Poetry Beyond the Page: A Case for Spoken Word Poetry in Florida\u27s Secondary Classrooms

Florida’s B.E.S.T. Standards, Florida’s most recent K-12 educational standards to promote literacy, lack the rising art of Spoken Word Poetry. However, Florida’s Department of Education should integrate Spoken Word into Florida’s Secondary curriculum. Spoken Word Poetry, by its definition, holds researched benefits that align with the B.E.S.T. Standard’s poetry recommendations and literacy-centered goals. In light of such benefits, Florida’s Department of Education should consider various Spoken Word poets and poems to include in Florida’s Secondary Curriculum, as well as explore the resources and integration methods included in this thesis for both teachers and students

Influence of Distributed Reporting of Terror Violence on Implicit Associations of Individuals

Following the 9/11 terror attacks, many Americans experienced some form of habit or mood-altering stress though, most had received their impressions of the violence via distributed media reporting rather than firsthand exposure. Researchers have found that the propagating effects of media broadcasting can exasperate the effects of terror. However, little is known of how reports of terror violence affect group dynamics in geographically distant nations. The purpose of this study, following terror management theory, was to understand if terrorist violence influences cognitive and implicit racial evaluations in a culturally similar, but geographically distant, population. The study\u27s design was a quantitative natural experiment. Time of completing the assessment, either before or after the 2015 Paris Bataclan terror attack, comprised the 2-level independent variable; the dependent variables were the Race Implicit Association Test (IAT) and a cognitive evaluation of racial anxiety. Age and religiosity served as covariates. The target population included White citizen residents of the United States over the age of 18; 263 participants were derived from archival data. Comparisons of raw IAT scores showed an 8% increase in negative implicit racial evaluations following the attack; however, the MANCOVA failed to achieve multivariate significance (p \u3e .05). Despite the lack of statistical significance, important details on implicit racial attitudes were uncovered. Results of this study have the potential to foster positive social change by informing individuals on how their implicit associations might be affected following exposure to reports of terrorist violence. Additionally, these findings may guide national security and intelligence professional\u27s development of post-attack response measures and task forces

Observer Interpretation of Signaling in Consumer Decision Making

This dissertation includes two essays exploring the effects of observers' interpretation of signaling behavior by others on the inferences and decision making of the observers. The first essay investigates how observers make inferences about other people's brand attachment. We propose that observers use the proximity of branded objects to the physical being of the user and the costs incurred to acquire the object to determine the degree of self-extension of the object - that is, to what extent it represents a part of the person's self-concept. Through two studies, we show that to the extent that an object is seen as self-extensive, the user would be inferred to be engaging in self-expression, attempting to convey aspects of their personality to others by using the object. These beliefs about self-expression then lead observers to infer that the individual is attached to the brand. In the second essay, we consider how a brand's advertising appeals should be affected by its market position. Building on an experimental study, we present a duopoly model of brand advertising copy decisions, where consumer motives are influenced by Quality-based and Image-based advertising appeals. We show that each brand's decision to select one type of advertising appeal over the other is a function of its market position. We find that larger brands will use Quality-based appeals while smaller brand will use Image-based appeals. We empirically test these findings by examining advertising decisions for major brands found in a popular newsmagazine. Consistent with the model, we find that larger market share brands use Quality-based advertising appeals to a greater extent, while smaller brands use more Image-based appeals. Further, we find that brands that deviate from the predictions of the model are less profitable. Our results suggest that marketing managers should consider their position in the market when crafting advertising appeals, with larger brands emphasizing product quality in their appeals and smaller brands emphasizing the fit of their products with consumers' self-image

Effects Of Cortisol Stress Response Patterns On Autism Related Behaviors In Young Adult Males With Fragile X Syndrome And Autism Spectrum Disorders

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by deficits in social interactions (reduced eye contact, topic preoccupation, and social withdrawal) and maladaptive behaviors of anxiety, social withdrawal, and restricted interests (Kau, Tierney, Bukelis, Stump, Kates, Trescher et al., 2004). Prior research with individuals who have FXS has indicated that problem behaviors (i.e. social withdrawal and inattention) were correlated with abnormal activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA; Hessl, et. al., 2002); however, very few studies have investigated physiological patterns and associations with social dysfunction and restricted and repetitive behaviors for individuals with idiopathic ASD. The present study investigated the role of cortisol stress response physiological indices on directly observed social affect deficits, repetitive behaviors and overall autistic behaviors within adolescent to young adult males with FXS compared to idiopathic ASD. The study involved two related analyses: 1) examination of mean levels and modulation of salivary cortisol levels in response to two days of assessments and 2) the investigation of the relationship of social affect deficits, restricted and repetitive behaviors and overall autistic behaviors to salivary cortisol stress responses. Adolescent males with FXS with and without ASD demonstrated elevated pre-assessment cortisol levels on Day 1; however, persistent elevation in cortisol stress response at the start of Day 2 was only found in adolescent males with ASD (idiopathic and with FXS). The greatest modulation of cortisol stress response was found in adolescent males with FXS-O on Day 1 with exact opposite findings on Day 2 with adolescent males with iASD demonstrating the greatest modulation of cortisol stress response. Lastly, lack of modulation of cortisol stress response on Day 2 was predictive of greater social affect deficits in adolescent males with iASD. Adolescent males with iASD and FXS with ASD have distinct neuroendrocrine profiles that differentiate them from FXS alone. Additionally, increased physiological reactivity during testing sessions was associated with greater restricted/repetitive behaviors regardless of genetic or diagnostic status. The results also support a complex interplay of maladaptive cortisol modulation and association with social affect deficits in young adult males with idiopathic ASD

Fluidization of the Office: Relationship of Place to Productivity

The influence of technology has vastly changed the way in which the office operates. With ideals such as mobility and flexibility on the rise, the office requires more attention in the way it is designed and laid out. By examining existing models of office development as well as research into how employees can be more productive in their office setting, a new adaptation of the office must be designed in order to accommodate the these changes

The Effect of Faculty Perceptions and Leadership Support on Social Media Utilization in Higher Education

© 2018, Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education. All rights reserved. This research explored faculty perspectives (n=168) on integrating and using social media for instruction in two government universities in the United Arab Emirates. Based on an online survey with both open and closed ended questions, the strongest predictor of use was faculty perceptions of the advantages that social media offers as an educational tool. Faculty who saw the value of using social media across a wide range of platforms were more likely to use it. The results reveal a gap between perceived value and actual use. Additionally, social media use in teaching was inversely related to teaching experience. The most significant barriers to adopting social media were privacy concerns, lack of time, and lack of technical and senior administrative support. Implications for higher education administrators to support the use of social media for teaching are explored