and decimal concepts. This research study provides insight to the deep-seeded beliefs of low-performing students. It provides a record of how the teacher used...
Show moreWithin a low-performing seventh grade mathematics classroom, communication techniques including discourse, collaborative groups, listening, reading, and writing were implemented during a six week period. This study shows how the use of these techniques led to the twenty four students' conceptual understanding of fraction and decimal concepts. This research study provides insight to the deep-seeded beliefs of low-performing students. It provides a record of how the teacher used communication techniques in the classroom and had a strong positive impact on the attitudes and performance of these struggling students.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: CFE0002146, ucf:47928
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002146

Title: THE EFFECTS OF TRAINING ON GOAL ORIENTATION, MENTORING RELATIONSHIP PROCESSES, AND OUTCOMES.
Creator: Scielzo, Shannon, Smith-Jentsch, Kimberly, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The purpose of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of preparatory training for mentors and protégés with respect to relationship processes and outcomes. Specifically, it was proposed that training provided to mentors and their protégés should foster a high learning goal orientation and a low avoid goal orientation. The former is associated with learning for the sake of continuous improvement and the latter is associated with a willingness to be...
Show moreThe purpose of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of preparatory training for mentors and protégés with respect to relationship processes and outcomes. Specifically, it was proposed that training provided to mentors and their protégés should foster a high learning goal orientation and a low avoid goal orientation. The former is associated with learning for the sake of continuous improvement and the latter is associated with a willingness to be perceived by others as having failed at a task. It was hypothesized that mentors and protégés who received goal orientation training prior to beginning their formal mentoring sessions would engage in greater feedback-seeking and would be more willing to self-disclose potentially ego-threatening information. Moreover, it was expected that training would also lead participants to expect such behaviors from their partners and as a result respond more positively when the desired behaviors were demonstrated. Eighty (i.e., first and second semester freshmen) were paired with eighty mentors (i.e., college juniors and seniors with a minimum grade point average of 3.0), resulting in a total of 160 study participants. All participants received one hour of preparatory training. A two by two factorial design was employed whereby mentors and protégés each received either goal orientation training or training simply designed to orient them to computer-mediated communication. After training, mentors and protégés met with one another using online chat for four, 30-minute weekly chat sessions. Results indicated that a) protégés in a high state of avoid goal orientation felt they received less psychosocial support the more their mentor disclosed his/her own personal downfalls, b) mentors who received goal orientation training felt they had provided greater career support the more their protégés sought feedback but the reverse was true for mentors who did not receive goal orientation training, c) mentor self-disclosure was more strongly related to their protégé's self-disclosure if the protégé had received goal orientation training, and finally d) mentor and protégé perceptions of the psychosocial and career support that had been provided/received during online sessions were more strongly correlated if the two had received the same type of preparatory training (especially if both received goal orientation training).
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: CFE0002203, ucf:47918
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002203

Title: DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING TECHNIQUES FOR COHERENT OPTICAL COMMUNICATION.
Creator: Goldfarb, Gilad, Li, Guifang, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Coherent detection with subsequent digital signal processing (DSP) is developed, analyzed theoretically and numerically and experimentally demonstrated in various fiber‐optic transmission scenarios. The use of DSP in conjunction with coherent detection unleashes the benefits of coherent detection which rely on the preservation of full information of the incoming field. These benefits include high receiver sensitivity, the ability to achieve high spectral‐efficiency and the use of...
Show moreCoherent detection with subsequent digital signal processing (DSP) is developed, analyzed theoretically and numerically and experimentally demonstrated in various fiber‐optic transmission scenarios. The use of DSP in conjunction with coherent detection unleashes the benefits of coherent detection which rely on the preservation of full information of the incoming field. These benefits include high receiver sensitivity, the ability to achieve high spectral‐efficiency and the use of advanced modulation formats. With the immense advancements in DSP speeds, many of the problems hindering the use of coherent detection in optical transmission systems have been eliminated. Most notably, DSP alleviates the need for hardware phase‐locking and polarization tracking, which can now be achieved in the digital domain. The complexity previously associated with coherent detection is hence significantly diminished and coherent detection is once again considered a feasible detection alternative. In this thesis, several aspects of coherent detection (with or without subsequent DSP) are addressed. Coherent detection is presented as a means to extend the dispersion limit of a duobinary signal using an analog decision‐directed phase‐lock loop. Analytical bit‐error ratio estimation for quadrature phase‐shift keying signals is derived. To validate the promise for high spectral efficiency, the orthogonal‐wavelength‐division multiplexing scheme is suggested. In this scheme the WDM channels are spaced at the symbol rate, thus achieving the spectral efficiency limit. Theory, simulation and experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of this approach. Infinite impulse response filtering is shown to be an efficient alternative to finite impulse response filtering for chromatic dispersion compensation. Theory, design considerations, simulation and experimental results relating to this topic are presented. Interaction between fiber dispersion and nonlinearity remains the last major challenge deterministic effects pose for long‐haul optical data transmission. Experimental results which demonstrate the possibility to digitally mitigate both dispersion and nonlinearity are presented. Impairment compensation is achieved using backward propagation by implementing the split‐step method. Efficient realizations of the dispersion compensation operator used in this implementation are considered. Infinite‐impulse response and wavelet‐based filtering are both investigated as a means to reduce the required computational load associated with signal backward‐propagation. Possible future research directions conclude this dissertation.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: CFE0002384, ucf:47763
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002384

