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Title: Eighth-Grade Students Reading Nonfiction Literature on the iPad: An Exploratory Case Study.
Creator: Cardullo, Victoria, Zygouris-Coe, Vassiliki, Wegmann, Susan, Hoffman, Bobby, Wilson, Nance, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The intent of this qualitative research study was to investigate the experiences of eighth-grade readers as they read nonfiction text on an iPad for academic purposes. Analysis of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) calls for close reading requiring readers to interact with the text to create meaning (Fisher, n.d.). With this in mind, the researcher investigated reading strategies students used to support their reading as well as what role the iPad features played in the reading process....
Show moreThe intent of this qualitative research study was to investigate the experiences of eighth-grade readers as they read nonfiction text on an iPad for academic purposes. Analysis of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) calls for close reading requiring readers to interact with the text to create meaning (Fisher, n.d.). With this in mind, the researcher investigated reading strategies students used to support their reading as well as what role the iPad features played in the reading process. Several theoretical perspectives informed the framework for this study: (a) New Literacies theory, (b) transactional theory, (c) constructivist theory, and (d) metacognition theory. These perspectives focused on the reading comprehension strategies students used to facilitate reading comprehension while reading nonfiction text on an e-reader, specifically on an iPad. Data sources for this study included the following: (a) retrospective think alouds; (b) student questionnaire about iPad knowledge and experiences; (c) pre-study student interview; (d) post-study student interview; (e) Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI); (f) student observations; and (g) teacher interview. Pre-selection data for the collective case study participants were used to identify proficient readers who displayed confidence, competency, and control over text. The criteria used for participant selection included (a) reading skills using Lexile Levels, (b) MARSI survey, and (c) iPad use survey to determine prior knowledge of iPad. Three themes emerged in the collective case study that were directly related to the analysis. Students used a combination of (a) reading comprehension strategies, (b) nonfiction features, and (c) iPad features to support their reading of nonfiction on the iPad. Analysis of the data revealed three distinct groups for which recommendations were made: (a) classroom teachers, (b) publishers, and (c) researchers.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0004662, ucf:49884
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004662

Title: Tails in the Wind: An Exploratory Examination of Media Reports on Nonhuman Animals Throughout Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.
Creator: Jagoda, Nathan, Huff-Corzine, Lin, Rivera, Fernando, Grauerholz, Liz, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: On September 20th, 2017, category four Hurricane Maria rattled Puerto Rico, causing extensive damage throughout the island. While the experiences, injuries, and deaths of humans resulting from Hurricane Maria have received both scholarly consideration and large amounts of attention from media sources, one critical area that has been overlooked by many, particularly academics, are the ways in which various media sources have reported on, described and discussed nonhuman animals impacted by the...
Show moreOn September 20th, 2017, category four Hurricane Maria rattled Puerto Rico, causing extensive damage throughout the island. While the experiences, injuries, and deaths of humans resulting from Hurricane Maria have received both scholarly consideration and large amounts of attention from media sources, one critical area that has been overlooked by many, particularly academics, are the ways in which various media sources have reported on, described and discussed nonhuman animals impacted by the storm. This study aimed to address this gap by analyzing media reports of nonhuman animals throughout the days before, during, and after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Mixed method content analysis was conducted on fifty-five media reports found to contain discussion of nonhuman animals and Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, though a majority of the analyses were qualitative in nature. Analyses resulted in the identification of a variety of themes found to be emergent from the data.Themes explored include nonhuman animal abandonment, insufficient shelters, damaged shelters and lack of resources, collaboration between nonhuman animal welfare organizations, spay/neuter practices, positive descriptions of satos, bringing nonhuman animals to the U.S. mainland, a second chance at life for nonhuman animals, and the hierarchical arrangement of nonhuman animals presented within media reports. Results of the study point towards the need for greater planning and resource allocation in regard to nonhuman animals in Puerto Rico both during times of disaster and everyday life. The spay and neuter infrastructure and the animal shelters on the island are especially in need of resources. Additionally, the results indicate that the media sources examined placed their main focus on dogs and cats impacted by the storm, suggesting that these species of nonhuman animals hold a spot towards the top of the American nonhuman animal hierarchical arrangement.
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Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: CFE0007822, ucf:52808
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007822

