Digital Commons Network^™

Characterizing Childhood And Diet In Migration Period Hungary, Kirsten A. Verostick

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project investigates children, childhood and diet of two different Migration Period (4^th-8^th century AD) populations, the Gepids and the Avars, in the Great Hungarian Plain. The main goal was to assess whether there are differences in treatment of children and differences in breastfeeding and weaning practices in these distinct sites and populations. Secondarily, this research also focused on characterizing diet for the Gepids and the Avars at four different sites from the Migration Period, to understand how the migration and settling into the region and the assimilation of other groups into the two populations affected their …

Jewish Trail Of Tears Ii: Children Refugee Bills Of 1939 And 1940, Dennis Ross Laffer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to compare and contrast the origins, formulation, course, and outcome of three major American immigration schemes to provide haven for German Jewish and non-Aryan refugees and British children: The Intergovernmental Committee for Political Refugees (better known as the Evian Conference), and particularly the German Refugee Children’s Bill (also labeled as the Wagner-Rogers Bill) and the Hennings Bill. The Evian Conference, called for by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the aftermath of the Anschluss, the German annexation of Austria, sought to create a global solution to the problem of forced migration. The Wagner-Rogers Bill, influenced …

Monsters Under The Bed: An Analysis Of Torture Scenes In Three Pixar Films, Heidi Tilney Kramer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With background information on militarism, nationalism, and torture, this study analyzes Monsters, Inc., Toy Story 3, and The Incredibles, three Pixar films released from 2001 through 2010, for the ways in which the torture scenes are framed. These frames, state control, prisons, and 60s spy thrillers, invite laughter through intertextuality, while deflecting attention from torture of central characters in the films. The implications of this analysis are: these films present torture as deserved and normative; the tortured characters stand outside the frames of recognition for humanness; and they redefine children as threats and dangers. This study concludes that these ideologies …

Evaluation Of Urinary Pesticide Biomarkers Among A Sample Of The Population In The United States, Alex Lance Lebeau

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pesticide use in the United States continues to attract negative public attention. In recent years, this attention has focused on the effects that chronic, low-level pesticides may have, especially on children and various sub-populations. Over the past decade, studies have attempted to correlate negative health effects with detections of pesticide biomarkers in biological media. The current research investigates biomarker of exposure levels in a sample of the United States population. Data from the 2001-2002 NHANES dataset (n=11,039) was evaluated. The detection frequency of urinary biomarkers of exposure and the geometric mean from the NHANES pesticide dataset (n=3,152) were determined. Of …

Does D-Cycloserine Augmentation Of Cbt Improve Therapeutic Homework Compliance For Pediatric Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?, Jennifer M. Park

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

D-cycloserine (DCS), a partial agonist that acts on the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor of the glutamatergic receptor complex, may enhance fear extinction learning during exposure-based therapy. Clinical studies in adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and non-OCD anxiety disorders - and a recent trial in pediatric OCD - have shown that DCS can improve treatment response to exposure therapy relative to placebo and exposure therapy. Some have hypothesized that improved treatment response is a function of increased compliance and engagement in therapeutic homework tasks, a core component of behavioral treatment. The present study examined the relationship between DCS and homework compliance in …

A House But Not A Home? Measuring "Householdness" In The Daily Lives Of Monticello's "Nail Boys", Shannon Lee Mcvey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Monticello, the plantation home of Thomas Jefferson, was also home to more than 100 African American slaves between 1771 and 1826. As many as 40 members of this community lived and worked on Mulberry Row, once a bustling avenue of residential and industrial activity adjacent to the Palladian mansion. Archaeological excavations in 1957 and 1982–-1983 uncovered the remains of Mulberry Row's nailery, where preteen and teenaged enslaved "“nail boys”" manufactured nails for internal use and sale. These excavations revealed surprisingly high amounts of domestic artifacts, particularly ceramics and glass, indicating the young nailers also may have lived inside the nailery. …

A Structural Equation Analysis Of Family Accommodation In Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Nicole Elise Caporino

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Family accommodation of symptoms conflicts with the primary goals of cognitive-behavioral therapy for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and can be an obstacle to positive outcomes. This study examined a structural equation model of parent and child variables related to family accommodation using a sample of 65 parent-child dyads recruited from a university-based clinic. Additionally, parents' motivations for engaging in accommodation were explored. Results generally supported the hypothesized model. Family accommodation mediated the relationship between OCD symptom severity and parent-rated functional impairment, child internalizing problems mediated the relationship between parent anxiety and family accommodation, and parent empathy and consideration of future …

