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Title: Woman of Dust: An Exodus.
Creator: Schultz, Lacey, Thaxton, Terry, Bartkevicius, Jocelyn, Uttich, Laurie, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Woman of Dust: An Exodus is a collection of themed non-fiction experiences and stories with themes, characters, and ideas that coincide deliberately and verge on the cohesiveness of memoir. The overarching themes of this collection are womanhood and coming of age. The stories examine the ways in which childhood crushes, current relationships, parenting, religion, and pets influence the growth of a child into an adult, in this case, a girl into a woman. They take individual moments,...
Show moreWoman of Dust: An Exodus is a collection of themed non-fiction experiences and stories with themes, characters, and ideas that coincide deliberately and verge on the cohesiveness of memoir. The overarching themes of this collection are womanhood and coming of age. The stories examine the ways in which childhood crushes, current relationships, parenting, religion, and pets influence the growth of a child into an adult, in this case, a girl into a woman. They take individual moments, conversations, conventions, and thoughts and explore how they shaped the woman who now writes them. Stories range in content from how the standards of a southern Baptist church raised a girl who was afraid to date, drink, or kiss, about the role of God in the narrator's private life, to stories that explore how cartoon Disney prince crushes turn into crushing on neighbor boys and classmates, discovering the narrator's current conceptions of love as different from her early conceptions and questioning the ways in which those conceptions came into existence in the first place. These stories look at the domestic implications of religious life that dictate specific roles for women in a marriage relationship, and how the narrator interprets these implications in terms of her own love and pending marriage. Still other essays investigate how a mother's overbearing fear of sex, men, and drugs drove one daughter to be a small town porn star and drove the other to complete abstinence, how gender conventions shape a girl's mind, and how family life sometimes contradicts the same conventions. While the subject of each story is deeply feminine, revolving around a woman narrator and woman experiences, the content of these stories creates a very human experience, one outside the confines of gender. They are about one girl turned woman, from one perspective, and about one life, but they are mostly about being human, about growing, and about the ways in which humans grow.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFE0005246, ucf:50607
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005246

Title: Women in White: my journey into color.
Creator: Tarbox, Madison, Ingram, Kate, Boyd, Belinda, Brown, James, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: In many religious circles white is a symbol for purity, cleanliness, and perfection. However, white is also synonymous with empty, blank, and colorless. Women in White: My journey into color is a project centralized around a personal study of the cultural pressures of (")perfection(") presented both in religious cultures and in the every-day life of a performer. Utilizing the catalyst of a cabaret-style performance, Women in White explores the struggles of nine different female characters in...
Show moreIn many religious circles white is a symbol for purity, cleanliness, and perfection. However, white is also synonymous with empty, blank, and colorless. Women in White: My journey into color is a project centralized around a personal study of the cultural pressures of (")perfection(") presented both in religious cultures and in the every-day life of a performer. Utilizing the catalyst of a cabaret-style performance, Women in White explores the struggles of nine different female characters in the musical theatre cannon and aims to draw a personal connection from their journey. Inspired by the wise words of my own mother, this thesis celebrates the color present in our lives.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0006959, ucf:51656
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006959

Title: Women on the Line: A Qualitative Study of Women's Experience of Work in the Meat Industry.
Creator: Jacques, Jessica, Jacques, Peter, Kiel, Dwight, Pollock, Philip, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study examines the experiences of women who work in the meat industry. Drawing from symbolic interaction and standpoint theory frameworks, this research focuses on how gender, race, and nationality influence work experiences and family life for women in comparison to men in the meat industry. This study is based on 15 in-depth interviews with men and women who work in management positions and in the processing rooms of meat companies where non-human animals are disassembled in the...
Show moreThis study examines the experiences of women who work in the meat industry. Drawing from symbolic interaction and standpoint theory frameworks, this research focuses on how gender, race, and nationality influence work experiences and family life for women in comparison to men in the meat industry. This study is based on 15 in-depth interviews with men and women who work in management positions and in the processing rooms of meat companies where non-human animals are disassembled in the production of food. Data collection and analysis were performed using grounded theory methods of inquiry. Participants' stories highlight women's experience in adapting to the organizational culture of the meat industry, strategies of survival in everyday life in the organization, and the conflict between work and family. While women in management positions discuss the process of fitting into the male-dominated organizational culture, women in the processing room experience gender segregation and inequality that prevents moving into the men's world of processing management, a separation that is built into the structure of the facility. This study contributes to the literature on work in the meat industry as well as the sociological research on gender and work, race and ethnicity studies and research on the family.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005634, ucf:50224
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005634