Title: Digital Citizenship Tools for Cause-Based Campaigns: A Broadened Spectrum of Social Media Engagement and Participation-Scale Methodology.
Creator: Miller, Jennifer, Vie, Stephanie, Scott, Blake, Flammia, Madelyn, St. Amant, Kirk, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Digital Citizenship Tools for Cause-Based Campaigns: A Broadened Spectrum of Social Media Engagement and Participation-Scale Methodology develops and applies two new tools for understanding, measuring, and recursively adjusting small to medium-size social media-based philanthropic campaigns to better foster participation and engagement(-)in other words, democratic digital citizenship. First, a theoretical model is offered broadening current binary conceptions of success and failure or impact...
Show moreDigital Citizenship Tools for Cause-Based Campaigns: A Broadened Spectrum of Social Media Engagement and Participation-Scale Methodology develops and applies two new tools for understanding, measuring, and recursively adjusting small to medium-size social media-based philanthropic campaigns to better foster participation and engagement(-)in other words, democratic digital citizenship. First, a theoretical model is offered broadening current binary conceptions of success and failure or impact of campaigns, situating specific participant actions in social media on a spectrum. Then, from that model, a new methodology is provided to measure participation and engagement generated by campaign posts. Recommendations are also offered for recursively adjusting campaign posts to better foster democratic digital citizenship. These tools were developed from data generated by #TheFaceOffChallenge, a research project representative of a typical small to medium-size cause-based campaign. #TheFaceOffChallenge also serves as a sample for analysis illustrating how to use these tools. While explicating these tools, this dissertation explores a broad range of topics related to better understanding democratic digital citizenship: online philanthropy, awareness, and digital activism; viral and memetic transmission; tensions between consumption and creation of ideas, content, and knowledge; public(s), counterpublics, and counter-efforts; literacies and access for engagement and participation in algorithmic environments; and visual communication and semiotics.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0007227, ucf:52214
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007227

Title: EFFICIENT TECHNIQUES FOR RELEVANCE FEEDBACK PROCESSING IN CONTENT-BASED IMAGE RETRIEVAL.
Creator: Liu, Danzhou, Hua, Kien, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: In content-based image retrieval (CBIR) systems, there are two general types of search: target search and category search. Unlike queries in traditional database systems, users in most cases cannot specify an ideal query to retrieve the desired results for either target search or category search in multimedia database systems, and have to rely on iterative feedback to refine their query. Efficient evaluation of such iterative queries can be a challenge, especially when the multimedia database...
Show moreIn content-based image retrieval (CBIR) systems, there are two general types of search: target search and category search. Unlike queries in traditional database systems, users in most cases cannot specify an ideal query to retrieve the desired results for either target search or category search in multimedia database systems, and have to rely on iterative feedback to refine their query. Efficient evaluation of such iterative queries can be a challenge, especially when the multimedia database contains a large number of entries, and the search needs many iterations, and when the underlying distance measure is computationally expensive. The overall processing costs, including CPU and disk I/O, are further emphasized if there are numerous concurrent accesses. To address these limitations involved in relevance feedback processing, we propose a generic framework, including a query model, index structures, and query optimization techniques. Specifically, this thesis has five main contributions as follows. The first contribution is an efficient target search technique. We propose four target search methods: naive random scan (NRS), local neighboring movement (LNM), neighboring divide-and-conquer (NDC), and global divide-and-conquer (GDC) methods. All these methods are built around a common strategy: they do not retrieve checked images (i.e., shrink the search space). Furthermore, NDC and GDC exploit Voronoi diagrams to aggressively prune the search space and move towards target images. We theoretically and experimentally prove that the convergence speeds of GDC and NDC are much faster than those of NRS and recent methods. The second contribution is a method to reduce the number of expensive distance computation when answering k-NN queries with non-metric distance measures. We propose an efficient distance mapping function that transfers non-metric measures into metric, and still preserves the original distance orderings. Then existing metric index structures (e.g., M-tree) can be used to reduce the computational cost by exploiting the triangular inequality property. The third contribution is an incremental query processing technique for Support Vector Machines (SVMs). SVMs have been widely used in multimedia retrieval to learn a concept in order to find the best matches. SVMs, however, suffer from the scalability problem associated with larger database sizes. To address this limitation, we propose an efficient query evaluation technique by employing incremental update. The proposed technique also takes advantage of a tuned index structure to efficiently prune irrelevant data. As a result, only a small portion of the data set needs to be accessed for query processing. This index structure also provides an inexpensive means to process the set of candidates to evaluate the final query result. This technique can work with different kernel functions and kernel parameters. The fourth contribution is a method to avoid local optimum traps. Existing CBIR systems, designed around query refinement based on relevance feedback, suffer from local optimum traps that may severely impair the overall retrieval performance. We therefore propose a simulated annealing-based approach to address this important issue. When a stuck-at-a-local-optimum occurs, we employ a neighborhood search technique (i.e., simulated annealing) to continue the search for additional matching images, thus escaping from the local optimum. We also propose an index structure to speed up such neighborhood search. Finally, the fifth contribution is a generic framework to support concurrent accesses. We develop new storage and query processing techniques to exploit sequential access and leverage inter-query concurrency to share computation. Our experimental results, based on the Corel dataset, indicate that the proposed optimization can significantly reduce average response time while achieving better precision and recall, and is scalable to support a large user community. This latter performance characteristic is largely neglected in existing systems making them less suitable for large-scale deployment. With the growing interest in Internet-scale image search applications, our framework offers an effective solution to the scalability problem.
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Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002728, ucf:48162
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002728

