Current Search: Decision Making (x)
View All Items
(21 - 40 of 50)
Pages
- Title
- THE PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS OF THREAT PERCEPTION AND ITS EFFECT ON THE USE OF FORCE BY US PRESIDENTS.
- Creator
-
Kazazis, Collin J., Schafer, Mark, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This thesis creates a new variable for threat perception built upon psychological concepts and then applies this new variable to the question of why leaders use military force in certain situations. The concept of threat perception has a long history in the field in terms of its effect on leaders choosing to use military force. However, while the concept of threat perception is inherently psychological, previous proxies for the variable have included only situational factors, which is highly...
Show moreThis thesis creates a new variable for threat perception built upon psychological concepts and then applies this new variable to the question of why leaders use military force in certain situations. The concept of threat perception has a long history in the field in terms of its effect on leaders choosing to use military force. However, while the concept of threat perception is inherently psychological, previous proxies for the variable have included only situational factors, which is highly problematic. By utilizing the Operational Code, this study creates a new threat-perception variable based on cognitive constructs. Using a sample of US presidents, this new variable is tested in two different ways. The first examines three psychological characteristics (need for power, in-group bias, and distrust) from Leadership Trait Analysis that are thought to influence the level of threat perception in a leader. The second examines threat perception as an explanatory variable for the use of force alongside three other important control variables (economic violence, presidential popularity, and US power). The use of force variable is derived from Meernik's Use of Force dataset with each case in the dataset representing an opportunity to use force. The psychological data are derived from the verbal material of US presidents using at-a-distance methods found in the literature. OLS regression and probit are used to model the research questions. The project finds that levels of threat perception are indeed affected by a leader's level of distrust, in-group bias, and need for power. In addition, the new psychologically-derived threat-perception variable is a very good predictor of a president's use of force: presidents with higher levels of threat perception have a much higher probability of using force when the situation presents an opportunity.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFH2000559, ucf:45649
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000559
- Title
- NURSING INTERVENTIONS THAT FACILITATE END-OF-LIFE DECISION-MAKING IN PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGY.
- Creator
-
Baeringer, Lauren, Wink, Diane, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Nearly one-third of all pediatric oncology patients die from their disease, so nurses need to have an evidence-based standard of practice to guide their role in end-of-life decision-making. The purpose of this integrative review is to analyze current research on end-of-life decision-making within pediatric oncology to create a practice guideline for nurses working with this patient population. Eleven studies were examined to identify nursing interventions regarding the role of the nurse in...
Show moreNearly one-third of all pediatric oncology patients die from their disease, so nurses need to have an evidence-based standard of practice to guide their role in end-of-life decision-making. The purpose of this integrative review is to analyze current research on end-of-life decision-making within pediatric oncology to create a practice guideline for nurses working with this patient population. Eleven studies were examined to identify nursing interventions regarding the role of the nurse in end-of-life care, the role of the nurse in end-of-life decision-making, parent involvement in end-of-life decision-making, and child involvement in end-of-life decision-making, including the child's ability to participate in end-of-life decision-making. Based on the findings, the researcher identified several interventions that can be used by nurses to facilitate end-of-life discussion and decision-making that includes both parent and, when appropriate, the child.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFH0004443, ucf:45081
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004443
- Title
- DANGEROUS OPINIONS: PERCEPTION OF VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES ON JURY DECISION MAKING.
- Creator
-
Jacobi, Brock, Sims, Valerie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The purpose of the study was to examine whether a potential juror would give harsher sentences to defendants based only on the manipulation of the defendant's personal hobby. This was investigated by manipulating the hobby through a hypothetical manslaughter scenario in a vignette. Participants were asked to answer questions pertaining to the defendant's guilt and potential sentencing. Results indicate that participants' sex, participants' authoritarianism, and defendant's hobby were...
Show moreThe purpose of the study was to examine whether a potential juror would give harsher sentences to defendants based only on the manipulation of the defendant's personal hobby. This was investigated by manipulating the hobby through a hypothetical manslaughter scenario in a vignette. Participants were asked to answer questions pertaining to the defendant's guilt and potential sentencing. Results indicate that participants' sex, participants' authoritarianism, and defendant's hobby were significant factors. Significant interactions were found pertaining to whether the defendant should receive counseling across sex by violence and sex by avocation. These results are evidence that the use of jurors in the legal system is flawed and needs to be improved upon. Future research should examine an age distribution closer to the national mean, and the online setting should be replaced with an in person mock jury that will have more realistic group dynamic and higher ecological validity.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFH0004569, ucf:45177
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004569
- Title
- Threatening Instructions During a Hurricane Influence Risk Perceptions: The Case of Fear Appeals and Changing Hurricane Projections.
