The thesis begins with an introductory chapter that helps to define and locate the point of view from which the novella is told. The introduction also cites modern authors who influenced the tone, structure, and content of the novella. Thirteen chapters and an epilogue follow the introduction. Every third or fourth chapter is written as a vignette. The vignettes function as interchapters with the intention of giving contrast and balance to the main plot chapters.

The Aim of this study was to gain an understanding of how educational welfare officers reason and act when there is a suspicion of child maltreatment. An employee who regularly meets children where there is a suspicion of child maltreatment is required by law to report it to social services. Five educational welfare officers from the Kronoberg county, as well as one from an adjacent county, received vignettes with three fictive accounts of children who were being maltreated.  The educational welfare officers were then interviewed and asked questions concerning the vignettes. The results and following analysis showed that if there was a suspicion of child maltreatment, then the educational welfare officers in general reported it to the social services. However, an exception to this was when they believed it not to be in the best interest of the child to report their suspicions. The results further showed that stigma, as described by Goffman (2014), was a factor that could drive the educational welfare officers towards acting in a way that wasn´t in accordance to what was required by the law. The actions they took could further be understood by using Lipsky´s (2010) “Theory of discretion”, which in this study translated to whether they acted in a way that was either fully in accordance to the law or in a more dubious way.

A descriptive correlational design based on an adapted model of Donabedian’s Structure, Process, Outcome model and Benner’s Novice to Expert theory was used to examine the clinical decision-making of nurses regarding elder abuse. The relationship of the nurses applied knowledge (assessment cues) of elder abuse; demographic questions (e.g. years of experience as a Registered Nurse (RN) and their clinical level of practice status), the use of intuition in nursing practice; and clinical decision outcomes (interventions) for patients in cases of suspected elder abuse was examined. A convenience sample of RNs who worked in the emergency department (ED) in three acute care hospitals, in southeastern United States were asked to complete questionnaires on education about elder abuse, their intuition use, demographic information, applied knowledge of elder abuse, and clinical decision outcomes for suspected elder abuse. The majority of the nurses had participated in the clinical level of practice status program.The convenience sample of 84 RNs consisted of 68 females (81%) and 16 males (19%). The average age of the respondents was 41.43 years. The mean number of years worked as a RN was 13.87 years. Multiple regression results indicated an overall model of two predictors (RNs applied knowledge (assessment cues) and years worked as a RN) significantly predicted clinical decision outcomes (interventions). The model accounted for 25.1% variance in clinical decision outcomes. The t-test revealed there was no difference (applied knowledge (assessment cues) of elder abuse, intuition use in nursing, years working as a RN, clinical level of practice status, and clinical decision outcomes (interventions)) between RNs who received elder abuse education at orientation and those who did not receive the education. The study results suggest that years of working as a nurse supported elder abuse recognition and intervention. The clinical level of practice status of nurses was found not to be a sensitive indicator. Elder abuse education during orientation varied between the hospital settings. The results indicate the educational need for nurses regarding suspected elder abuse.

