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Title: Three Studies Examining Nonprofessional Investors' Decision Making.
Creator: Triki, Anis, Arnold, Vicky, Sutton, Steven, Schmitt, Donna, Hampton, Clark, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This dissertation consists of three studies exploring nonprofessional investors' decision making. Technological advancements witnessed by the capital markets in recent years have caused significant changes to the dissemination and use of information, particularly by nonprofessional investors. Among these developments is the growth of social media that allows anyone to post information upon which others may rely and the availability of DAs that assist decision makers in evaluating the quality...
Show moreThis dissertation consists of three studies exploring nonprofessional investors' decision making. Technological advancements witnessed by the capital markets in recent years have caused significant changes to the dissemination and use of information, particularly by nonprofessional investors. Among these developments is the growth of social media that allows anyone to post information upon which others may rely and the availability of DAs that assist decision makers in evaluating the quality of information reported by an organization. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the benefits of using DAs that are capable assessing the quality of information reported to capital market participants and to investigate the effect of information retrieved from social media on nonprofessional investors' decisions.Study 1 highlights concerns over the ease of spreading video disclosures via social media outlets. Recent evidence from practice and research suggests that the trend of issuing video disclosures is growing and that investors are exposed to the risk of including deceptive information contained in those videos in their decision making process. The theoretical model introduced in this study suggests that investors can use deception detection DAs to identify deceptive behavior in video disclosures, and that the use of such DAs affects their perceptions of disclosure credibility. This study posits that management's pre-existing reputation affects investors' perceptions of disclosure credibility, and that the negative output of a deception detection DA can dilute the effect of management's pre-existing reputation on investors' perceptions of disclosure credibility. Using data from 376 nonprofessional investors, the findings support the proposed theoretical model and suggest that deception detection dilutes the effect of management's pre-existing reputation on investors' perceptions of disclosure credibility. The effect of management's pre-existing reputation on investors' perceptions of disclosure credibility is significantly weaker when the output of deception detection DA detects deception than when it fails to detect deception. Supplemental analyses suggest that the effect of deception detection is not limited to investors' perceptions of disclosure credibility, but also affects investors' willingness to invest. Deception detection dilutes the effect of management's pre-existing reputation on willingness to invest as well. These findings suggest that investors can mitigate the risks associated with video disclosures and improve their decisions by using deception detection DAs. Study 2 highlights concerns over the spread of linguistic manipulations in corporate disclosures. Recent evidence from the accounting literature suggests that managers strategically use linguistic manipulations and that investors unintentionally include the effect of these linguistic manipulations in their decisions. This study builds on the existing literature on linguistic manipulations and argues that providing investors with a DA that is capable of detecting linguistic manipulations can assist them in making investment decisions. The theoretical model introduced Study 2 suggests that the detection of linguistic manipulations (the occurrence of an expectation violation) moderates the effect of managers' incentives on investors' willingness to invest through disclosure credibility such that the effect of managers' incentive on investors' willingness to invest is expected to be weaker when the DA detects linguistic manipulations than when the DA fails to detect linguistic manipulations. Using data from 472 nonprofessional investors, the findings do not support the proposed theoretical model and suggest the effect of management incentive on investors' willingness to invest through disclosure credibility is not moderated by the detection of linguistic manipulations. These findings show that detecting linguistic manipulation has the same effect on managers with incentive to manipulate the language used corporate reports as those with no incentive to manipulate the language used in corporate reports. Study 3 highlights concerns over social media outlets that have enabled investors to communicate between themselves at an unprecedented rate. This study highlights the risk of using information retrieved from social media outlets and argues that investors are exposed to the risk of including erroneous information in their information set. This study uses the (")Social Identification of the De-individuation Effect(") model (SIDE) to argue that visual anonymity has an effect on investors' willingness to invest through their perceptions of disclosure credibility and that this effect depends on whether investors' have low or high social identification with the group of forum users. Using data from 401 nonprofessional investors, the findings do not support the proposed theoretical model. Nevertheless, findings from this study suggest that investors' social identification has an effect on their perceptions of disclosure credibility, and that social identification and visual anonymity have a joint effect on investors' willingness to invest. More precisely, investors with low social identification are more influenced by forum comments when they read the forum comments via text than when they view the forum comments via video; and, investors with high social identification are more influenced by forum comments when they view the forum comments than when they read the forum comments. While findings from this study provide support for the moderating role of social identification advanced in SIDE, the moderating role of social identification is in the opposite direction. Thus, this study fails to provide support for SIDE.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005894, ucf:50879
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005894

Title: FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING OUTSOURCING: THREE STUDIES RELATED TO THE ETHICAL AND ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS OF ACCOUNTING OUTSOURCING.
Creator: Desai, Renu, Roberts, Robin, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This dissertation evaluates the economic and ethical considerations underlying the outsourcing of professional services such as finance and accounting. The dissertation is comprised of three separate, but related studies. The first study explores the adequacy of the disclosure rules recommended in the revised ethics rulings regarding disclosure of outsourcing relationships and the resulting ethical and economic repercussions for both, the AICPA members and their clients. The second study...
Show moreThis dissertation evaluates the economic and ethical considerations underlying the outsourcing of professional services such as finance and accounting. The dissertation is comprised of three separate, but related studies. The first study explores the adequacy of the disclosure rules recommended in the revised ethics rulings regarding disclosure of outsourcing relationships and the resulting ethical and economic repercussions for both, the AICPA members and their clients. The second study analyzes the disclosure rules recommended in the AICPA ethics rulings regarding disclosure of outsourcing relationships from an ethical standpoint. The third study adopts the perspective of the third party service provider. The third study analyzes the factors that provide a competitive advantage to leading service providers in accounting outsourcing markets in India. Taken together, these studies address issues that have not been addressed previously in accounting literature and will advance our understanding of a fast-growing phenomenon, the outsourcing of accounting services. Finance and accounting outsourcing may strongly influence the choice of future organizational form and structure thus making it important to develop an early understanding of this industry.
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Date Issued: 2007
Identifier: CFE0001881, ucf:47402
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001881