Title: Women With Influence: Creating A Powerful Woman Leader Identity Through Impression Management.
Creator: Rister, Alex, Hastings, Sally, Sandoval, Jennifer, Miller, Ann, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Women hold few leadership roles in the workplace, and even though research indicates the positive benefits of more women in top positions, leadership has a longstanding association with masculine qualities. If a woman seeks a position of power, she may find herself negotiating between a conflicting (")woman(") identity and (")leader(") role performance. Previous literature on the subject offers two opposing perspectives. While the first school of thought emphasizes the importance of a woman...
Show moreWomen hold few leadership roles in the workplace, and even though research indicates the positive benefits of more women in top positions, leadership has a longstanding association with masculine qualities. If a woman seeks a position of power, she may find herself negotiating between a conflicting (")woman(") identity and (")leader(") role performance. Previous literature on the subject offers two opposing perspectives. While the first school of thought emphasizes the importance of a woman assuming masculine characteristics to successfully assume leadership positions, a second body of research points to gender equality in leadership by driving industries and organizations to change. The current study seeks to determine what kinds of face threats to identity that women leaders encounter in the workplace, how women leaders use impression management to negotiate conflicts between a (")woman(") identity and a (")leader(") role performance, and the kinds of facework utilized to manage those face threats. Qualitative semi-structured interviews with 15 women in leadership positions in the southeast United States revealed participants encountered numerous face threats to identity including positive and negative face threats to their face as hearer, positive face threats to their face as speaker, and the enhancement of negative face by others (-) especially by mentors. Additionally, participants utilized impression management by assuming a masculine gender performance as well as many backstage behaviors, including strategic preparation and planning, in order to be successful. Corrective facework strategies included avoidance and, conversely, direct confrontation.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006380, ucf:51511
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006380

Title: WOMEN'S EXPERIENCES WITH DISTANCE EDUCATION.
Creator: Moody, Jane Elizabeth, Jones, Daniel, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This thesis examines issues that affect women in online learning, and discusses four women's particular experiences in the University of Central Florida's distance learning program. Online education involves aspects of support and communication that may affect women's learning experiences either positively or negatively. Distance learning may also allow women to pursue their education while still taking care of their families and outside work. In order to get a better idea of how distance...
Show moreThis thesis examines issues that affect women in online learning, and discusses four women's particular experiences in the University of Central Florida's distance learning program. Online education involves aspects of support and communication that may affect women's learning experiences either positively or negatively. Distance learning may also allow women to pursue their education while still taking care of their families and outside work. In order to get a better idea of how distance learning impacts women, I discuss several studies that examine how distance learning affects women in particular. I identify three areas from this literature that seem to be particularly important in order for women to have a successful distance learning experience: social support, technical support, and awareness of differences in discussion style.After reviewing the existing literature, I discuss how this literature applies to four women's experiences here at UCF. I talk with them about how they perceive their online learning experiences, and about how they feel that the issues identified in the literature are reflected in their own lives. I discuss their issues with support, technical support, and online discussions, and relate these to existing literature in order to come up with areas that may need further exploration or improvement.I conclude the study by providing suggestions and recommendations for professors who deal with women in their online classes. I also suggest areas for further exploration in the field of women's distance education.
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Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: CFE0000086, ucf:46146
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000086

Title: WOMEN, WORK AND WELFARE: A CASE STUDY OF GERMANY, THE UK, AND SWEDEN.
Creator: Legg, Meredith, Hamann, Kerstin, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This thesis examines how different welfare state regimes affect gender relations by examining variations in welfare regimes and outcomes for women between Western European countries. The research seeks to understand how the diverse systems of social provision affect women: particularly with regard to their position in the labor market and in their ability to balance occupational and domestic work. Using a comparative, qualitative approach, I compare three Western European welfare states ...
Show moreThis thesis examines how different welfare state regimes affect gender relations by examining variations in welfare regimes and outcomes for women between Western European countries. The research seeks to understand how the diverse systems of social provision affect women: particularly with regard to their position in the labor market and in their ability to balance occupational and domestic work. Using a comparative, qualitative approach, I compare three Western European welfare states (Germany, the United Kingdom, and Sweden) to evaluate gender-relevant welfare policy with female employment rates, unemployment rates, and wage differentials. Welfare states and labor market policies affect outcomes for women because these policies influence and structure womenÃ‚Â's ability to enter paid labor and at the same time perform the majority of household labor and care work. To study the effect of welfare state variations upon women, I argue that a gender-focused model of welfare states is necessary. I borrow from Diane SainsburyÃ‚Â's (1996) framework establishing two contrasting ideal-types and combine this with Pascal and LewisÃ‚Â' (2004) gender equality model. Using this framework, I will assess whether my case studies vary around specific gender dimensions of variation including bases of entitlement, maternal and parental leave, pension, and the organization of care work. Preliminary findings align Germany and the United Kingdom with a male breadwinner gender model and Sweden with a dual-earner dual-carer model, although recent policy reforms in Germany and the United Kingdom oriented toward a Scandinavian welfare model may affect future gender outcomes. My research question hopes to uncover how welfare regimes and specific gender-relevant policies support or ignore womenÃ‚Â's labor force participation by reconciling work and home for women through an evaluation of gender-relevant outcomes for women. Systematically looking at the structure of welfare state provision and outcomes through a gender-relevant framework enhances our knowledge of the ways in which the varieties of gender regimes accommodate or perpetuate womenÃ‚Â's inequality in democracies.
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Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: CFE0002974, ucf:47946
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002974

