American Studies Commons^™

Perrin, Anne Gray (Fa 516), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Collection includes materials assembled by Anne Gray Perrin for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class. Included are interviews with four informants about family and personal narratives and ghost stories; photographs of the 2004 Kentucky American Saddlebred Pleasure Horse Association’s State Championship in Shelbyville, Kentucky; and photos documenting material culture in Bowling Green and Shelbyville, Kentucky.

A Multi-Wilkinson Power Divider Based Complex Reflection Coefficient Detector, James Roger Cooper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the field of applied electromagnetics, there is always a need to create new methods for electrical characterization of materials, systems, devices, etc. Many applications need small and/or inexpensive equipment in performing these characterizations. The current method for making measurements of electrical properties at frequencies above 300 MHz, the transmission/reflection method, has severe limitations in these areas due large size and high price of the necessary equipment for making them. Therefore, presented herein is the conceptualization, design and analysis of a complex reflection coefficient detector which is relatively small, lightweight, and inexpensive.

A reflection coefficient detector is a device designed …

Domination In Graphs, Jennifer M. Tarr

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Vizing conjectured in 1963 that the domination number of the Cartesian product of two graphs is at least the product of their domination numbers; this remains one of the biggest open problems in the study of domination in graphs. Several partial results have been proven, but the conjecture has yet to be proven in general. The purpose of this thesis was to study Vizing's conjecture, related results, and open problems related to the conjecture. We give a survey of classes of graphs that are known to satisfy the conjecture, and of Vizing-like inequalities and conjectures for different types of domination …

The Dynamic Graphic Organizer And Its Influence On Making Factual, Comparative, And Inferential Determinations Within Comparative Content, Cameron Spears

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

By augmenting an existing static medium (a graphic organizer) with attributes such that learners were able to sort or rearrange information in multiple ways, two new types of “dynamic” graphic organizers were created. An experiment was performed to investigate the effectiveness of these dynamic graphic organizers as instructional tools. One-hundred-sixty-one students were recruited for participation in the study from a two-year community college and a four-year public university in the southeast United States. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three graphic organizer treatment groups: static, sortable, and shuffle-sortable. Response accuracy and response latency measurements for three types of mental …

Bibliography For The Study Of Cultural Discourse In Taiwan, Yu-Chun Chang, I-Chun Wang, Steven Tötösy De Zepetnek

CLCWeb Library

No abstract provided.

Geos: A Service For The Management Of Geo-Social Information In A Distributed System, Paul Anderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Applications and services that take advantage of social data usually infer social relationships using information produced only within their own context, using a greatly simplified representation of users' social data. We propose to combine social information from multiple sources into a directed and weighted social multigraph in order to enable novel socially-aware applications and services. We present GeoS, a geo-social data management service which implements a representative set of social inferences and can run on a decentralized system. We demonstrate GeoS' potential for social applications on a collection of social data that combines collocation information and Facebook friendship declarations from …

Williams, Michael Ann (Fa 512), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 512.  This collection contains an application for an assistance grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for the assessment and preservation of the audio recordings in Western Kentucky University’s Folklife Archives.  Also included is the final performance report “Preservation Assessment of Audio Recordings in Western Kentucky University’s Folklore Archives.”

Selected Bibliography Of Work On Identity, Migration, And Displacement, Li-Wei Cheng, Steven Tötösy De Zepetnek, I-Chun Wang

CLCWeb Library

No abstract provided.

Closet Space: Investigating Gay Identity Through Advertising In Gay Media, Jonathan A. Hanna

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research was to examine advertising in gay media publications, namely, The Advocate, in order to assess how advertising corresponds with gay identity formation. This study differed from previous inquiries in that the application of hegemony theory formed the basis of the project and was used as a tool to explicate the preponderance of certain images in gay media advertising and what they signify for gay men. Likewise, a phenomenological method of analysis was applied to the advertisements in order to render them more accessible as aesthetic and literary mediums. Classifying the advertisements according to their notional …

Examining The Interface Between Alcohol Expectancies, Psychophysiological Reactivity To Alcohol Picture Cues, And Risk For Substance Use Disorders, Ashlee C. Carter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The study examined the overlap between cognitive and affective measures of alcohol expectancies as they related to risk for developing alcohol use disorders. It was hypothesized that cognitive-based, paper-and-pencil measures and appetitive psychophysiological reactivity to alcohol cues would correlate and independently correlate to drinking behavior in a sample of college drinkers. It was also hypothesized that genetic risk would impact the relationship between upstream and downstream expectancy measures, given that children of alcoholics displayed blunted reactivity to appetitive cues.

