Certified athletic trainers (ATCs) are often the first to respond to an athletic sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and are expected to administer the highest quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) possible. The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between confidence and CPR quality in ATCs. Fifty ATCs completed confidence questionnaires before and after performing a prolonged CPR assessment on a medium-fidelity manikin. CPR data included measures of chest compression and ventilation quality. Data were analyzed to compare confidence levels pre- and post-CPR assessment, as well as to determine the relationship between CPR performance and self-efficacy. A small, negative correlation was found between confidence and CPR performance but performing a prolonged session of CPR did not affect confidence levels. Overall CPR quality was adequate, but ventilations and compression rates were lacking. The relationship between confidence and CPR quality must be explored further to help revise athletic training educational curricula.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are an important part of society today. Older adults often report ICTs as difficult to use and unhelpful; however, ICTs can support older adults’ ability to stay in touch with family and friends across long distances and help increase their quality of life. Unfortunately, training programs targeted at teaching older adults to use ICTs are often costly and time-consuming. The current study attempts to determine whether advertisements depicting older adults using ICTs can be used to increase self-efficacy without the use of training programs. A within subjects experimental design was completed using an independent variable in which participants viewed two advertisements. Participants were randomly assigned to view an advertisement PowerPoint depicting younger adults using technology first, or randomly assigned to an advertisement PowerPoint depicting older adults using technology first. The dependent variable was a Technology Self-Efficacy Survey developed for the purposes of this study. Results of a paired samples t-test indicated that participants did not rate their selfefficacy higher after viewing the PowerPoint with older adults depicted using technology, as compared to viewing the PowerPoint with younger adults depicted using technology. Although the results were not statistically significant, this research indicated that older adults generally rated their self-efficacy higher after viewing the PowerPoint with older adults versus the PowerPoint with younger adults. Future research could help determine whether advertisements could be used to increase technology self-efficacy in older adults.

Traditional macroeconomics believes that confidence is not the main cause of economic fluctuations, but when faced with financial crises, monetary authorities still emphasize the role of stabilizing confidence. Although people generally agree that confidence is an important part of the transmission of macro-policies to micro- individuals, there is neither empirical evidence support nor corresponding mechanism research. This thesis attempts to answer the following questions: Does business confidence affect the effectiveness of monetary policy? Does business confidence have the same impact on monetary policy in different economic periods? This thesis first constructed a structural vector auto-regression (SVAR) model to test the role of business confidence in the transmission of monetary policy in the euro area. The empirical results show that expansionary monetary policy can effectively boost business confidence while stimulating output growth. In addition, this thesis extends the model by introducing share prices and exchange rates to investigate the role of these two important to the monetary transmission mechanism, concluding that business confidence plays a strong role in interest rate transmission and a weaker role in the transmission of asset prices and exchange rates. Subsequently, in order to...

Researchers and publishing guidelines recommend reporting confidence intervals (CIs) not just along with null hypothesis significance testing (NHST), but for many other statistics such as effect sizes and reliability coefficients. Although CI and standard errors (SEs) are closely related, examining standard errors alone in simulation studies is not adequate because we do not always know if a standard error is small enough. Overly small SEs may lead to increased probability of Type-I error and CIs with lower coverage rate than expected. Statistical simulation studies generally examine the magnitude of the empirical standard error, but it is not clear if they examine the properties of confidence intervals. The present study examines confidence interval investigating and reporting practices, particularly with respect to coverage and bias as diagnostics in published statistical simulation studies across eight psychology journals using a systematic literature review. Results from this review will inform editorial policies and hopefully encourage researchers to report CIs.

Focusing on consumer trust in science, this dissertation explores the societal and ecological factors that can influence consumer’s science denial tendency, and also explores how to leverage consumers’ input with crowdsourcing to rate scientific article veracity and hence create a trustworthy media environment. In the first chapter, I find that lower religious diversity in a region, or an individual’s experience, predicts lower religious tolerance and greater science denial. The belief that my religion trumps other religions precipitates the attitude that it trumps science too. I find supporting evidence from seven studies using U.S. mobile location data, census data, worldwide archival data, national surveys conducted in different countries with participants from different religious groups, and experiments. In the second chapter, I propose a novel crowdsourcing method to leverage the input of general consumers into the fact-checking efforts. I validate the use of similarity judgments to facilitate unbiased consumer responses and prove that asking lay consumers to rate the similarity between scientist-rated and unrated articles provide an unbiased and efficient way to scale up veracity ratings of scientific articles. In order to increase consumer trust in science, I argue that policy makers should emphasize religious integration and heterogeneity in communities. In order to build a better news environment with more trustworthy scientific information, I argue that news companies, news platforms, and third-party fact-checkers can engage general consumers’ input by asking the right questions to get unbiased and reliable responses.

