Dissertations, Academic -- Florida Atlantic University

The United States established the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to
monitor and enforce compliance with environmental pollution standards through various
programs and policies. One such policy, the Audit Policy, allows companies to
voluntarily self-report violations to the Agency in exchange for elimination of certain
penalties. Despite the policy, firms still incur large environmental penalties, thus
indicating the need for better understanding of the policy. A necessary but not sufficient
condition for penalty relief under the Audit Policy requires discovery of violations by an
environmental audit or a compliance management system. This research explores the
option of discovery by a compliance management system and examines the motivation of
managers to invest in an environmental management system (EMS).
The theory of reasoned action (TRA) argues that attitude and subjective norms
precede intentions. I use this theory to investigate what factors cause a manager to invest in an environmental management system (EMS). Additionally, I examine whether
environmental attitude, tolerance for ambiguity and willful blindness are antecedents to
attitude towards an EMS. In this study, I develop and test a scale of the willful blindness
construct and measure its impact on managerial decision-making. The willful blindness
construct development produced a one-item measure. My results support all hypotheses
except for the predicted link between tolerance for ambiguity and attitude.

Although temporal issues affecting organizations and leaders have been researched, time orientation (preference for one or more of the present, past, and future time frames) and visioning ability of change agents within organizations remain open for additional investigation. This exploratory survey study compared self-reported time orientation (TO) and visioning ability ratings of administrators and faculty at a community college. The research added to the extant literature by contextualizing the measures of the key constructs and extending the research to a novel setting.
Scores for all three time frames were assessed in contrast to studies that emphasize future orientation. In addition, TO measures were obtained using an instrument constructed specifically for organizations (Fortunato & Furey, 2009). An adapted version of a visioning ability by Thoms and Blasko (1999) was constructed to address a specified time depth (the distant future) and domains relevant to higher education.
Administrators reported significantly higher ratings than faculty on Future TO and visioning ability measures. Future TO scores for faculty were lower in relation to scores on the other two TO scales, but no within-group TO differences were found for administrators. A multiple regression model indicated that Future TO was the best predictor of visioning ability. Faculty teaching in the Associate of Science areas had higher Present TO scores than those teaching in the Associate of Arts programs. TO
and visioning ability did not change as a function of gender, age, culture, and years of experience in higher education.
The interpretation of the findings was limited by the lack of benchmarks that allow for meaningful comparisons across organizations, and by a continued need to establish construct and predictive validity for the key measures. The research has implications for hiring decisions, for staff development, and for temporal profiling in organizations interested in envisioning the distant future.

A quasi-experimental, between groups design was used to evaluate differences in
emotional behavior, as measured by the Specific Affect Coding System (SPAFF),
between professional therapists and their clients and a master therapist and his client.
This coding system also was used to determine how emotional behavior shown by a
master therapist changes over the course of six psychotherapy sessions. The research
team recorded counseling sessions at a university counseling center in the southeastern
United States and coded this video data using SPAFF in real time. Data were analyzed
quantitatively to determine whether significant differences in SPAFF codes exist between
the master therapist, professional therapists at the university counseling center, and their
respective clients. Results indicated that the master therapist showed significantly more
neutral and less negative affect than his counterparts at the university in both sessions one
and four. The master therapist’s client showed significantly more neutral affect and less negative in session one and significantly more positive affect and less negative affect in
session four.

Coral reefs on Florida’s Reef Tract (FRT) are susceptible to many anthropogenic
influences including controlled freshwater discharges and agricultural runoff as well as
high natural environmental variability from seasonal rainfall, runoff and upwelling. To
better understand coral population structure and responses to sublethal stressors,
populations of the scleractinian coral Montastraea cavernosa in the northern FRT were
examined using a combination of genomic and transcriptomic techniques. Microsatellite
genetic markers identified high local retention among sites and a slight southward gene
flow. An in-situ temporal gene expression analysis utilizing a tag-based sequencing
transcriptomic approach was used to analyze baseline coral health at St. Lucie Reef
(SLR), off Stuart, FL. Temporal variation had the greatest influence of differential gene
expression among M. cavernosa at SLR. Results will be shared with local resource
managers and coupled with a complementary ex-situ experimental trial.