- Creator
-
Whitmer, Daphne, Sims, Valerie, Chin, Matthew, Bowers, Clint, Kapucu, Naim, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The goal of this research was to examine the effectiveness of persuasive language in the protective action recommendation of an emergency warning, which instructs people how to prepare and stay safe. Study 1 was a pilot study, which suggested that participants were able to make distinctions between hurricane categories. In study 2, the presence of fear language and second-person personal pronouns (i.e., (")you(")) in a recommendation was manipulated. Overall, fear language was more...
Show moreThe goal of this research was to examine the effectiveness of persuasive language in the protective action recommendation of an emergency warning, which instructs people how to prepare and stay safe. Study 1 was a pilot study, which suggested that participants were able to make distinctions between hurricane categories. In study 2, the presence of fear language and second-person personal pronouns (i.e., (")you(")) in a recommendation was manipulated. Overall, fear language was more influential than a pronoun on risk perceptions. To understand how context influences risk perceptions, participants in study 3 made decisions after each piece of information received. The severity of the hurricane increased, decreased, or stayed the same before decision point 2 and a recommendation containing fear or neutral language was presented before decision point 3. Those who read the fear message were more likely to be in the danger control process than those in the neutral language condition, which suggested that the fear message emphasized threat but did not diminish participants' perception of efficacy. Behavioral compliance with the warning was high in all conditions. In terms of change in perceived threat from decision point 2 to 3, participants in the decrease condition who read the fear appeal had the largest increase in perceived threat. In contrast, the hurricane increasing in intensity may be fear provoking enough that a fear appeal does not enhance risk perceptions. When examining individual differences, high Need for Cognition women had the largest increase in perceived message persuasiveness in the decrease and increase conditions.Phrasing guidelines for emergency management are discussed, along with the theoretical contributions of using social psychological methodology to examine emergency warnings. While individual differences are important predictors of warning interpretation, future research needs to reconcile the conundrum of emergency management's current limitations regarding individualized warnings.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007554, ucf:52611
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007554
- Title
- Decision-making for Vehicle Path Planning.
- Creator
-
Xu, Jun, Turgut, Damla, Zhang, Shaojie, Zhang, Wei, Hasan, Samiul, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This dissertation presents novel algorithms for vehicle path planning in scenarios where the environment changes. In these dynamic scenarios the path of the vehicle needs to adapt to changes in the real world. In these scenarios, higher performance paths can be achieved if we are able to predict the future state of the world, by learning the way it evolves from historical data. We are relying on recent advances in the field of deep learning and reinforcement learning to learn appropriate...
Show moreThis dissertation presents novel algorithms for vehicle path planning in scenarios where the environment changes. In these dynamic scenarios the path of the vehicle needs to adapt to changes in the real world. In these scenarios, higher performance paths can be achieved if we are able to predict the future state of the world, by learning the way it evolves from historical data. We are relying on recent advances in the field of deep learning and reinforcement learning to learn appropriate world models and path planning behaviors.There are many different practical applications that map to this model. In this dissertation we propose algorithms for two applications that are very different in domain but share important formal similarities: the scheduling of taxi services in a large city and tracking wild animals with an unmanned aerial vehicle.The first application models a centralized taxi dispatch center in a big city. It is a multivariate optimization problem for taxi time scheduling and path planning. The first goal here is to balance the taxi service demand and supply ratio in the city. The second goal is to minimize passenger waiting time and taxi idle driving distance. We design different learning models that capture taxi demand and destination distribution patterns from historical taxi data. The predictions are evaluated with real-world taxi trip records. The predicted taxi demand and destination is used to build a taxi dispatch model. The taxi assignment and re-balance is optimized by solving a Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) problem.The second application concerns animal monitoring using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to search and track wild animals in a large geographic area. We propose two different path planing approaches for the UAV. The first one is based on the UAV controller solving Markov decision process (MDP). The second algorithms relies on the past recorded animal appearances. We designed a learning model that captures animal appearance patterns and predicts the distribution of future animal appearances. We compare the proposed path planning approaches with traditional methods and evaluated them in terms of collected value of information (VoI), message delay and percentage of events collected.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007557, ucf:52606
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007557
- Title
- Three Studies on Cybersecurity Disclosure and Assurance.
- Creator
-
Navarro Velez, Patricia, Sutton, Steven, Robb, Sean, Poziemski, Elizabeth, Wood, David, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This dissertation comprises three experimental studies that explore how management's financial disclosure behavior and security strategies influence the costs associated with cybersecurity breaches. The first study examines the cost of litigation in connection with cybersecurity incidents. The purpose of this study is to determine how the characteristics and content of cybersecurity incidents' disclosure affects jurors' liability assessments. Specifically, this study explores how jurors react...