Title: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF ELITE U.S. NEWSPAPERSÃ‚Â' COVERAGE OF IRAN, 1979 AND 2005.
Creator: Kamal, Melissa, Akita, Kimiko, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study is a quantitative content analysis of the New York Times and Washington Post coverage of Iran during the period surrounding the Ayatollah KhomeiniÃ‚Â's ascension to power in 1979 as well as the period surrounding Mahmoud AhmadinejadÃ‚Â's election in 2005. The results showed that coverage of Iran in the elite American print media as it related to terror was higher in the period after Khomeini came to power and also in the period after...
Show moreThis study is a quantitative content analysis of the New York Times and Washington Post coverage of Iran during the period surrounding the Ayatollah KhomeiniÃ‚Â's ascension to power in 1979 as well as the period surrounding Mahmoud AhmadinejadÃ‚Â's election in 2005. The results showed that coverage of Iran in the elite American print media as it related to terror was higher in the period after Khomeini came to power and also in the period after AhmadinejadÃ‚Â's election than it was in the period immediately preceding their respective ascensions. The results also showed that there was more coverage of Iran as it related to terror in the year surrounding AhmadinejadÃ‚Â's election than there was during the year surrounding Ayatollah KhomeiniÃ‚Â's rise to power in Iran.
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Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: CFE0003077, ucf:48331
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003077

Title: The Impact of User-Generated Interfaces on the Participation of Users with a Disability in Virtual Environments: Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft Model.
Creator: Merritt, Donald, McDaniel, Rudy, Zemliansky, Pavel, Mauer, Barry, Kim, Si Jung, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: When discussing games and the experience of gamers those with disabilities are often overlooked. This has left a gap in our understanding of the experience of players with disabilities in virtual game worlds. However there are examples of players with disabilities being very successful in the virtual world video game World of Warcraft, suggesting that there is an opportunity to study the game for usability insight in creating other virtual world environments. This study surveyed World of...
Show moreWhen discussing games and the experience of gamers those with disabilities are often overlooked. This has left a gap in our understanding of the experience of players with disabilities in virtual game worlds. However there are examples of players with disabilities being very successful in the virtual world video game World of Warcraft, suggesting that there is an opportunity to study the game for usability insight in creating other virtual world environments. This study surveyed World of Warcraft players with disabilities online for insight into how they used interface addons to manage their experience and identity performance in the game. A rubric was also created to study a selection of addons for evidence of the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The study found that World of Warcraft players with disabilities do not use addons more than able-bodied players, but some of the most popular addons do exhibit many or most of the principles of UDL. UDL principles appear to have emerged organically from addon iterations over time. The study concludes by suggesting that the same approach to user-generated content for the game interface taken by the creators of World of Warcraft, as well as high user investment in the environment, can lead to more accessible virtual world learning environments in the future.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005667, ucf:50175
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005667

