Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Genetic Moderation Of Phenotypic And Neural Indicators Of Peer Influenced Risk-Taking Behavior: An Experimental Investigation, Troy Alan Webber

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Risk-taking behavior (RTB) is defined as behavior involving the probability of reward with concurrent probability of some negative outcome. Peer influence is among the most robust predictors of RTB, such that greater peer influence, particularly deviant or delinquent peer influence, is associated with increased RTB. Evidence suggests that those with genetic predispositions for RTB may also be more susceptible to peer influence as a function of genotype. Given that genetic polymorphisms within the dopaminergic system have evidenced associations with various forms of RTB and delinquent peer affiliation, it is possible that these genes may interact with peer influence to predict …

A Multilevel Examination Of Cultural Moderators Of The Job Demands-Resources Model, Seulki Jang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although the Job Demands-Resources Model (JD-R) is the dominant theoretical framework used to understand the relationship between workplace factors and employee well-being, the cross-cultural generalizability of this model has seldom been directly tested. Therefore, this study examined whether and to what extent relationships between: 1) job demands (i.e., organizational constraints) and strain (i.e., job satisfaction, and turnover intentions) and 2) job resources (i.e., job control, participation in decision-making, direct supervisor support, senior leader support, and clear goals and performance feedback) and strain were moderated by cultural dimensions (i.e., individualism-collectivism and uncertainty avoidance). Survey data from workers in 28 countries were …

Southern Chivalry: Perception Of Health & Environmental Justice In A Small Southern Neighborhood, Brian S. Brijbag

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper analyzes heath risk and how it is communicated to, and understood within, a predominantly African American neighborhood in central Florida. Residents accuse the county department of public works of purposeful contamination and discrimination over a period of 30 years. I raise the questions of how risk is perceived and what roles race or class may play. I also developed a model for risk communication that includes all stakeholders. Finally, I expand the conversation of health disparities to include issues of widening gaps in perceptions of health.

This was examined by looking at the following:

1. The lack of …

The Role Of Social Support In The Disclosure And Recovery Process Of Rape Victims, Jessica Nicole Mitchell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Women disproportionately account for a majority of all completed and attempted rape victimizations each year in the U.S. relative to men. Female college students, in particular, have been noted as a group with the highest risk for rape. Rape among women not only has a substantial public health impact, but has been linked to a number of individual mental health and substance use problems. Despite the fact that service utilization (formal help-seeking with a counselor, mental health professional, rape crisis center, and police reporting) has been shown to deter negative sequelae of rape, few victims of rape receive assistance from …

Half Empty/Half Full: Absence, Ethnicity, And The Question Of Identity In The United States, Ashley Josephine Martinez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study helps us understand the complexities of transnational abandonment, and transnational abandonment in the context of Saudi heritage in particular. Based on a textual analysis of narratives on a blog by individuals abandoned by their Saudi fathers, my findings suggest that they discursively construct their identity in three ways: a) by negotiating their illegitimate status as perceived by many Saudis, and the validity of their search; b) by making sense of the absence of father and the cultural knowledge of the paternal side, while negotiating the inevitable presence of the father in many other ways and their ethnic difference; …

Interleaved Effects In Inductive Category Learning: The Role Of Memory Retention, Alex Mackendrick

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Interleaved effects are widely documented. Research demonstrates that interleaved presentation orders, as opposed to blocked orders typically benefit inductive category learning. What drives interleaved effects is less straightforward. Interleaved presentations provide both the opportunity to compare and contrast between different types of category exemplars, which are temporally juxtaposed, and the opportunity to space study of the same type of category exemplars, which are temporally separated within the presentation span. Accordingly, interleaved effects might be driven by enhanced discrimination, enhanced memory retention, or both in some measure. Though recent studies have largely endorsed enhanced discrimination as the critical mechanism driving interleaved …

Exploring The Interactive Effects Of Social Learning Theory And Psychopathy On Serious Juvenile Delinquency, Brandy Barenna Henderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social learning theory continues to be one of the most enduring theories of crime. Psychological criminology, on the other hand, tends to explain crime in terms of behavioral propensities. This research is specifically focused on the generality of social learning theory as it varies across a measure of criminal propensity- in this case, psychopathy. Prior studies have tested various theories with the use of measures of propensity, but the theory is rarely social learning, and the measure of propensity has never been psychopathy. The current study examines three components of social learning theory (definitions, differential association, and differential reinforcement) to …