Show moreThis dissertation comprises three experimental studies that explore how management's financial disclosure behavior and security strategies influence the costs associated with cybersecurity breaches. The first study examines the cost of litigation in connection with cybersecurity incidents. The purpose of this study is to determine how the characteristics and content of cybersecurity incidents' disclosure affects jurors' liability assessments. Specifically, this study explores how jurors react to management timeliness in disclosing the incident and the plausibility of the explanations provided to justify the disclosure strategy. The second and third studies explore the value relevance of cybersecurity risk management (CRM) assurance. In particular, the second study examines whether engagement in voluntary assurance over CRM before the occurrence of an incident affects investors' reactions after the incident, and whether these reactions differ based on whether assurance is expected or not expected based on industry norms. The third study scrutinizes how perceptions of disclosure timeliness affect investor decisions and explores the use of CRM assurance as a potential tool to mitigate the deleterious effects of delayed disclosures of cybersecurity incidents. Overall, the results reported in this dissertation suggest that timely disclosure of a cybersecurity breach reduces liability, improves management credibility assessments, and results in higher valuation judgments. Moreover, the findings reveal that CRM assurance further leads to enhanced management credibility assessments and valuation judgments and that the impact of CRM assurance is particularly beneficial when not necessarily expected for the industry. In combination, these three studies address calls for research exploring the costs of cybersecurity and inform regulators currently engaged in developing both cybersecurity disclosure requirements and voluntary assurance services designed to address stakeholders' information needs regarding companies' cybersecurity activities. These studies also add to the literature and theory documenting the link between disclosure timeliness and litigation risk, and the value of voluntary assurance services.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007689, ucf:52438
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007689
- Title
- Career Decision-Making Patterns of Undecided African-American Male Transfer Students: A Qualitative Approach.
- Creator
-
Daniels, Lavious, Cintron Delgado, Rosa, Owens, James, Boyd, Tammy, Blank, William, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The career development and career decision-making needs of African-American males have generated much inquiry. Two year colleges currently serve as the predominant point of entry for many African-American male students seeking baccalaureate degrees. However, the transition to and eventual success at the four-year institution is often met with challenges. The inability to choose a major that may lead to a desired career has the potential to serve as a barrier for some students. From the lens...
Show moreThe career development and career decision-making needs of African-American males have generated much inquiry. Two year colleges currently serve as the predominant point of entry for many African-American male students seeking baccalaureate degrees. However, the transition to and eventual success at the four-year institution is often met with challenges. The inability to choose a major that may lead to a desired career has the potential to serve as a barrier for some students. From the lens of social cognitive career theory, this qualitative study was conducted to examine the experiences of undecided, African-American male transfer students at a large, four-year metropolitan university. Upon analyzing data from the interviews, themes were developed according to three research questions. Themes that offered insight into major selection process included: (a) choosing a major that offered potential job stability/security, (b) experiences related to academic ability, and (c) experiences with gender relative to career decision-making. Participation in the Direct Connect program was the minor theme found related to experiences encountered in the transfer process that influence major and/or career development. Themes related to the development of career decision-making self-efficacy included: (a) choosing careers believed to be consistent with one's person, (b) indecision while at the community college, (c) engagement in practical experiences, (d) solving problems, (e) meeting with advisors and counselors at the community college, and (e) involvement in extracurricular activities.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFE0004274, ucf:49513
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004274
- Title
- A Posteriori and Interactive Approaches for Decision-Making with Multiple Stochastic Objectives.
- Creator
-
Bakhsh, Ahmed, Geiger, Christopher, Mollaghasemi, Mansooreh, Xanthopoulos, Petros, Wiegand, Rudolf, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Computer simulation is a popular method that is often used as a decision support tool in industry to estimate the performance of systems too complex for analytical solutions. It is a tool that assists decision-makers to improve organizational performance and achieve performance objectives in which simulated conditions can be randomly varied so that critical situations can be investigated without real-world risk. Due to the stochastic nature of many of the input process variables in simulation...