Title: Women, Work, and Time: Food work politics of self defined healthy men.
Creator: Barredo, Juan, Carter, Shannon, Anthony, Amanda, Grauerholz, Liz, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study examined the way gender operates in relation to time within the food work spectrum discussed in 19 narratives. The 19 narratives came from individual open ended face-to-face interviews with self-defined healthy men who shop at healthy food stores. This study's examination of how gender operates in the narratives was based on how the men constructed their experiences with women and work in relation to time through the food work spectrum. Women mentioned in the sampled narratives...
Show moreThis study examined the way gender operates in relation to time within the food work spectrum discussed in 19 narratives. The 19 narratives came from individual open ended face-to-face interviews with self-defined healthy men who shop at healthy food stores. This study's examination of how gender operates in the narratives was based on how the men constructed their experiences with women and work in relation to time through the food work spectrum. Women mentioned in the sampled narratives taught the men how to shop and eat in a healthy manner but women still did the cooking. Work wise the findings split the men into two groups, the majority were the men who did not eat at work and the minority were the ones who did. Both of these sets of findings illuminate that how the men constructed their experiences of the food work spectrum depended on gendered relations of power.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005922, ucf:50834
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005922

Title: Work and Family Conflict: A Comparative Analysis Among Staff Nurses, Nurse Managers, and Nurse Executives.
Creator: Raffenaud, Amanda, Unruh, Lynn, Liu, Albert Xinliang, Fottler, Myron, Andrews, Diane, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The nursing workforce increasingly faces issues that affect clinical and managerial practice. One such issue is work-family conflict (WFC) and family-work conflict (FWC). Nurses face role strain as they confront the pressures from often competing work-and-family roles. This study assessed WFC/FWC among varying nurse roles: staff nurses, managerial nurses, and nurse executives. A random sample of 5,000 nurses, generated from registered nurses practicing in the state of Florida, was surveyed...
Show moreThe nursing workforce increasingly faces issues that affect clinical and managerial practice. One such issue is work-family conflict (WFC) and family-work conflict (FWC). Nurses face role strain as they confront the pressures from often competing work-and-family roles. This study assessed WFC/FWC among varying nurse roles: staff nurses, managerial nurses, and nurse executives. A random sample of 5,000 nurses, generated from registered nurses practicing in the state of Florida, was surveyed for this research study. Nurses were surveyed on demographics, perceptions regarding the work environment, and perceptions of WFC/FWC. Descriptively, nurses experienced more work-family conflict than family-work conflict. Regression analyses and ANOVAs indicated that staff nurses experienced less work-family conflict than nursing managers (second most) and nursing executives (highest). None of the nurse roles experienced significant levels of FWC. White nurses, compared to non-white nurses, experienced less WFC and FWC. WFC increased with shift length but FWC was not significantly affected by it. Paid leave for childbirth was associated with lower FWC. This study holds significant implication for the nursing workforce. Nurse managers and executives showed significantly higher WFC than staff nurses. This may discourage a nurse from taking on leadership roles or lead to leaving them. In an era where nurse managers and leaders are needed, efforts must be taken to decrease WFC/FWC factors. Nonwhite nurses reported higher levels of both WFC and FWC. This may contribute to tension at the workplace and a difficult family life. Leaders must continue to create platforms for nurses of all races and ethnicities to voice their work and family needs, and to be supported when doing so. Nurses working shifts over 8 hours had higher WFC levels. Although 12-hour shifts have been popular among staff and management, their use should be reevaluated. Finally, paid leave for childbirth is a program worth supporting, as it was a factor in lower FWC.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0007081, ucf:51997
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007081