Title: Exploring Intensive Reading Intervention Teachers' Formal and Practical Knowledge of Beginning Reading Instruction Provided to At-Risk First Grade Readers.
Creator: Cortelyou, Kathryn, Biraimah, Karen, Kelley, Michelle, Beverly, Monifa, Clements, Taylar, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study was designed with two goals in mind. The first goal was to describe the formal and practical knowledge of intensive reading intervention teachers related to beginning reading instruction with at-risk first graders. A second goal was to understand any potential relationships between intensive reading teachers' practical knowledge and formal knowledge. These two goals framed the study's three research questions. To answer these three questions, the study was conducted in two phases....
Show moreThis study was designed with two goals in mind. The first goal was to describe the formal and practical knowledge of intensive reading intervention teachers related to beginning reading instruction with at-risk first graders. A second goal was to understand any potential relationships between intensive reading teachers' practical knowledge and formal knowledge. These two goals framed the study's three research questions. To answer these three questions, the study was conducted in two phases. Phase one included 32 participants, all of whom worked in the role of a K-2 intensive reading intervention teacher. Each of these 32 participants completed a background questionnaire and a paper/pencil Teacher Knowledge Assessment (TKA). The TKA measured participants' formal knowledge of beginning reading concepts. Participants' scores on the TKA were then rank-ordered from lowest to highest to help guide the selection of phase two participants. Eight teachers in all participated in phase two of the study dedicated to the study of teachers' practical knowledge of reading. Participants' practical knowledge of reading was explored through three activities including a semi-structured interview, a concept-mapping activity and a videotaped reading lesson. Data analysis revealed several important findings. Intensive reading intervention teachers in this study's sample differed in their formal knowledge of reading, measured by the TKA, and in their practical knowledge of reading, explored through interviews, concept-maps and reading lessons. The TKA revealed that study participants' held more formal knowledge of concepts related to phonology and phonics and less formal knowledge of concepts related to morphology and syllable types. Related to practical knowledge, data analysis revealed that the teachers in this sample differed in their knowledge of beginning reading with subject-matter knowledge accounting for most of the differences. These gaps in subject-matter knowledge also impacted this sample of teachers' use of instructional strategies and purposes of instruction. Data analysis also revealed insight into the relationships between this sample of teachers' formal and practical reading knowledge. In this sample, intensive reading intervention teachers with more formal knowledge of reading concepts as measured on the TKA demonstrated more evidence of these concepts within their instruction provided to at-risk first grade readers. The participants in this sample who had less formal knowledge of beginning reading as measured by the TKA demonstrated less evidence of these concepts within their instruction provided to at-risk first grade readers. Participants with less formal knowledge did accurately calibrate their knowledge of the concepts tested on the TKA but did not equate the lower scores to their practical knowledge and overall teaching efficacy. The findings from this study added several important contributions to the literature on teacher knowledge and beginning reading instruction. First, the study was unique in its focus on intensive reading intervention teachers, thus contributing new findings related to a specialized group of teachers. Secondly, this study contributed descriptions of teachers' practical knowledge with regards to beginning reading instruction. These descriptions are relatively absent in the current literature on teacher knowledge. Thirdly, the results from this study supported earlier findings in favor of a specialized body of subject-matter knowledge, especially related to beginning reading skills and concepts. Finally, the results contributed insight into the relationships between teachers' formal reading knowledge and practical reading knowledge.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004541, ucf:49260
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004541