Show moreComputer simulation is a popular method that is often used as a decision support tool in industry to estimate the performance of systems too complex for analytical solutions. It is a tool that assists decision-makers to improve organizational performance and achieve performance objectives in which simulated conditions can be randomly varied so that critical situations can be investigated without real-world risk. Due to the stochastic nature of many of the input process variables in simulation models, the output from the simulation model experiments are random. Thus, experimental runs of computer simulations yield only estimates of the values of performance objectives, where these estimates are themselves random variables.Most real-world decisions involve the simultaneous optimization of multiple, and often conflicting, objectives. Researchers and practitioners use various approaches to solve these multiobjective problems. Many of the approaches that integrate the simulation models with stochastic multiple objective optimization algorithms have been proposed, many of which use the Pareto-based approaches that generate a finite set of compromise, or tradeoff, solutions. Nevertheless, identification of the most preferred solution can be a daunting task to the decision-maker and is an order of magnitude harder in the presence of stochastic objectives. However, to the best of this researcher's knowledge, there has been no focused efforts and existing work that attempts to reduce the number of tradeoff solutions while considering the stochastic nature of a set of objective functions.In this research, two approaches that consider multiple stochastic objectives when reducing the set of the tradeoff solutions are designed and proposed. The first proposed approach is an a posteriori approach, which uses a given set of Pareto optima as input. The second approach is an interactive-based approach that articulates decision-maker preferences during the optimization process. A detailed description of both approaches is given, and computational studies are conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the two approaches. The computational results show the promise of the proposed approaches, in that each approach effectively reduces the set of compromise solutions to a reasonably manageable size for the decision-maker. This is a significant step beyond current applications of decision-making process in the presence of multiple stochastic objectives and should serve as an effective approach to support decision-making under uncertainty.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004973, ucf:49574
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004973
- Title
- Three Studies Examining Accountability in Auditing.
- Creator
-
Donnelly, Amy, Arnold, Vicky, Sutton, Steven, Demek, Kristina, Bedard, Jean, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This is dissertation consists of three studies investigating accountability in auditing. It is aimed at gaining a better understanding of how auditors make decision in the presence of accountability pressure. The first study is a literature review of the experimental audit research on accountability. It provides a conceptual framework for organizing prior research on this topic and offers opportunities for future research. The second study experimentally investigates accountability as a...
Show moreThis is dissertation consists of three studies investigating accountability in auditing. It is aimed at gaining a better understanding of how auditors make decision in the presence of accountability pressure. The first study is a literature review of the experimental audit research on accountability. It provides a conceptual framework for organizing prior research on this topic and offers opportunities for future research. The second study experimentally investigates accountability as a potential mitigating mechanism for the performance declines caused by ego depletion. Auditors are shown to be susceptible to depletion, but research has yet to consider how a natural element of the audit environment, accountability, influences the relationship between depletion and performance. Study three examines how auditors respond to multiple accountability pressures. It considers how a power level difference between two conflicting parties, as well as a variation in justification timing, impact auditors' decisions.Overall, this dissertation contributes to our understanding of accountability in auditing in three distinct ways. It synthesizes prior research to provide insight into what we have learned thus far and where we should go from here in terms of research. It then considers whether accountability mitigates the negative effects of ego depletion, where it finds that depletion actually improves, rather than hinders, auditor performance. Lastly, it provides insight into how auditors make decisions in the presence of multiple accountability pressures. The results suggest that auditors' decisions are affected by a power level difference between accountability sources. Justification timing is also shown to influence auditors' decisions, but not in the manner expected.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2017
- Identifier
- CFE0006587, ucf:51289
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006587
- Title
- The Impact of Public Service Motivation on Reentry Managers' Decision-making Practices.
- Creator
-
Pryor, Marie, Kapucu, Naim, Hu, Qian, Blessett, Brandi, Potter, Roberto, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The goal of this exploratory study is to examine the effects of public service motivation (PSM) in predicting decision-making of criminal justice personnel (reentry managers) in the management of former prisoners. The overarching research question seeks to answer if, and in what way, PSM score influences reentry managers' approach to their work with the formerly incarcerated, who are in transition from prison back into the community. The main assumption of this study is that those reentry...
Show moreThe goal of this exploratory study is to examine the effects of public service motivation (PSM) in predicting decision-making of criminal justice personnel (reentry managers) in the management of former prisoners. The overarching research question seeks to answer if, and in what way, PSM score influences reentry managers' approach to their work with the formerly incarcerated, who are in transition from prison back into the community. The main assumption of this study is that those reentry managers with a higher PSM score will be more inclined to take an assistance oriented approach with former prisoners and be more likely to make rehabilitative decisions than those with lower PSM scores, who will be more inclined to assume a punitive role. This study utilized binomial logistic regression and chi-square analysis to test hypotheses. Survey data was collected over a period of three months in the summer and fall of 2014, and was based upon a national sample of 108 reentry managers whose agencies had received funding from a federal reentry grant. Follow-up interviews were also conducted with nine participants to provide deeper understanding of responses and explain some of the quantitative findings. Overall findings supported the key assumption with the overall sample possessing medium to high PSM scores and a greater frequency of making rehabilitative decisions.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFE0006050, ucf:50973
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006050
- Title
- A Macro-Level Sustainability Assessment Framework for Optimal Distribution of Alternative Passenger Vehicles.
