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- Title
- EINO: AN INTELLIGENT TUTOR FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA INFINITY WEB APPLETS.
- Creator
-
Hollister, James, Richie, Samuel, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This study investigated the various methods involved in creating an intelligent tutor for the University of Central Florida Infinity Web Applets (UCF Infinity Web Applets). After conducting research into various methods, two major methods emerged and they are: solving the problem for the student and helping the student when they become stymied and unable to solve the problem. A storyboard was created to show the interactions of the student and system along with a list of features that were...
Show moreThis study investigated the various methods involved in creating an intelligent tutor for the University of Central Florida Infinity Web Applets (UCF Infinity Web Applets). After conducting research into various methods, two major methods emerged and they are: solving the problem for the student and helping the student when they become stymied and unable to solve the problem. A storyboard was created to show the interactions of the student and system along with a list of features that were desired to be included in the tutoring system. From the storyboard and list of features, an architecture was created to handle all of the interactions and features. After the initial architecture was designed, the development of the actual system was started. The architecture underwent a multitude of changes to conclude with a working system, EINO. The final architecture of EINO incorporated a case based reasoning system to perform pattern recognition on the student's input into the UCF Infinity Web Applets. The interface that the student interacts with was created using flash. EINO was implemented in three of the labs from the UCF Infinity Web Applets. A series of tests were performed on the EINO tutoring system to prove that the system could actually perform each and every one of the features listed initially. The final test was a simulation of how the EINO would perform under a set of given cases. Test subjects with the same educational level as the target group were chosen to spend an unlimited time using each of the three labs. Each of the test subjects filled out a survey on every lab to determine if the EINO system produced a helpful output.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- Identifier
- CFE0001762, ucf:47275
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001762
- Title
- EFFECTS OF A MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM RICH IN SPATIAL REASONING ACTIVITIES ON FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS' ABILITIES TO SPATIALLY REASON: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT.
- Creator
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Varn, Theresa, Dixon, Juli, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to describe the effect of a curriculum rich in spatial reasoning activities and experiences on the ability of my fifth grade students to spatially reason. The study was conducted to examine 1) the effects of my practice of incorporating spatial reasoning lessons and activities in my fifth-grade mathematics classroom on the students' ability to spatially reason and 2) the effects of my practice of incorporating spatial reasoning lessons and activities on...
Show moreABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to describe the effect of a curriculum rich in spatial reasoning activities and experiences on the ability of my fifth grade students to spatially reason. The study was conducted to examine 1) the effects of my practice of incorporating spatial reasoning lessons and activities in my fifth-grade mathematics classroom on the students' ability to spatially reason and 2) the effects of my practice of incorporating spatial reasoning lessons and activities on my students' ability to problem solve. Data were collected over a ten-week period through the use of student interviews, anecdotal records, photos of student work, student journals, pre- and posttests and a post-study survey. In this study, students demonstrated a statistically significant increase on all pre- and posttests. The student interviews, anecdotal records, photos of student work, and student journals all revealed spatial reasoning was used in mathematics problem solving. The study suggests that spatial reasoning can be taught and spatial reasoning skills can be used in problem solving.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- Identifier
- CFE0000351, ucf:46295
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000351
- Title
- It's a Conspiracy: Motivated Reasoning and Conspiracy Ideation in the Rejection of Climate Change.
- Creator
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Wycha, Nikilaus, Anthony, Amanda, Carter, Shannon, Gay, David, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
A large disconnect exists between the general public's acceptance of human-caused climate change and the prevailing consensus of actively publishing scientists. Previous research has examined both political and economic motivated reasoning, media influence in print and television, conspiracy ideation as a predictor of science rejection, and the role of the social construction of scientific knowledge in science rejection. Using these previously studied justifications for climate change...
Show moreA large disconnect exists between the general public's acceptance of human-caused climate change and the prevailing consensus of actively publishing scientists. Previous research has examined both political and economic motivated reasoning, media influence in print and television, conspiracy ideation as a predictor of science rejection, and the role of the social construction of scientific knowledge in science rejection. Using these previously studied justifications for climate change rejection as a starting point, this research examines 212 written responses to a prompt at Climate Etc. asking the community to explain their acceptance / rejection of climate change. Using a textual content analysis, this study finds that media choice, motivated reasoning, conspiracy ideation, and the scientific construction of knowledge all play important roles in explanations for climate science rejection. Work and educational background, as well as a reframing of the scientific consensus as a "religion," add new analytical perspectives to the motivated reasoning explanations offered in prior research. This analysis also finds that the explanations for climate science denial given by respondents are often complex, falling into two or more of the explanation types suggesting that science rejection may be a more complex social process than previously thought.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFE0005909, ucf:50862
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005909
- Title
- Using Case-Based Reasoning for Simulation Modeling in Healthcare.