Title: WORK ENVIRONMENT AND THE EFFECT ON OCCUPATIONAL COMMITMENT AND INTENT TO LEAVE: A STUDY OF BEDSIDE REGISTERED NURSES.
Creator: Cortelyou-Ward, Kendall, Fottler, Myron, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The purpose of this research was to determine the effect work environment has on occupational commitment and intent to leave the profession for bedside registered nurses. Subscales of autonomy, control over the practice setting, nurse-physician relationship, and organizational support were incorporated into the analysis to determine which aspect of work environment most directly effects occupational commitment and intent to leave the profession. The research was undertaken in order to help...
Show moreThe purpose of this research was to determine the effect work environment has on occupational commitment and intent to leave the profession for bedside registered nurses. Subscales of autonomy, control over the practice setting, nurse-physician relationship, and organizational support were incorporated into the analysis to determine which aspect of work environment most directly effects occupational commitment and intent to leave the profession. The research was undertaken in order to help administrators determine the ways in which work environment can be improved upon in order to retain bedside registered nurses in the profession. An explanatory cross sectional survey was distributed to 259 direct care bedside registered nurses employed at a rural, system affiliated hospital in Central Florida. Human subject protection was assured through the University of Central Florida Institutional Review Board. A 77 item questionnaire containing 9 demographic questions, 57 questions from the Nursing Work Index- Revised (NWI-R), 8 questions from Blau's occupational commitment scale, and 3 questions from Blau's intent to leave scale was distributed to all direct care nurses. Subjects were also given the opportunity to complete 3 short answer questions. A 32.8 percent response rate was achieved for a total of 85 complete and usable surveys. Data analysis showed that the work environment is positively related to occupational commitment and negatively related to intent to leave. In addition each of the four subscales (autonomy, control over the practice setting, relationship with physicians, and organizational support) were also positively related to occupational commitment and negatively related to intent to leave the profession. Implications for organizations, public policy and future research are discussed.
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Date Issued: 2007
Identifier: CFE0001851, ucf:47343
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001851

Title: Work Function Extraction of Indium Tin Oxide Used As Transparent Gate Electrode For MOSFET.
Creator: Nehate, Shraddha, Sundaram, Kalpathy, Kapoor, Vikram, Yuan, Jiann-Shiun, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Recent commercialization has peaked interest in transparent conducting oxides being implemented in display technology. Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) is a popular transparent conducting oxide which has been utilized as high work function electrode in liquid crystal displays, solar cells, gas sensors and heat reflecting films. Indium Tin Oxide films exhibit excellent transmission characteristics in the visible and infrared spectrum while maintaining high electrical conductivity. High work function...
Show moreRecent commercialization has peaked interest in transparent conducting oxides being implemented in display technology. Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) is a popular transparent conducting oxide which has been utilized as high work function electrode in liquid crystal displays, solar cells, gas sensors and heat reflecting films. Indium Tin Oxide films exhibit excellent transmission characteristics in the visible and infrared spectrum while maintaining high electrical conductivity. High work function electrodes are used to inject holes into organic materials. In majority applications the ITO work function has an impact on the device performance as it affects the energy barrier height at the hetero-junction interface. Hence, the work function of ITO is of critical importance.In this thesis, the work function of ITO is extracted successfully from a Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET) device for the first time. Two MOSFET devices are fabricated using a four level mask under exact same conditions. Aluminum metal is used as a drain and source contact for both MOSFETs. One of the MOSFET has aluminum gate contact and transparent conducting ITO is used as gate contact for the second MOSFET. From the threshold voltage equation of both the fabricated MOSFETs, work function of ITO is extracted. Further optical transmission studies of ITO performed in the visible spectra are also reported in this study.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006364, ucf:51534
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006364

Title: WORK ZONE EFFECTS ON PERFORMANCE OF A TOLL PLAZA.
Creator: liu, jingyu, Radwan, Essam, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: No-lane closure workzone is typical during the construction of open road tolling lanes of a toll plaza. The influence of no-lane closure on toll plazas' performance is unknown because very few studies have been conducted to address this topic. The open road tolling (ORT) has become the new trend of operating an efficient toll plaza. So, the upgrading of a toll plaza from gated E-pass to open road E-pass has become common. The better the toll plaza authority knows about the influence of...
Show moreNo-lane closure workzone is typical during the construction of open road tolling lanes of a toll plaza. The influence of no-lane closure on toll plazas' performance is unknown because very few studies have been conducted to address this topic. The open road tolling (ORT) has become the new trend of operating an efficient toll plaza. So, the upgrading of a toll plaza from gated E-pass to open road E-pass has become common. The better the toll plaza authority knows about the influence of this construction and congestion effects, the better it can serve the costumers. This project mainly deals with the effects of no-lane closure workzone on the toll plaza performance, and with the collected data, a model was developed predicting 15 minutes throughput and queue length. To better study the workzone impact on toll plaza performance, three sites with different characteristics were selected. They are Lake Jesup Mainline Plaza along the Seminole Expressway (SR-417), the Beachline West Expressway Toll Plaza along the SR-528 and Conway toll plaza along the Holland East-West Expressway (SR-408) in Orlando area of Central Florida. Data preparation includes demand, throughput, processing rates, and queue lengths of different toll categories. Data was collected during peak period for before and during the no-lane closure construction (phase 1) at SR-528 and Lake Jesup toll plaza at SR-417, and middle lane construction (phase 2) and after opening ORT lanes (phase 3) at Conway toll plaza at SR-408.Comparisons were conducted between non-construction stage and construction stage for non-lane closure workzone effects study using data from 417 and 528, and comparisons between middle-lane-construction and complete of construction stage for ORT impact study using data from 408. Analysis results showed that when the toll plaza is operating at or close to its capacity, the no-lane closure workzone can have a negative impact on its performance. But when the toll plaza's demand is lower than the capacity, the no-lane closure workzone has no impact at the toll plaza's performance. And the ORT lanes have a positive influence on the capacity and throughput of the toll plaza. After the impact of no-lane closure workzone on toll plaza has been analyzed, all the data from three toll plazas are put together and a model is built using the variables of Demand/Capacity ratio, percentage of each category of vehicles, E-pass, Automatic or Manual, number of Manual lanes, workzone or no-workzone. Throughput and Queue length can be predicted by this model.
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Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002951, ucf:47940
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002951