- Creator
-
Onat, Nuri, Tatari, Omer, Nam, Boo Hyun, Oloufa, Amr, Pazour, Jennifer, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Although there are many studies focusing on the environmental impacts of alternative vehicle options, social and economic dimensions and trade-off relationships among all of these impacts were not investigated sufficiently. Moreover, most economic analyses are limited to life cycle cost analyses and do not consider macro-level economic impacts. Therefore, this thesis aims to advance the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment literature and electric vehicle sustainability research by presenting...
Show moreAlthough there are many studies focusing on the environmental impacts of alternative vehicle options, social and economic dimensions and trade-off relationships among all of these impacts were not investigated sufficiently. Moreover, most economic analyses are limited to life cycle cost analyses and do not consider macro-level economic impacts. Therefore, this thesis aims to advance the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment literature and electric vehicle sustainability research by presenting a novel combined application of Multi Criteria Decision Making techniques with Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment for decision analysis. With this motivation in mind, this research will construct a compromise-programming model (multi-objective optimization method) in order to calculate the optimum vehicle distribution in the U.S. passenger car fleet while considering the trade-offs between environmental, economic, and social dimensions of the sustainability. The findings of this research provide important insights for policy makers when developing strategies to estimate optimum vehicle distribution strategies based on various environmental and socio-economic priorities. For instance, compromise programming results can present practical policy conclusions for different states which might have different priorities for environmental impact mitigation and socio-economic development. Therefore, the conceptual framework presented in this work can be applicable for different regions in U.S. and decision makers can generate balanced policy conclusions and recommendations based on their environmental, economic and social constraints. The compromise programming results provide vital guidance for policy makers when optimizing the use of alternative vehicle technologies based on different environmental and socio-economic priorities. This research also effort aims to increase awareness of the inherent benefits of Input-Output based a Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment and multi-criteria optimization.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFE0005858, ucf:50901
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005858
- Title
- What's your focus? The impact of regulatory focus on resource acquisition.
- Creator
-
Stevenson, Regan, Ford, Cameron, Schminke, Marshall, McKenny, Aaron, Short, Jeremy, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Entrepreneurs need resources. Previous research has established that entrepreneurs send signals of (")quality(") to potential resource providers in order to obtain resources. However, a behavioral research approach would contend that resource acquisition depends on much more than venture quality signals. In this dissertation, I extend beyond the signaling paradigm and investigate the resource acquisition process using a framework contingent on entrepreneur signals, resource provider...
Show moreEntrepreneurs need resources. Previous research has established that entrepreneurs send signals of (")quality(") to potential resource providers in order to obtain resources. However, a behavioral research approach would contend that resource acquisition depends on much more than venture quality signals. In this dissertation, I extend beyond the signaling paradigm and investigate the resource acquisition process using a framework contingent on entrepreneur signals, resource provider dispositional differences, and their interactive effects. Specifically, I leverage regulatory focus theory and regulatory fit theory to augment and move beyond the signaling theory approach. Methodologically, I undertake two studies. The first study uses archival field data consisting of a sample of 895 new venture pitches. In each of these pitches, I analyze the displays of promotion and prevention focus sent by entrepreneurs across video and textual narratives. To complete this analysis I develop novel measures of promotion and prevention focus suitable for computer-aided textual analysis (CATA). In the second study, I use a sample of 120 investors and a quasi-experimental approach to assess the moderating role of investor-level promotion and prevention focus on the relationship between entrepreneur displays of promotion and prevention focus and resource acquisition. The findings and their implications are discussed in relation to extant new venture resource acquisition literature and regulatory focus theory.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- Identifier
- CFE0006185, ucf:51139
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006185
- Title
- Explaining State Crisis Behavior Using the Operational Code.
- Creator
-
George, William, Schafer, Mark, Dolan, Thomas, Vasquez, Joseph, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Does the operational code of a state's leadership have an effect on its behavior during foreign policy crises? Specifically, do states with more conflictual operational codes opt for a more conflictual response to crises, or do systemic and structural variables intervene to limit their significance? While the study of individual level psychology in international relations has been gaining momentum, the causal links between beliefs and behavior have yet to be solidified. This study used...
Show moreDoes the operational code of a state's leadership have an effect on its behavior during foreign policy crises? Specifically, do states with more conflictual operational codes opt for a more conflictual response to crises, or do systemic and structural variables intervene to limit their significance? While the study of individual level psychology in international relations has been gaining momentum, the causal links between beliefs and behavior have yet to be solidified. This study used ordered logistic regression across three models to determine the effect of the operational code on state crisis behavior while controlling for key domestic and crisis dimension variables. Predicted probabilities were also used to better demonstrate the variables' substantive effects. The 50 cases used in this research are drawn from the International Crisis Behavior Dataset composed by Brecher and Wilkenfeld, and they focus on the United States as the major crisis actor. Operational code data were derived from computer-based content analysis using the Verbs In Context System (Walker, Schafer, and Young 1998). The theoretical goal of this paper was to explain variance in state crisis behavior through variations in the operational codes of US Presidents. The results demonstrate that the operational codes of leaders do affect state crisis behavior. Specifically, the operational code indices P1 and I1 show that a leader with a more conflictual view of the nature of the political universe and a conflictual direction of strategy is more likely to employ escalatory crisis behavior.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFE0005336, ucf:50528
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005336
- Title
- Leadership Distrust, Need for Power, and the Initiation of Militarized Interstate Disputes.
