American Studies Commons^™

The Effect Of Various Carbohydrate Supplements On Postprandial Blood Glucose Response In Female Soccer Players, Nina Pannoni

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of different types of carbohydrates on blood glucose response in collegiate soccer athletes at rest. This will help to determine the effectiveness of a carbohydrate supplement in providing sustained energy and maintained performance if ingested prior to a soccer match. METHODS: In a cross-over design, 10 female collegiate soccer players (n= 10, age 20.10 ± .99 years, height 65.55 ± 2.77 inches, weight 64.12 ± 8.36 kilograms) from the University of South Florida reported to the laboratory on five separate occasions after an overnight fast. Once a baseline blood …

Meta-Analysis Of Single-Case Data: A Monte Carlo Investigation Of A Three Level Model, Corina M. Owens

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Numerous ways to meta-analyze single-case data have been proposed in the literature, however, consensus on the most appropriate method has not been reached. One method that has been proposed involves multilevel modeling. This study used Monte Carlo methods to examine the appropriateness of Van den Noortgate and Onghena's (2008) raw data multilevel modeling approach to the meta-analysis of single-case data. Specifically, the study examined the fixed effects (i.e., the overall average baseline level and the overall average treatment effect) and the variance components (e.g., the between person within study variance in the average baseline level, the between study variance in …

Captivating The Captors: Re-Defining Masculinity, Identity And Post-Colonialism In Plutarch's Parallel Lives, Andrea Lea Pittard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates 1st-2nd century CE biographer and philosopher, Plutarch's, manipulation and construction of gender ideals in three sets of his Parallel Lives, Coriolanus and Alcibiades, Pelopidas and Marcellus, and Phocion and Cato the Younger in which he presented his particular version of the ideal man and route to manhood. Plutarch discouraged traditional paths to gaining masculine status and simultaneously promoted a type of masculinity that benefited other aspects of his identity, particularly promoting his social and economic position and ethnicity. He asserted throughout that martial men were not in control of their emotions and therefore were incomplete men. …

Palaeoclimatic Significance Of Perennial Ice Accumulations In Caves: An Example From Scarisoara Ice Cave, Romania, Aurel Persoiu Tiritu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Stable isotopes in ice cores drilled in the polar and high-mountain region have been used intensively to reconstruct past climatic changes and atmospheric dynamics. However, no similar studies have been conducted on perennial ice accumulations in caves due to a limited understanding of the links between the external and cave environments, and the way in which the climatic signal can be recorded by the cave ice.

In this thesis, we successfully designed and build a research methodology for the reconstruction of past climatic changes based on perennial ice accumulation in caves, using as example the Scarisoara Ice Cave, Romania. The …

Relations Among Classroom Support, Academic Self-Efficacy, And Perceived Stress During Early Adolescence, Krystle Kuzia Preece

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the relations between support, academic self-efficacy, and stress during the transition into middle school. Research suggests that early adolescents experience an increase in stress across the middle school transition (e.g., Chung, et al., 1998), due to a mismatch between the individuals' developmental needs and the environment (Eccles et al., 1993). Stress has been found to be a risk factor for mental health disorders among adolescents (Grant et al., 2003). The current study examined if teacher and classmate support and academic self-efficacy served as external and internal resources for buffering stress …

Carbon Nanotubes Interactions: Theory And Applications, Adrian Popescu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A theoretical framework describing the carbon nanotubes interaction, involving two distinct approaches, is presented. Based on the results obtained practical applications using carbon nanotubes are further proposed.

First a classical approach is employed for different geometrical configurations, such as parallel or concentric carbon nanotubes. For all the cases analytical expressions for the systems potential energies are derived.

The results obtained using the classical approach are used to propose a few practical applications. These applications include a non-contact device for profiling surfaces and a custom telescopic double wall carbon nanotube for nanolithography applications. It is expected that such devices can be …

Sequential Anaerobic And Algal Membrane Bioreactor (A2mbr) System For Sustainable Sanitation And Resource Recovery From Domestic Wastewater, Ana Lucia Prieto

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An innovative wastewater treatment technology was developed to recover renewable resources, such as water, energy and nutrients, from sewage. First, a novel synthetic sewage was evaluated for its suitability to serve as an alternative substrate for lab-scale wastewater treatment (WWT) research. Based on granular dried cat food, Complex Organic Particulate Artificial Sewage (COPAS) is a commercially-available, flexible, and easy to preserve feed. Characteristics of COPAS, namely chemical composition, disintegration/dissolution kinetics, and anaerobic biodegradability, were determined. Anaerobic bioassays indicate that COPAS is highly biodegradable at the concentration used to simulate household sewage (1000 mg/L), with more than 72% of the theoretical …

