Education Commons^™

Spatial-Temporal Distribution Of Mosquito Larval Hot Spots In Papoli, Uganda: A Community-Based Approach To Mosquito Control, Ryan E. Tokarz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mosquito species of the Anopheles gambaie complex are the predominant vectors of malaria transmission throughout sub-Saharan Africa. These mosquitoes tend to be endophilic, as well as anthropophilic, making them prime candidates for disease transmission. Within the same region, related mosquito vectors play a significant role in the transmission of additional human and zoonotic diseases. Furthermore, mosquito nuisance biting is an immense issue that cannot be ignored in terms of its impact on African communities. Depending on the respective factors involved, mosquito control programs throughout the continent have attempted to tackle these issues in a multitude of ways. This research approached …

Music Ensemble Participation: Personality Traits And Music Experience, Tracy A. Torrance

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The personality of musicians, artists, and other creative persons is of considerable interest to researchers and educators who seek to identify traits associated with musical behaviors. Personality traits can influence music behaviors such as instrument choice, ensemble choice, practice habits, and musical experience, which may contribute to continued music participation. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationships between personality type, music ensemble section, instrument choice (vocal or instrumental), and musical experience in college students and individuals who choose to continue participation after college. Few studies have concentrated on personality characteristics of ensemble members at the collegiate level …

Investigations Into The Non-Mevalonate Isoprenoid Biosynthesis Pathway's First Two Enzymes Utilizing Hybrid Qm/Mm Techniques, Justin K. White

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Molecular drug design begins with the identication of a problem to solve. This work identies the growing resistance among human pathogens to current treatments. Once the problem is identied and understood, solutions must be proposed. This one is straight forward, we need new antimicrobial drugs. More specically, we need to identify novel targets to inhibit. A large portion of antibiotics focus on disruption of macromolecular production while only a few target metabolic systems. Finally, you need to propose solutions based on the information gathered. In order to avoid existing resistance, it is important to avoid the macromolecular route and focus …

Community College Second Language Students’ Perspectives Of Online Learning: A Phenomenological Case Study, Li-Lee Tunceren

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this phenomenological case study, I elicited the perspectives of first-year community college second language (L2) students enrolled in an online general education course, Studies in Applied Ethics. Four L2 participants narrated their lived experiences and impressions of distance learning via Skype interviews at early, mid, and end-of-semester junctures. The Distance Education instructional model Community of Inquiry (COI) served as the theoretical framework for the inquiry. The multilingual participants suggested the COI components Teaching Presence (design and facilitation of the course) and Learning Presence (self-regulated learning behaviors) led to Cognitive Presence (the understanding of and ability to demonstrate content …

Application Of Metamaterials To Rf Energy Harvesting And Infrared Photodetection, Clayton M. Fowler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Techniques for adapting metamaterials for the improvement of RF energy harvesting and infrared photodetection are demonstrated using experimental and computer simulation methods. Two methods for RF energy harvesting are experimentally demonstrated and supported by computer simulation. In the first method, a metamaterial perfect absorber (MPA) is made into a rectenna capable of harvesting RF energy and delivering power to a load by soldering Schottky diodes onto connected split ring resonator (SRR) structures composing the planar metasurface of the perfect absorber. The metamaterial rectenna is accompanied by a ground plane placed parallel to it, which forms a Fabry-Perot cavity between the …

Surfaces And Epitaxial Films Of Corundum-Structured Mixed Metal Oxides., Alan Richard Kramer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the last half century of materials science, significant motivations came from, and still do, the industrial applications of these materials. Whether it is electronic, thermal, tribological or chemical in nature, the study of metals, semiconductors and insulators eventually reveals that the surface plays a significant part in the properties of these materials. Understanding metal terminations reveals often that an oxide is the stable state of the metallic surface in an ambient atmosphere and the ability to predict and control these oxides has led to significant strides forward in not just the metallic bulk but the oxide as well.

Here …

The Common Core State Standards And The Elementary Social Studies Curriculum: A Case Study Of Teacher Perceptions In Florida, Kacie M. Nadeau

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The most recent phase of curriculum reform in the era of accountability is the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) which have essentially reshaped the landscape of public education. Its objective of preparing K-12 students for college and career upon high school graduation have prioritized English language arts, mathematics, and science over social studies, which is not part of widespread high-stakes testing for elementary students. This qualitative case study investigated eleven intermediate elementary teachers’ perceptions of alignment between CCSS and the elementary social studies curriculum. Data gathering analysis included two semi-structured interviews and an archival analysis of the mandated curriculum. The …