- Creator
-
Smith, Gary, Schafer, Mark, Dolan, Thomas, Pollock, Philip, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Does a leader's psychology affect his/her likelihood of initiating a militarized interstate dispute? The study of leadership psychology has continuously found support for the central assumption that leaders matter in explaining a state's foreign policy behavior. However, many of these research projects have relied on small-sample case studies and experimental methods that have limited generalizability. In this paper, I use two variables drawn from the research program on leadership trait...
Show moreDoes a leader's psychology affect his/her likelihood of initiating a militarized interstate dispute? The study of leadership psychology has continuously found support for the central assumption that leaders matter in explaining a state's foreign policy behavior. However, many of these research projects have relied on small-sample case studies and experimental methods that have limited generalizability. In this paper, I use two variables drawn from the research program on leadership trait analysis (distrust and need for power) in a multivariate large-n study to explain the initiation of militarized interstate disputes (MIDs). 1,601 cases are drawn from the Correlates of War MID data set. First, using an ANOVA model, I demonstrate that MID initiators have higher average scores for both distrust and need for power and that this difference is statistically significant. Then, using logistic regression, I demonstrate that distrust and need for power have statistically significant positive effects on the likelihood of MID initiation. I conclude by comparing the predicted probabilities of the psychological variables of interest with territorial contiguity. All of these methods demonstrate that the psychological traits of leaders have an important effect on the likelihood of MID initiation.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFE0005418, ucf:50423
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005418
- Title
- Sustainability Assessment of Wind Energy for Buildings.
- Creator
-
Noori, Mehdi, Tatari, Mehmet, Oloufa, Amr, Nam, Boo Hyun, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Due to increasing concerns for global climate change, onshore and offshore wind energy technologies have stimulated a tremendous interest worldwide, and are considered as a viable solution to mitigate the environmental impacts related to electricity generation. Although wind energy technologies have been considered as one of the cleanest energy sources, they have a wide range of direct and indirect environmental impacts when the whole supply chain is considered. This study aims to quantify...
Show moreDue to increasing concerns for global climate change, onshore and offshore wind energy technologies have stimulated a tremendous interest worldwide, and are considered as a viable solution to mitigate the environmental impacts related to electricity generation. Although wind energy technologies have been considered as one of the cleanest energy sources, they have a wide range of direct and indirect environmental impacts when the whole supply chain is considered. This study aims to quantify the direct and indirect environmental impacts of onshore and offshore wind power technologies by tracing all of the economy-wide supply chain requirements. To accomplish this goal, we developed a comprehensive hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) model in which process-based LCA model is combined with the economic input-output (EIO) analysis. The analysis results show that on average, concrete and steel and their supply chains are responsible for 37% and 24% of carbon footprint, consequently. On average, offshore wind turbines produce 48% less greenhouse gas emissions per kWh produced electricity than onshore wind turbines. For the onshore wind turbines, concrete, aggregates, and crushed stone approximately consume 95% of total water in this construction phase. On the other hand, concrete, lead, copper, and aggregate are responsible for around 90% of total water for the offshore wind turbines. It is also found that the more capacity the wind turbine has, the less environmental impact the wind turbine generates per kWh electricity. Moreover, based on the economic and environmental impacts of studied wind turbines and also three more nonrenewable energy sources, this study develops a decision making framework to understand the best energy source mix for a building in the state of Florida. This framework accounts for the uncertainty in the input material by deploying a Monte Carlo simulation approach. The results of decision making framework show that natural gas is a better option among nonrenewable sources. On the other hand, V90-3.0 MW offshore wind turbine is the best source of energy among renewable energy sources for a building.The findings of this research are critical for policy makers to understand the direct and indirect environmental impacts of different onshore and offshore wind energy systems. Also this study furnishes the decision maker with a range of possible energy mixes based on different economic and environmental weights.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0005038, ucf:50017
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005038
- Title
- MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FIT FOR ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE.
- Creator
-
Diaz, Rey, Kotnour, Timothy, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The present study identifies the dimensions and variables using prior research within each of the constructs under the management systems, fit and, organizational strategy, structure, lifecycle and performance. The constructs from the research model were defined with a combination of direct, calculated and coded measures. Context analysis for each case categorized management systems design into either prescriptive or descriptive. The selected performance measures have been extensively...