Title: A Game-theoretic Model for Regulating Freeriding in Subsidy-Based Pervasive Spectrum Sharing Markets.
Creator: Rahman, Mostafizur, Yuksel, Murat, Nam, Boo Hyun, Pourmohammadi Fallah, Yaser, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Cellular spectrum is a limited natural resource becoming scarcer at a worrisome rate. To satisfy users' expectation from wireless data services, researchers and practitioners recognized the necessityof more utilization and pervasive sharing of the spectrum. Though scarce, spectrum is underutilized in some areas or within certain operating hours due to the lack of appropriate regulatory policies, static allocation and emerging business challenges. Thus, finding ways to improve the utilization...
Show moreCellular spectrum is a limited natural resource becoming scarcer at a worrisome rate. To satisfy users' expectation from wireless data services, researchers and practitioners recognized the necessityof more utilization and pervasive sharing of the spectrum. Though scarce, spectrum is underutilized in some areas or within certain operating hours due to the lack of appropriate regulatory policies, static allocation and emerging business challenges. Thus, finding ways to improve the utilization of this resource to make sharing more pervasive is of great importance. There already exists a number of solutions to increase spectrum utilization via increased sharing. Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) enables a cellular operator to participate in spectrum sharing in many ways, such as geological database and cognitive radios, but these systems perform spectrum sharing at the secondary level (i.e., the bands are shared if and only if the primary/licensed user is idle) and it is questionable if they will be sufficient to meet the future expectations of the spectral efficiency.Along with the secondary sharing, spectrum sharing among primary users is emerging as a new domain of future mode of pervasive sharing. We call this type of spectrum sharing among primaryusers as (")pervasive spectrum sharing (PSS)("). However, such spectrum sharing among primary users requires strong incentives to share and ensuring a freeriding-free cellular market.Freeriding in pervasively shared spectrum markets (be it via government subsidies/regulations or self-motivated coalitions among cellular operators) is a real techno-economic challenge to be addressed. In a PSS market, operators will share their resources with primary users of other operators and may sometimes have to block their own primary users in order to attain sharing goals. Small operators with lower quality service may freeride on large operators' infrastructure in such pervasively shared markets. Even worse, since small operators' users may perceive higher-than-expected service quality for a lower fee, this can cause customer loss to the large operators and motivate small operators to continue freeriding with additional earnings from the stolen customers. Thus, freeriding can drive a shared spectrum market to an unhealthy and unstable equilibrium. In this work, we model the freeriding by small operators in shared spectrum markets via a game-theoretic framework. We focus on a performance-based government incentivize scheme and aim to minimize the freeriding issue emerging in such PSS markets. We present insights from the model and discuss policy and regulatory challenges.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0007082, ucf:52024
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007082

