American Studies Commons^™

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 …

A Descriptive Study Of The Achievement Gap In A Florida County, Harriet Davis-Waller

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe and explain the perspectives of five participants representing the school district and community regarding the achievement gap between Black and White students. This study attempted to answer two major questions:

1. What are the components of their perspectives and how they are formed?

2. What beliefs support or hinder that perspective? In this study social conflict theory was used as the theoretical framework for this study, harnessing the concept of resiliency as a new paradigm shift looking at Black students and community not as "deficient" or "deficits" but implementing their unique cultural …

Community College Faculty Perceptions And Behaviors Related To Academic Advising, Karl A. Debate

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary propose of this study was to identify community college faculty's perceptions regarding the effectiveness of the self-contained campus academic advising center, the importance of the eight established NACADA advising goals, and the role of faculty in the advising process. In addition, the current advising behaviors of faculty at a community college with a self-contained advising system were examined. The study also investigated if perceptions and behaviors regarding advising vary among full-time and part-time faculty.

The results of this study provide an overview of community college faculty perceptions and behaviors with regard to academic advising and the established NACADA …

Sound Production And Behavior Of Red Grouper (Epinephelus Morio) On The West Florida Shelf, Misty D. Montie

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Red grouper (Epinephelus morio) are long-lived, commercially important, soniferous fish belonging to the family Epinephelidae. Found throughout the western North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, they are protogynous hermaphrodites, and peak spawning occurs from March through May. Unlike many grouper species, red grouper do not form large spawning aggregations; rather, they form small polygynous groups, and remain in relatively close proximity to rocky depressions excavated in the sandy bottom by males. This excavation activity creates structure and habitat for a wide variety of species, and as a result, red grouper are a keystone species on the West Florida Shelf. While …

Three Essays On Analytical Models To Improve Early Detection Of Cancer, Chaitra Gopalappa

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Development of approaches for early detection of cancer requires a comprehensive understanding of the cellular functions that lead to cancer, as well as implementing strategies for population-wide early detection. Cell functions are supported by proteins that are produced by active or expressed genes. Identifying cancer biomarkers, i.e., the genes that are expressed and the corresponding proteins present only in a cancer state of the cell, can lead to its use for early detection of cancer and for developing drugs. There are approximately 30,000 genes in the human genome producing over 500,000 proteins, thereby posing significant analytical challenges in linking …

Campbell, Arthur L. (Sc 2254), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2254. Correspondence between Arthur L. Campbell and H.L. Mencken related to Campbell's newspaper column "How's Your English Today" and his requests for permission to quote Mencken in his column. Mencken's last two letters were written by his secretary owing to his poor health.

African Americans In The Upper Cumberland Region (Fa 510), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 510. Collection features interviews with and about African Americans in the upper Cumberland region of Kentucky and Tennessee. The project was part of a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University taught by Lynwwod Montell.

Jud Ms 03 Macabee Club Archives Finding Aid, Marieke Van Der Steenhoven

Search the Manuscript Collection (Finding Aids)

Description:

Macabee Club was a club of Jewish high school students in Portland from 1955 to the 1970s. The Archives contains organizational records of the group, including meeting minutes, newsletters, and event programs.

Date Range:

1955-1972

Size of Collection:

1 ft.

Lg Ms 017 Susan Farnsworth Papers Finding Aid, Karin A. France

Search the Manuscript Collection (Finding Aids)

Description:

Susan Farnsworth earned her undergraduate degree from Bates College in 1969 and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Maine School of Law in 1976. She has worked in several city and state government positions, including Maine State Representative from 1988-1994. Farnsworth has also been active in the LGBT community, serving as a member of the Executive Committee and an organizer of “Yes on 6” PAC in the Statewide Referendum Campaign in 2000. The Papers consist of working papers, publications, and other materials.

Date Range:

1970s-1990s

Size of Collection:

2.25 ft.

The Relationship Of Depression With Intrinsic And Extrinsic Components Of Religiosity In The Older Adult Female, Jacqueline Anne Nuval

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this doctoral research was to determine whether religious activity and general health would predict depression in older adult women living alone in the community who are widowed, divorced, separated, or never married. Variables considered included intrinsic and extrinsic components of religiosity, level of depression, anxiety and panic attacks, general health, and a group of behaviors classified as Religious Attitudes and Behaviors (RAB), which considered importance of religion, religious participation, regularity of religious observance, and religious organization/social support. Components of extrinsic religiosity and intrinsic religiosity were measured by Intrinsic/Extrinsic – Revised (I/E-R). Levels of depression were measured by …

Science Museums, Centers And Professional Development: Teachers' Self Reflection On Improving Their Practice, Queen O. Ogbomo