Biological Effective Dose (Bed) Distribution Matching For Obtaining Brachytherapy Prescription Doses & Dosimetric Optimization For Hybrid Seed Brachytherapy, Jakub Pritz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Radioactive seed implant brachytherapy is a common radiotherapy treatment method for prostate cancer. In current clinical practice, a seed consists of a single isotope, such as ¹²⁵I or ¹⁰³Pd. A seed containing a mixture of two isotopes has been proposed for prostate cancer treatment. This study investigates a method for defining a prescription dose for new seed compositions based on matching the biological equivalent dose (BED) of a reference plan.

Ten prostate cancer cases previously treated using single isotope seeds (5 using ¹²⁵I seeds and 5 using ¹⁰³Pd seeds) were selected for this study. Verification of …

The Effects Of Item Complexity And The Method Used To Present A Complex Item On The Face Of A Financial Statement On Nonprofessional Investors` Judgments, Linda Gale Ragland

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My study is motivated by standard setters interest in better understanding (and the gap in research as to) the effects of item complexity and disaggregation across a financial statement on users' decision processes (Bonner 2008; Glaum 2009; FASB 2010b). I examine whether complexity of an item and the method used to present the item on a financial statement influences nonprofessional investors' judgments. Specifically, I examine two issues raised concerning IAS 19 Employee Benefits. The first is to examine whether there are differences in nonprofessional investors' judgments when individual components of a complex item (defined pension cost) are disaggregated across a …

Realizing Virtuality: Tracing The Contours Of Digital Culture, Nicholas Andrew Riggs

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

People connect digitally through social media, fusing their relationships with meaning in a non-space of relational potential--a translucent and fluctuating enclave where the self becomes elastic. This thesis explores how I have formed bonds in virtual space through ritual interaction. Looking at the ways I learned to use technology through the progression of a close personal relationship, I suggest that social media use is a performance of identity--a virtuality that exposes how people negotiate the digital enclosure of contemporary society. My story is one of digital nativity and reclaiming love through virtual performance. I show how these performances have had …

The Performance Production Process Of An Outstanding High School Choir, Kathy K. Rolsten

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the interest in and importance of producing high quality choral performance, the question "How is superior performance produced?" has not been addressed in a holistic and naturalistic way. A synthesis of previous research findings suggests that a combination of actions, interactions, relationships, and conditions produce superior choral performance. Yet a holistic examination of this multi-faceted production process has not been conducted. In order to identify all factors contributing to the production of superior performance and how these factors work together, I comprehensively examined an extreme case of superior performance. This extreme case of superior performance was one high school, …

Secreted Factors From Human Umbilical Cord Blood Cells Protect Oligodendrocytes From Ischemic Insult, Derrick Rowe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Oligodendrocytes (OL)s are the dominant cell type in the white matter and are integral for synaptic transmission essential for proper neuronal communication between brain areas. Previous studies have shown that intravenous administration of the mononuclear fraction of human umbilical cord blood (HUCB) cells in rat models of stroke reduced white matter injury, gray matter injury and behavioral deficits. Yet the mechanisms used by HUCB cells remain unknown in ischemic injury. These studies will investigate both in vitro and in vivo approaches to elucidate this mechanism in OLs. When mature primary OLs were coincubated with HUCB cells, HUCB cells secreted soluble …

The Relationship Between Statistics Self-Efficacy, Statistics Anxiety, And Performance In An Introductory Graduate Statistics Course, William Ray Schneider

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between statistics self-efficacy, statistics anxiety, and performance in introductory graduate statistics courses. The study design compared two statistics self-efficacy measures developed by Finney and Schraw (2003), a statistics anxiety measure developed by Cruise and Wilkins (1980), and a course performance measure. To view self-efficacy from two perspectives, the Current Statistics Self-Efficacy (CSSE) assessed student confidence in their ability to complete specific statistics tasks in the present, whereas Self-Efficacy to Learn Statistics (SELS) assessed student confidence in their ability to learn statistics in the future. The performance measure was the combined …

