American Studies Commons^™

Clinical Decision-Making In Aphasia Therapy: A Survey Of Perceived Levels Of Evidence For Common Treatment Approaches, Erin T. Rowe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The past three decades have produced a surge of interest in the role of evidence-based practice (EBP) in the clinical decision-making of speech-language pathologists and other healthcare professionals in delivering optimally effective patient care. A review of the literature revealed several studies investigating potential barriers to EBP implementation and attitudes toward EBP. However, few studies have been designed to probe what treatment approaches to neurogenic communication disorders clinicians are currently implementing and the rationales behind their use. Furthermore, a review of the literature failed to reveal any surveys designed to probe the correlation between what clinicians perceive to be evidence …

Off-Campus Work And Its Relationship To Students’ Experiences With Faculty Using The College Student Experiences Questionnaire, Cathy J. Hakes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Statistics on college students working have shown an increase as students cope with rising costs of education, decreasing financial aid, greater personal financial commitments, and the expectation that students should contribute to the cost of their own education. These facts combined with the students' need to secure employment upon graduation contribute to why they must work while attending college.

Whereas working may provide a means to address students' financial and employment concerns, it also limits the amount of time students have to interact with faculty outside of class. This form of student engagement enables students to become more comfortable with …

Characterization Of The Structural And Magnetic Properties Of Gd Thin Films, Daryl V. Williams Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The standard material by which all materials exhibiting magnetocaloric effect are

measured is Gadnolinium. In this work we are attempting to understand how

nanostructuring can impact the magnetocaloric effect, to this end we have grown Gd in

various thin film structures. The samples made were grown via magnetron sputtering on

MgO(100) substrates. Samples of thick Gd (2000 A) were grown and sandwiched

between two layers of Cr or W and annealed at increasing temperatures to study how this

can perturb the magnetic and structural properties of the Gd. Another set of samples was

grown in which Gd (at various thicknesses) …

Hatfield-Gaines Family, 1834-1981 (Mss 2275), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2275. Chiefy receipts, deeds, wills, and other legal and financial documents of the Hatfield and Gaines families of Simpson County, Kentucky. Includes some Civil War-era correspondence of the Hatfield family.

"American Dream" Or Global Nightmare?, Melanie E. L. Bush

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

In the United States we are witnessing a period of heightened contestation about the parameters of nationalism, patriotism, and loyalty. The oft-heard phrase "Support the Troops" now signifies the desire both to send more soldiers to war and to bring home those already in combat. This "nation of immigrants" has spawned a new generation of "minute-men" to defend national borders while mainstream discourse touts the benefits of "diversity." Dreams of upward mobility present for some during the mid-20th century seem now hazy at best as the proportional income of those at top grows while the rest of the population increasingly …

Cates, Steve Dixon, B. 1940 (Fa 526), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 526. Correspondence, programs, newsletters, and other materials collected by Steven Dixon Cates relating to Sarah Gertrude Knott and the National Folk Festival Association. Included is his correspondence about his involvement with a variety of folk festivals and program materials from several National Folk Festivals.

Scisney, Sheri L. (Fa 256), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 256. Paper: "The African-American Set on Western Kentucky University Campus" written by Sheri L. Scisney for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Alvis, Elizabeth Duncan (Stark), 1876-1959 (Mss 320), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Collection 320. Correspondence, genealogical notes, scrapbook, and photos chiefly related to the Stark family of Allen County and Warren County, Kentucky, especially Confederate veteran John William Stark. Includes a narrative of John William Stark's Civil War service written by his daughter, and World War I discharge certificate of Richard C. Stark (Click on "Additional Files" below).

An Iterative Feature Perturbation Method For Gene Selection From Microarray Data, Juana Canul Reich

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gene expression microarray datasets often consist of a limited number of samples relative to a large number of expression measurements, usually on the order of thousands of genes. These characteristics pose a challenge to any classification model as they might negatively impact its prediction accuracy. Therefore, dimensionality reduction is a core process prior to any classification task.

This dissertation introduces the iterative feature perturbation method (IFP), an embedded gene selector that iteratively discards non-relevant features. IFP considers relevant features as those which after perturbation with noise cause a change in the predictive accuracy of the classification model. Non-relevant features do …

Constructed Wetland/Filter Basin System As A Prospective Pre-Treatment Option For Aquifer Storage And Recovery And A Potential Remedy For Elevated Arsenic, Olesya Lazareva

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The efficiency to improve the water quality of industrial and municipal wastewater in a constructed wetland/filter basin treatment system was investigated. The wetland system was constructed in a closed phosphate mine used for clay settling and sand tailings in Polk County, Florida. During 18-months of monitoring the chemical/microbiological composition of treated wetland water remained relatively constant, despite significant seasonal variations in temperature, rainfall and humidity. The following changes in water quality between input and output were observed: substantial decrease of water temperature (up to 10°C), reduction of As, SO₄, F, Cl, NO₃, NO₂, Br, …

Garrison, Samuel W., 1762-1833 (Sc 1216), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full text scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1216. Booklet (20 p.) kept by Samuel W. Garrison, Allen County, Kentucky, which includes family genealogical records, a poem titled "The Choice, etc." as well as a note of advice to his children. Also includes some biographical information assembled by the Archivist related to the Garrison family.