Title: A STUDY OF FLORIDA PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS' JOB SATISFACTION FOLLOWING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF FLORIDA'S A+ SYSTEM FOR GRADING SCHOOLS.
Creator: Paswaters, Robert, Murray, Barbara, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The problem of this study was to examine the impact of Florida's A+ program of accountability on elementary principal job satisfaction. Specifically, the study was conducted to determine the relationship between a school's grade and principal job satisfaction. Of primary interest was the extent to which school accountability impacted principal satisfaction with the facets of Work on Present Job, Pay, Opportunities for Promotion, Supervision, People on the Present Job, and the job as a...
Show moreThe problem of this study was to examine the impact of Florida's A+ program of accountability on elementary principal job satisfaction. Specifically, the study was conducted to determine the relationship between a school's grade and principal job satisfaction. Of primary interest was the extent to which school accountability impacted principal satisfaction with the facets of Work on Present Job, Pay, Opportunities for Promotion, Supervision, People on the Present Job, and the job as a whole. The instruments used, the Job Descriptive Index (JDI) and Job in General (JIG) were provided through the JDI Research Office housed at Bowling Green State University. The JDI and JIG results were analyzed using statistical analyses, comparisons of median scores within established satisfaction ranges developed for the JDI, and national norms also provided by the JDI Research Office. The data were derived from the responses of 65 (39.6%) public elementary school principals in three Florida counties. Overall, the findings demonstrated that 93.7% of responding principals reported overall satisfaction with their jobs as measured by the JIG. High levels of satisfaction were also reported on the JDI in the areas of Work on Present Job, Supervision and People on your Present Job. The two areas that were the least satisfying for responding principals were the facets of Pay and Opportunities for Promotion where a majority expressed feelings of ambiguity or dissatisfaction. In an analysis of the impact of school grades (A, B, or C), there was not a significant relationship between the grade received by the school and principal satisfaction on either the JDI or the JIG.
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: CFE0001465, ucf:47095
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001465

Title: Three Studies Examining the Effects of Business Analytics on Judgment and Decision Making in Accounting.
Creator: Lang, Bradley, Trompeter, Gregory, Robb, Sean, Tian, Yu, Trinkle, Brad, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This dissertation consists of three studies investigating the relationship between business analytics and decision making in accounting. In an effort to improve performance, organizations increasingly emphasize fact-based decision making supported by business analytics, which translate complex data into manageable information through statistical analysis. While the recent focus on business analytics is transforming how managers make decisions, analytics alone do not generate increased...
Show moreThis dissertation consists of three studies investigating the relationship between business analytics and decision making in accounting. In an effort to improve performance, organizations increasingly emphasize fact-based decision making supported by business analytics, which translate complex data into manageable information through statistical analysis. While the recent focus on business analytics is transforming how managers make decisions, analytics alone do not generate increased performance; the synergy between business analytics and user judgments is a vital component of realizing value. To this end, Study I experimentally investigates how various characteristics of business analytics affect individuals' reliance and perceptions of the analytic. Through the lens of cognitive fit a 2(&)#215;2 between-subjects experiment is conducted examining business analytics effects of input and process attributes on users' reliance. Cognitive fit theory posits that effective problem solving depends on the match between the technology and the decision process. The second study investigates the impact of management interventions (i.e. actions influencing adoption) toward improving reliance on business analytics. From an organizational perspective, an important concern for management is promoting greater employee acceptance and utilization of business analytics. Building on the Technology Acceptance Model, Study II experimentally examines the effect of management support and consensus of multiple analytics on increasing reliance and on participants' evaluation of the business analytic. Study III further explores the relationship between characteristics of business analytics and the decision maker by developing a theoretical model regarding the effects of perceived decision similarities between the user and the business analytic on users' perceived usefulness. Overall, the results reported in this dissertation suggest that 1) characteristics of business analytics influence users' judgments and decision making, 2) management can take actions to influence the relationship between users and business analytics, and 3) users are likely to evaluate their cognitive similarity to these business analytics, and these perceptions influence perceived usefulness of the business analytics.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0007578, ucf:52562
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007578