Effects Of Reading Comprehension And Fluency Abilities On The N400 Event-Related Potential, Annie Hirt Nelson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to add to the knowledge of reading development by investigating reading processes from a neurocognitive and educational perspective. This study seeks to provide some insight about reading development for the neuroscience field. The goals of this study are to attain a clearer picture of reading development by using both behavioral assessments and event-related potentials (ERPs), and to begin to bridge the gap between both fields of study. Children between the ages of 7 and 13 were placed in one of two groups depending on their reading comprehension levels for the first analyses, and reading …

Help-Seeking And Utilization Patterns Among African American And Caucasian Mothers And Fathers: An Examination Of Parental Problem Recognition, Barriers, And Beliefs, Idia Binitie Thurston

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The underutilization of mental health services is a pervasive problem that persists despite efforts by researchers and interventionists to make treatment accessible. Several factors have been hypothesized to contribute to these underutilization rates including sociopolitical factors (financial and structural barriers), and cultural/familial factors (race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, age, marital status, attitudes, beliefs, and stigma). The current study set out to explore patterns of child mental health service utilization based on parents' perceptions. Guided by "The Youth Help-Seeking and Service Utilization Model," the relationship between parental problem recognition and willingness to seek formal and informal help as influenced by parents' …

Perceiving Architecture: An Experiential Design Approach, Ashley Verbanic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Perception of the physical environment is largely dependent on a range of criteria which are not always readily identifiable. Such a difficulty to identify how a person perceives an environment creates a situation in which architects and designers can easily neglect this idea of the individual user and their experience.

Through the design of a preschool, this thesis focuses largely on understanding how children and other users perceive and interact with their environments. The design process employed synthesizes user based research and analysis of environmental cues such as light, sound, and smells and their effect on how we interpret a …

School Psychologists Involvement And Perceived Preparedness In The Provision Of Suicide-Related Services: A Comparison Of Practitioners Serving Different School Levels, Jennifer M. Cunningham

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While the manifestation of suicidal thoughts and/or behavior is more common among adolescents, children are capable of, and do experience, suicidal ideation as well as demonstrate suicidal behaviors. Suicide is the sixth leading cause of death among children aged 5-14 years (Center for Disease Control [CDC], 2008). However, children may not always be referred or brought to the attention of the school psychologist, as their threats may be considered immature and unfounded. The purpose of this study is to provide data that clarifies the need for the provision of suicide-related services for children in elementary school. An archival dataset of …

A Parent Training Program Combining Discrete Trial Training And Incidental Teaching In The Home Environment, Lindsey Jones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effects of a parent training program teaching discrete trial teaching (DTT) and incidental teaching (IT) methods using a parent training manual. Three families with children between the ages of 5-6 diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) participated. Both parents received parent training although Parent A received training from the experimenter and Parent B received training from Parent A. The parents taught their children one skill each from three categories: communication, self-care routines and a household expectation. This study sought to expand upon the literature in the realm of combining DTT and IT as well as adding …

An Evaluation Of Peer Mediated Social Skills Training For A Child With Asperger’S Syndrome And Peers, Kristin Fowler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A lack of social skills is a major deficit for children with autism spectrum disorders and related disabilities. Peer mediated social skills training is an effective method to increase social skills for these children. The present study evaluated the use of two peer-mediated intervention procedures in promoting social interaction skills of a child with Asperger's syndrome and his three typical peers, in the context of an inclusive elementary classroom. A multiple baseline design across peers was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions. A multiple probe design was used to evaluate the generalization and collateral effects of the intervention …

The Participation Of Ngos In Healthcare: The Case Of Pediatric Cancer Treatment In Argentina, Cecilia Vindrola Padros

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The deterioration of the Argentine public health system has lead to an increase in non-governmental involvement in the provision of health services. The emerging relationship between these sectors is filled with tensions, contradictions, and negotiations, reflecting the historical trajectory of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the transformations of the public health system. These problems are specifically evident in programs that focus on pediatric oncology treatment due to the fact that ideas about childhood, chronic disease, and mortality construct an unusual collaborative framework between governmental and non-governmental healthcare professionals. Pediatric cancer contradicts traditional notions of childhood; it points out the ambivalences associated …

Child Psychopathology, Parental Problem Perception, And Help-Seeking Behaviors, Jessica Curley Hankinson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Service underutilization is a major problem facing children with emotional and behavioral problems. In addition, parents are often the ones most responsible for seeking help for their children. However, many children do not receive adequate help because parents do not perceive a problem or do not recognize that a child is in need. The present study examined parental thresholds for problem perception and subsequent help-seeking decisions based on children's behaviors presented in a vignette. It was hypothesized that the type of child behavior, child and parent gender, and other parental characteristics would be associated with different thresholds for problem perception …