Research shows that there is a disconnect between student and faculty perceptions
in a range of areas. One area that has not been researched is comparing student and
faculty perceptions regarding desirable and undesirable traits in professors. The purpose
of this mixed methods study was to identify what students perceive are the most and least
desirable qualities in professors, and how those qualities affect their overall college
experience. This study also identified what professors thought students perceive as the
most and least desirable qualities in professors, and how those qualities affect students’
overall college experience. The findings indicate that the largest disparity in perceptions
between students and faculty was faculty perception that students rate them based on
class rigor and assigned grades, which were two of the least important qualities according
to students. The largest similarity that faculty and students agreed upon is that students
desire professors who are knowledgeable, passionate, engaging, and able to connect with students. Both groups also perceive that students do not like professors who are boring
and monotone. In addition, students and professors agree that students perceive
professors as playing an important role in their lives that affect their ability to learn, the
grades they receive, and also impact their overall college experience and trajectory in life.
The two groups differed when describing how professors’ undesirable qualities can
negatively affect students’ emotions and self-confidence.
Faculty and students were in agreement in a variety of areas, but they were
disconnected in several areas as well. This is a problem as we move into the future. Cox
(2009) said, “the traditional college student is no longer the typical college student” (p.
7), especially when it comes to state and community colleges. Professors would benefit
from listening to students instead of assuming that their ratings are untrustworthy and
based on how hard or easy the class was or what grade they received. The researcher
asserts, along with others in the literature, that expertise in content area is no longer good
enough to be an effective educator in higher education. Faculty also need to be experts in
understanding students.

Human reliance on the goods and services provided by ecosystems and the global
decline in the health of many of these ecosystems, necessitates ecosystem valuation for the
purposes of decision-making and conservation policy. The literature suggests that conventionally
employed economic valuation methods have been unsuccessful in capturing the full scope of the
benefits ecosystems provide, particularly those benefits that are considered cultural. This
research explores public perceptions of salt marsh value through the use of focus groups in
marsh-adjacent communities in Massachusetts, Virginia, and Georgia. Results suggest that in
case study communities, outdoor experiences in salt marshes inspire serenity in Massachusetts,
shape shore and “marsh” identities in Virginia, and promote stewardship cultivation in Georgia.
Perceived threats to these benefits, such as the threat of residential development, industrial
pollution, and increasing flood risk, together constitute the context for various community
responses related to marsh protection. Results contribute to existing economic valuations.

The study was born out of a deep concern that there have been missed
opportunities to apply cultural intelligence to enrich leadership, instruction, and learning.
In particular, direct interaction and observation of students from multicultural
backgrounds have revealed the value in adjusting one’s mindset to creating a more
inclusive learning environment. The purpose of the study was to examine the influence
of cultural intelligence on faculty leadership. The problem addressed was the growing
need for faculty to expand their cultural intelligence to enable them to demonstrate
exemplary leadership in 21st century classrooms.
The study measured the cultural intelligence of faculty using the Cultural
Intelligence Scale (CQS). Faculty members’ leadership was measured using the
Leadership Practices Inventory Self (LPI-Self). This quantitative study used
associational and survey methods to predict scores and explain associations among variables.
Overall, behavioral CQ and cognitive CQ had a greater influence on the following
leadership practices: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, and Challenge the Process.
For the private university, behavioral CQ had a greater influence on the following
leadership practices: Model the Way and Inspiring a Shared Vision. The public
university did not show preference for any of the five leadership practices. For the state
college, cognitive CQ had a greater influence on all leadership practices, except for
Model the Way.
The results of this study confirmed that cultural intelligence significantly
influenced leadership practices of faculty members. These findings provide important
information for faculty development programs, curriculum development, and hiring
practices. An urgent requirement for advancing teaching and learning in today’s higher
education classrooms is a keen understanding of the underlying values, beliefs, and
perceptions of students. These qualities affect students’ understanding and how they
express themselves in the classroom.
The decision to give instructional leaders leadership training in cultural
intelligence is highly recommended. While faculty members showed preference for
certain leadership practices, their preferences might be incorporated to develop a blended
leadership style that may be more suitable for today’s diverse academic community. The
association found between cultural intelligence and leadership practices confirms the
value of faculty development in cultural intelligence.