Title: WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS: WHO GETS A BREAK?.
Creator: Hickson, Kara, Fritzsche, Barbara, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Forty percent of employed parents report that they experience work-family conflict (Galinsky, Bond, & Friedman, 1993). Work-family conflict (WFC) exists when role pressures from the work and family domains are mutually incompatible. WFC is associated with decreases in family, job, and life satisfaction and physical health; intention to quit one's job; and increases in workplace absenteeism. Women may be more impacted by WFC than men, as women report completing 65-80% of the child care ...
Show moreForty percent of employed parents report that they experience work-family conflict (Galinsky, Bond, & Friedman, 1993). Work-family conflict (WFC) exists when role pressures from the work and family domains are mutually incompatible. WFC is associated with decreases in family, job, and life satisfaction and physical health; intention to quit one's job; and increases in workplace absenteeism. Women may be more impacted by WFC than men, as women report completing 65-80% of the child care (Sayer, 2001) and spend 80 hours per week fulfilling work and home responsibilities (Cowan, 1983). Research suggests that WFC can be reduced with social support, such as co-workers providing assistance when family interferes with work (Carlson & Perrewé, 1999). It is unclear whether parents 'get a break' or are penalized by co-workers. The purpose of the present study was to examine co-workers' reactions to individuals who experience WFC. Based on sex role theory and attribution theory, it was predicted that women, people who experience family interference with work, and those who have more control over the work interference would be helped less and evaluated more poorly on a team task than men, people who experience non-family related work interference, and those who have less control over the work interference. A laboratory experiment was conducted in which participants signed up for a team-based study. The teammate was a confederate who was late for the study. Teammate control over the tardiness (unexpected physician's visit versus forgotten physician's appointment), type of work conflict (self- versus family-related), and gender of the teammate were manipulated. After learning about the reasons for the tardiness of their teammate, the 218 participants (63% female; 59% Caucasian) decided whether to help the late teammate by completing a word sort task for them or letting the late teammate make up the work after the experiment. When the teammate arrived, the participants completed a team task and then evaluated the task performance of their teammate. None of the hypotheses were confirmed in this study. However, exploratory analyses showed that people who had more control over the tardiness were rated lower than people who had less control over the tardiness. Contrary to expectations, exploratory analyses also showed that men rated women who were late to the study for a family-related reason higher than women who were late due to a self-related reason. These findings suggest that male co-workers may give women a break when they experience family interference with work. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: CFE0002136, ucf:47517
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002136

Title: WORKING HARD AND BARELY MAKING IT: IDEOLOGICAL CONTRADICTIONS AND THE WORKING POOR.
Creator: Kane, Wendi, Wright, James, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The existence of large, relatively comfortable, middle and working classes is what has set the advanced capitalist societies apart from most societies throughout history. These classes, while not quite "privileged," offer the hope of opportunity and upward social mobility for those who work hard. Yet in the last 30 years a growing class of "working poor" has emerged who invest many hours working but at wages that keep upward social mobility beyond their grasp. The existence of the working...
Show moreThe existence of large, relatively comfortable, middle and working classes is what has set the advanced capitalist societies apart from most societies throughout history. These classes, while not quite "privileged," offer the hope of opportunity and upward social mobility for those who work hard. Yet in the last 30 years a growing class of "working poor" has emerged who invest many hours working but at wages that keep upward social mobility beyond their grasp. The existence of the working poor, it seems, dispels a key element in the ideology of individualism; they work hard yet do not "get ahead." This study addresses the contradiction presented by the working poor; specifically, do the working poor support the ideology of individualism? Prior research finds that the disadvantaged justify the system that inhibits them from having a better quality of life (Jost, et al. 2003). This study, however, suggests that the working poor are more conscious of the ideology's failure to explain their lack of mobility in a system that promises opportunity to those who work hard. Research data were generated through the use of telephone surveys in five counties in Central Florida with approximately 1571 respondents. Several measures of "working poor" were created; moreover, respondents within these categories tended to disagree with the "work hard, get ahead" ideology. Respondents who viewed their financial situation as getting worse, unable to grasp the "upward mobility" promise of the American Dream, also significantly disagreed with the ideology.
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Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002518, ucf:47665
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002518