Title: A qualitative analysis of key concepts in Islam from the perspective of imams.
Creator: Dobiyanski, Chandler, Matusitz, Jonathan, Yu, Nan, Barfield, Rufus, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The continuous occurrence of terrorist attacks in the name of Islam has shown this ideology and its tenets are at least somewhat connected to jihadists committing attacks in its name. This ideology in terms of 13 themes was investigated by the researcher in 58 sermons outlined in the tables in the appendix. These themes include: brotherhood, death, freedom, human rights, justice and equality, love, oppression, peace and treaty, self-defense, sin, submission, terrorism and truth vs. lies. The...
Show moreThe continuous occurrence of terrorist attacks in the name of Islam has shown this ideology and its tenets are at least somewhat connected to jihadists committing attacks in its name. This ideology in terms of 13 themes was investigated by the researcher in 58 sermons outlined in the tables in the appendix. These themes include: brotherhood, death, freedom, human rights, justice and equality, love, oppression, peace and treaty, self-defense, sin, submission, terrorism and truth vs. lies. The researcher used a sample of 10 sermons from U.S.- born imams and 10 sermons from foreign-born imams as the basis for the analysis for the theories and themes. Conducting a thematic analysis of U.S.-born and foreign-born imams' sermons, the researcher uncovered their true interpretations of these themes. Following this, the researcher investigated the imams' speech codes.The researcher found that imams who were born in the United States focused more on religious speech codes compared to the international imams who focused more prominently on cultural speech codes. In terms of social codes, foreign-born imams seem to be more focused on relationships, while those born in the United States focuses more on religious conduct. In terms of religious codes, foreign-born imams seem to have a checklist of requirements in how to act, including referencing believers vs. disbelievers and historical aspects of the codes, while those born in the United States focused on more codes that referred to everyday activities, people and the kind of conduct that a Muslim should have. In terms of cultural codes, foreign-born imams seem to have an immediate need to physically defend against outside forces. This is compared to the United States-born imams, who discuss how to better oneself, how cultural aspects are a distraction and how Muslim converts are more inspirational than the Muslim-born since the converts actively rejected their cultural norms in favor of Islam.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0007324, ucf:52145
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007324

Title: Reducing the Overhead of Memory Space, Network Communication and Disk I/O for Analytic Frameworks in Big Data Ecosystem.
Creator: Zhang, Xuhong, Wang, Jun, Fan, Deliang, Lin, Mingjie, Zhang, Shaojie, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: To facilitate big data processing, many distributed analytic frameworks and storage systems such as Apache Hadoop, Apache Hama, Apache Spark and Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) have been developed. Currently, many researchers are conducting research to either make them more scalable or enabling them to support more analysis applications. In my PhD study, I conducted three main works in this topic, which are minimizing the communication delay in Apache Hama, minimizing the memory space...
Show moreTo facilitate big data processing, many distributed analytic frameworks and storage systems such as Apache Hadoop, Apache Hama, Apache Spark and Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) have been developed. Currently, many researchers are conducting research to either make them more scalable or enabling them to support more analysis applications. In my PhD study, I conducted three main works in this topic, which are minimizing the communication delay in Apache Hama, minimizing the memory space and computational overhead in HDFS and minimizing the disk I/O overhead for approximation applications in Hadoop ecosystem. Specifically, In Apache Hama, communication delay makes up a large percentage of the overall graph processing time. While most recent research has focused on reducing the number of network messages, we add a runtime communication and computation scheduler to overlap them as much as possible. As a result, communication delay can be mitigated. In HDFS, the block location table and its corresponding maintenance could occupy more than half of the memory space and 30% of processing capacity in master node, which severely limit the scalability and performance of master node. We propose Deister that uses deterministic mathematical calculations to eliminate the huge table for storing the block locations and its corresponding maintenance. My third work proposes to enable both efficient and accurate approximations on arbitrary sub-datasets of a large dataset. Existing offline sampling based approximation systems are not adaptive to dynamic query workloads and online sampling based approximation systems suffer from low I/O efficiency and poor estimation accuracy. Therefore, we develop a distribution aware method called Sapprox. Our idea is to collect the occurrences of a sub-dataset at each logical partition of a dataset (storage distribution) in the distributed system at a very small cost, and make good use of such information to facilitate online sampling.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0007299, ucf:52149
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007299