- Creator
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Alshareef, Khaled, Rabelo, Luis, Elshennawy, Ahmad, Lee, Gene, Rahal, Ahmad, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The healthcare system is always defined as a complex system. At its core, it is a system composed of people and processes and requires performance of different tasks and duties. This complexity means that the healthcare system has many stakeholders with different interests, resulting in the emergence of many problems such as increasing healthcare costs, limited resources and low utilization, limited facilities and workforce, and poor quality of services.The use of simulation techniques to aid...
Show moreThe healthcare system is always defined as a complex system. At its core, it is a system composed of people and processes and requires performance of different tasks and duties. This complexity means that the healthcare system has many stakeholders with different interests, resulting in the emergence of many problems such as increasing healthcare costs, limited resources and low utilization, limited facilities and workforce, and poor quality of services.The use of simulation techniques to aid in solving healthcare problems is not new, but it has increased in recent years. This application faces many challenges, including a lack of real data, complicated healthcare decision making processes, low stakeholder involvement, and the working environment in the healthcare field.The objective of this research is to study the utilization of case-based reasoning in simulation modeling in the healthcare sector. This utilization would increase the involvement of stakeholders in the analysis process of the simulation modeling. This involvement would help in reducing the time needed to build the simulation model and facilitate the implementation of results and recommendations. The use of case-based reasoning will minimize the required efforts by automating the process of finding solutions. This automation uses the knowledge in the previously solved problems to develop new solutions. Thus, people could utilize the simulation modeling with little knowledge about simulation and the working environment in the healthcare field.In this study, a number of simulation cases from the healthcare field have been collected to develop the case-base. After that, an indexing system was created to store these cases in the case-base. This system defined a set of attributes for each simulation case. After that, two retrieval approaches were used as retrieval engines. These approaches are K nearest neighbors and induction tree. The validation procedure started by selecting a case study from the healthcare literature and implementing the proposed method in this study. Finally, healthcare experts were consulted to validate the results of this study.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- Identifier
- CFE0006831, ucf:51769
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006831
- Title
- COLLABORATIVE CONTEXT-BASED REASONING.
- Creator
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Barrett, Gilbert, Gonzalez, Avelino, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This dissertation explores modeling collaborative behavior, based on Joint Intentions Theory (JIT), in Context-Based Reasoning (CxBR). Context-Based Reasoning is one of several contextual reasoning paradigms. And, Joint Intentions Theory is the definitive semantic framework for collaborative behaviors. In order to formalize collaborative behaviors in CxBR based on JIT, CxBR is first described in terms of the more popular Belief, Desire, and Intention (BDI) model. Once this description is...
Show moreThis dissertation explores modeling collaborative behavior, based on Joint Intentions Theory (JIT), in Context-Based Reasoning (CxBR). Context-Based Reasoning is one of several contextual reasoning paradigms. And, Joint Intentions Theory is the definitive semantic framework for collaborative behaviors. In order to formalize collaborative behaviors in CxBR based on JIT, CxBR is first described in terms of the more popular Belief, Desire, and Intention (BDI) model. Once this description is established JIT is used as a basis for the formalism for collaborative behavior in CxBR. The hypothesis of this dissertation is that this formalism allows for effective collaborative behaviors in CxBR. Additionally, it is also hypothesized that CxBR agents inferring intention from explicitly communicating Contexts allows for more efficient modeling of collaborative behaviors than inferring intention from situational awareness. Four prototypes are built and evaluated to test the hypothesis and the evaluations are favorable. Effective collaboration is demonstrated through cognitive task analysis and through metrics based on JIT definitions. Efficiency is shown through software metric evaluations for volume and complexity of code.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- Identifier
- CFE0001667, ucf:47198
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001667
- Title
- AUTOMATED SCENARIO GENERATION SYSTEM IN A SIMULATION.
- Creator
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Tomizawa, Hajime, Gonzalez, Avelino, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Developing training scenarios that induce a trainee to utilize specific skills is one of the facets of simulation-based training that requires significant effort. Simulation-based training systems have become more complex in recent years. Because of this added complexity, the amount of effort required to generate and maintain training scenarios has increased. This thesis describes an investigation into automating the scenario generation process. The Automated Scenario Generation System (ASGS)...