Title: AN ACTION RESEARCH STUDY INVOLVING FIFTH-GRADE STUDENTS LEARNING FRACTIONS THROUGH A SITUATIVE PERSPECTIVE WITH STORY PROBLEMS.
Creator: Allen, Colleen, Dixon, Juli, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: ABSTRACT The purpose of this action research study was to investigate the affects of teaching through a situative perspective with story problems on students' understanding of fraction concepts and operations in my fifth-grade mathematics classroom. Students participated in twelve weeks of instruction. Data was collected in the form of pre and post tests, audiotaped and videotaped recordings of instructional sessions, and student work samples. Data analysis revealed that my students...
Show moreABSTRACT The purpose of this action research study was to investigate the affects of teaching through a situative perspective with story problems on students' understanding of fraction concepts and operations in my fifth-grade mathematics classroom. Students participated in twelve weeks of instruction. Data was collected in the form of pre and post tests, audiotaped and videotaped recordings of instructional sessions, and student work samples. Data analysis revealed that my students constructed their own knowledge about various fraction concepts and operations because students engaged in discussions, after solving story problems, that developed, extended and restructured their knowledge. One example of this occurred after students had solved an equal-sharing problem. Two students came up with different answers and another student explained why both answers were equivalent. Student work samples and post test results indicated that the one student's explanation was understood, adopted and extended by all the students in my class. The data also revealed that students' pictures typically represented the context and action of the story problems. For example, subtraction problems dealing with length were usually represented by number lines or horizontal rectangles with crossed-out markings to show the subtraction operation. Throughout this research study, I discovered that my students were capable of learning from each other and solving problems for which they have no preconceived algorithm. I also learned that analyzing students' work and listening to their discussions in ways that focused on their thinking, not their answers, provided me with information about what my students were grasping and not grasping.
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Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: CFE0000538, ucf:46423
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000538

Title: Repro, But Make It Fashion: Discourses on Sex, Sexuality, and Reproduction in Teen Vogue Magazine.
Creator: Londono, Estefany, Carter, Shannon, Armato, Michael, Donley, Amy, Bubriski, Anne, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: There are many possible sources for youth to become educated about sexuality and reproduction, however the media are cited as particularly powerful and prominent sources of information (Jaworski, 2009). Particularly in an era in which abstinence-only messaging dominates sex education, media become a source to which young people turn and where they receive much of their sex-based messaging. Due to backlash over problematic content that perpetuates gender stereotypes and relays harmful messages...
Show moreThere are many possible sources for youth to become educated about sexuality and reproduction, however the media are cited as particularly powerful and prominent sources of information (Jaworski, 2009). Particularly in an era in which abstinence-only messaging dominates sex education, media become a source to which young people turn and where they receive much of their sex-based messaging. Due to backlash over problematic content that perpetuates gender stereotypes and relays harmful messages about sex and sexuality, some magazines, including Teen Vogue, have attempted to shift towards more feminist-minded content (Keller, 2011, Milkie, 2002). This study is a qualitative critical feminist media analysis that examined the framing of sex, sexuality, and reproduction content in a sample of 60 Teen Vogue articles, an online publication that targets adolescents and young adults. The analysis revealed that overall, articles conveyed positive representations of sexuality, advocating for affirming and evidence-based sex education, self-empowerment through knowledge, and comprehensive reproductive healthcare for all. However, contradictory frames of sex stigmatization and a reproductive rights framework that advocates primarily for abortion rights were still highly prevalent in the data. Considering media is a significant component of the sexual socialization of youth, Sex Positive framing of sexuality which prioritizes pleasure, healthy relationships and sexual dynamics, and inclusive and affirmative sex education helps to create new narratives in media concerning how sex is viewed. These messages may have positive impacts by creating healthier sexual scripts and becoming dominant narratives in the future. However, articles in the data also utilized fear-mongering tactics that are notoriously used in abstinence-only sex education. These messages aid in further stigmatizing young people not only for having sex but also for not being informed of the potential associated risks, creating a harmful paradox that may counteract the goals of sexual health and sex positivity. Additionally, reproductive rights and reproductive justice messaging and the presentation of policy updates relevant to young readers has the potential to inform and socialize young people to be better informed about sex and sexuality, which may, in turn, lead to greater sexual empowerment. Such messaging may also empower youth activists in a time of political turmoil, connecting teen readers to what is going on around them, and providing concrete actions they can take to create political change. ?
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Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: CFE0007832, ucf:52815
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007832