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Observational drawing has many benefits, yet it can be a difficult and frustrating curriculum for students and teachers alike. As I was teaching elementary and college art classes simultaneously, I noticed a significant discrepancy between my younger and older students. Students in my elementary art classes loved to draw and often expressed how excited they were to make art. However, students in my college art classes were more hesitant and self-conscious about drawing and did not believe they could progress artistically. Many of these students had abandoned drawing in elementary or middle school. This pattern evokes the U curve of artistic development as discussed in Harvard's Project Zero (Davis, 1997). Because of this lack of skill and confidence, many of the students in my college classes could not fully apply themselves to reap the benefits of observational drawing. How can educators help college students reclaim their confidence as visual artists after years of avoidance and fear? In an attempt to help college students overcome these anxieties and improve their art skills, I created and implemented a mindfulness intervention in a traditional drawing curriculum. Using case study methodology, I conducted a qualitative study throughout the winter semester of 2019 at Brigham Young University to examine the affordances or limitations of implementing mindfulness in an undergraduate drawing curriculum.

Research has shown that age-related hearing loss may have profound implications on all aspects of an individual's life, including cognitive abilities. The relationship between hearing loss and cognition has led to research which indicates an association between objective hearing loss and reduced driving performance in older adults. However, little research exists on the relationship between self-perceived hearing loss and driving confidence, particularly in the South African context. The current study aimed to identify possible associations between driving confidence and hearing loss, age, sex and driving safety among older adults. Data analysis indicated a significant increase in driving confidence after one month of first-time hearing aid use. An insignificant or weak relationship was found between self-perceived hearing loss and level of driving confidence. Age, sex and a combination of both were significantly associated with level of driving confidence. No association was found between pure-tone average and level of driving confidence or between pure-tone average and driving safety. Further research in this area could assist in advising legislation relating to licensing and road safety campaigns targeted at older adults, as well as expanding audiologists' duty of care to include counselling on the potential positive effects of hearing aid use on driving confidence.

The importance of preceptorships, as a mechanism to transfer knowledge of evidence-based nursing practices and developing confidence in nurses, is well-known. However, the effectiveness of preceptorships to develop confidence in perinatal nurses who provide safe care to childbearing women is unknown. Guided by Kolb's model of experiential learning and using a narrative analysis approach, this study examined perinatal nurse residents' perceptions of experiences that enhanced learning and developed confidence during preceptorship. Twenty nurses who completed a perinatal nurse residency of 18 weeks or more in the past 12 months participated in audiotaped, structured interviews. Their answers were transcribed and data analysis software was used to organize the interview data. Words and sentences were analyzed for themes. The following 7 themes emerged as confidence-building elements in perinatal nurse residency programs: 'break larger tasks into smaller steps,' 'offer encouragement,' 'provide written instructions,' 'push me a little,' 'practice with drills and quizzes,' 'show me, then let me do it,' and 'debrief after the day'. Nurses' perceptions of incivility from health care providers and experienced staff nurses was an unexpected finding. Preceptors, educators, and facilities can use these themes to standardize and strengthen perinatal preceptorships. This study has implications for positive social change by ensuring that perinatal nurse residents benefit from preceptorships that focus on the best ways to teach, instill confidence, and subsequently, pregnant women will receive safe, evidence-based care from a confident perinatal nurse. Organizations can use the results to structure quality perinatal preceptorships, retain confident nurses at the bedside, and enhance patient satisfaction.

Although the number of nursing programs has increased in Florida, the number of hospital sites available for clinical experiences have not, resulting in limited clinical time for each nursing program. To address this shortage of clinical time, local colleges are increasing the use of simulations in the curriculum. Guided by andragogy, this sequential mixed methods study was conducted to explore differences in students' perceptions of satisfaction, self-confidence, and critical thinking between two groups of students with different amounts of clinical simulation. In an associate degree nursing program, 34 nursing students completed a single survey on student perceptions of satisfaction and self-confidence, 12 students completed a critical thinking test, 37 student reflection papers were reviewed, and 4 faculty members were interviewed. Independent t tests were used in analyzing quantitative data, and content analysis was used in the analysis of qualitative data. Statistical analysis and content analysis showed no difference between the groups of students for satisfaction, self-confidence, and critical thinking. However, results should be interpreted with caution because quantitative analyses were underpowered, increasing the risk of type II error. Overall, students had positive comments about simulations in regard to satisfaction, self-confidence, and critical thinking. The results of this study will allow nursing faculty in the local setting to make better decisions with regard to using additional simulation in their programs. The results may benefit nursing students and the patients they care for in their future nursing careers in providing quality healthcare.