Show moreDeveloping training scenarios that induce a trainee to utilize specific skills is one of the facets of simulation-based training that requires significant effort. Simulation-based training systems have become more complex in recent years. Because of this added complexity, the amount of effort required to generate and maintain training scenarios has increased. This thesis describes an investigation into automating the scenario generation process. The Automated Scenario Generation System (ASGS) generates expected action flow as contexts in chronological order from several events and tasks with estimated time for the entire training mission. When the training objectives and conditions are defined, the ASGS will automatically generate a scenario, with some randomization to ensure no two equivalent scenarios are identical. This makes it possible to train different groups of trainees sequentially who may have the same level or training objectives without using a single scenario repeatedly. The thesis describes the prototype ASGS and the evaluation results are described and discussed. SVSTM Desktop is used as the development infrastructure for ASGS as prototype training system.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- Identifier
- CFE0001336, ucf:47002
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001336
- Title
- Three Studies Examining the Potential for Relational Reasoning to Enhance Expertise in Complex Audit Domains.
- Creator
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Holt, Matthew, Sutton, Steven, Arnold, Vicky, Roberts, Robin, Dillard, Jesse, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This dissertation consists of three studies that explore the potential for relational reasoning to advance research on the facilitation of expertise in complex audit domains. Study One seeks to explicate the potential that theory and methods from relational reasoning and associated research have to advance the audit expertise research stream. The implications for future research on facilitating auditing expertise are discussed in synchrony with future research questions, including whether or...
Show moreThis dissertation consists of three studies that explore the potential for relational reasoning to advance research on the facilitation of expertise in complex audit domains. Study One seeks to explicate the potential that theory and methods from relational reasoning and associated research have to advance the audit expertise research stream. The implications for future research on facilitating auditing expertise are discussed in synchrony with future research questions, including whether or not such strategies will be effective in domains with more than minor relational complexity. Studies Two and Three experimentally examine the use of metacognitive skills intended to enhance relational knowledge, which is considered to be a fundamental component of domain expertise. Study Two investigates the effects of alternate forms of prompting for analogical comparison and Study Three explores the impact of combining analogical comparison with direct instruction on discerning the relational structure of a domain. The results of Study Two do not support the expected positive effects of the analogical comparison interventions. Implementation of effective interventions to prompt the comparison requires further research. Additionally, the results of Study Three do not support the hypotheses, by conventional standards. However, there is some evidence of positive effects associated with the analogical comparison intervention. This dissertation contributes to the literature on audit expertise by describing how relational reasoning can play a role in advancing research in this stream and by providing some preliminary information regarding the effectiveness of specific implementations aimed at enhancing relational knowledge.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- Identifier
- CFE0007192, ucf:52265
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007192
- Title
- EVOLVING MODELS FROM OBSERVED HUMAN PERFORMANCE.
- Creator
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Fernlund, Hans Karl Gustav, Gonzalez, Avelino J., University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
To create a realistic environment, many simulations require simulated agents with human behavior patterns. Manually creating such agents with realistic behavior is often a tedious and time-consuming task. This dissertation describes a new approach that automatically builds human behavior models for simulated agents by observing human performance. The research described in this dissertation synergistically combines Context-Based Reasoning, a paradigm especially developed to model tactical...
Show moreTo create a realistic environment, many simulations require simulated agents with human behavior patterns. Manually creating such agents with realistic behavior is often a tedious and time-consuming task. This dissertation describes a new approach that automatically builds human behavior models for simulated agents by observing human performance. The research described in this dissertation synergistically combines Context-Based Reasoning, a paradigm especially developed to model tactical human performance within simulated agents, with Genetic Programming, a machine learning algorithm to construct the behavior knowledge in accordance to the paradigm. This synergistic combination of well-documented AI methodologies has resulted in a new algorithm that effectively and automatically builds simulated agents with human behavior. This algorithm was tested extensively with five different simulated agents created by observing the performance of five humans driving an automobile simulator. The agents show not only the ability/capability to automatically learn and generalize the behavior of the human observed, but they also capture some of the personal behavior patterns observed among the five humans. Furthermore, the agents exhibited a performance that was at least as good as agents developed manually by a knowledgeable engineer.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2004
- Identifier
- CFE0000013, ucf:46068
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000013
- Title
- THE EFFECT OF NUTRITION KNOWLEDGE ON FOOD CHOICES AND BODY MASS INDEX PERCENTILE RANKINGS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN: RESULTS FROM AN IN-SCHOOL NUTRITION EDUCATION PROGRAM.
- Creator
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Ellis, Nancy, Abel, Eileen, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The prevalence of overweight and obese children has increased dramatically in the United States over the past 20 years and is a symptom of multiple systemic and cultural changes that have significantly influenced alterations in energy intake, energy expenditures, and the energy balance of children across the nation. School-based obesity prevention programs addressing nutrition and healthy eating behaviors within the school environment and cultural context provide a unique opportunity to...