Functional behavior assessment refers to the broad range of behavioral assessment methods used to identify or clarify the purpose or maintaining contingencies of problem behavior in order to design and implement function-based interventions designed to reduce the occurrence of the problem behavior and teach appropriate replacement skills. FBAs are required in the educational setting for students whose problem behavior is displayed to such a significant level that their learning or the learning of their peers is impacted. As such, previous researchers have conducted trainings on FBA for school-based personnel using a wide variety of methods. Unfortunately, the findings of these studies have yielded mixed results suggesting the need for further inquiry in this line of research. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate whether FBA training would produce significant changes in participants’ knowledge and acceptability of FBA measures and procedures. In addition, the current study evaluated if a significant relationship existed between the FBA knowledge and acceptability measures. The study also evaluated if the use of vignettes and the provision of feedback following training impacted participants’ accuracy and acceptability on an FBA informant method. Results revealed a statistically significant change in all variables on the second administration of the measures of knowledge or acceptability. In addition, results from the study revealed a significant relationship between the second administration of knowledge and the second administration of FBA Evaluation Scales. Conversely, no significant relationship was found between the first administration of knowledge and the first administration of acceptability measures. Overall, the study demonstrated that the specific strategies utilized in the FBA training series were effective in increasing FBA knowledge and acceptability. As such, the current study contributes to the FBA literature by providing further evaluation of training methods designed to increase participant knowledge and acceptability of FBA policies and procedures. Limitations and implications for practice and research are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to examine how two different groups of preservice teachers from two universities identified and described appropriate and inappropriate teaching practices and suggest appropriate changes. The investigation was also designed to provide teacher educators with insights into how to better prepare prospective teachers for their first teaching experience. Participants for this study were 30 undergraduate preservice teachers from two southeastern universities. There were 15 participants from each group, which included 17 males and 13 females. Eight video vignettes were created from the Developmentally Appropriate Practices document developed by NASPE (1992). Two vignettes depicted appropriate practices and six portrayed inappropriate practices. Participants viewed the vignettes during scheduled appointments and were instructed to identify and describe what they saw in the vignettes according to the criterion guidelines developed for this study. Data sources for the investigation were the participants' written responses gathered from the Qualitative Response Chart (questionnaire) and the Debriefing Sheet. The research project attempted to answer the following questions: Were there differences in how University A and University B identified and described appropriate teaching practices in physical education? What were the differences in the teaching practices recommended? To what experiences did the two groups attribute their ability to identify and describe appropriate and inappropriate teaching practices? Results indicated that the amount and kind of experiences provided by the respective teacher education programs did have an impact on how the participants identified and described appropriate teaching practices in physical education. / Ph. D.

abstract: ABSTRACT Many studies testing the effects of procedural justice judgments rely on cross-sectional data. The shortcomings of such a strategy are clear and alternative methodologies are needed. Using a factorial vignette design, this study tests a variety of hypotheses derived from the process-based model of regulation, most of which involve the posited outcomes of procedural justice judgments during police-citizen encounters. This technique allows the researcher to manipulate police process during citizen encounters via hypothetical scenarios. Experimental stimuli are used as independent variables in the regression models. The results show that participants who were administered vignettes characterized by procedural injustice had lower levels of encounter satisfaction, decision acceptance, immediate compliance and greater expectations that police handle similar situations in the future differently relative to individuals who did not receive the negative stimulus. These effects are statistically significant across encounters involving traffic stops and noise complaints. As anticipated, the effect of procedural injustice often proved more salient regardless of whether participants were administered vignettes where they received a citation. Given the utility of the vignette design, future researchers are encouraged to apply the design to additional causal questions derived from the process-based model. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Criminology and Criminal Justice 2016

abstract: Academic deviance is a potentially detrimental behavior for students and universities alike in that it causes credit to be given to individuals where it is not due. Furthermore, it is a common occurrence, with around half of college students admitting to engaging in this behavior at least once. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between perfectionism, strain, and academic deviance. In doing this, this study uses data from a primary data collection effort in Arizona State University, with a final sample of 696 students, to answer three research questions: Are there differences in the likelihood of engaging in academic deviance by maladaptive perfectionists, adaptive perfectionists, and non-perfectionists? Are there differences in the perceptions of the wrongness of academic deviance between maladaptive perfectionists, adaptive perfectionists, and non-perfectionists? Are there differences in how context dependent maladaptive perfectionists, adaptive perfectionists, and non-perfectionists view academic deviance the wrongness of academic deviance? Ordered logistic regression are used to access these research questions. Results suggest that neither perfectionism nor strain were a significant factor in determining the likelihood that a participant would engage in an academically deviant behavior, or how wrong they believed that behavior to be. However, perfectionism did seem to have a mild impact on how context dependent individuals felt the wrongness of their behaviors, meaning that if the cause of the strain was due to the professor’s actions, students viewed academic deviance as less wrong, and self-control explained at least part of this effect. Strain, on the other hand, did not have a significant effect. Overall, the results suggest some legitimacy to the use of general strain theory to explain the potential relationships, given the relationship between perfectionism and context dependency. Additionally, the results support policy implications designed to reduce maladaptive thoughts and subsequently academic deviance, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Future research should examine the link between perfectionism and other types of academic strain. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Criminology and Criminal Justice 2020