Title: Working Memory Capacity and Executive Attention as Predictors of Distracted Driving.
Creator: Louie, Jennifer, Mouloua, Mustapha, Szalma, James, Smither, Janan, Matthews, Gerald, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The present study empirically examined the effects of working memory capacity (WMC) and executive attention on distracted driving. Study 1 examined whether a Grocery List Task (GLT) distractor would load onto WMC. Forty-three participants completed a series of WMC tasks followed by the GLT. They then completed two driving trials: driving without the GLT and driving while completing the GLT. It was hypothesized that WMC would positively correlate with GLT performance. A bivariate correlation...
Show moreThe present study empirically examined the effects of working memory capacity (WMC) and executive attention on distracted driving. Study 1 examined whether a Grocery List Task (GLT) distractor would load onto WMC. Forty-three participants completed a series of WMC tasks followed by the GLT. They then completed two driving trials: driving without the GLT and driving while completing the GLT. It was hypothesized that WMC would positively correlate with GLT performance. A bivariate correlation indicated that WMC was positively associated with performance on the GLT. Study 2 tested a series of distractor tasks (GLT, Tone Monitoring, and Stop Signal) to examine whether these three distractor tasks were also related to WMC, and if each of the distractor tasks would result in poor driving performance. Eighty-four participants were randomly assigned to the distractor conditions. Results indicated that GLT was related to WMC, but Tone Monitoring was not related to WMC. Also, engaging in each of the three distractor tasks led to significantly poorer driving performance. Study 3 evaluated whether rainy or clear weather conditions would affect the relationship between WMC and distracted driving using the same three distractor tasks (GLT, Tone Monitoring, and Stop Signal) as used in Study 2. Ninety-six participants were randomly assigned to the distractor conditions. Results showed that engaging in GLT while driving led to slower braking response times compared to not engaging in GLT driving while driving. Furthermore, WMC moderated the degree to which distraction impaired performance. The present findings clearly indicate that all three distractor tasks had a deleterious effect on driving performance. Furthermore, this effect of distraction on driving depends on many factors, including the type of distraction, the driving performance measure, and the individual's cognitive capabilities. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed and directions for future research are presented.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0007042, ucf:51981
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007042

Title: WORKING MEMORY, SEARCH, AND SIGNAL DETECTION: IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERACTIVE VOICE RESPONSE SYSTEM MENU DESIGN.
Creator: Commarford, Patrick, Smither, Janan, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Many researchers and speech user interface practitioners assert that interactive voice response (IVR) menus must be relatively short due to constraints of the human memory system. These individuals commonly cite Miller's (1956) paper to support their claims. The current paper argues that these authors commonly misuse the information provided in Miller's paper and that hypotheses drawn from modern theories of working memory (e.g., Baddeley and Hitch, 1974) would lead to the opposite conclusion...
Show moreMany researchers and speech user interface practitioners assert that interactive voice response (IVR) menus must be relatively short due to constraints of the human memory system. These individuals commonly cite Miller's (1956) paper to support their claims. The current paper argues that these authors commonly misuse the information provided in Miller's paper and that hypotheses drawn from modern theories of working memory (e.g., Baddeley and Hitch, 1974) would lead to the opposite conclusion – that reducing menu length by creating a greater number of menus and a deeper structure will actually be more demanding on users' working memories and will lead to poorer performance and poorer user satisfaction. The primary purpose of this series of experiments was to gain a greater understanding of the role of working memory in speech-enabled IVR use. The experiments also sought to determine whether theories of visual search and signal detection theory (SDT) could be used to predict auditory search behavior. Results of this experiment indicate that creating a deeper structure with shorter menus is detrimental to performance and satisfaction and more demanding of working memory resource. Further the experiment provides support for arguments developed from Macgregor, Lee, and Lam's dual criterion decision model and is a first step toward applying SDT to the IVR domain.
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: CFE0000987, ucf:46715
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000987