Show moreThe prevalence of overweight and obese children has increased dramatically in the United States over the past 20 years and is a symptom of multiple systemic and cultural changes that have significantly influenced alterations in energy intake, energy expenditures, and the energy balance of children across the nation. School-based obesity prevention programs addressing nutrition and healthy eating behaviors within the school environment and cultural context provide a unique opportunity to educate and engage students in healthy food consumption practices. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a three-year elementary school nutrition education program for students in grades kindergarten through fifth using a longitudinal analysis of two separate data sets, a nutrition skills behavior assessment survey of self-reported eating behaviors, and body mass index (BMI) scores derived from height and weight measurements of program participants. Nutrition survey results indicated that students reported making healthier food choices from August 2001 to November 2004, with a significant decrease in reported consumption of fats/oils/sweets and significant increases in reported consumption of milk, meat, vegetables, fruit and grains. BMI results indicated a 7.8% decline in the percentage of students in the "overweight" and "at-risk for overweight" categories between August 2001 and October 2004. The combined results of both measures indicate that the nutrition education program appeared to positively affect eating behaviors and body mass index percentages. Implications of the study and strategies for further research are proposed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- Identifier
- CFE0001745, ucf:47311
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001745
- Title
- THE BAY OF PIGS INVASIONA CASE STUDY IN FOREIGN POLICY DECISION-MAKING.
- Creator
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Murgado, Amaury, Houghton, David Patrick, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Policy makers have long recognized the importance of considering past experience, history, and the use of Analogical reasoning when making policy decisions. When elite political actors face foreign policy crises, they often use their past experience, refer to history, and use Analogical reasoning to help them frame their decisions. In the case of the ill-fated invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs, the use of Analogical reasoning revolving around past covert successes may have created an...
Show morePolicy makers have long recognized the importance of considering past experience, history, and the use of Analogical reasoning when making policy decisions. When elite political actors face foreign policy crises, they often use their past experience, refer to history, and use Analogical reasoning to help them frame their decisions. In the case of the ill-fated invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs, the use of Analogical reasoning revolving around past covert successes may have created an environment for faulty foreign policy decision-making. Former members of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) filled the ranks of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and held key positions within the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations. OSS success with guerrilla warfare, sabotage, and intelligence gathering during World War II, coupled with early CIA covert successes (specifically in Guatemala), may have led President Kennedy to make the wrong policy decisions with regard to dealing with Fidel Castro and Cuba. This research explores the use of Analogical reasoning during the decision-making process by way of process-tracing. Process-tracing attempts to identify the intervening processes between an independent variable (or variables) and the outcome of the dependent variable. We look at six critical junctures and compare how Groupthink, the Bureaucratic Politics Model, and Analogical reasoning approaches help explain any causal mechanisms. The findings suggest that Analogical reasoning may have played a more significant role in President Kennedy's final decision to invade Cuba than previously thought. The findings further suggest that by using the Analogical reasoning approach, our understanding of President Kennedy's foreign policy in Cuba is enhanced when compared to the Groupthink and Bureaucratic Politics Model approaches emphasized in past research.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- Identifier
- CFE0002522, ucf:47636
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002522
- Title
- REASON LEADS: A RECONCILIATION IN ETHICS.
- Creator
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Oldham, Stephen, Stanlick, Nancy, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The use of reason appears to lead to divergent conclusions for what is right and what is good in human action. While reason is a central feature in ethical theory, there is a problem when that central feature does not lead to consistent conclusions about how to act in a given situation. Several philosophers have attempted to combine previous moral theories in order to provide a better template for human action. I contend that the use of reason is of vital import when determining the...
Show moreThe use of reason appears to lead to divergent conclusions for what is right and what is good in human action. While reason is a central feature in ethical theory, there is a problem when that central feature does not lead to consistent conclusions about how to act in a given situation. Several philosophers have attempted to combine previous moral theories in order to provide a better template for human action. I contend that the use of reason is of vital import when determining the foundation for moral action and that moral theories, to be consistent with reason, should incorporate aspects of both non-consequentialist and consequentialist ethical theories. I argue that there is a unifying foundation presupposed by the moral theories of both Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill. Through the use of reason the theories of Kant and Mill can be reconciled to show that these theories can be combined when understanding the basic foundation that they share.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFH0004488, ucf:45080
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004488
- Title
- Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Policies and Youth Tobacco Use in Florida Public Schools.