Title: A Study on the Relationships Between Participation in Tutoring and Accountability Measures in One Urban High School.
Creator: Maestre, Hector, Taylor, Rosemarye, Doherty, Walter, Baldwin, Lee, Zugelder, Bryan, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The purpose of this study was to identify relationships between an urban high school's student participation in an after-school tutoring program and its relationship to accountability measures on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) Reading and End of Course (EOC) exams in the 2013-2014 school year. The research aimed to determine the influence of tutoring participation for urban high school students.Participants included students enrolled in one urban high school who participated...
Show moreThe purpose of this study was to identify relationships between an urban high school's student participation in an after-school tutoring program and its relationship to accountability measures on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) Reading and End of Course (EOC) exams in the 2013-2014 school year. The research aimed to determine the influence of tutoring participation for urban high school students.Participants included students enrolled in one urban high school who participated in the FCAT Reading and EOC assessments and is was identified if they participated in the school tutoring program or not.Quantitative results revealed the relationship between students' frequency of participation and performance outcomes on state assessments. Then, the relationship between achievement on state assessments for all students, students with disabilities, and English Learners who participated in after school tutoring and those who did not participate in after school tutoring were examined. Finally, the relations of frequency of participation in tutoring to corresponding final grades were evaluated. Participants included students enrolled in one urban high school who participated in the FCAT Reading and EOC assessments and it was identified if they participated in the after school tutoring program or not. Statistically significant differences in performance outcomes existed between tutored students in mathematics courses who participated in tutoring and those who did not. However, there was no statistically significant difference in performance outcomes with students in courses that were heavily based on reading as a result of their participation in tutoring. The students with disabilities subgroup as well as the English Learners subgroup both experienced statistically significant differences in reading scores as a result in tutoring participation. These same subgroups did not experience statistically significant difference on other assessments: Algebra 1 EOC, Geometry EOC, Biology EOC, and U.S. History EOC.Although this study identified relationships tutoring participation had with accountability measures achieved by students there is still much to be understood. The structure and approach to tutoring intervention programs should continue to be sought after in research in an effort to continue providing all students with opportunities for success on high stakes testing.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005832, ucf:50906
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005832

Title: A comparison of eighth-grade mathematics scores by state and by the four census-defined regions of national assessment of educational progress (NAEP).
Creator: Robinson, Laurel, Taylor, Rosemarye, Pawlas, George, Little, Mary, Clark, Margaret, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate the information regarding the comparative relationship between the proficient mathematics scores of eighth-grade students on the 2009 state mathematics assessments and the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics assessment by state, census (-)defined regions and AYP subgroups. Analysis was completed and six research questions were used to guide the study. A multiple regression was used to assess the relationship between...
Show moreThe purpose of this study was to investigate the information regarding the comparative relationship between the proficient mathematics scores of eighth-grade students on the 2009 state mathematics assessments and the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics assessment by state, census (-)defined regions and AYP subgroups. Analysis was completed and six research questions were used to guide the study. A multiple regression was used to assess the relationship between the percentage of eighth-grade students who were proficient in mathematics as assessed by the 2009 NAEP and those who were proficient in mathematics as assessed by their 2009 state assessment. A significant quadratic (non-linear) relationship between the state and NAEP levels of proficiency was determined. Several two-factor split plot (one within-subjects factor and one between-subjects factor) analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted to determine if region moderated the difference between the percentage proficient on the state and NAEP assessments for eighth grade students overall and in the following AYP subgroups : (a) low socioeconomic students, (b) white students, (c) black students and (d) Hispanic students. The within-subjects factor was type of test (NAEP or state), and the between-subjects factor was region (Midwest, Northeast, West, and South). Overall, the percentage proficient on state mathematical assessments was always higher than the percentage proficient on the NAEP mathematics assessments. The degree of discrepancy is discussed, as well as possible reasons for this divergence of scores.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFE0005241, ucf:50599
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005241

Title: DEMOCRATIC VOICES SPEAKING LOUDLY: DOES PUBLIC PARTICIPATION YIELD ACCOUNTABILITY IN SPECIAL PURPOSE GOVERNMENTS?.
Creator: Beitsch, Owen, Wang, Xiaohu, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The American system of governance includes a network of state and local units identified as either general purpose or special purpose governments. The latter are often aligned with, but operate independently of, general purpose governments. Even as these special purpose or special district governments have shown extraordinary growth relative to their general purpose counterparts, there has been little interest in them or the structural characteristics that distinguish their systems for...
Show moreThe American system of governance includes a network of state and local units identified as either general purpose or special purpose governments. The latter are often aligned with, but operate independently of, general purpose governments. Even as these special purpose or special district governments have shown extraordinary growth relative to their general purpose counterparts, there has been little interest in them or the structural characteristics that distinguish their systems for maintaining order and assuring accountable behaviors. In the meanwhile, the literature regarding accountability has been expanded materially in the last several years leading to debates about its form, component parts, objectives, and the preferred means for achieving accountability as an end state. While these concepts may have application to special districts, inquiry has yet to extend to the particular devices required to monitor or control these governments. This research effort closes the knowledge gap by linking this little studied form of government with recent ideas about accountability and the role that citizen participation plays in developing or advancing accountable behaviors. The analysis applies an adaptation of the well known model developed by Romzek and Dubnick (1987) to create an accountability framework and documents the role that public participation plays in influencing accountable behaviors. The analysis culminates in a multivariate model that examines the role of pubic participation in the context of competing influences that might also force accountable behaviors. The research concludes that participation can be an important influence in shaping specific forms of accountable behavior but that other factors are also essential to sustaining accountability. Most notable among these other factors is the role of the workplace environment, defined here in terns of employee interaction, ethics training, purpose, overall sense of commitment and other attributes.
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Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: CFE0000602, ucf:46500
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000602

