Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is considered a strong predictor of suicidal behavior, although the exact relationship between NSSI and suicide is not clear. Several factors have been suggested in previous research, including attitudes toward one’s own body, thoughts and beliefs regarding death and suicide, and the ability to cause physical harm to oneself. In the current study, the researcher obtained data from 285 young adult participants who reported a history of NSSI. Two multiple mediation models were tested in which body protection, suicide-related concerns, and acquired capability for suicide were examined as mediators of the relationship between NSSI and suicide attempt frequency. The first model, in which the predictor was NSSI frequency, was not supported. The second model, in which the predictor was NSSI versatility of methods, was partially supported; the only significant mediator was suicide-related concerns. These results add to the literature regarding the relationship between NSSI and suicide.

Organizational justice and citizenship behaviors are important components that contribute to an organization’s overall effectiveness. Additionally, when an employee enters into a new organization, they form psychological contracts with their employer that consists of elements such as fairness and consultation. This study aimed to integrate the literature on organizational justice, psychological contract, and organizational citizenship behaviors, as well as look at the possible effects uncertainty may play. Specifically, it was proposed that psychological contract would mediate the moderating effects of uncertainty and justice in predicting prosocial behavioral intentions. Results did not support the hypothesis. Interestingly, however, identification with the university seemed to play a role in the uncertainty by fairness interaction in predicting perceived contract fulfillment.

Broadband behavior rating scales are commonly used in schools to gain data to help make critical decisions about a student’s educational programming and whether he or she is eligible to receive special education services. Several broadband behavior rating scales are beginning to include a scale that assesses executive functioning. This study investigated how scores from an executive functioning scale on a broadband behavior rating scale (Conners 3, Conners, 2008) compared to an established scale that only measures executive functioning (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function [BRIEF], Gioia, Isquith, Guy, & Kenworthy, 2000). Teachers completed both scales at the same point in time on students receiving academic interventions or special education services. Results indicated that the Conners 3 executive functioning scale primarily measures one scale on the BRIEF related to planning and organization skills. These results suggest that those using the Conners 3 executive functioning scale should be aware of the limited range of skills assessed and that they should be cautious in their interpretation of the scale when evaluating a student’s executive functioning skills.

Engagement is an increasingly important construct in organizational and educational settings. Research indicates that engagement is positively related to satisfaction, commitment, and performance in the workplace. This study investigated the relationship of Total Engagement to complete a thesis with Self-Determination Theory individual motivational constructs, the personality constructs of Psychological Capital and Core Self-Evaluations, and the experiential construct of Flow Propensity. The results indicated significant relationships between all constructs and engagement. Further, Psychological Capital and Flow Propensity explained 55% of the variance in Total Engagement to complete a thesis.

Past research demonstrates that fearful faces lead to an increase in temporal and a decrease in spatial gap detection, an effect proposed to be caused by a flow of input to the magnocellular pathways from the amygdala to the visual system (Bocanegra & Zeelenberg, 2009). The amygdala is also active for positive and arousing stimuli, including happy faces. The current study extends past research by presenting happy facial cues just before a gap detection task. Facial stimuli (i.e., happy/neutral faces) were presented in the periphery of the receptive field and quickly followed by a Landolt circle. Half of the participants were asked to detect a temporal gap and half a spatial gap. Response accuracy of gap detection was measured using signal detection theory. Consistent with past research on fearful faces, positive expressions were expected to facilitate temporal gap detection but not spatial gap detection when happy faces were used as cues in gap detection tasks. The current study found no difference in spatial or temporal gap detection given the emotional cue that preceded gap detection on each trial. Positive emotion did not appear to have the same impact as fear on the amygdala and visual areas involving attention.

Wireless networks have become ubiquitous, where a wide range of mobile devices are connected to a larger network like the Internet via wireless communications. One widely used wireless communication standard is the IEEE 802.11 protocol, popularly called Wi-Fi. Over the years, the 802.11 has been upgraded to different versions. But most of these upgrades have been focused on the improvement of the throughput of the protocol and not enhancing the security of the protocol, thus leaving the protocol vulnerable to attacks. The goal of this research is to develop and implement an intrusion detection system based on anomaly behavior analysis that can detect accurately attacks on the Wi-Fi networks and track the location of the attacker. As a part of this thesis we present two architectures to develop an anomaly based intrusion detection system for single access point and distributed Wi-Fi networks. These architectures can detect attacks on Wi-Fi networks, classify the attacks and track the location of the attacker once the attack has been detected. The system uses statistical and probability techniques associated with temporal wireless protocol transitions, that we refer to as Wireless Flows (Wflows). The Wflows are modeled and stored as a sequence of n-grams within a given period of analysis. We studied two approaches to track the location of the attacker. In the first approach, we use a clustering approach to generate power maps that can be used to track the location of the user accessing the Wi-Fi network. In the second approach, we use classification algorithms to track the location of the user from a Central Controller Unit. Experimental results show that the attack detection and classification algorithms generate no false positives and no false negatives even when the Wi-Fi network has high frame drop rates. The Clustering approach for location tracking was found to perform highly accurate in static environments (81% accuracy) but the performance rapidly deteriorates with the changes in the environment. While the classification algorithm to track the location of the user at the Central Controller/RADIUS server was seen to perform with lesser accuracy then the clustering approach (76% accuracy) but the system's ability to track the location of the user deteriorated less rapidly with changes in the operating environment.