- Creator
-
Terry, Amanda, Zhang, Ning, Martin, Lawrence, Gammonley, Denise, Delnevo, Cristine, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and premature death in the United States. In 2014, an estimated 16.8% of adults were current cigarette smokers, and 9.2% of high school students smoked cigarettes. Nearly 90% of smokers developed their habit as teenagers, and students' tobacco use in high school influences their behaviors later in adulthood. Smoking behaviors appear to be inseparable from the social environment, physical environment, small social groups, and cognitive...
Show moreTobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and premature death in the United States. In 2014, an estimated 16.8% of adults were current cigarette smokers, and 9.2% of high school students smoked cigarettes. Nearly 90% of smokers developed their habit as teenagers, and students' tobacco use in high school influences their behaviors later in adulthood. Smoking behaviors appear to be inseparable from the social environment, physical environment, small social groups, and cognitive and affective processes. Preventive strategies, such as advertising bans, clean indoor air laws, education programs, increased taxes, labeling limitations, mass-media campaigns, and youth access regulations, have been commonly used to prevent and reduce youth tobacco use nationwide. In Florida, local public school districts were authorized to develop new tobacco-free school policies through an amendment to the Florida Clean Indoor Air Act in June 2011. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the recently implemented smoking cessation policies, as well as individual-level factors and interpersonal-level factors, on youth tobacco use in Florida public schools. This study employed a pooled cross-sectional design with data for high school students from the Florida Youth Tobacco Survey (FYTS) in 2010 (n=37,797) and 2014 (n=32,930). It was guided by a theoretical framework based on the reasoned action approach and the social ecological model. Hierarchical logistic regression was used to analyze the data. The four models were binary logistic regression for cigarette use, multinomial logistic regression for cigarette use, binary logistic regression for cigar use, and multinomial logistic regression for cigar use. The results of this study support the importance of the individual-level constructs of background factors, behavioral beliefs, and control beliefs, the interpersonal-level construct of normative beliefs, and the policy-level construct of actual behavioral control when applied to youth tobacco use. These findings led to a better understanding of which policies, environments, and cognitions contribute to preventing and reducing teenage tobacco use, which is imperative in controlling the risks related to smoking and improving youth health. Now that the individual-level factors, interpersonal-level factors, and policy-level factors that contribute to youth tobacco use were recognized, preventative and therapeutic programs and interventions can be suggested and improved. This study provided evidence-based knowledge for improving public policies and interventional strategies towards smoking prevention and cessation for youth.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- Identifier
- CFE0006188, ucf:51128
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006188
- Title
- An Empirical Evaluation of an Instrument to Determine the Relationship Between Second-Year Medical Students' Perceptions of NERVE VP Design Effectiveness and Students' Ability to Learn and Transfer Skills from NERVE.
- Creator
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Reyes, Ramsamooj, Hirumi, Atsusi, Sivo, Stephen, Campbell, Laurie, Cendan, Juan, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Meta-analyses and systematic reviews of literature comparing the use of virtual patients (VPs) to traditional educational methods support the efficacy of VPs (Cook, Erwin, (&) Triola, 2010; Cook (&) Triola, 2009; McGaghie, Issenberg, Cohen, Barsuk, (&) Wayne, 2011). However, VP design research has produced a variety of design features (Bateman, Allen, Samani, Kidd, (&) Davies, 2013; Botezatu, Hult, (&) Fors, 2010a; Huwendiek (&) De Leng, 2010), frameworks (Huwendiek et al., 2009b) and...