Title: UNDERSTANDING THE IMPLICATION OF BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY ON THE AUDIT PROFESSION.
Creator: Jackson, Brittany, Reinking, Jeff, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The purpose of this research is to identify the implications of blockchain technology on the auditing profession. By conducting interviews with current professionals in the auditing profession, as well as those in academic with a background in auditing, primary data was collected to aggregate what potential effects will be on the auditing profession in the next five years and the next decade. The data includes assumptions of how the accounting major itself, the auditing planning phase,...
Show moreThe purpose of this research is to identify the implications of blockchain technology on the auditing profession. By conducting interviews with current professionals in the auditing profession, as well as those in academic with a background in auditing, primary data was collected to aggregate what potential effects will be on the auditing profession in the next five years and the next decade. The data includes assumptions of how the accounting major itself, the auditing planning phase, assumptions of risk, and audit completions will change with the developing technology. The goal of this research is a better understanding of how auditing will be affected by blockchain technology for students, current audit professionals, and those in academia. With the results, it was concluded that training of new and current employees will need to evolve with more emphasis on IT skills and analytical reasoning, blockchain's development is on a precipice of adoption within the next decade, and that there is a current gap regarding regulation of blockchain technology.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFH2000421, ucf:45738
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000421

Title: ORGANIZATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE WATER AND SANITATION HYGIENE SECTOR: INTEGRATING SUSTAINABILITY FACTORS INTO THE DEFINITION OF SUCCESS.
Creator: Jeanis, Kaitlyn, Reinhart, Debra, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The world's poorest people, most of whom reside in under-developed nations, lack access to clean water and sanitation facilities, nutritious food, and education (UMP, 2005). These conditions are linked to malnutrition, disease, and low life expectancies (WHO). In an effort to reduce global poverty, the United Nations (UN) adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Under Goal 7c the UN denotes that by 2015 the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic...
Show moreThe world's poorest people, most of whom reside in under-developed nations, lack access to clean water and sanitation facilities, nutritious food, and education (UMP, 2005). These conditions are linked to malnutrition, disease, and low life expectancies (WHO). In an effort to reduce global poverty, the United Nations (UN) adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Under Goal 7c the UN denotes that by 2015 the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation as compared to the proportion who do should be halved. As a response to this objective the international development (ID) sector has implemented projects aimed at increasing access to clean water and sanitation facilities, yet reports of high rate of project failure continue (Ika, 2012). In this thesis factors contributing to project failures are outlined based on the literature. In response to these findings this thesis explores the components of sustainability as it relates to the WASH sector and creates a framework for minimum standards that should be met in order for a WASH project to be considered successful. These standards are adapted based on the World Health Organization (WHO), a project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that evaluates WASH projects called WASHCost, as well as the standards proposed by Carter et al (1999). Furthermore, it is argued that if implementing organizations are expected to monitor, evaluate and report on the environmental, social, economic as well as technical components of their implemented project, it will create a level of transparency that promotes organizational accountability that will inherently cause a shift towards more effective WASH projects.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFH0004632, ucf:45258
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004632

Title: ACCOUNTING DISCLOSURE AT THE ORGANIZATION-SOCIETY INTERFACE: A META-THEORY AND EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE.
Creator: Chen, Jennifer Ching-Kuan, Roberts, Robin, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This dissertation consists of three studies related to accounting disclosure at the interface of the organization and society. The first study investigates the overlapping perspectives of legitimacy theory, institutional theory, resource dependence theory, and stakeholder theory and integrates these theories into a more cohesive meta-theory of the organization-society interface. The second study examines whether a corporation's charitable contributions represent a corporate social performance...
Show moreThis dissertation consists of three studies related to accounting disclosure at the interface of the organization and society. The first study investigates the overlapping perspectives of legitimacy theory, institutional theory, resource dependence theory, and stakeholder theory and integrates these theories into a more cohesive meta-theory of the organization-society interface. The second study examines whether a corporation's charitable contributions represent a corporate social performance strategy or a legitimation strategy. More specifically, study two investigates, from two competing perspectives, how corporate executives rationalize their philanthropic actions. The third study analyzes the relationship between the current tax laws and the fulfillment of corporate foundations' social functions. Taken together, these three studies build upon prior theoretical and empirical work to advance social and environmental accounting research.
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Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: CFE0000638, ucf:46548
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000638

Title: AN EXAMINATION OF THE FRAUDULENT FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH CORPORATE FRAUD.
Creator: Zmuda, Ronald, Desai, Naman, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Between the years 1998 and 2002, the United States suffered a time in which several large companies engaged in fraudulent behavior which eroded investor confidence in the stock market and to some extent destabilized the economy. Audits, which were conducted to assess the validity and reliability of a company's financial statements, were not detecting the material misstatements in the statements. As a result, both the US Government and the accounting profession needed to come up with a way to...
Show moreBetween the years 1998 and 2002, the United States suffered a time in which several large companies engaged in fraudulent behavior which eroded investor confidence in the stock market and to some extent destabilized the economy. Audits, which were conducted to assess the validity and reliability of a company's financial statements, were not detecting the material misstatements in the statements. As a result, both the US Government and the accounting profession needed to come up with a way to prevent these immense frauds from occurring in the future. As a response to these large frauds, in 2002, the US Government passed the Sarbanes - Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) issued Statement on Auditing Standards No. 99(SAS No. 99) to improve investor confidence and the auditing function's ability to detect material frauds. The intent of this thesis was to look at the fraudulent factors associated with several recent corporate frauds and compare them to the standards set by SAS No. 99. Through the analysis conducted, this thesis looks at the relationships between pressures, opportunities, and rationalizations made during the act of fraud.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFH0004084, ucf:44782
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004084

