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The purpose of this study was to examine self-reported health behaviors (health responsibility, physical activity, nutrition, spiritual growth, interpersonal relations and stress management) of Resident Directors who self-reported being affiliated with ACUHO-I. The second purpose of the study was to examine which areas of health behaviors, do Resident Directors believe, their participation influences the health behaviors of their students. This was completed by inviting Resident Directors to complete the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLPII). A total of (n=308) Resident Directors completed the HPLPII. The results of this study are ground breaking because it is the first study examining the health behaviors of Resident Directors. Results show that Resident Directors are minimally practicing health behaviors especially in the area of health responsibility.

Interpersonal conflict in organizations plays an important role in performance, but the exact nature of that role remains unclear. Among conflict researchers a shift has occurred from believing that all conflict is debilitating for organizational performance to the realization that there are both positive and negative aspects of conflict. Contemporary research adopts a distinction between task conflict and relationship conflict. Conceptually, a positive relationship has been proposed between task conflict and performance, while a negative relationship has been proposed between relationship conflict and performance. Empirically, however, there has been wide variation in the findings linking either type of conflict with performance. A recent meta-analysis by De Wit and Greer (2008) found that across studies linking task conflict and performance, findings reflected positive, negative and no relationships. Similarly, for relationship conflict, though a predominantly negative relationship was found across studies, there was wide variation in relationship magnitudes across studies. These meta-analytic results show that the effects sizes across both types of conflict studies are mainly negative. However, given the large standard deviation estimates in both cases, there were also positive effect sizes in some of the studies. The wide variation across studies leads to the conclusion that in most studies conflict is detrimental, but in some it truly can be useful. Also, it suggests that the relationship between both task and relationship conflict and performance needs to be clarified. Consequently, this research aims to examine the source of the inconsistencies within the conflict literature by introducing a behavioral taxonomy to help explain the relationship between performance and the two types of conflict. Using a quasi-experimental design to study conflict, I will be able to induce conflict and observe the team behavioral dynamics as they unfold. Revised file, GMc 5/28/2014 per Dean DePauw / Ph. D.

The primary purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between individualism and attitudes toward four types of sexual behavior, specifically adolescent sex, premarital sex, extramarital sex, and homosexual sexual behavior. A secondary purpose was to add to the conceptual and methodological discussions of individualism. In the United States these behaviors are becoming more common and attitudes generally more accepting. What remains unclear and under theorized is why? I address this question from the frame of the intersection of sexuality studies with the study of deviance as these behaviors have been considered to fit normative, absolutists, statistical and/or reactive definitions of deviance. This research was informed by Hawdon's recent general model of deviant behavior. In brief, one of Hawdon's contributions to the study of deviance is his addition of the cultural value of individualism as an explanatory variable related to cross-cultural rates of drug use. The primary research question that guided this research was: Is individualism related to attitudes toward adolescent sex, premarital sex, extramarital sex, and homosexual sexual behavior? Utilizing data from the General Social Survey, this question was examined using a variety of conceptualizations of individualism to test the relationship between individualism and attitudes toward the various sexual behaviors for five time periods--1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006. Three major hypotheses were posed regarding the relationship between individualism and attitudes toward perceived sexual deviance. The analysis did not support the hypotheses. Reasons for this lack of support for the theoretical perspective were discussed. / Ph. D.

Classroom tests are a common and default form of assessments in concept-heavy, fundamental engineering courses. Tests have benefits to learning, such as the testing effect that helps with the retrieval of knowledge, but there are also disadvantages, like discouraging deep learning approaches and decreasing motivation to learn, that warrant examining and questioning why tests are common, which engineering education literature lacks. Furthermore, the advancement of assessment research has led to alternative assessments that can diversify types of assessments and promote intentionality in test usage in these courses, supporting the need for scholarship on understanding test usage. My research began to address this by studying fundamental engineering course instructors' test beliefs and behaviors because engineering instructors have shown to have autonomy in making course decisions and barriers to adopting scholarship-based assessment practices among these engineering instructors persist. This dissertation study, grounded in the Situated Expectancy Value Theory (SEVT), explored, uncovered, and articulated seven fundamental engineering course instructors' test beliefs and behaviors from mechanical engineering and engineering science departments in a public, land-grant, Research 1 institution. Leveraging the case study research methodology from a pragmatic perspective, my multi-case study, with each participant being defined as a case, answered an overarching research question and five sub-research questions that yielded findings on five test aspects: test usage, design, administration, cheating, and fairness. Eight collected data sources in the form of qualitative interviews, course, department, and institution documents became the database to answer the questions. Analyses of these data involved coding and content analysis, and subsequent thematic analysis. The outcome of these analyses shaped the individual case profiles for cross-case analysis to understand belief and behavior patterns at a higher level. My research has found three groups of test usage beliefs. These are enthusiastic test users, default test users, and skeptical test users. All participants featured tests heavily in their courses and justified with learning outcomes and some non-course-content factors like large class sizes for grading conveniences. However, those in default and skeptical test user groups also acknowledged some non-course-content factors, like inertia and peer pressure, that influenced their test usage beliefs and behaviors. All participants acknowledged some disadvantages with tests, but those who are skeptical with test usage presented stronger beliefs about test disadvantages, arguing for the need to move away from tests when necessary. Some participants also presented conflicting beliefs and behaviors regarding their test usage. My study has also found all participants using problem-solving questions, emphasizing the need to curb cheating especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, preferring in-person test administration, and defining test fairness with reasonable completion time and adequate content coverage. These findings contribute to addressing identified research gaps in the literature and have implications for future research on tests with assessment philosophies, classroom practices on diversifying assessments and intentional test usage, and future research on possible assessment roles in addressing systemic inequity in engineering. / Doctor of Philosophy / Tests or exams like quizzes, midterms, and finals are common for measuring student learning in foundational engineering courses that focus on teaching the core engineering concepts for problem-solving. There are benefits to tests, like helping students remember the concepts for future use. However, tests also have problems like getting to students focus more on memorizing and matching patterns, provoking student test anxiety, and demotivating students from learning. Engineering education research, surprisingly, does not explore much on why tests are common, considering said problems. My dissertation tackled this issue by studying the test usage beliefs and behaviors of seven foundational course instructors from mechanical engineering and engineering science departments. The focus was on the instructors because engineering instructors tend to have autonomy in making course decisions and many instructors are resistant to changing their teaching practices. Understanding their beliefs and behaviors can help with research and efforts to promote better practices, like diversifying the types of assessment used and being more intentional when using tests. My results show three groups separating the participants on their beliefs about using tests. One participant was very enthusiastic about using tests and believed that tests were the only good way to assess learning. Four participants were default test users as they acknowledged some problems with using tests but still justified strongly for using tests because of the test benefits to learning. Two participants were skeptical test users as they had stronger beliefs than others on the problems and would prefer not to use too many tests. However, all participants used tests heavily in their courses. All participants also emphasized curbing cheating as very important and had very similar beliefs about what a fair test was. Overall, my findings highlight the need to continue working on test research and practice to promote better assessment approaches in engineering.