Title: UTILIZING EDGE IN IOT AND VIDEO STREAMING APPLICATIONS TO REDUCE BOTTLENECKS IN INTERNET TRAFFIC.
Creator: Akpinar, Kutalmis, Hua, Kien, Zou, Changchun, Turgut, Damla, Wang, Jun, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: There is a large increase in the surge of data over Internet due to the increasing demand on multimedia content. It is estimated that 80% of Internet traffic will be video by 2022, according to a recent study. At the same time, IoT devices on Internet will double the human population. While infrastructure standards on IoT are still nonexistent, enterprise solutions tend to encourage cloud-based solutions, causing an additional surge of data over the Internet. This study proposes solutions to...
Show moreThere is a large increase in the surge of data over Internet due to the increasing demand on multimedia content. It is estimated that 80% of Internet traffic will be video by 2022, according to a recent study. At the same time, IoT devices on Internet will double the human population. While infrastructure standards on IoT are still nonexistent, enterprise solutions tend to encourage cloud-based solutions, causing an additional surge of data over the Internet. This study proposes solutions to bring video traffic and IoT computation back to the edges of the network, so that costly Internet infrastructure upgrades are not necessary. An efficient way to prevent the Internet surge over the network for IoT is to push the application specific computation to the edge of the network, close to where the data is generated, so that large data can be eliminated before being delivered to the cloud. In this study, an event query language and processing environment is provided to process events from various devices. The query processing environment brings the application developers, sensor infrastructure providers and end users together. It uses boolean events as the streaming and processing units. This addresses the device heterogeneity and pushes the data-intense tasks to the edge of network.The second focus of the study is Video-on-Demand applications. A characteristic of VoD traffic is its high redundancy. Due to the demand on popular content, the same video traffic flows through Internet Service Provider's network as overlapping but separate streams. In previous studies on redundancy elimination, overlapping streams are merged into each other in link-level by receiving the packet only for the first stream, and re-using it for the subsequent duplicated streams. In this study, we significantly improve these techniques by introducing a merger-aware routing method.Our final focus is increasing utilization of Content Delivery Network (CDN) servers on the edge of network to reduce the long-distance traffic. The proposed system uses Software Defined Networks (SDN) to route adaptive video streaming clients to the best available CDN servers in terms of network availability. While performing the network assistance, the system does not reveal the video request information to the network provider, thus enabling privacy protection for encrypted streams. The request routing is performed in segment level for adaptive streaming. This enables to re-route the client to the best available CDN without an interruption if network conditions change during the stream.
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Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: CFE0007882, ucf:52774
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007882

Title: The Relationship Between Reading Coaches' Utilization of Data Technology and Teacher Development.
Creator: Behrens, Cherie, Blair, Timothy, Taylor, Rosemarye, Kelley, Michelle, Cartwright, Vickie, Flanigan, Jacquelyn, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The use of technology in assisting educators to use student data in well-devised ways to enhance the instruction received by students is gaining headway and the support of federal dollars across the nation. Since research has not provided insight as to whether or not reading coaches are using data technology tools with teachers, this mixed methods study sought to examine what behavioral intentions reading coaches have in using data technology tools with teachers, what variables may influence...
Show moreThe use of technology in assisting educators to use student data in well-devised ways to enhance the instruction received by students is gaining headway and the support of federal dollars across the nation. Since research has not provided insight as to whether or not reading coaches are using data technology tools with teachers, this mixed methods study sought to examine what behavioral intentions reading coaches have in using data technology tools with teachers, what variables may influence their behavioral intentions, and what trends may emerge in their views about using technology data tools with teachers. A mixed methods approach was deployed via a survey embedded in an email, and data from 61 Florida reading coaches from elementary, middle, and high schools in a large urban school district were examined using an adaptation of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The results showed that collectively all reading coaches have a high level of behavioral intentions towards using a data technology tool with teachers. The study also showed that elementary, middle, and high school reading coaches vary in their degree of behavioral intentions in using a data technology tool based on different variables. Trends in data showed that reading coaches think data technology tools are helpful, but that trainings are needed and that technology tools should be user-friendly. Discussion is provided regarding the implications of the study results for all stakeholders.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004357, ucf:49425
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004357