Title: STUDENT RETENTION IN FLORIDA COMMUNITY COLLEGES:CCSSE'S RETENTION INDEX AND FLORIDA ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES.
Creator: ROMAN, Marcia, Taylor, Rosemarye, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Student retention has become a serious topic in the past several decades (Wild and Ebbers, 2002). Problematic, however, is how retention is defined and measured, as well as a lack of multi-institutional studies that support a theoretical model for improving student retention, particularly in community colleges (Bailey & Alfonso, 2005). The Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) was launched in 2001. Based on extensive research that pertains to student learning and persistence,...
Show moreStudent retention has become a serious topic in the past several decades (Wild and Ebbers, 2002). Problematic, however, is how retention is defined and measured, as well as a lack of multi-institutional studies that support a theoretical model for improving student retention, particularly in community colleges (Bailey & Alfonso, 2005). The Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) was launched in 2001. Based on extensive research that pertains to student learning and persistence, CCSSE defined five benchmarks of educational practice. Three of the benchmarks comprise the Retention Index. CCSSE has encouraged additional studies to further validate the relatively new survey instrument. Florida's legislature has a keen interest in the performance of educational institutions which are mandated by statute to participate in system-wide data collection from which accountability measures are drawn, including institutional retention rates. Using institutional level data in simple and multiple linear regressions, this study examined the relationship between the Florida Community Colleges' CCSSE Retention Indices and their retention rate(s) measured by the Florida Accountability Measure. Student level data was also analyzed using a Nested ANOVA to examine mean differences in CCSSE Retention Index scores of students from different racial and gender groups when accounting for the possible influence of institution attended.
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: CFE0001355, ucf:47006
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001355

Title: CENTRAL FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE FLORIDA SCHOOL INDICATORS REPORT.
Creator: Gaught, William, Hahs-Vaughn, Debbie, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions that central Florida public high school principals had regarding the Florida School Indicators Report (FSIR) and its usefulness. The FSIR, published by the Florida Department of Education, was designed to be a comprehensive, single source document for parents, lawmakers, and school administrators to compare key performance indicators to similar schools or districts state wide. It provided information on 74 different indicators of...
Show moreThe purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions that central Florida public high school principals had regarding the Florida School Indicators Report (FSIR) and its usefulness. The FSIR, published by the Florida Department of Education, was designed to be a comprehensive, single source document for parents, lawmakers, and school administrators to compare key performance indicators to similar schools or districts state wide. It provided information on 74 different indicators of school or district performance. A total of 70 public high school principals from 13 central Florida school districts responded to a postal survey and provided their perceptions regarding the importance of indicators in the FSIR, how they used the FSIR at their schools, and what barriers they felt affected the ability of their administrative staffs to collect and analyze data on the FSIR indicators. Eighteen of the 70 principals participated in follow-up telephone interviews. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the postal surveys and interviews revealed the principals perceived FSIR indicators related to Florida's mandated Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) as the most important indictors in the FSIR. The indicators FCAT Results and FCAT Writes were ranked first and second respectively in priority by the participating principals. This finding demonstrated the importance that principals placed on the state's high-stakes test. Other categories of FSIR indicators are were also ranked in the findings reported in this study, along with how the principals used the FSIR at their schools. The data collected from the postal survey revealed there was a statistically significant relationship between the priority principals assigned to the FSIR indicators and their ability to collect and analyze data related to them. In addition, survey data allowed development of multiple regression models that could be used to predict the priority principals assigned to several FSIR categories of indicators based on the ability to collect and analyze data. The study findings indicated that principals perceived lack of time for data analysis as the biggest barrier they faced when evaluating the FSIR indicators. After the lack of time, principals rated lack of administrator training in data analysis as the second biggest obstacle to using the FSIR. The findings indicated that principals felt the availability of data and technology were not significant barriers to their staff's ability to conduct data analysis on the FSIR. The conclusions drawn from the study were that central Florida high school principals perceived the results on the state's mandated Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) to be the most important indicators in the FSIR. In addition, the research identified that the lack of time was the single greatest barrier principals encountered when it came to collecting and analyzing data on the FSIR. A lack of training programs in data collection and analysis for administrators was also noted in the findings.
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Date Issued: 2007
Identifier: CFE0001688, ucf:47204
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001688

Title: Two Studies Analyzing The Effects of Business Case and Paradoxical Cognitive Framing on Sustainability Decision Making.
Creator: Pencle, Nadra, Roberts, Robin, Libby, Theresa, Baudot, Lisa, Cho, Charles, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: These two companion studies theoretically and empirically examine managers' use of different cognitive frames in decision-making related to corporate sustainability. Study I is a theoretical undertaking aimed at highlighting potential zones of investigation arising from the introduction of paradox theory into managerial accounting. First, I examine extant literature on paradoxes to garner an understanding of its evolution and application in the management and psychology domains. Second, I use...
Show moreThese two companion studies theoretically and empirically examine managers' use of different cognitive frames in decision-making related to corporate sustainability. Study I is a theoretical undertaking aimed at highlighting potential zones of investigation arising from the introduction of paradox theory into managerial accounting. First, I examine extant literature on paradoxes to garner an understanding of its evolution and application in the management and psychology domains. Second, I use current constructs and typologies to identify multiple sustainability and managerial accounting tensions as paradoxical. Third, I make recommendations on how to apply paradox theory more effectively to the corporate sustainability tensions I identified. I conclude the first paper with research questions pertaining to managerial accounting in corporate sustainability. Study II is a behavioral experiment. In this study I examine the effects of business case and paradoxical case cognition on managers and seek to uncover which organizational performance measures better support each cognition. Scholars suggest that the tensions in corporate sustainability arise from the complicated and interdependent relationship among its dimensions. and oftentimes progress towards any single dimension, might have unintended consequences on the other dimensions Hence, the empirical question becomes, amid such tensions, how do managers make decisions that are not solely driven by the financial dimension of corporate sustainability? Applying paradox theory, with its emphasis on acknowledging and working through tensions, holds the potential to elucidate how managers can further explore the tensions inherent in management accounting and sustainability. Study II results show that managers operating in a paradoxical case cognition with broad performance measures made more sustainable decisions relative to their counterparts operating in a business case cognition with narrow performance measures. Together these companion studies generally support the use of paradox theory in studying sustainability decision-making and its use in moving beyond short-term economically focused organizational processes.
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Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: CFE0007703, ucf:52440
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007703