Show moreThe present study identifies the dimensions and variables using prior research within each of the constructs under the management systems, fit and, organizational strategy, structure, lifecycle and performance. The constructs from the research model were defined with a combination of direct, calculated and coded measures. Context analysis for each case categorized management systems design into either prescriptive or descriptive. The selected performance measures have been extensively investigated in the research fields associated with organizational management. The study uses the multiple case study design with cross-sectional data spanning from 1991 to 2005 and involving 19 aerospace companies in the United States. A priori hypothesized relationships between the constructs were tested with Mann-Whitney procedures for differences between mean ranks associated with organizational performance measures. The results from Mann-Whitney tests suggest that there exist significant differences in organizational performance from fit factors between a management system design and the organization. Present study defined organizational performance measures for analysis in terms of Return on Assets, Return on Equity and Return on Investment. When compared to a prescriptive management system design, a descriptive management system design was associated with higher levels of organizational performance. Cases with a fit state were found to score significantly higher than cases with unfit state suggesting that a correct fit state is associated with higher levels of organizational performance. A fit state was associated with higher levels of performance when each of the organizational factors for strategy, structure and lifecycle were aligned to management system design. Study results suggest equifinality as cases reached a particular fit state with differing combinations of fit factors. The study contributes to the field with interpretation of a fit model and key relationship between management systems and performance providing the base for future research efforts associated with management systems, organizational factors and the fit between them.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- Identifier
- CFE0001574, ucf:47111
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001574
- Title
- TESTING DETERRENCE THEORY WITH OFFENDERS: ASSESSING THE EFFECTS OF PERSONAL AND VICARIOUS EXPERIENCE WITH PUNISHMENT AND PUNISHMENT AVOIDANCE ON INTENTIONS TO REOFFEND.
- Creator
-
Sitren, Alicia, Applegate, Brandon, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Stafford and Warr (1993) reconceptualized general and specific deterrence into a single theory in which individuals' propensities to engage in criminal behavior are based on some combination of personal experiences with being punished and avoiding punishment and vicarious (or indirect) experiences with being punished and avoiding punishment. The researchers make a substantial contribution to the deterrence literature by accounting for the effect of punishment avoidance when assessing...
Show moreStafford and Warr (1993) reconceptualized general and specific deterrence into a single theory in which individuals' propensities to engage in criminal behavior are based on some combination of personal experiences with being punished and avoiding punishment and vicarious (or indirect) experiences with being punished and avoiding punishment. The researchers make a substantial contribution to the deterrence literature by accounting for the effect of punishment avoidance when assessing deterrence theory. Despite the theoretical appeal of this restatement, few studies have tested its empirical merit. The current study tests the applicability of Stafford and Warr's model but also addresses several key limitations that still exist in the deterrence literature. The present study was the first of its kind to directly test Stafford and Warr's (1993) model, blending specific and general deterrence, on an offending population. The majority of perceptual deterrence research examines largely pro-social groups. Evidence suggests that offenders may have unique decision-making processes and may be very different from those typically studied in deterrence research. Identifying the relevant deterrents among non-conventional or offending populations has significant policy implications. Additionally, in order to understand the decision-making process of criminals, this study incorporated alternative sanction forms from a rational choice perspective into the deterrence framework. This is a particularly salient point because non-legal costs may be more influential in criminal decision-making than formal sanctions. By examining the deterrent effects of several other factors (besides the traditional variables studied in deterrence models) among a non-conventional population, findings may suggest methods for designing more effective punishments. Therefore, the present study conducted survey research of high-criminality among an adult sample. This dissertation recruited 326 work release inmates from Orange County, Florida, and asked them to complete a written questionnaire. Results from the bivariate analyses revealed some support for the deterrence doctrine and the rational choice perspective. However, more rigorous tests of these predictions revealed no support for deterrence theory. Even though this study concluded that deterrence alone does not adequately predict future offending, the idea of choice was upheld. The results from this dissertation and from several other studies suggest the need for further analysis of the effect of extralegal sanctions on future criminal activity, especially among non-conventional populations. The current study offers suggestions for effective crime control policies and directions on how future research can clarify the inconsistencies between the theoretical predictions of deterrence theory and empirical reality.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- Identifier
- CFE0001586, ucf:47117
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001586
- Title
- Government Responsiveness in Matters of Racial Sensitivity.
- Creator
-
Carnegie, Vickie, Bryer, Thomas, Knox, Claire, Kapucu, Naim, Burg, Mary Ann, Fine, Terri, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This study assesses factors influencing the responsiveness of government officials in Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina regarding the public display of the Confederate Flag on state grounds in the aftermath of the Charleston, South Carolina shooting. The purpose of this dissertation research is to understand the factors influencing how government officials make decisions during racially/culturally sensitive events. Two research questions frame this study: 1) What factors are relevant...