The culmination of my graduate research and investigations is my thesis
exhibition Solace; Intimately Remembered Places. This body of paintings is a visual
representation of land, water and flora that focuses on my abstraction of nature to extract
essential elements that expresses my deep connection to a specific time and place, layered
with associated memories. By revisiting a landscape over a sustained period of time, I
developed a personal visual vocabulary to communicate the essential abstract forms of
nature and record the subtle nuances of color, light, shape, texture, positive and negative
space to evoke a particular time and place. I expanded my painting techniques through
the addition of a laser cutter. Rooted in a background of graphic design, my thesis also
incorporated and included a book form using similar strategies.

The leading cause of disability among older adults is osteoarthritis (OA) (Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2017). Chronic pain associated with arthritis
interferes with daily living among older adults and has been related to depression
(Zanocchi et al., 2008). Research suggests that ethnicity and psychosocial factors may
influence health outcomes of older adults with arthritis who are experiencing chronic pain
and depression (Im, Guevara, & Chee, 2007; Wilson et al., 2014). The influence of
ethnicity on depression among older adults with OA experiencing chronic pain is the
phenomenon of interest for this study. Chronic pain that interferes with activities of daily
living gives rise to disability, followed by potential episodes of depression. This currently
is impacting the quality of life for older adults with OA. The aim of this study was to gain new insight regarding the relationship and
predictive factors for depression between pain interference, gender, and ethnicity among
older adults with OA pain and depression. This study examined the research question, “Does ethnicity, gender, and pain interference predict depression among older adults with
osteoarthritis?”
This study was a secondary analysis of existing data from the National Institute of
Health National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (Park, McCaffrey,
Newman, Cheung, & Hagen, 2014) study titled, The Effect of Sit ‘N’ Fit Chair Yoga on
Community-Dwelling Elders with Osteoarthritis. A descriptive retrospective correlational
design was utilized to investigate factors that predict depression. Statistical analysis
included multiple linear regression and analysis of variance. The study sample (n = 104)
consisted of community-dwelling older adults ages 65 years or older with osteoarthritis.
Findings indicated that (1) ethnicity, gender, and pain interference did predict
depression; (2) there were no significant difference in depression between Hispanics and
non-Hispanics while controlling for pain interference; and (3) there was statistically
significant differential interaction with depression when pain interference increased, with
Hispanics reporting higher levels of depressions as pain interference increased, as
compared to non-Hispanics.
The new knowledge gained from this study may help guide healthcare providers
in developing effective alternative approaches for improving health outcomes of
mismanaged ethnically diverse older adults with OA.

This research demonstrates that a 3D printed bolus can be customized for electron
radiation therapy. Both extruder and powder based printers were used, along with, paraffin
wax, super stuff, and H20. The plan dose coverage and conformity for the planning target
volume (PTV), was such that the distal side of the PTV was covered by the 90% isodose
line. The structure is read, and converted into an STL file. The file is sent to a slicer to
print. The object was filled with parafin wax, superstuff or water and sealed. Materials
Hounsfield units were analyzed, along with the structure stability. This method is evaluated
by scanning the 3D printed bolus. The dose conformity is improved compared to that with
no bolus. By generating a patient specific 3D printed bolus there is an in improvement in
conformity of the prescription isodose surface while sparing immediately adjacent normal
tissues.