Show moreMeta-analyses and systematic reviews of literature comparing the use of virtual patients (VPs) to traditional educational methods support the efficacy of VPs (Cook, Erwin, (&) Triola, 2010; Cook (&) Triola, 2009; McGaghie, Issenberg, Cohen, Barsuk, (&) Wayne, 2011). However, VP design research has produced a variety of design features (Bateman, Allen, Samani, Kidd, (&) Davies, 2013; Botezatu, Hult, (&) Fors, 2010a; Huwendiek (&) De Leng, 2010), frameworks (Huwendiek et al., 2009b) and principles (Huwendiek et al., 2009a) that are similar in nature, but appear to lack consensus. Consequently, researchers are not sure which VP design principles to apply and few validated guidelines are available. To address this situation, Huwendiek et al. (2014) validated an instrument to evaluate the design of VP simulations that focuses on fostering clinical reasoning. This dissertation examines the predictive validity of one instrument proposed by Huwendiek et al. (2014) that examines VP design features. Empirical research provides evidence for the reliability and validity of the VP design effectiveness measure. However, the relationship between the design features evaluated by the instrument to criterion-referenced measures of student learning and performance remains to be examined. This study examines the predictive validity of Huwendiek et al.'s (2014) VP design effectiveness measurement instrument by determining if the design factors evaluated by the instrument are correlated to medical students' performance in: (a) quizzes and VP cases embedded in Neurological Examination Rehearsal Virtual Environment (NERVE), and (b) NERVE-assisted virtual patient/standardized patient (VP/SP) differential diagnosis and SP checklists. It was hypothesized that students' perceptions of effectiveness of NERVE VP design are significantly correlated to the achievement of higher student learning and transfer outcomes in NERVE.The confirmatory factor analyses revealed the effectiveness of NERVE VP design was significantly correlated to student learning and transfer. Significant correlations were found between key design features evaluated by the instrument and students' performance on quizzes and VP cases embedded in NERVE. In addition, significant correlations were found between the NERVE VP design factors evaluated by Huwendiek et al.'s (2014) instrument and students' performance in SP checklists. Findings provided empirical evidence supporting the reliability and predictive validity of Huwendiek et al.'s (2014) instrument.Future research should examine additional sources of validity for Huwendiek et al.'s (2014) VP design effectiveness instrument using larger samples and from other socio-cultural backgrounds and continue to examine the predictive validity of Huwendiek et al.'s (2014) instrument at Level 2 (Learning) and Level 3 (Application) of Kirkpatrick's (1975) four-level model of training evaluation.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- Identifier
- CFE0006166, ucf:51150
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006166
- Title
- The conceptual field of proportional reasoning researched through the lived experiences of nurses.
- Creator
-
Deichert, Deana, Dixon, Juli, Haciomeroglu, Erhan, Andreasen, Janet, Hunt, Debra, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Proportional reasoning instruction is prevalent in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schooling. The concept of proportional reasoning is used in a variety of contexts for solving real-world problems. One of these contexts is the solving of dosage calculation proportional problems in the healthcare field. On the job, nurses perform drug dosage calculations which carry fatal consequences. As a result, nursing students are required to meet minimum competencies in solving proportion...
Show moreProportional reasoning instruction is prevalent in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schooling. The concept of proportional reasoning is used in a variety of contexts for solving real-world problems. One of these contexts is the solving of dosage calculation proportional problems in the healthcare field. On the job, nurses perform drug dosage calculations which carry fatal consequences. As a result, nursing students are required to meet minimum competencies in solving proportion problems. The goal of this research is to describe the lived experiences of nurses in connection to their use of proportional reasoning in order to impact instruction of the procedures used to solve these problems. The research begins by clarifying and defining the conceptual field of proportional reasoning. Utilizing Vergnaud's theory of conceptual fields and synthesizing the differing organizational frameworks used in the literature on proportional reasoning, the concept is organized and explicated into three components: concepts, procedures, and situations. Through the lens of this organizational structure, data from 44 registered nurses who completed a dosage calculation proportion survey were analyzed and connected to the framework of the conceptual field of proportional reasoning. Four nurses were chosen as a focus of in-depth study based upon their procedural strategies and ability to vividly describe their experiences. These qualitative results are synthesized to describe the lived experiences of nurses related to their education and use of proportional reasoning.Procedural strategies that are supported by textbooks, instruction, and practice are developed and defined. Descriptive statistics show the distribution of procedures used by nurses on a five question dosage calculation survey. The most common procedures used are the nursing formula, cross products, and dimensional analysis. These procedures correspond to the predominate procedures found in nursing dosage calculation texts. Instructional implications focus on the transition between elementary and secondary multiplicative structures, the confusion between equality and proportionality, and the difficulty that like quantities present in dealing with proportions.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFE0005781, ucf:50058
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005781
- Title
- Reasoning Tradeoffs in Implicit Invocation and Aspect Oriented Languages.
- Creator
-
Sanchez Salazar, Jose, Leavens, Gary, Turgut, Damla, Jha, Sumit, Martin, Heath, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
To reason about a program means to state or conclude, by logical means, some properties the program exhibits; like its correctness according to certain expected behavior. The continuous need for more ambitious, more complex, and more dependable software systems demands for better mechanisms to modularize them and reason about their correctness. The reasoning process is affected by the design decisions made by the developer of the program and by the features supported by the programming...