Title: Moral Blameworthiness and Trustworthiness: The Role of Accounts and Apologies in Perceptions of Human and Machine Agents.
Creator: Stowers, Kimberly, Hancock, Peter, Jentsch, Florian, Mouloua, Mustapha, Chen, Jessie, Barber, Daniel, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Would you trust a machine to make life-or-death decisions about your health and safety?Machines today are capable of achieving much more than they could 30 years ago(-)and thesame will be said for machines that exist 30 years from now. The rise of intelligence in machineshas resulted in humans entrusting them with ever-increasing responsibility. With this has arisenthe question of whether machines should be given equal responsibility to humans(-)or if humanswill ever perceive machines as...
Show moreWould you trust a machine to make life-or-death decisions about your health and safety?Machines today are capable of achieving much more than they could 30 years ago(-)and thesame will be said for machines that exist 30 years from now. The rise of intelligence in machineshas resulted in humans entrusting them with ever-increasing responsibility. With this has arisenthe question of whether machines should be given equal responsibility to humans(-)or if humanswill ever perceive machines as being accountable for such responsibility. For example, if anintelligent machine accidentally harms a person, should it be blamed for its mistake? Should it betrusted to continue interacting with humans? Furthermore, how does the assignment of moralblame and trustworthiness toward machines compare to such assignment to humans who harmothers? I answer these questions by exploring differences in moral blame and trustworthinessattributed to human and machine agents who make harmful moral mistakes. Additionally, Iexamine whether the knowledge and type of reason, as well as apology, for the harmful incidentaffects perceptions of the parties involved. In order to fill the gaps in understanding betweentopics in moral psychology, cognitive psychology, and artificial intelligence, valuableinformation from each of these fields have been combined to guide the research study beingpresented herein.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0007134, ucf:52311
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007134

Title: THREE STUDIES RELATED TO THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL REPORTING STANDARDS.
Creator: Alon, Anna, Dwyer, Peggy, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This dissertation consists of three separate, but related, studies on the institutionalization of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The first study examines the relationship between the national variables and the level of IFRS adoption. Theoretical insights regarding the level of national IFRS adoption come from the world-level institutional theory (Meyer et. al., 1997). Archival data are utilized for the study. The findings indicate that countries with weaker national...
Show moreThis dissertation consists of three separate, but related, studies on the institutionalization of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The first study examines the relationship between the national variables and the level of IFRS adoption. Theoretical insights regarding the level of national IFRS adoption come from the world-level institutional theory (Meyer et. al., 1997). Archival data are utilized for the study. The findings indicate that countries with weaker national governance structures and lower economic development demonstrate the highest level of commitment to IFRS. Nationalism was found to influence the extent of adoption. The study contributes to IFRS adoption literature by recognizing the multi-level possibilities of IFRS adoption and discovering the factors that drive the degree of IFRS adoption on a national level. The second study examines the ongoing change in the U.S. accounting regulation related to IFRS. The specific event investigated is an historic ruling by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) made in 2007 to accept IFRS filings from foreign issuers. This move toward acceptance of IFRS by the primary U.S. regulator is of academic interest because it represents an opportunity to study regulatory institutional change. The event is analyzed using a qualitative study of the rhetoric found in the comment letters submitted to the SEC. The following theoretical frameworks were used to interpret the qualitative findings: a model of institutional change (Greenwood et. al., 2002), the role of rhetoric in legitimating institutional change (Suddaby & Greenwood, 2005), and the agents of change model (Djelic & Quack, 2003b). The conversation of opponents and proponents through the comment letters revealed the struggle of the participants to legitimize their positions. As expected, rhetorical themes associated with the moral and pragmatic legitimacy of their positions were utilized. Unexpectedly, the shifting site of regulation and the related power of SEC were troubling for proponents and opponents of the change. The study contributes to transnational accounting regulation literature in a number of ways. It presents a synthesis of different theoretical perspectives to investigate institutional change in accounting regulation. It also deepens the understanding of how institutional change is theorized by evaluating the rhetoric of domestic, foreign, and transnational participants. The third study evaluates the diffusion of IFRS in developing countries, using the specific case of Russia. The study investigates whether individual perceptions of various aspects of financial reporting and reforms are associated with IFRS adoption. Particularly of interest is whether there are differences between voluntary adopters and those for which adoption was mandated. The data were obtained from a 2007 survey exploring RussiaÃ‚Â's transition to IFRS. In general, adopters had a more positive view of transition toward IFRS and financial reforms in Russia. Further, the perceptions of reforms by adopters did not vary based on whether the adoption was required by a national or a foreign mandate. The study contributes both theoretically and empirically to the literature on IFRS in developing countries. Taken together, these three studies focus on issues that have not been addressed previously in the accounting literature. They will advance the international accounting literature on factors related to IFRS adoption, regulations, and influences.
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Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: CFE0003286, ucf:48543
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003286