Show moreThis study assesses factors influencing the responsiveness of government officials in Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina regarding the public display of the Confederate Flag on state grounds in the aftermath of the Charleston, South Carolina shooting. The purpose of this dissertation research is to understand the factors influencing how government officials make decisions during racially/culturally sensitive events. Two research questions frame this study: 1) What factors are relevant to understanding state government officials' decision- making regarding the display of the Confederate Flag on public grounds? 2) Under what conditions of public decision making regarding the Confederate flag is executive authority, vote/referendum, or legislative processes used? Employing grounded theory across newspaper content in Alabama, South Carolina, and Mississippi, 117 articles were examined to provide insight into the research questions. The themes which emerged from this analysis are: 1)Key factors in the decision-making regarding the display of the Confederate Flag on state grounds are: a.The response to a triggering crisis event b.A desire for inclusiveness c.A perception of outside attention or scrutiny d.A concern for the economic well-being of the State e.The political agency of the decision maker 2)Economics, standing law, and political expediency influence decisions of whether executive authority, vote/referendum, or legislative processes are used in decision-making regarding the display of the Confederate Flag on public grounds. This study introduces a detailed model of decision-making for public officials in racially/culturally sensitive matters to navigate the handling of issues with similar schema-forming symbols which can call forth dynamic and polarizing responses. The findings from this research study can be used to foster improved government efforts at responding to matters of a highly charged emotional nature.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- Identifier
- CFE0007439, ucf:52734
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007439
- Title
- AUTOMATIC GENERATION OF SUPPLY CHAIN SIMULATION MODELS FROM SCOR BASED ONTOLOGIES.
- Creator
-
Cope, Dayana, Sepulveda, Jose, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
In today's economy of global markets, supply chain networks, supplier/customer relationship management and intense competition; decision makers are faced with a need to perform decision making using tools that do not accommodate the nature of the changing market. This research focuses on developing a methodology that addresses this need. The developed methodology provides supply chain decision makers with a tool to perform efficient decision making in stochastic, dynamic and distributed...
Show moreIn today's economy of global markets, supply chain networks, supplier/customer relationship management and intense competition; decision makers are faced with a need to perform decision making using tools that do not accommodate the nature of the changing market. This research focuses on developing a methodology that addresses this need. The developed methodology provides supply chain decision makers with a tool to perform efficient decision making in stochastic, dynamic and distributed supply chain environments. The integrated methodology allows for informed decision making in a fast, sharable and easy to use format. The methodology was implemented by developing a stand alone tool that allows users to define a supply chain simulation model using SCOR based ontologies. The ontology includes the supply chain knowledge and the knowledge required to build a simulation model of the supply chain system. A simulation model is generated automatically from the ontology to provide the flexibility to model at various levels of details changing the model structure on the fly. The methodology implementation is demonstrated and evaluated through a retail oriented case study. When comparing the implementation using the developed methodology vs. a "traditional" simulation methodology approach, a significant reduction in definition and execution time was observed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- Identifier
- CFE0002009, ucf:47625
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002009
- Title
- The Moral Reasoning and Moral Decision Making of Urban High-Poverty Elementary School Principals in a Large Urban Southeastern School District.
- Creator
-
Strenth, Robert, Murray, Barbara, Taylor, Rosemarye, Murray, Kenneth, Hayes, Burnice, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The focus of this research was to identify the moral reasoning and moral judgment of elementary school principals who serve in high-poverty schools. The study was undertaken at the request of the client public school district who was attempting to identify characteristics of current elementary principals serving in high-poverty schools. Two research questions guided this study concerning the moral operational level of the principals. The theoretical framework of the study was based on the...
Show moreThe focus of this research was to identify the moral reasoning and moral judgment of elementary school principals who serve in high-poverty schools. The study was undertaken at the request of the client public school district who was attempting to identify characteristics of current elementary principals serving in high-poverty schools. Two research questions guided this study concerning the moral operational level of the principals. The theoretical framework of the study was based on the work of Lawrence Kohlberg and his stages of moral development. Participating principals were administered the Defining Issues Test-2 (DIT-2), a pencil-paper questionnaire that presented five moral dilemmas and a series of statements asking for the participant to rank solutions to the dilemmas. The results indicated that the majority of participants operated from lower levels of moral development, reasoning, and judgment. Participants' scores were matched with their schools' performance grades. There was not an indication that high moral scores and high school performance were linked. This study confirmed the results of an early study conducted by Vitton and Wasonga (2009) and encourages a deeper examination of the results of accountability and principal decision making.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004943, ucf:49609
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004943