Show moreTo reason about a program means to state or conclude, by logical means, some properties the program exhibits; like its correctness according to certain expected behavior. The continuous need for more ambitious, more complex, and more dependable software systems demands for better mechanisms to modularize them and reason about their correctness. The reasoning process is affected by the design decisions made by the developer of the program and by the features supported by the programming language used. Beyond Object Orientation, Implicit Invocation and Aspect Oriented languages pose very hard reasoning challenges. Important tradeoffs must be considered while reasoning about a program: modular vs. non-modular reasoning, case-by-case analysis vs. abstraction, explicitness vs. implicitness; are some of them. By deciding a series of tradeoffs one can configure a reasoning scenario. For example if one decides for modular reasoning and explicit invocation a well-known object oriented reasoning scenario can be used.This dissertation identifies various important tradeoffs faced when reasoning about implicit invocation and aspect oriented programs, characterize scenarios derived from making choices regarding these tradeoffs, and provides sound proof rules for verification of programs covered by all these scenarios. Guidance for program developers and language designers is also given, so that reasoning about these types of programs becomes more tractable.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFE0005706, ucf:50133
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005706
- 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
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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
- Title
- TEACHING AND ASSESSING CRITICAL THINKING IN RADIOLOGIC TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS.
- Creator
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Gosnell, Susan, Biraimah, Karen, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The purpose of this study was primarily to explore the conceptualization of critical thinking development in radiologic science students by radiography program directors. Seven research questions framed three overriding themes including 1) perceived definition of and skills associated with critical thinking; 2) effectiveness and utilization of teaching strategies for the development of critical thinking; and 3) appropriateness and utilization of specific assessment measures for documenting...
Show moreThe purpose of this study was primarily to explore the conceptualization of critical thinking development in radiologic science students by radiography program directors. Seven research questions framed three overriding themes including 1) perceived definition of and skills associated with critical thinking; 2) effectiveness and utilization of teaching strategies for the development of critical thinking; and 3) appropriateness and utilization of specific assessment measures for documenting critical thinking development. The population for this study included program directors for all JRCERT accredited radiography programs in the United States. Questionnaires were distributed via Survey Monkey©, a commercial on-line survey tool to 620 programs. A forty-seven percent (n = 295) response rate was achieved and included good representation from each of the three recognized program levels (AS, BS and certificate). Statistical analyses performed on the collected data included descriptive analyses (median, mean and standard deviation) to ascertain overall perceptions of the definition of critical thinking; levels of agreement regarding the effectiveness of listed teaching strategies and assessment measures; and the degree of utilization of the same teaching strategies and assessment measures. Chi squared analyses were conducted to identify differences within each of these themes between various program levels and/or between program directors with various levels of educational preparation as defined by the highest degree earned. Results showed that program directors had a broad and somewhat ambiguous perception of the definition of critical thinking, which included many related cognitive processes that were not always classified as attributes of critical thinking according to the literature, but were consistent with definitions and attributes identified as critical thinking by other allied health professions. These common attributes included creative thinking, decision making, problem solving and clinical reasoning as well as other high-order thinking activities such as reflection, judging and reasoning deductively and inductively. Statistically significant differences were identified for some items based on program level and for one item based on program director highest degree. There was general agreement regarding the appropriateness of specific teaching strategies also supported by the literature with the exception of on-line discussions and portfolios. The most highly used teaching strategies reported were not completely congruent with the literature and included traditional lectures with in-class discussions and high-order multiple choice test items. Significant differences between program levels were identified for only two items. The most highly used assessment measures included clinical competency results, employer surveys, image critique performance, specific course assignments, student surveys and ARRT exam results. Only one variable showed significant differences between programs at various academic levels.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- CFE0003261, ucf:48518
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003261
- Title
- A Study of Central Florida College Students' Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution, Microevolution, Macroevolution, and Human Evolution.
- Creator
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Schleith, David, Murray, Kenneth, Baldwin, Lee, Doherty, Walter, Everett, Robert, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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In order to study the teaching and learning of the theory of evolution and determine levels of acceptance of the theory of evolution among college students studying biology in Central Florida, the Inventory of Student Evolution Acceptance, I-SEA, was administered to over 500 university students enrolled in a biology course during the Fall 2016 term. An analysis of 489 completed surveys demonstrated strong overall acceptance of the theory of evolution (average score = 103 out of 120 total...