The Impact Of Paternalism And Organizational Collectivism In Multinational And Family-Owned Firms In Turkey, Jennifer Schroeder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This correlational study examined the influences of paternalistic leadership behavior (PL) and organizational collectivism (measured at the employee level) on employee reported LMX, job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) in two types of organizations (family-owned firms and multinational organizations) in Turkey. Survey data were collected from (N = 154) employees in family-owned and (N = 159) employees in multinational firms (MNCs). Employees in family-owned firms reported significantly higher levels of PL, organizational collectivism, LMX, and OCBs. Further examination revealed additional differences by organization type, with the family-owned sample showing no significant relationships between study variables and OCBs, in contrast …

A Sedimentary Record Of Regional Land-Use And Climate Change In The Manatee River, Manatee County, Florida, Patrick Schwing

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Manatee River Watershed (Manatee County, FL) has experienced heavy anthropogenic development over the last 100 years and was relatively pristine previous to this development. The population growth within the watershed has surpassed the national trends and has doubled in the last 30 years. The heavy anthropogenic development has led to depletion in natural resources, nutrient loading, coastal erosion, and increased pollution. This study constructs records of sedimentological processes to compare the pre-development records to the past 100 years of anthropogenic development. The first portion of this study identifies specific changes in sedimentation attributed to anthropogenic activity in the Manatee …

Institutional Investors And Corporate Financial Policies, Ricky William Scott

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Institutional investors influence corporate payout and research and development (R&D) investment policies. Higher payouts are encouraged by institutional investors, especially in firms with high free cash flow and poor investment opportunities. They also positively influence stock repurchases, particularly in firms with high information asymmetry. The substitution of stock repurchases for dividends as a percentage of total payout is encouraged by institutional investors. Institutional owners persuade firm management to increase research and development (R&D) investment overall and specifically in firms with higher stock liquidity, higher information asymmetry, lower free cash flow, and better investment opportunities. Institutional investors decrease agency costs in …

Parent Involvement In Children's Schooling: An Investigation Of Measurement Equivalence Across Ethnic Groups, Heather Marie Scott

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Epstein et al.'s Theory of Overlapping Spheres of Influence focuses on the interaction and communication, or partnerships, among families, schools, and the community to bring the three closer together. The theory works in conjunction with Epstein's typology of parental involvement, which focuses on six types of involvement that are instrumental to a child's development and his/her school and educational success. These serve as the framework for the study and support the construct of parent's involvement in children's schooling.

The purpose of the current study was to conduct further validation analyses of an inventory designed to measure the construct of parent …

The Relationship Of Mid-Pregnancy Levels Of Cytokines, Stress, And Depression With Gestational Age At Delivery, Melissa Molinari Shelton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pregnancy is a time of alternating states of inflammation. The establishment of pregnancy is marked by controlled inflammation and transition toward an anti-inflammatory state for much of the gestational period before returning to an inflammatory state at the onset of labor. Stress and depression trigger the HPA Axis to produce cortisol and levels are maintained in a state of elevation during pregnancy and continue to rise before parturition.

The aim of this research was to explore the relationship of gestational age at delivery with mid-pregnancy levels of cytokines, stress and depression. Participant samples (N = 122) were collected between 16 …

A Multi-Methodological Study Of A Possible Syndemic Among Female Adult Flim Actresses, Candace Danielle Sibley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Existing literature provides support for a possible syndemic among adult film actresses. Multiple studies emphasize that a combination of economic, social, and cultural issues work together in tandem to synergistically amplify HIV/STI risk in this vulnerable population. It is critical to acknowledge how the detrimental effects of the high prevalence of substance abuse, psychological distress, intimate partner violence, and childhood sexual abuse work together in a system to heighten HIV/STI risk among adult-film actresses. Additionally, issues including the retrogressive dynamic and unequal power and hegemony in the industry function as facilitators which lower the overall health profile of adult-film actresses. …

El Poder / The Power: Latino/A Literature Inclusion In The Florida High School Language Arts Classroom As A Contributing Deterrent To The Latino/A Dropout Rate, Monica Adriana Sleeter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Curricula throughout the country, specifically in the School District of Hillsborough County (SDHC), do not encompass diverse subject matter as it relates to Latino/a students. The primary argument posed in this thesis is that consistent engagement to Latino/a writings in the English language arts classroom can be a positive force that contributes to an increased rate of retention of Latino/a youths in high school and a higher percentage of Latino/a high school graduates. This Latino/a literature can be in the form of supplementary reading material that teachers will have access to that will include Latino/a literature from various authors that …