The Integrative Neuropsychological Theory of Executive-Related Abilities and Component Transactions (INTERACT; Garcia-Barrera, 2011) is a novel perspective on executive function(s), and the functional interactions among those neural systems thought to underlie them. INTERACT was examined in this validation study using structural equation modeling. A novel battery of computerized tasks was implemented in a sample of 218 healthy, adult, university students. Each of the derived indicator variables represented a specific aspect of performance, and corresponded with one of the five distinct executive components of INTERACT. After eliminating tasks that demonstrated poor psychometric properties, overall model fit was excellent, χ2 = 36.38, df = 44, p = .786; CFI = 1.00; RMSEA = .000. Further, INTERACT was superior to six alternative measurement models, which were theoretically-based. Although the structural model of INTERACT was too complex to be tested here, a novel analysis of the data was introduced to test the interactions among INTERACT’s components. This analysis demonstrated the significant utility of INTERACT’s fundamental theoretical predictions. Given the outcome of this initial validation study, the predictive power of INTERACT should continue to be exploited in future studies of executive function(s), and should be extended to explore executive systems in unique populations. / Graduate

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009. / Title from title screen (site viewed June 26, 2009). PDF text: vii, 120 p. : ill. ; 855 Kb. UMI publication number: AAT 3350451. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Recent epidemiological data from the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS) estimate significant lifetime prevalence rates for anxiety and mood disorders, suggesting nearly one in three people would meet diagnostic criteria for an anxiety and/or mood disorder at some point during their lifetime (NCS, 2007). Comorbidity research has also revealed that people often suffer from these disorders concurrently (Rodriguez et al., 2004). Many have argued that anxiety and mood disorders frequently co-occur because they share similar etiological factors (Barlow, 1991; Clark & Watson, 1991; Watson, 2005). Additional empirical research has suggested that depressive and anxiety disorders share similar genetic diatheses and merely present differently because of variation in environmental stressors (Hettema, Neale, & Kendler, 2001; Rutter Moffit, & Caspi, 2006). As a result, an investigation of shared emotion regulation and affective processes across anxiety and mood disorders may reveal parallel etiological factors and areas for intervention. Research examining emotion and affective dysregulation indicates that mood and anxiety pathology may be characterized by similar emotional control and understanding deficits (Amstadter, 2008; Bradley, 2000; Sandin et al., 1996). Models of emotion dysregulation suggest that individuals suffering from anxiety pathology report decreased understanding of emotions, higher reactivity and sensitivity to emotions, and poor emotional management and mood repair skills (Mennin et al., 2005). Similarly, studies have observed parallel difficulties in those with depression (Liverant, Brown, Barlow, & Roemer, 2008; Rude and McCarthy, 2003). Additionally, research has indicated that efforts to reappraise or suppress emotions may affect the intensity and valence of emotional experiences (Gross & John, 2004). The current study builds off this research by incorporating elements of previous models of emotion dysregulation and anxiety and mood pathology in an effort to develop a comprehensive model of affective process that may underlie both anxious and depressive symptomatology. A total of 526 undergraduate students participated in the present investigation by completing a series of self-report instruments measuring affect and psychopathology. Response patterns were analyzed using AMOS 4.0 in order to examine the structural relationships between negative affectivity, positive affectivity, emotion reappraisal, emotion suppression, negative emotional reactivity, and poor understanding of emotions. Initial tests of a single model of emotion dysregulation suggested that the development of two separate models best represented subject responses. As a result, distinct models for suppression and reappraisal were tested concurrently. Tests of model invariance revealed similar structural qualities across gender, ethnicity, and levels of general distress for both models. Following modification, final fit indices suggested good fit for the reappraisal model (CFI = .99, TLI = .99, RMSEA = .057); however, the suppression model did not appear similarly representative of subject response behavior (CFI = .89, TLI = .85, RMSEA = .073). Findings of the current study suggest that the use of emotional reappraisal may be associated with increased positive affective and decreased negative affective states. Further, attempts to reappraise emotional experiences may influence the relationships poor understanding of emotions and fear of strong affect demonstrated with negative and positive affect. Data support previously articulated psychotherapy treatment strategies (Beck, 1979; Barlow & Cerny, 1988; Linehan, 1993; Hayes, 2004), but also indicate that current cognitive behavioral therapies may benefit from heightened attention to emotions and the incorporation of affective regulation skill building strategies. Future research directions, study strengths and limitations, and additional implications of present results are included.

This study developed and empirically examined a model to help understand how key individuals in businesses decide on whether or not to buy and utilise technology in the context of managing their obligations in relation to business taxes. In restricting the frame of reference to a taxation context, it enabled a link to be made to individual decision making, as it is ordinarily the case that one lead buyer is evident in the context of tax and technology in organisations. The model was developed from a review of extant literature in the areas of technology acceptance, behavioural intention, and consumer and business buying models. The overall model was built on a framework that has at its core the Augmented Technology Acceptance Model (Taylor & Todd, 1995a). A correspondence between attitude to use of the technology and product quality is theorised, allowing a connection to a wider model of purchase intention. The initial model was developed with thirteen hypotheses, ultimately leading to an examination of intention to buy tax technology. After an initial pilot study, in the main study a questionnaire was designed to capture empirical data for measurements related to the model. Data collected from 125 informants (i.e. senior tax staff in large organisations) about tax technology buying decisions they were currently considering was used to empirically test the model, using Structural Equation Modelling. The low sample size caused a need to simplify the original model to retain statistical power. This had the result of reducing the number of hypotheses to ten. The analysis was performed testing the measurement model and the model fit and thereby investigating its underlying hypotheses. The results supported the key hypotheses and the overall explanatory power of the model in examining intention to buy tax technology was strong. The use of technology acceptance principles as core to helping explain buying intention for tax technology was strongly supported. Only one hypothesis was not supported, relating to a proposed positive relationship between Relationship Quality and Intention to Buy constructs. Potential explanations for this finding with regard to relationship quality were introduced. The general research contributions and implications of the study were also discussed.