The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the effect of vignettes about Alzheimer’s dementia (AD) on stigma and attitudes toward people with Alzheimer’s dementia (PWAD) in a sample of community residents of adults 65 years and older. The specific aims of this study were: (1) to determine the effect of vignettes on AD- related stigma and negative attitudes toward people with AD among adults age 65 years and over, and (2) to describe AD- related stigma and negative attitudes in ethnically and racially diverse groups of older adults. A convenience sampling design was used to recruit 50 participants from a medical office in Boca Raton. The sample included adults age 65 years and older from the community, who understood English and scored 25 or higher on Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE). Participants were randomly assigned to the control group (n=22) who received standard AD education or to the intervention (n=28) who received vignettes and standard AD education. Independent t-test was used to analyze the pretest- posttest change scores in the measures of DAS and STIG-MA survey. The significance (p value) was set at .05. In research question two, the samples were divided into 1) white non- Hispanic and 2) other diverse groups. Descriptive statistics were used to explore racial or ethnic differences in stigma and attitudes. The intervention used vignettes and AD education to decrease stigma and attitudes toward people with dementia and showed statistical significance as compared to the control group who received only the AD education. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2021. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Multimedia training methods have traditionally relied heavily on video based technologies and significant research has shown these to be very effective training tools. However production of video is time and resource intensive. Machinima (pronounced 'muh-sheen-eh-mah') technologies are based on video gaming technology. Machinima technology allows video game technology to be manipulated into unique scenarios based on entertainment or training and practice applications. Machinima is the converting of these unique scenarios into video vignettes that tell a story. These vignettes can be interconnected with branching points in much the same way that education videos are interconnected as vignettes between decision points. This study addressed the effectiveness of machinima based soft-skills education using avatar actors versus the traditional video teaching application using human actors. This research also investigated the difference between presence reactions when using avatar actor produced video vignettes as compared to human actor produced video vignettes. Results indicated that the difference in training and/or practice effectiveness is statistically insignificant for presence, interactivity, quality and the skill of assertiveness. The skill of active listening presented a mixed result indicating the need for careful attention to detail in situations where body language and facial expressions are critical to communication. This study demonstrates that a significant opportunity exists for the exploitation of avatar actors in video based instruction.

This study compared Japanese and US students' intended beliefs and behaviors relating to ethical business decisions. The study assessed the extent to which three of Hofstede's (1984) cultural indexes related to three ethical classifications of Vitell, Nwachukwu, and Barnes (1993). Participants were 79 US and 33 Japanese students attending West Virginia colleges and universities, representing a response rate of 30.7%. A set of six vignettes were written to portray subtly unethical business situations. The vignettes were reviewed by two expert panels, and pilot tested on students similar to those participating in the study. Quantitative techniques were used to analyze survey results. Some moderate correlations were found when determining the nature and degree of relationships among Belief and Behavior scores. A chi square analysis was used to determine significant differences between US and Japanese students' demographic characteristics. Means and standards deviations revealed higher scores for Japanese students on all measures for Belief and Behavior questions. These scores indicated that they believed each vignette portrayed a more ethical situation, and that they would more likely engage in such behavior than would US students. ANOVAs were used to examine differences between Japanese and US students' responses to the vignettes, revealing significant differences between groups, but not as Hofstede's dimensions predicted. Findings on Hofstede's (1984) Individualism versus Collectivism dimension indicate that the theory that members of Japanese cultures will be more willing to work for organizational than personal gain, may not be true, particularly for students. Hofstede's Uncertainty Avoidance dimension, suggesting that members of the Japanese culture will be less comfortable with uncertainty than will members of the US culture, was not supported either. Finally, Hofstede's Masculinity/Femininity dimension, theorizing that members of the Japanese culture are more comfortable with traditional masculine values, was supported. The major finding of this study is that present-day students did not react to Hofstede's assumptions as expected. Use of different subject groups than Hofstede's and the span of thirty years between his study and this one may have impacted the outcomes. Educators and members of the business community involved with training may find the results of this study helpful. The findings encourage educators and trainers to avoid stereotyping learners' abilities based upon culture or the specifications of cultural typology models. / Ph. D.