Title: The Diffusion and Performance of the Accountable Care Organization Model.
Creator: Lin, Yi-ling, Wan, Thomas, Malvey, Donna, Liu, Albert Xinliang, Steen, Julie, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Background: Unity in pursuit of the Triple Aim: better health, better care, and lower per capita cost, can be achieved through a well-designed health care delivery system. The accountable care organizations (ACOs) model is considered a key component of health care delivery system improvement because the model fosters better coordination of care through clinical integration and financial accountability. Within the six Centers for Medicaid (&) Medicare Services (CMS) ACO programs, the Medicare...
Show moreBackground: Unity in pursuit of the Triple Aim: better health, better care, and lower per capita cost, can be achieved through a well-designed health care delivery system. The accountable care organizations (ACOs) model is considered a key component of health care delivery system improvement because the model fosters better coordination of care through clinical integration and financial accountability. Within the six Centers for Medicaid (&) Medicare Services (CMS) ACO programs, the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) ACO has the largest size with a total of 432 ACOs formed; the service subjects of the MSSP ACO are the fee-for-service beneficiaries. Recently, academicians and researchers have been attracted to exploring ACOs' formation and performance. However, most of the early ACO research types are either descriptive or case study. Also, early researchers had limited access to ACO data sets, so they could utilize only regional and demographic factors to identify the predictors of ACO formation.Purpose: An integrative theoretical framework, Rogers' diffusion of innovation theory and Duncan's POET model, was used to examine ACO formation and performance. The first purpose of this study was to determine the relative influences of contextual variables and ACO characteristic variables on how early an ACO model was adopted. The second purpose was to examine how executives' perceptions of ACO performance and the ACO first-year performance are influenced by the contextual variables, ACO characteristic variables, and timing of the adoption of an ACO model. Methods: A cross-sectional design was formulated to gather data from a survey supplemented by secondary data with the analysis unit at the organization level. Study participants in the ACO survey included 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 ACO cohorts. Logistic regression was performed to examine the effects of POET and Rogers' five core characteristics in the early adoption of an ACO model (dichotomous). Additionally, multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the effects of POET and the timing of adoption of an ACO model in the perceptions of ACO performance. ACO first-year performance dataset consisted only of ACO cohorts from 2012 through 2014. Finally, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were conducted to examine the measurement model of the ACO first-year performance and a full latent variable model, respectively. Major Findings: A survey of ACO executives/managers between October 2015 and February 2016 was conducted. The 447 MSSP ACOs in my mailing list yielded a response rate of 13.65 % (n=61). Of the 61 MSSP ACOs, 42 (52.5%) were late adopters whose contractual agreement with CMS started in 2014 or 2015, and 36 (59.0%) were with hospital-based composition. Among ACOs that participated in my survey, their current degree of IT adoption in functionalities (62.27 vs. 52.50 points), usage levels (65.19 vs. 49.49 points), and integration levels (62.24 vs. 53.37 points) were better than their initial years. The multiple logistic regression presented that MSSP ACOs were more likely to be early adopters of a CMS if their service areas had high unemployment rates (OR=2.23; 95% CI: 1.13 - 4.39). In the multiple linear regression analysis, the executives in the early ACOs perceived their organizations as more effective than the late adopters, with 12.65 points higher in an aggregate of eight ACO quality domains (p = .005). Three hundred and seventeen MSSP ACOs, with contractual agreements with CMS before 2015, had retained their year-one performance records (the actual ACO performance with eight quality domains). The variability in the actual ACO performance was explained by the predictor variables of the study with an R-square of 15%. The actual ACO performance was likely to be improved if ACOs had more Medicare assigned beneficiaries or had the hospital-based composition. On the other hand, if ACOs' service areas were located in areas of high poverty concentration, a high unemployment rate, or a lower competitive index, their ACO performance was relatively lower than their counterparts. Implications: The findings suggest that managers should consider strategies to increase economies of scale in size and to have hospital involvement in their ACOs in order to increase effective management. Inadequate capital for information technology improvements is the biggest barrier inhibiting healthcare providers' willingness to join an ACO. Regardless of rural or urban areas, financial support is still important for those potential ACO participants who are planning to invest in necessary infrastructure. ACOs that involved hospitals also showed better performance than those ACOs without hospital involvement. This information may help health policy makers to define core principles of the best ACO model in the future. Conclusions: This study makes a unique contribution using a theoretically integrative framework with Rogers' diffusion of innovation theory coupled with Duncan's POET model to examine ACO formation and ACO performance. In the early ACO adopters, three-fifths of the ACOs had hospital involvement; and the levels of their current IT degree in functionalities, usage levels, and integration levels are higher than the late ACO adopters. This study demonstrates that contextual variables, such as unemployment rates at ACO service areas, relatively influence how early an ACO model was adopted. Executives in the early ACOs had higher perceptions of overall organizational effectiveness as compared with the late adopters. The first-year performance of 2012, 2013, and 2014 ACO cohorts is positively influenced by the size of assigned Medicare beneficiaries and hospital-based ACO and is negatively influenced by the poverty rate, unemployment rate, and market competition scores (Herfindah-Hirschman Index).
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006347, ucf:51576
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006347