Organometal Halide Perovskite Solar Absorbers And Ferroelectric Nanocomposites For Harvesting Solar Energy, Chaminda Lakmal Hettiarachchi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Organometal halide perovskite absorbers such as methylammonium lead iodide chloride (CH₃NH₃PbI₃-_xCl_x), have emerged as an exciting new material family for photovoltaics due to its appealing features that include suitable direct bandgap with intense light absorbance, band gap tunability, ultra-fast charge carrier generation, slow electron-hole recombination rates, long electron and hole diffusion lengths, microsecond-long balanced carrier mobilities, and ambipolarity. The standard method of preparing CH₃NH₃PbI₃-_xCl_x perovskite precursors is a tedious process involving multiple synthesis steps and, the chemicals being used (hydroiodic acid …

Understanding Gas Sorption Mechanisms In Metal–Organic Materials Via Computational Experimentation, Katherine A. Forrest

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Metal–organic materials (MOMs), a type of porous crystalline structure composed of organic ligands jointed with metal ions, have captured the interest of scientists as potentially useful in gas sorption applications. Some of the most crucial avenues of investigation are in H2 storage (for use as a clean burning fuel source) and CO2 capture and sequestration (to remove the greenhouse gas from the environment).

A major advantage of MOMs for such applications is their high variability in terms of physical dimensions and chemical moieties, based on composition and synthesis conditions, making them potentially customizable for specific application if necessary structural characteristics …

Thermodynamic And Kinetic Aspects Of Hen Egg White Lysozyme Amyloid Assembly, Tatiana Miti

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Deposition of protein fibers with a characteristic cross-β sheet structure is the molecular marker associated with human disorders ranging from Alzheimer's disease to type II diabetes and spongiform encephalopathy. Given the large number of non-disease related proteins and peptides that have been shown to form amyloid fibrils in vitro, it has been suggested that amyloid fibril formation represents a generic protein phase transition. In the last two decades it has become clear that the same protein/peptide can assemble into distinct morphologically and structurally amyloid aggregates depending on the solution conditions. Moreover, recent studies have shown that the early stage, oligomeric …

Cultivating Peace Via Language Teaching: Pre-Service Teachers' Beliefs And Emotions In An Efl Argentine Practicum, María Matilde Olivero

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In order to understand the intricate processes involved in second language teacher development, in the last decade studies in second language teacher education (SLTE) have addressed the need to explore pre-service teachers’ beliefs and emotions jointly as they occur in their contexts of teaching. SLTE researchers have referred to the importance of helping pre-service teachers verbalize their beliefs and try to understand and regulate their emotions as they can serve to explain what, how, and why pre-service teachers do what they do during their practicum experience. In addition, considering future teachers will be passing on their beliefs, values, and ways …

Graduate Nursing Student Persistence To Graduation, Tyler C. Dean

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether certain student-entry characteristics collected from an admissions application from one nursing school’s graduate (master’s degree) programs had a statistically significant relationship with student persistence. Specifically, the study determined if the variables sex, age at matriculation, U.S. citizenship, state residency status, most recent schooling year, last statistics course taken and grade, graduate-level program of study, and credit hours identified on the graduate nursing admissions application and school transcripts, had a statistically significant relationship in predicting student persistence to graduation. If a relationship existed, it would contribute to graduate student persistence literature and …

Vital Signs Of U.S. Osteopathic Medical Residency Programs Pivoting To Single Accreditation Standards, Timothy S. Novak

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Osteopathic physician (D.O.) residency programs that do not achieve accreditation under the new Single Accreditation System (SAS) standards by June 30, 2020 will lose access to their share of more than $9,000,000,000 of public tax dollars. This U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) funding helps sponsoring institutions cover direct and indirect resident physician training expenses. A significant financial burden would then be shifted to marginal costs of the residency program’s sponsoring institution in the absence of CMS funding. The sponsoring institution’s ability or willingness to bare these costs occurs during a time when hospital operating margins are at …

Leaders Who Learn: The Intersection Of Behavioral Science, Adult Learning And Leadership, Natalya I. Sabga

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines if a relationship exists among three rich research streams, specifically the behavioral science of motivation, adult learning and leadership. What motivates adult professionals to continue learning and how is that connected to their style and efficacy as leaders? An extension of literature to connect Andragogy, Self-determination and Transformational Leadership Theory is explored. Responses to questions adapted from the Carré Model of Adult Orientation and Implication on Learning and Training Activities (Carré, 1997) and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Avolio & Bass, 2000) are compared among a sample of adult professionals in leadership positions. Results indicate that learning motivation …

Examining How Video-Elicited Reflection Mediates Teacher Candidates’ Beliefs About English Language Learners: A Multiple Case Study, Monica M. Gonzalez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