Title: Hmong Americans in Higher Education: Exploring their Sense of Belongingness and the Concept of the American Dream.
Creator: Daugherty, Janet, Cintron Delgado, Rosa, Owens, J. Thomas, Cox, Thomas, Molina, Olga, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: I conducted this study to examine Hmong American college students' perspectives on sense of belongingness and their idea on the American Dream. The college experience can serve as a precursor to improving the social and economic situation of the Hmong students when aligned with the personal desire to gain upward mobility and motivation to circumvent social and academic inconsistencies.The methodology of the study was designed for one-on-one phenomenological informal interviews with Hmong...
Show moreI conducted this study to examine Hmong American college students' perspectives on sense of belongingness and their idea on the American Dream. The college experience can serve as a precursor to improving the social and economic situation of the Hmong students when aligned with the personal desire to gain upward mobility and motivation to circumvent social and academic inconsistencies.The methodology of the study was designed for one-on-one phenomenological informal interviews with Hmong American college upper-classmen using a two-part interview protocol to elicit demographic and experiential information. Moustakas' approach to the analysis of data provided guidelines to review individual transcripts and to group, remove, cluster, and thematize lived experiences.The findings of this study indicated that Hmong college students: (a) enrolled out of obedience to the parents, especially their fathers, regardless of the educational level of the parents and (b) thrived when authority figures on campus reached out to help their humble situation. . . it not only made them belong to the campus family but it strengthened their self-esteem.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005596, ucf:50250
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005596

Title: A Framework of Critical Success Factors for Business Organizations that Lead to Performance Excellence Based on a Financial and Quality Systems Assessment.
Creator: Francisco, Melissa, Elshennawy, Ahmad, Karwowski, Waldemar, Rabelo, Luis, Xanthopoulos, Petros, Weheba, Gamal, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: One of the most important tasks that business leaders undertake in order to achieve a superior market position is strategic planning. Beyond this obligation, business owners desire to maximize profit and maintain steady growth. In order to do this, resources must be invested in the most efficient way possible in order to achieve performance excellence. Adjusting business operations quickly, however, especially in times of economic uncertainty, is extremely difficult. Business leaders...
Show moreOne of the most important tasks that business leaders undertake in order to achieve a superior market position is strategic planning. Beyond this obligation, business owners desire to maximize profit and maintain steady growth. In order to do this, resources must be invested in the most efficient way possible in order to achieve performance excellence. Adjusting business operations quickly, however, especially in times of economic uncertainty, is extremely difficult. Business leaders therefore need insight into which elements of organizational improvement are most effective in order to strategically invest their resources to achieve superior performance in the most efficient way possible.This research examines the results of companies which have a demonstrated ability to achieve performance excellence as defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. This research examined award-winning applications to determine common input factors, compared the business results of a subset of those award-winners with the overall market for a time-frame of 11 years, and then investigated the profitability, liquidity, debt management, asset management, and per share performance ratios of award-winners compared with their industry peers over 11 years as well.The main focus of this research is to determine whether participation in performance excellence best practices have created value for shareholders and business owners. This objective is achieved through the analysis of performance results of award winning companies. This research demonstrates that the integration of efforts associated with performance excellence is in-fact advantageous.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFE0005331, ucf:50503
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005331

