<p> A web-based usability evaluation was conducted to examine the effects of two text-resizing methods on normal and low vision Internet users&rsquo; online reading experience. Normal or corrected to normal vision (N/CTN; <i> N</i> = 50) and low vision (<i>N</i> = 5) participants completed two blocks of four mock Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) reading tests on the experiment website using fixed width (FW) and text reflow (TR) text-resizing methods. Subjective visual fatigue scores, modified System Usability Scale (SUS) score, time on task, and accuracy were collected as dependent measures for user experience evaluation. Results showed that when FW method was presented in the second block, N/CtN participants&rsquo; visual fatigue continued to increase, along with a significant decrease in time spent on reading tasks. Such effects were not observed in TR method. Results of low vision participants were different from those obtained in lab settings, suggesting that testing environment may have played a role in low vision participants&rsquo; performance. Implications of the current research can be used to guide future web accessibility research in regards to online experiment design and recruitment of participants with visual impairments.</p><p>

<p> People with insomnia overestimate how long it takes to fall asleep and underestimate the total amount of sleep they attain. While memory is normally decreased prior to sleep onset, this decrease is smaller in insomnia. Insomnia generally and the phenomena of underestimation of sleep and greater memory prior to sleep area associated with arousal including cortical, autonomic, and cognitive arousal. The goal of the present study was to simultaneously examine arousal across these domains in relation to memory and accuracy of sleep estimation. </p><p> Forty healthy adults completed baseline measures of sleep, psychopathology, and memory, then maintained a regular sleep schedule for three nights at home before spending a night in the sleep laboratory. On the night of the sleep laboratory study, participants completed measures of cognitive arousal, were allowed to sleep until five minutes of contiguous stage N2 sleep in the third NREM period. They were then awoken and asked to remain awake for fifteen minutes, after which they were allowed to resume sleeping. For the entire duration that they were awake, auditory stimuli (recordings of words) were presented at a rate of one word per 30 seconds. Participants slept until morning, estimated how long they were awake and then completed memory testing, indicating whether they remembered hearing each of the words previously presented along with an equal number of matched distracter words. </p><p> Memory was greatest for words presented early in the awakening, followed by the middle and end of the awakening. High cortical arousal prior to being awoken was associated with better memory, particularly for the early part of the awakening. High autonomic arousal was associated with better memory for the late part of the awakening. Cognitive arousal was not associated with memory. Longer duration of sleep prior to being awoken was associated with better memory for the middle of the awakening. Better memory at baseline was associated with better memory, specifically in the middle of the awakening. Contrary to expectation, memory for the awakening was not associated with accuracy of the perceived length of the awakening. </p><p> The present study found complementary associations between cortical and autonomic arousal and memory for an awakening from sleep. This suggests that decreasing arousal in both domains may reduce the discrepancy between subjective and objective sleep in insomnia. This also suggests the initial magnitude of decrements in cognitive performance after being awoken are related to deeper proximal sleep initially, while speed of improvement in cognitive performance is related to longer prior sleep duration.</p><p>

<p>This study examines sex differences on the baseline Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test (ImPACT), as well as the relationship between ImPACT measures and sex roles in a high school sample. Previous literature has shown that males tend to outperform females in the scope of reaction time and visuospatial performance. Likewise, females tend to outperform males on cognitive tasks, such as those pertaining to verbal and visual memory. There is limited research regarding sex roles and neurocognitive testing, while the present study examined this relationship. Participants were obtained from E.D. White Catholic High School in Thibodaux, LA. The 57 participants were administered the Bem Sex Role Inventory, as well as the ImPACT baseline neurocognitive assessment. A comparison of the means was analyzed using a t-test, while a Pearson Correlation was used to examine the relationship between sex roles and ImPACT measures. There were no statistically significant results. Coaches, trainers, and test administrators should not make assumptions based on sex or sex roles. The ImPACT system is a tool that has been used for the purpose of diagnosis and management of concussions, and will continue to be the most widely used assessment. Future directions should continue to focus on neurocognitive baseline testing for concussions for athletes at the high school level, being that there is limited research in this area.