It has been argued (Greer, 2013) that supervisors are a critical component in organizational effectiveness. Supervisors are required to hold many roles within the organization (Evans, 1965). Specifically, employees often see supervisors as representatives of the organization, while the organization depends on supervisors to maintain production (Greer, 2013). Many supervisors also fill a variety of other organizational roles such as mentor, trainer, motivator, disciplinarian, evaluator, and leader (Evans, 1965). For these reasons, effective supervisors are crucial to organizational success. The present study developed a behaviorally based training program for supervisors for a poultry processing organization. The training program content included displaying supervisor citizenship behavior and providing effective feedback. Examples of actual situations in the form of critical incidents were collected from incumbents serving as subject matter experts (SMEs). The critical incidents were then edited, retranslated, calibrated, and used to provide specific behavioral examples in the training program.

This replication study sought to analyze the effects of behavioral observability and overall impressions on rater agreement, as recently examined by Roch, Paquin, & Littlejohn (2009) and Scott (2012). Results from the study performed by Roch et al. indicated that raters are more likely to agree when items are either more difficult to rate or less observable. In the replication study conducted by Scott, the results did not support the relationship which Roch et al. found between observability and rater agreement, but did support the relationship previously found between item difficulty and rater agreement. The four objectives of this replication study were to determine whether rater agreement is negatively related to item observability (Hypothesis 1) and positively related to difficulty (Hypothesis 2), as well as to determine whether item performance ratings are closer to overall impressions when items are less observable (Hypothesis 3) and more difficult to rate (Hypothesis 4). The sample was comprised of 152 undergraduate students tasked with providing performance ratings on an individual depicted in a video of a discussion group. Results indicated that agreement was negatively correlated with both observability (supporting Hypothesis 1) and difficulty (not supporting Hypothesis 2), and that ratings were closer to overall impressions when items were less observable (supporting Hypothesis 3), but not when items were more difficult to rate (not supporting Hypothesis 4).

This study assessed the convergent validity of the Functional Assessment Informant Record for Teachers (FAIR-T; Edwards, 2002) with analog functional analyses (FAs). Participants were five teachers and students located at a specialized school serving individuals with disabilities. Teachers had worked with the student for a minimum of 1 month, and students displayed a variety of behavioral topographies. The FAIR-T was conducted by the researcher using telephone or video conferencing technology, and analog functional analyses were conducted in a clinic setting by trained therapists within the course of the student’s typical treatment plan. Results of the FAIR-T were coded according to function, and the results of the analog FAs were graphed and analyzed visually. Results of the FAIR-T and FAs indicated limited convergence between the two assessment methods, though results were somewhat inconclusive. Results are discussed in relation to the utility of the FAIR-T, particularly in the school setting. Directions for future research are discussed in light of the need to delineate efficient means with which to conduct functional behavior assessments within the schools.

This study looked at whether a procedure of interspersing individual targeted questions would improve participation by low-responding students during a choral responding activity. Improved participation involved increased responding, increased accuracy, and decreased disruptive behavior. The study was conducted in two established elementary school classrooms. In each class, data were collected on two low-responding and two high-responding students. The choral activity was conducted in each classroom for 10 minutes a day. An ABAB reversal design was used. During baseline conditions, teachers conducted whole-group choral responding only. During the intervention conditions, teachers interspersed targeted questions to individuals who responded at low levels during the whole group choral responding activity. During the intervention (targeted questioning) conditions, the low-participating students in each classroom (a) responded to a higher percentage of the teacher's questions, (b) maintained or increased response accuracy, and (c) decreased disruptive behavior. During these same conditions, the high participating students maintained or slightly increased their participation levels. Teachers gave high social validity ratings to the targeted questioning procedure, noting that it made choral responding more effective with unwilling responders.