Three cases of food safety issue occurred in South Korea were chosen to test whether message frames influence on consumers’ purchasing intention. In addition, this study not only investigates the relationships among constructs, but also evaluates the path coefficients of rela-tionships. Empirical Results indicates that consumers’ intention to purchasing was negatively affected by message frames including negative headline, negative information and less amount of information. Also, knowledgeable group was more sensitive to prior-knowledge with respect to their attitude than other group when there are food risks around. Group received negative mes-sage reacted more sensitively to trust than group received relatively positive message.

Academic entitlement is defined as the belief that academic benefits, positive outcomes, or preferential treatment should be given regardless of individual effort (Chowning & Campbell, 2009; Greenberger, et al., 2008; Kopp et al., 2011). The current study investigated antecedent and outcome relationships of endorsing academic entitlement beliefs (AEBs) among undergraduate college students using structural equation modeling (SEM). Specific variables evaluated in the model as predictors of AEBs included students’ beliefs regarding achievement goals (i.e., mastery-approach, mastery-avoidance, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance), control beliefs (i.e., internal, chance, and powerful others), consumerism, narcissism, and parental involvement; as well as the background characteristics of students’ age and exposure to community college. Outcome variables included in the model consisted of students’ beliefs regarding academic policies, in-class behaviors, and academic expectations. An email was sent to all undergraduate students at a large university in the south eastern region of the United States soliciting participation for an online questionnaire. The responses of 904 participants were randomly divided into two equal subsamples: one for model evaluation and modification, and one to evaluate model stability. Results of the SEM model gave indication of multiple relationships. Specifically, powerful others, chance, mastery-avoidance goals, performance-avoidance goals, beliefs in consumerism, and parental over-involvement were all observed to positively predict AEBs. Endorsements of AEBs and consumerism beliefs were observed to positively predict students’ beliefs in preferential academic policies regarding grading, scheduling, and personal accommodations. The findings of the current model present a contemporary perspective on how AEBs relates to an array of both general and specific student beliefs. The positive correspondence between students’ endorsements of AEBs and students’ beliefs in accommodating academic policies suggests that AEBs are potential precursors to maladaptive in-class beliefs. The positive relationships observed between students’ AEBs and students’ beliefs in powerful others, parental over-involvement, consumerism, and chance all indicate that AEBs are an externally oriented system of beliefs. Future recommendations include improving measures as well as investigating developmental changes, behavioral consequences, parental over-involvement and individual differences in academic entitlement.

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Structural equation models combine factor analysis models and multivariate regression models to estimate associations between observed variables and unobserved variables. The main achievement of this Capstone Project is the understanding of structural equation models and application of the models to real-world data. In this report, we reviewed structural equation models and several prerequisite topics. We performed a simulation study to compare maximum likelihood structural equation model estimation versus two-stage sequential estimation using multiple linear regression and maximum likelihood factor analysis. The simulation study confirmed that confidence intervals produced by structural equation models are valid and those obtained by two-stage sequential estimation are largely inaccurate. We applied structural equation models to an educational data comparing the efficacy of teaching conditions on learning scientific inquiry skills among 177 middle school students in Fitchburg, Massachusetts using a computer simulated science microworld. Application of structural equation models to the educational data showed that there were no significant differences in test score gains between three learning conditions, while controlling for latent factors measured by survey responses.

E-Government is the use of information technology particularly web applications to deliver convenient services for citizens, business and government. Governments worldwide spend billions of their budgets in order to deliver convenient electronic services to their citizens. There are two important points; government offers online services, and citizens consume these services. In order to maximize the benefits of these projects and to avoid possible failures, the gap between these points should be addressed. Yet there are few empirical studies that have covered the relevant issues of adoption from the citizen perspective in developing countries. This research study investigates citizens’ acceptance of e-government services in the context of Saudi Arabia. It posits an integrated model of the key elements that influence citizens’ adoption of e-government. The framework includes a combination of attitudinal, social, control and trust factors as well as the influence of gender. The model is validated by surveying 533 citizens and utilising the structural equation modeling technique for data analysis. Findings show that both measurement and structural models exhibit good model fit to data. The study shows that all constructs satisfy the criteria of constructs reliability and convergent and discriminant validity. The paths estimations show that of the sixteen designed casual relationships, eleven paths relationships were found to be significant while the other five paths remained unsupported.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Jared R. Anderson / The current study tests a theoretical model exploring the relationship between hooking up and marital quality and whether this relationship is mediated by sexual satisfaction and communication using public-use data from currently married participants in Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health, n = 1,729). Gender proved to significantly moderate the association between the variables in the model, but college education did not. The results indicate that hooking up has a direct negative relationship with marital quality for men that is not mediated by either sexual satisfaction or communication. The results for women revealed no direct relationship between hooking up and marital quality, but an indirect influence via communication.