Show moreIn order to study the teaching and learning of the theory of evolution and determine levels of acceptance of the theory of evolution among college students studying biology in Central Florida, the Inventory of Student Evolution Acceptance, I-SEA, was administered to over 500 university students enrolled in a biology course during the Fall 2016 term. An analysis of 489 completed surveys demonstrated strong overall acceptance of the theory of evolution (average score = 103 out of 120 total possible). Of all students, 78% fell into the category of very high acceptance of the theory of evolution. Students who reported attending worship services weekly or more scored statistically significantly lower on the I-SEA than students who reported attending worship services less than weekly. The level of previous high school coursework in biology(-)whether honors, or advanced biology courses were taken-- did not translate into statistically significant differences in acceptance of evolution as measured by the I-SEA. Three subscales contained within the Inventory of Student Evolution Acceptance are designed to measure student acceptance of microevolution, macroevolution, and human evolution. Students demonstrate higher levels of acceptance of microevolution than macroevolution or human evolution. These findings serve to inform educational leaders and science educators regarding students' worldview and how worldview may inform what students accept as true and valid. The I-SEA serves as a useful educational tool to inform instructional decisions in the biology classroom.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2017
- Identifier
- CFE0006792, ucf:51818
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006792
- Title
- A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN CONTEXT-BASED REASONING (CXBR) AND CONTEXTUAL GRAPHS (CXGS).
- Creator
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Lorins, Peterson, Gonzalez, Avelino, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Context-based Reasoning (CxBR) and Contextual Graphs (CxGs) involve the modeling of human behavior in autonomous and decision-support situations in which optimal human decision-making is of utmost importance. Both formalisms use the notion of contexts to allow the implementation of intelligent agents equipped with a context sensitive knowledge base. However, CxBR uses a set of discrete contexts, implying that models created using CxBR operate within one context at a given time interval. CxGs...
Show moreContext-based Reasoning (CxBR) and Contextual Graphs (CxGs) involve the modeling of human behavior in autonomous and decision-support situations in which optimal human decision-making is of utmost importance. Both formalisms use the notion of contexts to allow the implementation of intelligent agents equipped with a context sensitive knowledge base. However, CxBR uses a set of discrete contexts, implying that models created using CxBR operate within one context at a given time interval. CxGs use a continuous context-based representation for a given problem-solving scenario for decision-support processes. Both formalisms use contexts dynamically by continuously changing between necessary contexts as needed in appropriate instances. This thesis identifies a synergy between these two formalisms by looking into their similarities and differences. It became clear during the research that each paradigm was designed with a very specific family of problems in mind. Thus, CXBR best implements models of autonomous agents in environment, while CxGs is best implemented in a decision support setting that requires the development of decision-making procedures. Cross applications were implemented on each and the results are discussed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- Identifier
- CFE0000577, ucf:46433
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000577
- Title
- AN INTERACTIVE DISTRIBUTED SIMULATION FRAMEWORK WITH APPLICATION TO WIRELESS NETWORKS AND INTRUSION DETECTION.
- Creator
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Kachirski, Oleg, Guha, Ratan, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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In this dissertation, we describe the portable, open-source distributed simulation framework (WINDS) targeting simulations of wireless network infrastructures that we have developed. We present the simulation framework which uses modular architecture and apply the framework to studies of mobility pattern effects, routing and intrusion detection mechanisms in simulations of large-scale wireless ad hoc, infrastructure, and totally mobile networks. The distributed simulations within the...
Show moreIn this dissertation, we describe the portable, open-source distributed simulation framework (WINDS) targeting simulations of wireless network infrastructures that we have developed. We present the simulation framework which uses modular architecture and apply the framework to studies of mobility pattern effects, routing and intrusion detection mechanisms in simulations of large-scale wireless ad hoc, infrastructure, and totally mobile networks. The distributed simulations within the framework execute seamlessly and transparently to the user on a symmetric multiprocessor cluster computer or a network of computers with no modifications to the code or user objects. A visual graphical interface precisely depicts simulation object states and interactions throughout the simulation execution, giving the user full control over the simulation in real time. The network configuration is detected by the framework, and communication latency is taken into consideration when dynamically adjusting the simulation clock, allowing the simulation to run on a heterogeneous computing system. The simulation framework is easily extensible to multi-cluster systems and computing grids. An entire simulation system can be constructed in a short time, utilizing user-created and supplied simulation components, including mobile nodes, base stations, routing algorithms, traffic patterns and other objects. These objects are automatically compiled and loaded by the simulation system, and are available for dynamic simulation injection at runtime. Using our distributed simulation framework, we have studied modern intrusion detection systems (IDS) and assessed applicability of existing intrusion detection techniques to wireless networks. We have developed a mobile agent-based IDS targeting mobile wireless networks, and introduced load-balancing optimizations aimed at limited-resource systems to improve intrusion detection performance. Packet-based monitoring agents of our IDS employ a CASE-based reasoner engine that performs fast lookups of network packets in the existing SNORT-based intrusion rule-set. Experiments were performed using the intrusion data from MIT Lincoln Laboratories studies, and executed on a cluster computer utilizing our distributed simulation system.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- Identifier
- CFE0000642, ucf:46545
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000642