Title: The Expansion of Financial Regulation to Include Humanitarian Issues:An Examination of the Development of Conflict Mineral Reporting Requirements Using Actor-Network Theory.
Creator: Tennant, Robert, Roberts, Robin, Robb, Sean, Sutton, Steven, Roberts, Sherron, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study conceptually and empirically examines the establishment of certain financial regulation that resulted from the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2007-2009. The crisis led to the establishment of the most extensive change in the regulation of the financial sector since the Great Depression (Green, 2011). During the forty years leading up to the crisis, the United States had engaged in a process of increased deregulation to promote greater efficiency (Yaron (&) Hendershott, 1998). The...
Show moreThis study conceptually and empirically examines the establishment of certain financial regulation that resulted from the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2007-2009. The crisis led to the establishment of the most extensive change in the regulation of the financial sector since the Great Depression (Green, 2011). During the forty years leading up to the crisis, the United States had engaged in a process of increased deregulation to promote greater efficiency (Yaron (&) Hendershott, 1998). The belief that reduced regulation would improve efficiency and foster innovation became the mantra of many economic advisers to policy setters, to the point that as the regulations were relaxed there tended to be little fanfare or outrage to changes in regulation policy. This is true with both republican and democrat administrations throughout this period. Since 2000, there have been two major legislative actions that can be viewed as antithetical to the principle of deregulation, the first being Sarbanes-Oxley, which occurred as a result of Enron and other accounting scandals. The second, known as the Dodd-Frank Act, resulted in legislation that bailed out various sectors of the economy and fundamentally changed the structure of financial regulation in the United States.Specifically, I examine one part of this regulation related to corporate disclosure of activities that deal with conflict minerals. Within the political debates over regulation of corporate disclosure, an interest in corporate activities in war-torn areas emerged. Ultimately, regulation was adopted that required corporations to disclose operative activities that included mining of minerals in countries affected by political conflict. My research explicates using an actor-network approach, how and why activities in the U.S. political arena led to mandated disclosure of corporate activities dealing with the mining of local mineral deposits eventually referred to as (")conflict minerals.(") My findings show that a confluence of unlikely parties found common ground in their assessment of the issues surrounding the mining of conflict minerals and worked together towards the adoption of disclosure regulation that lead to more transparency in corporate reporting of their involvement in commercializing mineral deposits.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0006668, ucf:51234
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006668

Title: A Fifty State Legislative Review of Charter School Funding, Governance and Accountability.
Creator: Fordham, Tionis, Murray, Kenneth, Murray, Barbara, Doherty, Walter, Hutchinson, Cynthia, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: As waves of educational reform spread across the United States, charter schools continue to emerge as an alternative to the traditional public school. This study examined funding, governance, and accountability provisions of nationwide charter school legislation to ascertain similarities, differences, litigated challenges and funding issues throughout the United States of America. In order to study charter school legislation and litigation, all of the United States charter school legislation...
Show moreAs waves of educational reform spread across the United States, charter schools continue to emerge as an alternative to the traditional public school. This study examined funding, governance, and accountability provisions of nationwide charter school legislation to ascertain similarities, differences, litigated challenges and funding issues throughout the United States of America. In order to study charter school legislation and litigation, all of the United States charter school legislation was collected along with American court cases related to charter schools and charter legislation. Legislation was reviewed to identify similarities and differences in funding, accountability and governance provisions throughout America. Court cases, involving charter schools and charter school legislation, were reviewed to identify the types of issues being litigated and the resulting legal decisions.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0006217, ucf:51111
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006217

Title: A GROUNDED THEORY STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF FLORIDA SCHOOL REPORT CARDS ON HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHERS' SELF-EFFICACY AND PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENT WRITING.
Creator: Briand, Casey S, Olan, Elsie L., University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study sought to uncover how the annual Florida School Report Card influences secondary English Language Arts (ELA) teachers' self-efficacy and perceptions of student writing. The study's findings suggested that ELA teachers' self-efficacy may be indirectly influenced by the School Report Card. The participants in this study suggested that they do not feel totally capable of applying the information learned from the School Report Card to their own classrooms. The teachers who participated...
Show moreThis study sought to uncover how the annual Florida School Report Card influences secondary English Language Arts (ELA) teachers' self-efficacy and perceptions of student writing. The study's findings suggested that ELA teachers' self-efficacy may be indirectly influenced by the School Report Card. The participants in this study suggested that they do not feel totally capable of applying the information learned from the School Report Card to their own classrooms. The teachers who participated in the study also reported that they have low outcome expectations when interacting with the School Report Card. They do not believe that their actions can influence the School Report Card, and suggested that they see the school grade as a moving target with changing rules they may not be able to keep up with. The School Report Card was not suggested to directly impact the participants' perceptions of student writing. Instead, the data suggested that a variety of internal and external factors influence the way teachers perceive their students' writing quality. Finally, most of the participants suggested that they view the school grade as an unfair measure of achievement, and a tool that does not take into account the quality of the learning in the school and represents the school poorly. Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) was used to situate these findings and gain a better understanding of how the School Report Card functions as a tool for teachers and administrators.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFH2000108, ucf:46040
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000108

accountability (9)	+ -
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Accountability (4)	+ -
accounting (4)	+ -
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data analytics (2)	+ -
governance (2)	+ -
Abuse of Police Authority (1)	+ -
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Diffusion of Innovation Theory (1)	+ -
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