The Role Of The Theory Of Planned Behavior In Therapists’ Involvement Of Parents In Youth Treatment, Sherecce Antoinette Fields

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The theory of planned behavior has been studied in a wide variety of health related research. One area that has not evaluated the relevance of the TPB is that of therapists' attitudes for involving parents in treatment. The current study examined the feasibility of Ajzen's (1985) Theory of Planned Behavior for explaining whether or not therapists include parents in treatment. Participants in this study were therapists with at least one-year experience in treating youth under the age of 11. It was hypothesized that all of the variables of the TPB would be significant predictors of therapists' intention to include parents …

Publicly Posted Feedback With Goal Setting To Improve Tennis Performance, Gretchen Mathews

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A review of the literature regarding Applied Behavior Analysis within various sports settings shows that behavioral coaching is more effective than traditional coaching methods. Specifically, goal setting and publicly posted feedback improved the athletic performance of college level football players in two studies, and high school soccer players in one study. The present study found goal setting and publicly posted feedback improved tennis performance for six participants. A multiple baseline across participants design was used. Specifically, the participants improved their corner hitting ability, which is an important competitive shot in tennis. The participants improved their corner hitting ability from an …

The Benefits Of Interleaving Different Kinds Of Mathematics Practice Problems, Kelli M. Taylor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In most mathematics textbooks, virtually all of the problems in each set of practice problems, or in each practice set, relate to the immediately preceding lesson - an arrangement described here as the standard format of practice. Alternatively, the problems within a shuffled practice set are drawn from numerous lessons. With the shuffled format, each practice set has two distinguishing features: within-session spacing, in which problems of the same kind appearing in a single practice set are separated by some period of time, and mixed practice, in which different types of problems are interleaved. Although previous studies …

The Getting Ready To Learn Program: An Impact Report, Rosa M. Avila

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Getting Ready to Learn (GRTL) program is an early intervention program designed to improve the developmental skills and learning capacity of Native American children in the Northwest Arctic region of Alaska. Early intervention programs have been found to decrease high school dropout rates and increase employment rates, which contribute to better health outcomes in young adulthood. The Northwest Arctic is a remote area that lacks many resources. As such, the people of this region experience various health disparities. The GRTL program was implemented in 7 of the 11 villages in the Northwest Arctic Borough of Alaska (NWABA). The purpose …

The Evaluation Of A Commercially-Available Abduction Prevention Program, Kimberly V. Beck

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Child abduction is a serious problem in the U.S.; therefore, it is essential that researchers evaluate the efficacy of currently available abduction prevention programs. This study evaluated the efficacy of a commercially-available abduction prevention program, The Safe Side. The participants included six 6-8-year old children with no prior abduction prevention training. A non-concurrent multiple baseline across participants design was used to evaluate the effects of the training. The participants' safety responses were assessed using in situ assessments within two different situations (responding to a knock on the door of the participant's home and interaction by a stranger in public) and …

Relationship Between Nurses' Management Of Pediatric Oncology Patients' Symptoms And Job Satisfaction, Jennifer I. Rheingans

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A primary function of the pediatric oncology nurse is to provide symptom management to children with cancer. Symptom management strategies have been published, but there is scarce literature examining neither the actual use of these nursing interventions, nor the effects of using these interventions on the nurses' perceived work environment. The purpose of this study was to examine the nursing interventions used in treating pediatric oncology patients' symptoms, as well as the emotional sequelae from providing this care. Phase One of this study examined the content validity of the newly developed Nurses Distress and Interventions for Symptoms Survey (NDISS) utilizing …

The Acquisition Of Functional Sign Language By Non-Hearing Impaired Infants, Kerri Haley-Garrett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research shows that young children, typically developing with no developmental delays, hearing impairments or visual impairments, can acquire sign language to communicate their wants or needs prior to their ability to communicate through spoken language. However, much of the research reviewed focused on whether it was normative for young children to use signs or symbolic gestures to represent objects, make requests, or to express other wants or needs. In addition, many of the studies reviewed lacked scientific rigor and were primarily anecdotal in that much of the data relied on parent reports of his/her child's production of signs or symbolic …