Title: World Language Teachers' Preparation, Beliefs, and Instruction in Central Florida.
Creator: Mann-Grosso, Valerie, Taylor, Rosemarye, Baldwin, Lee, Doherty, Walter, Nutta, Joyce, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate: (1) the extent to which world instructors report using specific communicative instructional strategies; (2) the difference between instructional strategies used by ESL only instructors, versus instructors of ESL and foreign languages, or instructors of only foreign languages; (3) the relationship between instructors' academic preparation and target language use in class; and (4) the relationship between instructors' pedagogical beliefs about...
Show moreThe purpose of this study was to investigate: (1) the extent to which world instructors report using specific communicative instructional strategies; (2) the difference between instructional strategies used by ESL only instructors, versus instructors of ESL and foreign languages, or instructors of only foreign languages; (3) the relationship between instructors' academic preparation and target language use in class; and (4) the relationship between instructors' pedagogical beliefs about second language learning and their reported target language use in class. The World Language Communicative Instructional Strategies Survey was administered to world language instructors from three academic institutions. Upon sending two requests, 48 instructors returned usable instruments (55%). Descriptive statistics revealed extensive use of communicative instructional strategies, yet a difference in application of these strategies exists. A comparison of means revealed that assuring that students learn collaboratively in 85% to 100% in target language, integration of all four language skills, and assuring students' independent target language practice were applied less than other strategies. ESL instructors reported a higher use of communicative instructional strategies than instructors of ESL and foreign languages, or foreign languages only. A comparison of means indicated the differences in communicative instructional strategies use are in integration of all four language skills and in assuring 85% to 100% in-target-language collaborative learning. Findings also revealed a discrepancy between the reported use of communicative instructional strategies and the academic preparation received in order to do so. This study provides implications for the preparation of world language instructors. Specifically, the findings focused on mastery of language taught, on specific instructional methodology courses, and the practicum experience.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005836, ucf:50899
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005836

Title: WORLDVIEW, IDEOLOGY, AND CERAMIC ICONOGRAPHY: A STUDY OF LATE TERMINAL FORMATIVE GRAYWARES FROM THE LOWER RIO VERDE VALLEY OF OAXACA, MEXICO.
Creator: Brzezinski, Jeffrey, Barber, Sarah, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study investigates worldview and ideology during the late Terminal Formative period (A.D. 100 250) in the lower Rio Verde Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, through an analysis of iconography found on grayware ceramic serving vessels. The sample includes 457 vessels and sherds from 17 lower Verde sites obtained through excavations and surface collections between 1988 and 2009. Drawing upon theories of semiotics and style, this thesis identifies a suite of icons suggesting that ceramics were a...
Show moreThis study investigates worldview and ideology during the late Terminal Formative period (A.D. 100 250) in the lower Rio Verde Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, through an analysis of iconography found on grayware ceramic serving vessels. The sample includes 457 vessels and sherds from 17 lower Verde sites obtained through excavations and surface collections between 1988 and 2009. Drawing upon theories of semiotics and style, this thesis identifies a suite of icons suggesting that ceramics were a medium for expressing regionally shared beliefs. Chatino potters carved common Formative period Mesoamerican themes into the walls of graywares, such as depictions of maize and climatic phenomena, which may have been part of a religious worldview rooted in the belief that humans and non-human deities shared a reciprocal relationship. People at Rio Viejo, including elites, may have attempted to exploit this relationship, thought of as a "sacred covenant" or agreement between humans and deities, to create a more centralized political entity during the late Terminal Formative Chacahua phase. By using iconographic graywares in socially and politically significant ritual activities such as feasting and caching events, elites imbued graywares with a powerful essence that would have facilitated the spread of the coded messages they carried. Based on statistical analyses of the diversity of iconographic assemblages from various sites, I argue that the assemblage of icons at Rio Viejo, a late Terminal Formative political center in the lower Verde, indicates ideas likely originated at or flowed through this site.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0003728, ucf:48786
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003728

Title: Worldwide Infrastructure for Neuroevolution: A Modular Library to Turn Any Evolutionary Domain into an Online Interactive Platform.
Creator: Szerlip, Paul, Stanley, Kenneth, Laviola II, Joseph, Wu, Annie, Kim, Joo, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Across many scientific disciplines, there has emerged an open opportunity to utilize the scale and reach of the Internet to collect scientific contributions from scientists and non-scientists alike. This process, called citizen science, has already shown great promise in the fields of biology and astronomy. Within the fields of artificial life (ALife) and evolutionary computation (EC) experiments in collaborative interactive evolution (CIE) have demonstrated the ability to collect thousands...
Show moreAcross many scientific disciplines, there has emerged an open opportunity to utilize the scale and reach of the Internet to collect scientific contributions from scientists and non-scientists alike. This process, called citizen science, has already shown great promise in the fields of biology and astronomy. Within the fields of artificial life (ALife) and evolutionary computation (EC) experiments in collaborative interactive evolution (CIE) have demonstrated the ability to collect thousands of experimental contributions from hundreds of users across the glob. However, such collaborative evolutionary systems can take nearly a year to build with a small team of researchers. This dissertation introduces a new developer framework enabling researchers to easily build fully persistent online collaborative experiments around almost any evolutionary domain, thereby reducing the time to create such systems to weeks for a single researcher. To add collaborative functionality to any potential domain, this framework, called Worldwide Infrastructure for Neuroevolution (WIN), exploits an important unifying principle among all evolutionary algorithms: regardless of the overall methods and parameters of the evolutionary experiment, every individual created has an explicit parent-child relationship, wherein one individual is considered the direct descendant of another. This principle alone is enough to capture and preserve the relationships and results for a wide variety of evolutionary experiments, while allowing multiple human users to meaningfully contribute. The WIN framework is first validated through two experimental domains, image evolution and a new two-dimensional virtual creature domain, Indirectly Encoded SodaRace (IESoR), that is shown to produce a visually diverse variety of ambulatory creatures. Finally, an Android application built with WIN, #filters, allows users to interactively evolve custom image effects to apply to personalized photographs, thereby introducing the first CIE application available for any mobile device. Together, these collaborative experiments and new mobile application establish a comprehensive new platform for evolutionary computation that can change how researchers design and conduct citizen science online.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005889, ucf:50892
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005889

