Abstract In an increasingly digital world, organizations and individuals are turning to web-based applications as a source of information and method of inter-personal communication; this includes social media. This literature review analyzes the effects of social media marketing in luxury fashion brands. The research reveals luxury brands’ social media marketing positively affects purchase intention through user-to-user and brand-to-user communication, if the consumers trust the brand. On the other hand, disclosure language on Instagram and Facebook negatively affects consumer behavior, but the unique positioning of blogs allows them to positively influence their audience. In addition to this evidence, this paper also includes suggestions for future research. Keywords: social media, luxury brands, fashion, marketing, purchase intention, consumer behavior

This thesis uses autoencoders to explore the possibility of reducing the length of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), which is a series of tests and observations used to diagnose autism spectrum disorders in children, adolescents, and adults of different developmental levels. The length of the ADOS, directly and indirectly, causes barriers to its access for many individuals, which means that individuals who need testing are unable to get it. Reducing the length of the ADOS without significantly sacrificing its accuracy would increase its accessibility. The autoencoders used in this thesis have specific connections between layers that mimic the sectional structure of the original ADOS. Autoencoders reduce the length of the ADOS by conducting its dimensionality through combining original variables into new variables. By examining the weights of variables entering the reduced diagnostic, this thesis explores which variables are prioritized and deprioritized by the autoencoder. These information yields insights as to which variables, and underlying concepts, should prioritize in a shorter ADOS. After training, all autoencoders used were able to reduce dimensionality with minimal accuracy losses. Examination of weights yielded many keen insights as to which ADOS variables are the least important to their modules and can thus be eliminated or deprioritized in a reduced diagnostic. In particular, the observation of self-injurious behavior was declared entirely unnecessary in the first three modules of the ADOS, a finding that corroborates other recent experimental results in the domain. This observation suggests that the solutions converged upon by the model have real-world significance.

ABSTRACT The Development of an Online Interactive Resource for Enhancing Motivation in Swimmers Richard Judson Clark Research pertaining to motivation in athletics and the link that it has to continued participation in sport is widespread. Despite the resources available, adolescents continue to drop out of sports at alarming rates. The purpose of this project was to create an online tool and resource center to enhance motivation in swimmers that participate in a year-round swim program in San Luis Obispo, California. The development of the site http://athletenet.net was created based on research linked to the Self-Determination, Cognitive Evaluation, Reversal, and Achievement Goal Theories. Swimmers can login to the website to set a variety of goals including practice/technique goals, short-term goals, long-term goals, and dream goals. More importantly, swimmers have the option to share these goals with their coaches via the website. Additional features for swimmers include daily practice ratings, daily journals, team blog, and performance charts for practice and meet results. The tools that have been created for the swimmers on the website are based on research that supports an athlete-directed environment in which coaches empower their athletes to define their own success. Future research could include empirical studies in which researchers examine the extent to which these interactive tools enhance intrinsic motivation and decrease dropouts among swimmers.

Attending college is often so stressful that as many as 40% of students leave without earning a degree. Many students desert during their first and second years of study. Emotional intelligence has been associated with effective coping skills, student achievement, and psychological well-being. The act of expressing emotions through writing has been shown to engage many capabilities associated with emotional intelligence. Few studies have examined the effects of expressive writing on emotional intelligence. The theory of emotion regulation provided theoretical framework. The purpose of this quantitative experimental study was to examine the effects of expressive writing on emotional intelligence and perceived stress. A sample of 58 first and second year of college students participated in the study. Data were analyzed using paired t-test. Differences in emotional intelligence and perceived stress scores were not significant after 4 weeks of expressive writing sessions. However, at one-month follow-up, emotional intelligence scores were significantly higher for those who engaged in expressive writing. Given that emotional intelligence increased after an extended period of time, expressive writing could be easily implemented by students to improve coping skills and achieve academic goals.

Mental rotation (MR) is the ability to mentally shift one's visual perspective of any object by changing the orientation of a mental image of that object. Research into the effects of stress on MR could be used to help improve understanding of a variety of visual-spatial tasks performed in hyper-vigilance situations. However, until the present study, there has been no research on the effects of stress on MR. The Yerkes-Dodson Law predicts performance will be improved when an individual is exposed to mild to moderate stress. The purpose of this study was to answer three research questions. The questions examined whether stress affects MR performance; if MR performance is improved by stress, impaired, or unchanged; and, if the effect of stress is related to the degree of MR task difficulty. Twenty healthy adult participants, aged 18 to 65, were recruited from the Savannah, Georgia area. The participants were divided into 2 groups of 10: stress and no-stress groups. The stress group was exposed to a math task under time pressure. The no-stress group was given a simple counting task to do at their own pace. Heart rate during testing was measured for both groups. "L-shaped" objects of varying angular orientation were presented on a computer screen immediately following the counting tasks. Participants choose whether the pair of objects were different mirror images of the other, or the same object, only rotated differently. A 2 x2 mixed repeated measures ANOVA indicated significant differences in heart rate between groups following exposure to the counting tasks. A 2-sample t test showed no significant differences between groups for MR performance. Social change implications include more efficient use of employee training in mild- to moderately- stressful jobs that require MR skills.