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study research was to ascertain the significance of the professional development programs workshops organized by a science museum and a science center in two Midwestern cities. The research investigated the effect the workshops had on the instructional practice of the participating elementary science teachers. More specifically, this study was guided by the following research question: How do the professional development programs at museums help teachers change the way they teach and consider science in their classroom? The core of this study consists of case studies of six elementary school teachers who were identified as …

Our Mountain Home: The Oscar And Emma Swett Ranch, Carolyn Toone

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this thesis, I examined the lives of my great-grandparents, Oscar and Emma Swett. Oscar began a homestead in the Uinta Mountains in 1909, which he successfully ran for nearly sixty years. My grandmother was born on the ranch, and my own father spent much of his time there. I look at how land policy changed from encouraging ranching and farming in the early 1900's to tourism and recreation in the 1960's, with the coming of the Flaming Gorge Dam. The lives of my great-grandparents and their children were shaped by these changes and they felt the consequences of the …

"To Drink From Places": Uncovering A Rich Way Of Life Near The Grand Canyon's North Rim, Melinda Snow Rich

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The chapters of this thesis focus on the history and stories of the people who built and traveled down the highways--Highway 89A, Highway 89, and Highway 67--that branch out from the junction in front of Jacob Lake Inn, the Bowman/Rich family's 87-year-old lodge. The family's role in building roads, supporting and encouraging the growing tourist industry in Kanab and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and the converging effects of these choices have created the unique family culture and contributed to the history of the Grand Canyon region over time. Ultimately this thesis is about relationships, about the connections, …

Keeping History Alive: David Mccullough And The Debate Between Popular And Academic History, James R. Allen

History

The purpose of this paper is to explore the differences between academic history and popular history through David McCullough, one of the most successful popular history writers. It attempts to reconcile the schism between the two schools of thought, and provide a middle ground where each can stand.

A Christmas Tree And Other Stories, Jillian Lang

All Theses

The stories presented in this thesis are written mainly in the vein of literary minimalism and post-Modernism. The stories focus on a variety of themes, as related to human emotions and reactions. The thesis begins with A Christmas Tree, which focuses on the opinions and reactions of a mentally-handicapped man as he struggles with his desires to be an average, contributing member of society. The second story in the collection, The Little Red Schoolhouse, focuses on sexuality and how pride and dishonesty can ruin an otherwise successful relationship.A Learned Helplessness and Supper Club, stories three and four in the collection, …

The United States' 'Empire State Of Mind:' Identity And Postcolonialism In A Post-9/11 World, Margaret Mcgill

All Theses

This thesis examines the relevance of postcolonialism in a world changed by the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks, which resulted in the openly aggressive and expansive nature of the United States in the years following, seeming reminiscent of European colonialism and soundly establishing a perception of the U.S. as an empire. Comparing Junot D’az's pre-9/11 Drown with his post-9/11 The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and Andrea Levy's pre-9/11 Small Island with Joseph O'Neill's post-9/11 Netherland, I explore the effects and influences of the United States imperial reach that surface in post-9/11 literature to contend its overwhelming presence has …

Solace In St. Louis: A Case Study In Heroic Cultural Nostalgia, Amanda J. Pinney

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis examines the response of American popular culture to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. By utilizing the September 17, 2001 pre-game ceremony, held at Busch Stadium as a case study example, larger generalizations are made about the role popular culture played in the days following the tragedy. In order to analyze this example, I have developed heroic cultural nostalgia, a framework that combines elements of myth, nostalgia and national identity. Heroic cultural nostalgia provides an explanation of how popular culture plays a role in crisis response. The framework highlights the role of individuals with heroic characteristics in …

Before It Rains, Veronica O. Parkman

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not parish but have everlasting life." Contemporary Christian literature is becoming first choice in public libraries and bookstores throughout the country. From novels about end-time prophesy to autobiographies of world-renowned pastors, works written for and about Christians have reached an all-time high. Before it Rains is indeed, according to the scriptural definition of salvation found in the King James Version of the bible, a contemporary Christian novel; the characters must go through the biblical process of accepting Jesus Christ as their …

Use(Ful In(Form)Ation, Dustin Lapray

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

I cleaned my room early in the spring of 2009, sorted laundry and cleaned off my oft-cluttered desk. In the process I found an old Mead Composition Notebook from a Film and Literature course I took at the College of Southern Idaho. Inside the back cover I discovered a page of useful information. The charts and measurements included: a multiplication table, 12 other tables intended to measure everything from paper, drugs, liquid and time, metric nomenclature and, finally, conversion tables from the metric system into American standard systems of measurement. I tore the back cover from the notebook and tacked …