Title: Development and saw device implementation of a new weighted stepped chirp code signal for direct sequence spread spectrum communications systems.
Creator: Carter, Scott Edward, Malocha, Donald C., Engineering
Abstract / Description: University of Central Florida College of Engineering Thesis; This work introduces the new weighted stepped chirp code signal for direct sequence spread spectrum (DS/SS) communications systems. This code signal uses the truncated cosine series functions as the chip functions. This code signal is the result of discretizing a continuous wave (CW) chirp which results in enhanced performance versus a pseudonoise (PN) cose and equivalent performance and easier implementation than a CW chirp. This...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Engineering Thesis; This work introduces the new weighted stepped chirp code signal for direct sequence spread spectrum (DS/SS) communications systems. This code signal uses the truncated cosine series functions as the chip functions. This code signal is the result of discretizing a continuous wave (CW) chirp which results in enhanced performance versus a pseudonoise (PN) cose and equivalent performance and easier implementation than a CW chirp. This code signal will be shown to possess improved compression ratio (CR), peak sidelobe level (PSL), integrated sidelobe level (ISL), and bit error rate (BER) when compared to a PN code of identical code length and chip length. It also will be shown to have a similar CR, PSL, ISL, and loss in processing gain (LPG) when compared to a CW chirp with identical pulse length and frequency deviation. The code signal is implemented on surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices which can be used as the code signal generator at the transmitter and the correlator at the receiver in a DS/SS communication system. SAW design considerations for the weighted stepped chirp signal are discussed. Experimental data is presented and compared to the predicted CR, PSL, ISL, LPG, and BER.
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Date Issued: 1998
Identifier: CFR0008153, ucf:52944
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0008153

Title: SYNCHRONIZATION IN ADVANCED OPTICAL COMMUNICATIONS.
Creator: Kim, Inwoong, Li, Guifang, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: All-optical synchronization and its application in advanced optical communications have been investigated in this dissertation. Dynamics of all-optical timing synchronization (clock recovery) using multi-section gain-coupled distributed-feedback (MS-GC DFB) lasers are discussed. A record speed of 180-GHz timing synchronization has been demonstrated using this device. An all-optical carrier synchronization (phase and polarization recovery) scheme from PSK (phase shift keying) data is proposed...
Show moreAll-optical synchronization and its application in advanced optical communications have been investigated in this dissertation. Dynamics of all-optical timing synchronization (clock recovery) using multi-section gain-coupled distributed-feedback (MS-GC DFB) lasers are discussed. A record speed of 180-GHz timing synchronization has been demonstrated using this device. An all-optical carrier synchronization (phase and polarization recovery) scheme from PSK (phase shift keying) data is proposed and demonstrated for the first time. As an application of all-optical synchronization, the characterization of advanced modulation formats using a linear optical sampling technique was studied. The full characterization of 10-Gb/s RZ-BPSK (return-to-zero binary PSK) data has been demonstrated. Fast lockup and walk-off of the all-optical timing synchronization process on the order of nanoseconds were measured in both simulation and experiment. Phase stability of the recovered clock from a pseudo-random bit sequence signal can be achieved by limiting the detuning between the frequency of free-running self-pulsation and the input bit rate. The simulation results show that all-optical clock recovery using TS-DFB lasers can maintain a better than 5 % clock phase stability for large variations in power, bit rate and optical carrier frequency of the input data and therefore is suitable for applications in ultrafast optical packet switching. All-optical timing synchronization of 180-Gb/s data streams has been demonstrated using a MS-GC DFB laser. The recovered clock has a jitter of less than 410 fs over a dynamic range of 7 dB. All-optical carrier synchronization from phase modulated data utilizes a phase sensitive oscillator (PSO), which used a phase sensitive amplifier (PSA) as a gain block. Furthermore, all-optical carrier synchronization from 10-Gb/s BPSK data was demonstrated in experiment. The PSA is configured as a nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM). A discrete linear system analysis was carried out to understand the stability of the PSO. Complex envelope measurement using coherent linear optical sampling with mode-locked sources is investigated. It is shown that reliable measurement of the phase requires that one of the optical modes of the sampling pulses be locked to the optical carrier of the data signal to be measured. Carrier-envelope offset (CEO) is found to have a negligible effect on the measurement. Measurement errors of the intensity profile and phase depend on the pulsewidth and chirp of the sampling pulses as well as the detuning between the carrier frequencies of the data signal and the center frequency of the sampling source. Characterization of the 10-Gb/s RZ-BPSK signal was demonstrated using the coherent detection technique. Measurements of the optical intensity profile, chirp and constellation diagram were demonstrated. A CW local oscillator was used and electrical sampling was performed using a sampling scope. A novel feedback scheme was used to stabilize homodyne detection.
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: CFE0001239, ucf:52894
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001239

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