Title: CLAIMS OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY:AN EXAMINATION OF U.S. TELEVISION FOOD COMMERCIALS AND THE ADULT OBESITY ISSUE.
Creator: Delgado, Cristina, DeLorme, Denise, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Obesity is one of the major public health issues in the United States, often regarded as part of a global crisis. Companies invest billions of dollars each year towards television advertising campaigns aimed at convincing audiences how their ground-breaking discovery 'battles the bulge' or somehow offers an increased health benefit. This study examined how advertisers presented health-related claims, including health and nutrient-content claims, in U.S. adult-targeted television food...
Show moreObesity is one of the major public health issues in the United States, often regarded as part of a global crisis. Companies invest billions of dollars each year towards television advertising campaigns aimed at convincing audiences how their ground-breaking discovery 'battles the bulge' or somehow offers an increased health benefit. This study examined how advertisers presented health-related claims, including health and nutrient-content claims, in U.S. adult-targeted television food commercials. The claims were compared to FTC, FDA, and USDA laws, regulations, and recommendations. A content analysis of food advertising was conducted of commercials from major and cable network programs broadcast during prime-time in the first quarter of 2009. The majority of claims match current regulations when compared to Federal references. The results show that Nutrient and Wellness claims were the most frequently cited. The type of benefit, Healthy Eating, emerged almost 3 times more than any other benefit type. This is also similar to those results which suggest advertisers' intentions were to promote overall wellness in their content delivery. As such, the Wellness Approach was identified and conceptualized, leading towards full development of a Wellness Effect theory. Implications and future research opportunities are discussed on both a theoretical and practical level.
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Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002565, ucf:48260
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002565

Title: Uncovering The Sub-Text: Presidents' Emotional Expressions and Major Uses of Force.
Creator: Assaf, Elias, Houghton, David, Kim, Myunghee, Dolan, Thomas, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The global context of decision making continues to adapt in response to international threats. Political psychologists have therefore considered decision making processes regarding major uses of force a key area of interest. Although presidential personality has been widely studied as a mitigating factor in the decision making patterns leading to uses of force, traditional theories have not accounted for the emotions of individuals as they affect political actions and are used to frame public...
Show moreThe global context of decision making continues to adapt in response to international threats. Political psychologists have therefore considered decision making processes regarding major uses of force a key area of interest. Although presidential personality has been widely studied as a mitigating factor in the decision making patterns leading to uses of force, traditional theories have not accounted for the emotions of individuals as they affect political actions and are used to frame public perception of the use of force. This thesis therefore measures expressed emotion and cognitive expressions in the form of expressed aggression, passivity, blame, praise, certainty, realism, and optimism as a means of predicting subsequent major uses of force. Since aggression and blame are precipitated by anger and perceived vulnerability, they are theorized to foreshadow increased uses of force (Gardner and Moore 2008). Conversely, passivity and praise are indicative of empathy and joy respectively, and are not expected to precede aggressive behavior conducted to maintain emotional regulation (Roberton, Daffer, and Bucks 2012). Additionally, the three cognitive variables of interest expand on existing literature on beliefs and decision making expounded by such authors as Walker (2010), Winter (2003) and Hermann (2003). DICTION 6.0 is used to analyze all text data of presidential news conferences, candidate debates, and State of the Union speeches given between 1945 and 2000 stored by The American Presidency Project (Hart and Carroll 2012). Howell and Pevehouse's (2005) quantitative assessment of quarterly U.S. uses of force between 1945 and 2000 is employed as a means of quantifying instances of major uses of force. Results show systematic differences among the traits expressed by presidents, with most expressions staying consistent across spontaneous speech contexts. Additionally, State of the Union speeches consistently yielded the highest scores across the expressed traits measured; supporting the theory that prepared speech is used to emotionally frame situations and setup emotional interpretations of events to present to the public. Time sensitive regression analyses indicate that expressed aggression within the context of State of the Union Addresses is the only significant predictor of major uses of force by the administration. That being said, other studies may use the comparative findings presented herein to further establish a robust model of personality that accounts for individual dispositions toward emotional expression as a means of framing the emotional interpretation of events by audiences.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFE0005300, ucf:50513
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005300

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