<p>ABSTRACT One of the basic tenets of mental health counseling is that assisting a client to change the way he thinks about aspects of the world results in a changed view of the world. When this is examined in therapy, typically the issue at hand is measured (a client may complete the Beck Depression Scale), an intervention with associated techniques is used for some amount of time (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy), and then outcome is measured using the original scale. Of course, if the concern is alleviation of signs and symptoms then a decrease in measured distress is an indicator of a successful intervention. However, despite this success, a number of cognitive questions remain. Due to the fact that it does not necessarily follow that an alleviation of signs and symptoms means that worldview has changed (i.e., a client may have learned additional coping mechanisms), the first question is whether there has there been a change in world view. A second question is what, if anything, about the intervention, resulted in a changed worldview. Kim and Ahn (1992, 1996) developed a methodology for their research which permitted an examination of the impact of manipulations of narratives through the lens of mental health disorders. I investigated how supporting or challenging primary or peripheral features of four mental health disorders impacted the conceptualization of those disorders. Results for the Conceptual Centrality task, a ratings task that focused on supporting or challenging the symptom of interest, revealed that participants used a theory-based approach (compared to a prototype-based approach) for this task. This indicated that people consider the nature of causal chains when rating the centrality or primary and peripheral symptoms. Results for the more complex Causal Centrality Task, in which participants constructed multiple iterations of mental health disorders by identifying symptoms from a list and indicating causal relationships, indicated that constructing individual models, focused on a specific manifestation of a mental health disorder, later influenced general models, focused on the same disorder in general. The addition of a discursive partner revealed that although both partners influenced the later model of the other, they did so differentially. In general, the partner who was more anxious constructed a later model that was smaller (i.e., used fewer unique symptoms) whereas their partner utilized more unique symptoms (in line with construction of a general model). The patterns observed in this research indicate that manipulating mental health narratives does influence conceptualizations of their respective disorders. This research has ramifications for research involving categorization as well as mental health issues.

This dissertation is a first look at English-speaking children’s acquisition of the syntax of the partitive. It presents four experiments that contrast three types of structures and examines how they interact with adjectival modification: the partitive, the pseudopartitive and complex nouns with prepositional adjuncts. The experimentation investigates whether children recognize that the Determiner Phrase (DP) in the partitive is a barrier to adjectival modification. The partitive is contrasted with the pseudopartitive –a minimal pair structure that lacks an internal DP. The data shows that children under the age of six do not distinguish between the partitive and the pseudopartitive. They allow adjectives preceding the partitive to modify the second noun; this is standardly considered licit for the pseudopartitive structure, but not the partitive. This result is evidence that children are under-representing the syntax of the partitive and of DP. Syntactic representations of minimal DP and minimal partitive structures are suggested and it is argued that these structures may persist as an option in the adult grammar.

Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technology utilizes EEG to measure the electrical activity at the scalp to be used for operating an external device. Therefore, understanding the cognitive responses that can be measured through the EEG to use BCIs is important. BCI systems, such as the P300 Speller, rely on detecting Event-Related Potentials (ERPs). ERPs are time-locked responses to internal or external events. Previous research has indicated that viewing different categories of stimuli activate specific brain structures and produce stimuli specific ERPs. Since the BCI’s ability to detect differences in ERPs is important for operating the system, we have conducted a traditional oddball study to examine the ERPs elicited by two categories of stimuli – images of locations and images of graspable tools. Functional MRI studies have shown that images of familiar locations produce brain responses in the parahippocampal place area (PPA). The PPA is a region of the ventromedial surface of the temporal lobe that responds more strongly to visual scenes (i.e. images of familiar landscapes) than to other presented visual stimuli and is sometimes better known as a “mapping area” of the brain. Conversely, the premotor cortex is an area of motor cortex that lies within the frontal lobe and is used to produce neural impulses that control the implementation of movement. In this instance, logical movement of tools, such as a hammer, can be used as a stimulus for the activation of the premotor cortex. While research has indicated the activation of these different regions, there has not been any research comparing the ERPs that may be produced by these two categories of stimuli. Therefore, our study uses an oddball task to determine if these two types of stimuli can produce distinct ERPs. We hypothesized that images of tools will produce a distinct ERP response, specifically the P300 response, at frontal electrode locations that will significantly differ from ERP responses produced by images of locations. Furthermore, we hypothesized that images of locations will produce distinct ERPs at parietal locations compared to images of tools. Preliminary data collected from 20 participants has indicated a difference in the P300 response at central electrode locations produced by the two types of stimuli. As we continue with data collection, we anticipate observing differences at the frontal and parietal locations. This would indicate that activating these different structures with distal proximity may provide more robust ERP responses that could be used for future P300 Speller BCI operation.