Children' s relationships with their childcare teachers and its effects on their subsequent behaviors, attachments, and outcomes have been an interest in the last two or three decades primarily due to the significant increase of young children in full-time childcare. Attachment Theory, and its identifying behaviors in children categorized by the Strange Situation or the Attachment Q-Sort, has been the main focus of previous research. The purpose of my study, using an ethnographic approach, was to understand and describe the varied and multiple relationships between children (approximate ages 12 to 24 months) and their childcare teacher in their day-to-day interactions. Observations were my primary source of data, supported by videotaped sessions, and parent and teacher interviews. My focus was on secondary caregiver-child dyads, their relationships, and the parameters and identifying behaviors characterizing each pair. Data collection took place over an eight-week period in one toddler center classroom where I was a passive participant observer. Results indicated the children had warm, nurturing relationships, often with multiple caregivers, without the prevailing attachment behaviors. My research did not support the customary categorization of childcare relationships using the attachment paradigm, nor an increase in the insecure-avoidant category among children in full-time childcare. Evidence suggested, instead, a broader base of relationship descriptions, and a future development of a multiple caregiver model analogous to the extended family for understanding the varied relationships within a childcare center setting. / Ph. D.

My thesis project aimed to assess potential meaningful differences in the behavioral subtypes of externalizing behaviors in children. Externalizing behaviors are a style of behavioral adjustment that are characteristic of early childhood behavior problems. They are commonly measured in developmental and clinical research using the Externalizing Scale of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The scale is comprised of Aggressive and Rule-Breaking Behaviors, which are divergent in their developmental trajectory and personological distinctions: aggressive behaviors have emotional underpinnings like frustration, whereas rule-breaking is linked to behavioral impulsivity. In situations of low regulation, negative affectivity may differentially predispose children to these behaviors due to a reactive propensity for anger and frustration. Attentional control can act to regulate these behaviors through shifting and focusing of attention, but may execute this regulation differently based on the situational context. The role of contextual attentional control in predicting two distinct externalizing behaviors has not been sufficiently evaluated in children. AC was behaviorally coded for during a frustrating context. Child behavior problems and temperament were assessed via parent report. Two mediation models were assessed with NA, AC, and aggressive and rule-breaking behaviors, but no indirect effects were found. When individual components of AC were assessed separately as moderations as opposed to mediations, attention shifting played a prominent role and moderated both the aggressive and rule-breaking models. Findings further clarify the role of attention in the relation between temperament and childhood behavior problems. / M.S. / Behavior problems in early childhood consist of aggressive and rule-breaking behaviors, which are distinct behaviors with meaningful differences in how they develop. Aggressive behaviors are marked by physical tendencies such as hitting and fighting, whereas rule-breaking behaviors tend to be non-aggressive, consisting of more impulsive behaviors like stealing, cheating, and lying. Negative affectivity in toddlerhood is a predictor of both behaviors, reflecting a heightened predisposition towards negative emotions like anger and frustration. Attentional control is a form of self-regulation, consisting of shifting and focusing attention, that may be responsible for regulating the impact of negative affectivity on each externalizing behavior. Additionally, attentional control in childhood may regulate each behavior differently based on context. The goal of the current study was to understand how negative affectivity predicts each behavior differently through attentional control, specifically based on the context it is measured in. Aggressive behaviors, rule-breaking behaviors, and negative affectivity were measured using parent-report questionnaire, and attentional control was behaviorally coded for during a frustrating puzzle task. Two mediation models were assessed with negative affectivity, attentional control, and aggressive and rule-breaking behaviors, but there were no significant findings. When individual components of attentional control (shifting and focusing) were assessed separately as moderators, attention shifting moderated the relation between negative affectivity and both aggressive and rule-breaking behaviors. Findings further clarify the role of attention in the relation between temperament and childhood behavior problems.