Patterns Of Consumption: Ceramic Residue Analysis At Liangchengzhen, Shandong, China, Rheta E. Lanehart

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to identify the different patterns of food consumption across space and time at Liangchengzhen, a Longshan (ca. 2600-1900 B.C.) site located in Shandong Province, China. The primary hypothesis of the research contended that evidence of increasing social inequality with respect to food consumption would be found from early to late phases at Liangchengzhen. In addition, rice and meat from mammals, especially pigs, were hypothesized as the most likely types of prestigious foods for daily and ritual activities. Fish and marine foods in general were hypothesized to be foods that average households could obtain since …

A Composite Spatial Model Incorporating Groundwater Vulnerability And Environmental Disturbance To Guide Land Management, Johanna L. Kovarik

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research has long recognized and studied the dynamics of groundwater processes. More recently, groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) are being recognized for their diversity and vulnerability to anthropogenic impact. Groundwater in karst landscapes presents a distinctive situation where flow through the subsurface often moves rapidly on the scale of days and weeks as opposed to years or millennia in other systems. This distinctive situation of karst systems and their vulnerability to human impacts necessitate an integrated and multifaceted approach for the management of these important resources. However, development of such an approach is complicated by the difficulty of obtaining detailed data …

Glaciological Applications Of Terrestrial Radar Interferometry, Denis Voytenko

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Terrestrial Radar Interferometry (TRI) is a relatively new ground-based technique that combines the precision and spatial resolution of satellite interferometry with the temporal resolution of GPS. Although TRI has been applied to a variety of fields including bridge and landslide monitoring, it is ideal for studies of the highly-dynamic terminal zones of marine-terminating glaciers, some of which are known to have variable velocities related to calving and/or ocean-forced melting. My TRI instrument is the Gamma Portable Radar Interferometer, which operates at 17.2 GHz (1.74 cm wavelength), has two receiving antennas for DEM (digital elevation model) generation, and images the scenes …

Pathogenic Policy: Health-Related Consequences Of Immigrant Policing In Atlanta, Ga, Nolan Sean Kline

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Multilayered immigration enforcement regimes comprising state and federal statutes and local police practices demand research on their social and health-related consequences. This dissertation explores the multiple impacts of immigrant policing: sets of laws and police activities that make undocumented immigrants more visible to authorities and increase their risk of deportation. Examining immigrant policing through a multi-sited framework and drawing from principles of engaged anthropology, findings from this dissertation suggest how immigrant policing impacts undocumented immigrants' overall wellbeing, health providers' professional practice, and reveals troubles with safety net medical care. Interviews and participant observation experiences suggest how immigrant policing perpetuates a …

Quantifying The Interaction Of Wildlife And Roads: A Habitat And Movement Approach, Rebecca Whitehead Loraamm

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a growing need to address the effects of roadway presence on wildlife. Not only do roads directly impact gene dispersal from a movement perspective, but they limit movement of the individual animal from a habitat perspective by presenting an artificial barrier between one area of viable habitat and another. For this reason it is becoming increasingly important to quantify contact between humans and wildlife and to develop better methods for mitigating these types of conflicts. Studying habitat connectivity and animal mobility in the context of roads can provide actionable information on how, where, and when these encounters might …

Hpv Vaccine Decision-Making Among Male Sexual Minorities: An Integrative Theoretical Framework For Vaccine Promotion, Christopher W. Wheldon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at increased risk of anal cancer as a result of anal HPV infection. Routine HPV vaccination is recommended for all MSM up through age 26; however, vaccine uptake among this population is low. The Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction (IM) was used to identify, describe, and explain psychosocial factors related to HPV vaccine decision-making for young MSM. A sequential mixed-methods approach consisting of semi-structured interviews, a quantitative survey, and a qualitative open-ended survey was used to address the following aims: (1) Determine salient outcome, normative, efficacy, and control beliefs related to HPV-vaccination …