The Cognitive Interview (CI) has been shown in over one hundred studies to enhance eyewitness recall. However, no study has explored whether the CI improves police job performance. The current study was the first to test the practical value of the CI in a criminal investigation, testing participants’ performance on key police tasks using either a perpetrator description elicited from a CI or from a standard police interview (SI). In an earlier study, student witnesses were exposed to a simulated robbery and were then interviewed using either a CI or an SI to elicit a description of the robber (comprised of individual descriptors). In Experiment 1, a sample of student participants (N=320) completed two investigative tasks using the descriptors: (a) identifying the perpetrator from a group of ten potential suspect photographs; and (b) allocating hours among the top three potential suspects dictated by who should be the focus of the police’s time (i.e., investigative resources). Participants also subjectively assessed each descriptor’s value in terms of completing the tasks. Presentation methods to enhance the utility of the CI were also tested. Relative to the SI, the CI resulted in a near-30% increase in accurately identifying the perpetrator. Also, significantly more hours were allocated toward investigating the perpetrator using the CI as compared with the SI. Participants did not, however, subjectively value CI descriptors more than SI descriptors; and, the CI’s utility was not enhanced by the presentation methods tested. Experiment 2 sought to reproduce and generalize the CI’s effect on investigative utility by using police officers (N=71) and student participants (N=67). As in Experiment 1, the CI significantly improved investigative performance in accurately identifying the perpetrator, and in allocating resources toward investigating the perpetrator. Police and students did not significantly differ in their performance of investigative tasks or in their utility ratings of the CI descriptors. The current study was the first to find that the CI can be properly used by police in a criminal investigation. Investigating the actual perpetrator as opposed to an innocent suspect is likely to have a domino effect on subsequent phases of an investigation.

Members of the legal system (e.g., experts, jurors, investigators) are often skeptical of the information provided by intoxicated witnesses given the negative stigma surrounding alcohol and memory. However, studies examining the relationship between alcohol and witness memory often find that alcohol has no effect on peoples’ recall or their ability to identify a previously seen face. While insightful, the validity of these findings has been questioned given the low-moderate blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels tested in these predominantly laboratory-based studies, which may not be high enough to consistently expose the cognitive deficits alcohol is expected to create. The present study examined how elevated BAC levels affect witnesses’ recall. In addition, it examined how identification format (i.e., showup versus lineup) impacts witnesses’ identification decisions at elevated BAC levels. Bar patrons (N = 132) were asked to participate in a study examining the effects of alcohol on cognitive and motor functioning. Consenting patrons’ BAC levels were recorded and they were given instructions for their first motor task. Midway through this task a confederate intruder entered the room and caused a disturbance. Participants were then asked to recall the intrusion via a mock interview and identify the intruder from a lineup or showup in which she was pictured (target-present) or was not pictured (target-absent). This procedure yielded participants with BAC levels as high as .24%. Linear regressions showed that elevated BAC levels reduced both the quantity and quality of information provided by participants. Logistic regressions showed that alcohol had no effect on identification decisions, regardless of identification format or target presence. These data highlight the importance of testing witnesses’ memory across a broad BAC spectrum and suggest that the legal system may benefit from expert information on alcohol’s lack of effect on memory for faces, despite what jurors may believe.

While support is generally a helpful resource for employees, support can also serve as a job stressor. Unhelpful workplace social support (UWSS) is any action taken by a supervisor and/or colleague that is intended to benefit another worker but is perceived as unhelpful or harmful by the recipient. A series of three studies identified types of UWSS, developed a measure of UWSS, and established a nomological network of variables related to UWSS. In Study 1, critical incidents were collected from 116 employees, and a content analysis revealed 11 distinct categories of UWSS. A measure of UWSS was developed in Study 2, and a nomological network of variables related to the construct was examined using responses from 176 employees. Results demonstrate that UWSS is associated with higher negative affect, lower competence-based self-esteem, lower coworker satisfaction, higher work-related burnout, higher organizational frustration, and higher physical symptoms (e.g., headache, nausea, and fatigue) among recipients. Study 3 replicated the findings using data from 496 registered nurses to mitigate the chances of reporting Type 1 errors. Together, the studies demonstrate that unhelpful workplace social support is a meaningful job stressor worthy of further investigation.

While play therapy is primarily used with children, recent research has begun to explore the use of this approach with adults and the elderly. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe in detail the process of Client Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) with an elderly assisted living facility resident through use of a qualitative case study. A single elderly resident participated in 12 CCPT sessions over a period of six weeks. Qualitative data were obtained through observational session notes, pre- and post-treatment interviews with the resident and the facility’s Licensed Practical Nurse, pre- and post-treatment administrations of the Geriatric Depression Scale, and review of the resident’s case file in order to gain insight into the process of CCPT with one elderly assisted living facility resident. Data collected were examined in relation to the play behaviors exhibited by the resident, typical stages of play therapy, potential therapeutic benefits, and the resident’s view of the CCPT approach. Results indicate that the play behaviors of one elderly resident were markedly similar to those of children participating in CCPT and that this may be an appropriate and enjoyable method for addressing mental health needs of the elderly. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the experiences of master’s level counseling students who have a counselor education faculty member as their mentor. Seven master’s level counseling students between the ages of 25-30, from a state university, voluntarily participated in this study. Participants were six female students and one male student. Four participants were mental health counseling majors, while three were school counseling majors. Data were collected through a demographic survey and semi-structured interviews. Three themes were developed based on participants’ experiences. They were (1) “going above and beyond,” (2) “guide you and explore options,” and (3) “provide support and encouragement.” The theme “going above and beyond” was described by participants as their mentor performing extra tasks that were not in their job responsibilities. Participants explained “guide you and explore options” in terms of their mentor guiding them in their professional development and career options. The theme “provide support and encouragement” described the participants’ mentors showing genuine interest in them and providing them with support and encouragement throughout their relationship. Based on previous literature, research, and the current study, a mentoring framework for counselor education is proposed. The framework contains three categories which are (1) guidance, (2) encouragement, and (3) above and beyond. Implications for counselor educators and recommendations for future research are provided.