English Language Learners (ELLs) are students who speak a language other than English; they are the fastest growing student population in United States’ (US) public schools and will include over 17 million students by the year 2020 (NCES,2015). The dramatic increase in the ELL student population means that all mainstream classroom teachers will teach at least one ELL within their first year of graduating from a teacher preparation program. However, most US teachers hold misconceptions about ELLs and feel unprepared for ELL instruction (Coady, Harper, & de Jong, 2011). More empirical research is needed to inform teacher preparation programs on …

A Portrait In Black And White: An Analysis Of Race In The Adult Education Classroom, Tealia N. Deberry

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adult education is a reciprocal relationship between adult learners and adult education practitioners. As such, it is essential to understand the experiences of adult educators and adult education practitioners as they teach adults. This study focuses on how ideas about race and racism are examined in the graduate-level classroom and the adult learners’ experience as they focus on subject matter that challenges their assumptions and forces them to create new understandings about race. This study examines, through the portraiture methodology, the experiences of a White researcher and the adult learners engaging in dialogues about race in a CRT course.

The …

Perspectives Of Ap U.S. History Teachers In Title I Schools, Mark Lance Rowland

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) Program continues to expand annually with increased numbers of high school students nationwide enrolling in AP courses and taking end-of-course AP exams, in hopes of earning college credit and strengthening high school transcripts. As the College Board promotes increased minority student participation (specifically African-American and Hispanic students) in AP courses, AP teachers face new challenges as potential first-generation college students enter their classrooms with below-level reading scores and a lack of essential critical-thinking skills needed for college-level assessment.

The participants in this study are five AP U.S. History Teachers from urban, suburban, and rural …

A Program Evaluation Of A Worksite Wellness Initiative For Weight Loss, Nicholas Martinez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to conduct a program evaluation of ACME’s worksite weight loss initiative and collect evidence relative to the efficacy of the program. An anonymous online survey was administered to participants of the weight loss initiative. The survey was designed to gather information relative to the research questions, which explored the initiative’s barriers to participation, alignment of initiative with the goals of participants, utilization of initiative resources, overall strengths, weaknesses, and areas of improvement for the weight loss initiative, as well as the respondents’ general profile for the six dimensions of wellness. Reporting of data included …

Breach: Understanding The Mandatory Reporting Of Title Ix Violations As Pedagogy And Performance, Jacob G. Abraham

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines how institutions generate, teach, and authorize normative performances through texts and/as pedagogical practices. Through an analysis of the University of South Florida’s mandatory reporting policy, training, and Title IX Incident Report Form, this project examines how institutions construct and privilege certain values, performances, and individuals as means of generating the legal compliance of the institution independent. These practices are valued independent of how such compliance enables and limits the relationship between students and teachers. I argue the University’s texts and pedagogical practices serve to substantiate, authorize, and perform the materialization of certain privileges and the normative standards …

A Qualitative Content Analysis Of Early Algebra Education Ios Apps For Primary Children, Lissa S. Ledbetter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Educational software applications (apps) on multi-touch, mobile devices provide a promising space to help learners work toward long-term educational goals, like learning with understanding (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). Such goals are particularly relevant in supporting a learner’s efforts to become more mathematically literate. Yet, a number of current apps do not appear to be living up to this potential. As such, this study drew upon the theoretical framework of Learning Science and the conceptual framework of TPACK theory (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) to define curricular characteristics that ideally support primary children’s potential to learn early algebra concepts with understanding, …

The Relationship Between Trait Emotional Intelligence And L2 Motivation, Jelena Vuksanovic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Motivation is considered an important factor in initiating and sustaining the second language (L2) process. Since learning an L2 can be seen as a lengthy process, one that needs sustained motivation over a long period of time, learners need to be able to successfully deal with their and others’ emotions in order to generate and sustain their motivation for learning. The role of learners’ emotions and trait emotional self-efficacy, or trait emotional intelligence (EI), in L2 motivation and language learning has been a relatively unexplored area. To fill this gap, the current study posed three research questions that addressed the …

Learner-Directed Vs. Instructor-Provided Curriculum Among Undergraduate Students, Christopher D. Martinez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There has been little or no research on the use of a Learning Object in the field of religious studies. The purpose of this research study was to assess undergraduate student knowledge gain outcomes between instructor-provided and learner-directed methods, which is the independent variable, using asynchronous, online, narrated PowerPoint presentations compared to undergraduate student knowledge gain using an online learning-objects unit, in a college-level world religions survey course at St. Petersburg College. This study assessed undergraduate student knowledge gain outcomes between instructor-provided and learner-directed methods among 90 college undergraduate students and determined whether there was a significant difference in the …