Framing Requests For Parental Participation In Family Research, David Clay

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on fathers and their willingness to participate in family related research studies. Traditional expectations of parental roles have hindered the inclusion of fathers in research studies despite gradual changes in cultural norms and research studies that indicate fathers have a significant influence on the developmental outcomes of children. Recent work in this area indicates that fathers are just as likely as mothers to participate in family related research. This study sought to shed light on this issue. Employees at three large Southeastern Universities were asked to participate in one of three different types of research: Academics, Athletics, …

Breaking Down The Wall: An Examination Of Mental Health Service Utilization In African American And Caucasian Parents, Idia O. Binitie

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the influence of parents' gender, race, and psychopathology on barriers and attitudes to mental health utilization for themselves and for their children. It was hypothesized that mothers and Caucasian¹ parents would have more positive attitudes and would perceive fewer barriers to mental health services than fathers and African American² parents. A total of 194 African American and Caucasian parents were recruited from the community to participate in this study. Parents completed measures on barriers and attitudes toward treatment for themselves and their children, utilization of mental health services for themselves and their children, and their own current …

Mothers’ Versus Fathers’ Ratings Of Child Behavior Problems, Jessica K. Curley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study was to examine how mothers and fathers view children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. More specifically, the relationship between certain factors, such as parental psychological symptoms, levels of interparental conflict, characteristics of the behaviors, and discrepancies in mothers' and fathers' ratings of behavior problems were studied in more depth. Using a between subjects, experimental design, mothers and fathers were randomly assigned to view a videotape and rate the behavior of a male or female child acting in either an internalizing, externalizing, or non-clinical manner. Results showed that there were no differences between mothers' and fathers' …

Imitation And Its Reciprocity In The Treatment Of Autism, Roxana I. Nedelcu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined, within a multiple baseline design, the development of generalized imitative repertoires and the occurrence of contingency testing in children with autism. Generalized imitation refers to an imitative response class maintained by a conditioned reinforcer: similarity. In the case of imitation, a response class is established by reinforcement of sufficient exemplars of different imitations; the results is a general repertoire of imitating novel responses on their first presentation. Generalized imitation was facilitated through reinforcement procedures involving shaping and fading. Multiple experimenters and multiple settings have been involved to promote the generalization of imitation. Contingency testing, which has been …

Re-Constructing The Image Of The Voluntarily Childfree: An Ethnographic Exploration Of Media Representation And The Childless By Choice, Eddy Sass

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, like most other parts of the world, there is a commonly held belief that all capable couples should have children. This belief has contributed to the development of a pro-natalist ideology or concept that having children is good. This pronatalist belief tends to spill over into the media, as well. Yet, there are those individuals who do not subscribe to the parenthood belief structure and to the manner in which the media frame the parenthood debate. These people are known as the voluntarily childfree or the childless by choice. This thesis is an exploratory ethnographic examination …

A Program Evaluation Of A Support Group For Children With Sickle Cell Disease, Rachel M. Cohen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Children with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) face medical, psychosocial, and cognitive challenges, which may impede their social and academic functioning. These complications can be lessened through the implementation of comprehensive interventions. This study reviews one comprehensive intervention, a support group, for children with SCD and their families, and reviews the challenges faced by the children and family who participate in the support group as well as those who do not participate. The study has a mixed-method design because the families participated in focus groups, and they completed quantitative instruments, including a knowledge survey, a behavior rating scale, and an instrument …

Perceptions Of Family Functioning Between Children With Behavior Difficulties And Their Primary Caregiver, Melissa Farino Todd

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research study compared perceptions of family functioning among preadolescent children with behavior difficulties and their primary caregivers. Participants consisted of 29 caregiver-child dyads as well as each child's classroom teacher. Eligibility for the study was based on the child's placement within a self-contained Emotionally Handicapped (EH) or Severely Emotionally Disturbed (SED) classroom in one of three elementary schools within two west coast Florida counties. Data collection included teacher rating scales pertaining to the severity of each child's behavior and the presence of Callus Unemotional (CU) traits in addition to caregiver and child interviews tapping perceptions of family functioning.

Results …

Creating Positive Experiences: Increasing Parent Participation In A Low Income Elementary School, Krista Stinson Cayer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has examined the effectiveness of placing parents on a variety of incentive programs which would increase their likeliness to participate in school related activities. That research suggested that establishing school as a reinforcing environment for parents was vital. Due to these findings, this study examined the effects of a token economy on parent involvement at a low-income elementary school. Teachers were trained in the data collection method, and parental behavior was observed on a daily, weekly and bi-weekly schedule. Measures of social validity were obtained through teacher and parent questionnaires.

The data from the research study suggested that …