Title: Wounded Warrior or War Hero? Or Maybe, Neither?: Resisting Common Tropes of the Veteran and Developing Digital Literacy Practices via Narrative Building and Identity Presentation in Social Networking Spaces.
Creator: Branham, Cassandra, Vie, Stephanie, Rounsaville, Angela, Salter, Anastasia, Grohowski, Mariana, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This project reports on the results of a study that investigated the social networking use of student and non-student veterans, with a particular focus on the narrative building and identity presentation practices involved in this use. In this dissertation, I argue that stereotypical and exclusionary tropes of the veteran, such as the veteran as war hero and the veteran as wounded warrior, are damaging to our veterans and to others, in both the society and the classroom. However, through the...
Show moreThis project reports on the results of a study that investigated the social networking use of student and non-student veterans, with a particular focus on the narrative building and identity presentation practices involved in this use. In this dissertation, I argue that stereotypical and exclusionary tropes of the veteran, such as the veteran as war hero and the veteran as wounded warrior, are damaging to our veterans and to others, in both the society and the classroom. However, through the detailed analysis of survey data and data collected from an interview and social networking profile tour with one student veteran participant, I highlight the exclusionary nature of these tropes and argue that the complex digital narratives crafted in social networking spaces can offer resistance to popular tropes of the veteran. The complexity of my participants' digital narratives also offers support for the argument that elements of one's social networking profiles, when viewed independently and decontextualized, can lead to invalid and unfair assumptions about the users' identity. Additionally, I argue that, for my participants, many of whom demonstrated a nuanced and critical understanding of audience, decisions to self-identify as military personnel in social networking spaces are intertwined with perceptions of privacy. Finally, this project culminates in the identification of a number of digital literacy practices present in my participants' social networking use, as well as a set of pedagogical and programmatic recommendations for writing teachers and writing program administrators interested in aiding student veterans in the process of transition and reintegration.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006268, ucf:51030
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006268

Title: WRITE THE COMMUNITY: THE EFFECTS OF SERVICE-LEARNING PARTICIPATION ON SEVEN UNIVERSITY CREATIVE WRITING STUDENTS.
Creator: Hodges, Lauren, Kaplan, Jeffrey, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Research in higher education service-learning suggests that there is a positive relationship between service-learning and student learning outcomes as well as a positive relationship between students' interactions with the "real world" through service-learning and the effects of these experiences on deepening students' knowledge in their disciplines. Recent studies have established this positive relationship between service-learning and university composition and literature students. However,...
Show moreResearch in higher education service-learning suggests that there is a positive relationship between service-learning and student learning outcomes as well as a positive relationship between students' interactions with the "real world" through service-learning and the effects of these experiences on deepening students' knowledge in their disciplines. Recent studies have established this positive relationship between service-learning and university composition and literature students. However, aside from the existing literature on service-learning and composition and writing, there has been virtually no examination of the relationship between service-learning and creative writing. The purpose of this study was to investigate how seven creative writing students experienced the process of creative writing differently after engaging in service-learning in a creative writing course at a large, urban university in the southeastern United States and to determine if students experienced a transformative learning experience as indicated by Mezirow's (2000) transformational learning theory. This research study employed an instrumental narrative case study design to determine how seven university creative writing students experienced the process of creative writing differently after taking a creative writing course with an optional service-learning component. The results of the study indicated that service-learning invoked a transformative learning experience in these seven higher education creative writing students, each in different ways-some in their writing processes and writing content, some in how they reflected upon themselves and their writing in relation to the "outside world," and some in their sense of civic duty.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0003988, ucf:48655
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003988

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