abstract: Communications between air traffic controllers and pilots are critical to national airspace traffic management. Measuring communications in real time made by pilots and air traffic controllers has the potential to predict human error. In this thesis a measure for Deviations from Closed Loop Communications is defined and tested to predict a human error event, Loss of Separation (LOS). Six retired air traffic controllers were recruited and tested in three conditions of varying workload in an Terminal Radar Approach Control Facility (TRACON) arrival radar simulation. Communication transcripts from simulated trials were transcribed and coding schemes for Closed Loop Communication Deviations (CLCD) were applied. Results of the study demonstrated a positive correlation between CLCD and LOS, indicating that CLCD could be a variable used to predict LOS. However, more research is required to determine if CLCD can be used to predict LOS independent of other predictor variables, and if CLCD can be used in a model that considers many different predictor variables to predict LOS. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Human Systems Engineering 2020

Significant disparities in healthcare among African-Americans are still prevalent in the U.S. with black patients having a higher incidence of common chronic diseases (heart disease, cancer and strokes), die at a higher rate, and lose more years of life as a result of the conditions. One area where the healthcare gap is particularly prevalent is clinical trial participation, with 1% of trial participants identifying as black despite a comprehensive meta-analysis including 70,000 subjects indicating that minority patients are just as willing to participate in medical trials as non-Hispanic White patients. Mistrust of the medical community and a long history of malpractice in experiments on minorities (i.e. Tuskegee Syphilis experiments, Vertus Hardiman case, and the Henrietta Lacks cases for example) could easily be used as justification of this mistrust, however several studies have shown that while African Americans are aware of the past abuse, awareness of those events does not significantly affect attitude toward participation. A structural model utilizing Ajzen and Fishbein's Theory of Planned Behavior was used in an attempt to explain the inconsistency between the positive attitudes of minority patients regarding participation in clinical trials and the distinct lack of actual participation. The model included measures of attitude, social norms, control and difficulty as functions of behavioral intention to participate in clinical trials and multiple-group structural equation modeling analysis of survey data from 117 black and 457 white participants was used to test group differences. Despite strong loadings on intentions by attitude, based on the structural model it cannot be concluded that the TPB model predicts intentions to participate well for this sample. None of the other constructs had any meaningful effect on intentions, indicating the TPB model does not work well for this sample. Moreover, due to insignificant loadings by social norms, control, and difficulty, it is impossible to distinguish any differences between groups on the constructs with the exception of attitude, which was not significantly different between groups. This study confirmed previous research that showed similar attitudes toward participating in clinical trials by black and white participants and did not find any evidence for including other constructs in future recruiting efforts. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2015. / July 14, 2015. / African-American, Behavioral Intentions, Clinical Trials, Cross-Cultural, Structural Equation Modeling, Theory of Planned Behavior / Includes bibliographical references. / Jay Rayburn, Professor Directing Dissertation; Michael Hartline, University Representative; Davis Houck, Committee Member; Felipe Korzenny, Committee Member.