Bowers, Joseph P. (Fa 269), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 269. Paper: Analysis of Brooks Campbell written by Joseph P. Bowers for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Parel-Sewell, Amethel (Fa 280), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 280. Paper: "Genres of Children's Folklore Found in Advertisements of Three Popular Magazines..." written by Amethel Parel-Sewell for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Variable-Density Flow Models Of Saltwater Intrusion In Coastal Landforms In Response To Climate Change Induced Sea Level Rise And A Chapter On Time-Frequency Analysis Of Ground Penetrating Radar Signals, Swagata Guha

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Populations residing on and near the world’s coasts have become increasingly dependent on coastal groundwater for their supply of freshwater. Under the conditions of predicted climate changes, the expected rise in global sea level can adversely affect the quality and quantity of freshwater resources in coastal areas as a result of saltwater intrusion.

In this study, a suite of two- and three-dimensional variable-density groundwater flow models of major coastal landforms (e.g. deltas, estuaries and small islands) has been constructed to assess the effects of sea level rise (SLR), using different SLR rates of 0.5 m, 1m and 1.5 m over …

Systematic Development And Validation Of A Course Of Instruction In Prior Learning Assessment, John D. Mcnally

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many post-secondary schools across the country offer adult working students an opportunity to obtain at least partial credit for work and life experiences in their curriculum through portfolios. The primary goal of this project was to design, develop and evaluate a portfolio course for adult students at a small independent university. Design emphasized adult learning theory and incorporated instructional design best practices throughout. Also significant to the design was the implementation of the Quality Matters ™ Rubric. The project focus was to intertwine the six assumptions of adult learning theory while implementing best practices and effective instructional strategies, and to …

Passing For Black: Coon Songs And The Performance Of Race, Patricia R. Schroeder

English and Creative Writing Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Increasing Healthy Food Choices In Preschoolers Using Correspondence Training And Recruiting Natural Communities Of Reinforcement, Elyse D. Wiseman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Obesity is a contributing factor to many diseases. Unhealthy food choices are a behavior that can lead to obesity. Teaching children to make healthy food choices at an early age could lead to healthy food choices throughout a lifetime, which would mitigate potential for obesity. A number of different treatments have evaluated healthy food choices in children; however, many did not evaluate or show maintenance effects. The purpose of this study was to utilize correspondence training to acquire healthy food choices in preschoolers and to evaluate of natural communities of reinforcement as a maintenance procedure. Results showed that correspondence training …

Functional Nanomaterials With An Electrochemistry-Based Approach To Sensing And Energy Applications, Jessica Eileen Weber

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the past decade, the use of nanotechnology as a tool to develop and fabricate new structures and devices for biological sensing and energy applications has become increasingly widespread. In this work, a systematic study has been performed on one-dimensional nanomaterials, with a focus on the development of miniaturized devices with a "bottom up" approach. First, members of the nano - carbon family are utilized for biosensing applications; in particular, carbon nanotubes as well as nitrogen - doped and boron - doped nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films. These carbon - based materials possess several unique electrochemical properties over other conductive materials …

A Canine Audience: The Effect Of Animal-Assisted Therapy On Reading Progress Among Students Identified With Learning Disabilities, Julie Omodio Griess

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the use of animal-assisted therapy with students identified with a learning disability and limited reading success. Initially, reading progress was defined as the participants' comprehension rate obtained from an oral Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) passage. The nature of the Informal Reading Inventory requires the introduction of more difficult reading passages as the student's comprehension rate increases, potentially masking the overall effect of the intervention. Due to this factor and erratic student performance, which is a common characteristic of students with learning disabilities, obtaining consistent comprehension rates was difficult. Therefore, progress was defined only as total amount of …

Autonomic Reactivity And Recovery In Healthy Black, White, And Hispanic Women With And Without A Family History Of Cardiovascular Disease, Mardís Sara Karlsdóttir

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Exaggerated cardiovascular reactivity and impaired recovery to psychological stress is independently related to cardiovascular disease (CVD), and may play a causal role in its development. I examined autonomic reactivity and recovery in 136 black, white, and Hispanic women who were predisposed to CVD, as indicated by a positive family history (FH+). Pre-ejection period (PEP; sympathetic) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA; parasympathetic) were measured during public speaking, mental arithmetic, and cold pressor tasks. Overall, FH+ participants exhibited greater RSA reactivity, while black participants exhibited impaired RSA recovery. These findings suggest that a hereditary predisposition for CVD is related to altered autonomic …