A sample of 137 college drinkers (67 males; mean age = 20.23 ± 1.61) reporting a range of drinking behavior (mean …

Design And Characterization Of Microwave Assisted Plasma Spray Deposition System: Application To Eu Doped Y2O3 Nano-Particle Coatings, Marek Radoslaw Merlak

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a Microwave Plasma Assisted Spray Deposition (MPASD) system design, characterization, and application to produce nano-sized particle coatings of metal oxides. A commercially available rectangular waveguide microwave power delivery system is utilized to initiate and sustain the plasma discharge within the customized plasma applicator where micron-sized droplets of a metal ion solution are heated to evaporate the solvent and thermally process the resulting nano-sized particles. The investigation of optimum conditions for oxygen, argon, and air plasma ignition in the MPASD system was presented. Measured electron temperature of the plasma was between 6000K and 40000K for the plasma conditions …

Cain, Bevie Waughn, 1844-1883 (Sc 2251), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescripts (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2251. Letters (31) from Cain to James M. Davis, written mostly during the Civil War from her home and school in Breckinridge County, Kentucky, and from Illinois. A strong Confederate sympathizer, Cain responds to Davis’s support of the Union, criticizes President Abraham Lincoln, and opines freely on love, courtship and marriage. She also writes of mutual friends, family, and social and religious activities. Includes 3 additional letters to Davis from his father, sister, and a friend who writes of an opportunity to manage a store. Also includes …

Civil War, 1861-1865 - Poetry, [1862] (Sc 2264), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2264. Thirteen poems relating to the Civil War, some to be sung to popular tunes of the era, copied on lined ledger paper. Some of the poems praise the Union forces in the Kentucky battles of Mill Springs and Perryville; others relate to Lincoln's 1860 election and to Confederate raider John Hunt Morgan.

Twenty Years After Through The Arc Of The Rain Forest: An Interview With Karen Tei Yamashita, Noelle Brada-Williams

Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies

A brief interview in which Yamashita discusses her work which has spanned twenty years and three continents. The interview closes with her description of her newest novel, I Hotel, which brings readers back to the roots of Asian American Studies and Asian American Literature and is set during a pivotal ten-year period in Northern California.

An Examination Of The Influence Of Band Director Teaching Style And Personality On Ratings At Concert And Marching Band Events, Timothy J. Groulx

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This descriptive correlational study examined the relationship between high school band directors' teaching style and personality and their ratings in marching and concert band festivals using the Five-Factor Model of personality and Gumm's Music Teaching Style Inventory. The sample (N=176) consisted of 46% of all high school band directors in Florida. Criterion variables included marching and concert festival ratings, state concert band ratings, Florida Marching Band Coalition marching competition scores, frequency of attendance of these last two events, and the balance between marching and concert band. Predictor variables included thirty personality facets and eight teaching styles. Four demographic …

Proportionality In Middle-School Mathematics Textbooks, Gwendolyn Joy Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Some scholars have criticized the treatment of proportionality in middle-school textbooks, but these criticisms seem to be based on informal knowledge of the content of textbooks rather than on a detailed curriculum analysis. Thus, a curriculum analysis related to proportionality was needed.

To investigate the treatment of proportionality in current middle-school textbooks, nine such books were analyzed. Sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade textbooks from three series were used: ConnectedMathematics2 (CMP), Glencoe's Math Connects, and the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP). Lessons with a focus on proportionality were selected from four content areas: algebra, data analysis/probability, geometry/measurement, and rational …

Goddesses And Doormats, Elizabeth Kicak

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The following is a collection of original poetry written over a span of two years while attending the University of South Florida. The poetry is divided into three numbered sections, marking the major thematic divisions. Preceding the poetry is a critical introduction to the work which outlines the author's developing thematic ideology.

Preservice Elementary Teachers‟ Pedagogical Content Knowledge Related To Area And Perimeter: A Teacher Development Experiment Investigating Anchored Instruction With Web-Based Microworlds, Matthew S. Kellogg

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Practical concepts, such as area and perimeter, have an important part in today's school mathematics curricula. Research indicates that students and preservice teachers (PSTs) struggle with and harbor misconceptions regarding these topics. Researchers suggest that alternative instructional methods be investigated that enhance PSTs' conceptual understanding and encourage deeper student thinking. To address this need, this study examined and described what and how PSTs learn as they engage in anchored instruction involving web-based microworlds designed for exploring area and perimeter. Its focus was to examine the influences of a modified teacher development experiment (TDE) upon 12 elementary PSTs' content knowledge (CK) …

Characterization Of An Urban Heat Island (Uhi) In The Tampa Region Of Florida, Joann Sullivan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Numerous research studies have been conducted on the modification of weather and local climate by the urban environment. In studying the urban environment effects, researchers have investigated the urban heat island (UHI), anthropogenic cloud condensation nuclei, anthropogenic heat emissions and other factors. Many of these studies used data sampling networks, while other studies relied solely on computer modeling. This research has taken an approach between the sampling network studies (which were often limited in spatial density) and the pure computer model studies (which lacked the benefits of observational data) to investigate the Tampa Bay Region UHI. The research utilized inexpensive …

Rem: Relational Entropy-Based Measure Of Saliency, Kester Duncan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The incredible ability of human beings to quickly detect the prominent or salient regions in an image is often taken for granted. To be able to reproduce this intelligent ability in computer vision systems remains quite a challenge. This ability is of paramount importance to perception and image understanding since it accelerates the image analysis process, thereby allowing higher vision processes such as recognition to have a focus of attention. In addition to this, human eye fixation points occurring during the early stages of visual processing, often correspond to the loci of salient image regions. These regions provide us with …