Re-Envisioning Music Teacher Education: A Comparison Of Two Undergraduate Music Education Programs In The U.S., Jonathan Ross Kladder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The coursework requirements for an undergraduate music education degree in the U.S. have remained relatively unchanged since its inception in the early twentieth-century. In light of the changing milieu of the twenty-first century music learner, some scholars and researchers have suggested redesigning particular components of the music education degree. A few universities in the U.S. have reacted by implementing changes to their undergraduate music education curricula. Preliminary data and reviews of literature revealed that limited investigations into these programs existed. The purpose of this research was to investigate two established music education degree programs in the U.S. where the faculty …

The Sustainability Of Career And Technical Education Teacher Preparation Programs In Florida, Lisa Martino

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a historical trend of decline in available Career and Technical Education (CTE) Teacher Preparation programs and an increase in CTE course and program enrollments in Florida’s secondary school system. This contradiction in CTE teacher supply and demand raises an important question. What is going on? More specifically, what sustains the remaining programs in the face of this decline?

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore sustainability factors from past and present CTE teacher preparation program educators and administrators to gain a better understanding of this issue. The participant selection for this study was identified from four …

The Dynamics Of The L2 Motivational Self System Among Saudi Study Abroad Students, Fahad Alharbi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adult second language acquisition takes time over an extended period of time during which the L2 motivation of learners goes through periods of ups and downs. Dörnyei, MacIntyre and Henry (2015) recognized the inherently dynamic nature of L2 motivation and called for adopting the Complex Dynamic System Theory (CDST) when studying this phenomenon. While using a CDST perspective, this mixed method study drew on Dörnyei’s (2009b) model of the Motivational Self System to examine the L2 motivation of 86 Saudi study-abroad students. Also, the construct of the Anti-ought to Self (Thompson, 2015) and aspects of the Appraisal Theory (Schumann, 2001) …

Sustainable Development Through Urban Agriculture, Eric R. R. Weaver

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This document includes three completed publications to represent Urban Agriculture as a ideal solution to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The first publication (Weaver, 2017a) provided in Chapter Two examines the stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP) modelling parameters for the current EPA Stormwater Management Model (SWMM) as the first step to developing Urban Agriculture BMPs. The second publication (Weaver, 2015) provided in Chapter Three highlights how many high-rated scholars have identified agriculture as a critical driver for the planetary systems impacts we find with community development. The third publication (Weaver, 2017b) provided in Chapter Four breaks down a completely …

Taxonomy, Ecology, And Behavior Of The Kleptoplastic Sea Slug Elysia Papillosa, William Alan Gowacki

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sacoglossan sea slugs are one of the best known examples of specialist herbivores in the marine environment and can be found strongly associated with their algal hosts and food sources. Perhaps the most intriguing characteristic of many sacoglossans is their ability to sequester functional chloroplasts from their algal food sources in a process called kleptoplasty. Despite this, there continues to be issues regarding taxonomic identification of species. In turn, the ecological characteristics of many of these slugs, such as algal host and food source preference, as well as their behavioral aspects, have received little attention. A prime example of these …

The Relationship Of Self-Awareness To Leadership Effectiveness For Experienced Leaders, Patricia Sullivan Sullivan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between leaders’ self-awareness and their effectiveness. The population included leaders with at least five years of experience in a leadership role. Participants were recruited by snowball sampling methods; the researcher used a diverse network of professionals to recruit other leaders from diverse industries. Each leader completed a 35-survey questionnaire along with demographic questions (gender, education, years in leadership role, industry), and was required to ask at least four direct reports to complete the 35 questions about observed behaviors of their leader. After removing incomplete responses, the final sample included N …

Administrator And Faculty Perceptions Of Institutional Support For Online Education In Florida's College System, Gerene M. Thompson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 30% of Florida’s college system (FCS) students are enrolled in distance learning courses (FLDOE, 2015). As FCS institutions continue to grow their online programs to meet demand, a lack of support from, and consensus among administrator and faculty stakeholders could undermine institutional efforts to sustain growth and quality standards in these programs. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine administrator and faculty perceptions of institutional support for online education in Florida’s College System. Differences in perceptions between these groups were also investigated. Additionally, this study explored if perceptions differed based on role and level of experience with …

The Effects Of Arousal Presented By A Pedagogical Agent On English Language Learners' Situational Interest, Cognitive Load And Reading Comprehension In Online Reading Tasks, Jack Drobisz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research examined how four different animated pedagogical agent implementations, which focus on perceptual and inquiry arousal conditions of attention as defined in Keller’s ARCS model of motivational design (Keller, 2009), impact English language learners' situational interest, cognitive load, and reading comprehension in online readings tasks. Animated pedagogical agents (APA) are computer characters embodied with speech, gestures, or movement (Sweller, Ayres, & Kalyuga, 2011), which according to cognitive-affective theory of learning with media (CATLM; Moreno, 2005; Moreno & Mayer, 2007), can provide a mechanism for triggering situational interest in reading materials through different arousal conditions. In this study, perceptual arousal …