Executive Function (EF) is defined as “self-directed actions so as to choose goals and to select, enact, and sustain actions across time towards those goals” (Barkley, 2012; p. 170). These “self-directed actions” can take the form of behavioral, social, or emotional regulation. Since that time, EF has been associated with the frontal lobe function and has been researched as being affected by multiple physical and mental health disorders (Jurado & Roselli, 2007). EF deficits have been linked to Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ADHD is “a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that is frequently displayed and more severe than is typically observed in individuals at a comparable level of development” (APA, 2013, p. 59). Research indicates that 4.4% of the adult population qualify for a diagnosis of ADHD (Barkley, Fischer, Smallish, & Fletcher, 2002; Bush, Valera, & Seidman, 2006; Glutting, Youngstrom, & Walkins, 2005; Kessler et al., 2005; DuPaul, Weyandt, O’Dell, & Varejao, 2009). College students with ADHD face unique challenges compared to their non-ADHD peers with respect to academics (Antshel et al., 2010; Barkley et al., 2006; Dupaul Weyandt, O’Dell, & Varejao, 2009), driving (Barkley, 2011a; Barkley, Anderson, & Kruesi, 2007; Richards et al., 2006), and work performance (Barkley, 2011a; Barkley & Murphy, 2010; Shifrin, Proctor, & Prevatt, 2010; Wilens, Faraone, & Biederman, 2004). Only 20% of young adults with ADHD will enroll in college with about 5% completing college (Antshel et al., 2010; Barkley et al., 2006; Biederman et al., 2006). Adults with ADHD have been shown to have greater likelihood to be at fault for car accidents and receive speeding tickets, (Barkley, 2011a; Barkley, Anderson, & Kruesi, 2007; Richards et al., 2006). Also, adults with ADHD are more likely to have a lower salary are reprimanded more at work (Barkley & Murphy, 2010; Shifrin, Proctor, & Prevatt, 2010; Wilens, Faraone, & Biederman, 2004). Evaluating ADHD in college students is done through multiple methods ranging from cognitive tests of EF to self-report rating scales on ADHD symptomology (Barkley, 2011a). As said previously, cognitive tests of EF were initially used to study individuals with frontal lobe damage (Barkley, 2011a; 2012; Barkley & Murphy, 2011; Jurado & Roselli, 2007). Meanwhile, rating scales of EF for adults evaluate a myriad of cognitive constructs without being based on any theory that allows clinicians to determine which cognitive functions are executive in nature (Burgess et al., 1998; Climie, Cadogan, & Goukon, 2014; Gioia et al., 2000; Naglieri & Goldstein, 2013). The Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale (BDEFS; Barkley, 2011b) is a recently created self-report rating scale that assesses five behavioral deficit areas related to EF: Self-Management to Time, Self-Organization/Problem Solving, Self-Restraint, Self-Motivation, and Self-Regulation of Emotion (Barkley, 2011a). Barkley (2011a) created the BDEFS to easily evaluate EF deficits in adults with ADHD as well as create a measure that was theoretically based (Barkley, 2012). The purpose of this study was to add further evidence to the incremental validity of the BDEFS on assessing ADHD symptoms and life impairments related to ADHD in college students over commonly used cognitive tests of EF. This study analyzed 83 college students diagnosed with ADHD at a southeastern public university. The mean age of the students was twenty-four years old with a median age of twenty-one years old. 47% of the students were male with 69% of the students identifying as Caucasian, 18% as Hispanic, 4% as African American, 4% Asian, and 4% as “Other.” As well, 11% of students identified as being a freshman, 24% as a sophomore, 19% as a junior, 25% as a senior, 16% as a graduate students, and 5 % did not choose a specific year in college. Through the use of multiple independent t-tests and One-way analysis of variances, no significant effects with respect to age, gender, ethnicity, or year in college were found on each of the dependent variables. With respect to incremental validity, the BDEFS subdomains consistently added significant variance over the variance accounted for by cognitive tests of EF on each dependent variable (i.e., inattention symptoms, hyperactivity symptoms, impulsivity symptoms, work performance, and driving performance). Conversely, cognitive tests of EF were never able to add significant variance over the variance accounted for by the BDEFS subdomains on each dependent variable. It is clear that further support of the validity of the BDEFS is needed. This study demonstrated additional evidence towards the incremental validity of the BDEFS over cognitive tests of EF on ADHD symptoms and impairments. This study also demonstrated evidence towards the ecological validity of the BDEFS. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2015. / May 13, 2015. / ADHD, BDEFS, Cognitive Tests, College Students, Executive Function, Incremental Validity / Includes bibliographical references. / Frances Prevatt, Professor Directing Dissertation; Lee Stepina, University Representative; Deborah Ebener, Committee Member; Debra Osborn, Committee Member.

Various researchers have noted that emotions expressed in dream reports are infrequent and, more often, unpleasant. These observations are ambiguous for several reasons: (1) Empirical opinions differ markedly with regard to the structure of mentation across the continuum of waking and sleeping experience. (2) While the waking state is usually assumed as an implicit baseline, few studies have quantitatively compared waking and dream emotions. (3) Dream researchers have not thought about the basic nature of emotions or certain constraints which sleep physiology might impose upon emotions. In light of these assertions and considerations, an intrasubject comparison of emotions in reports of waking experiences and dreams might seem worthwhile.