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Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, Baccalaureates, December 11, 2010, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

King O'Neal Scholars - Lindsey Dosal, Destiny Green, Ashley Harper, and Olga Nedorub; Distinguished Citizen Award - Pam Iorio; Outstanding Graduate - Ryan Kania

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, Graduate, December 11, 2010, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

No abstract provided.

The Pragmatic Influences On Thou And Ye In Some Middle English Romances, Aislinn Meyer

Honors Thesis and Capstone Projects

The standard explanation of the semantics of power and solidarity for second person Middle English pronoun choice, advanced by Roger Brown and Albert Gilman and accepted by many Middle English scholars since, has proven insufficient to explain many choices between thou and ye that fictional characters make. This paper applies the discourse theories of pragmatics and politeness, developed by Penelope Brown and Stephen C. Levinson, to the relatively untouched data set of non-Chaucerian romances in order to account for some of those anomalies. By examining the pronouns of address in Floris and Blancheflour, Havelok the Dane, Ywain and Gawain, …

Full Issue 5.3

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

The Issue Of Intent In The Genocide Convention And Its Effect On The Prevention And Punishment Of The Crime Of Genocide: Toward A Knowledge-Based Approach, Katherine Goldsmith

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Since the Genocide Convention was created in 1948, its effectiveness has been hindered by debates on what the definition actually means. It has been widely accepted that the meaning of ‘‘intent,’’ within the Genocide Convention, refers to specific or special intent, dolus specialis. However, as more trials have taken place, creating more understanding of the crime of genocide, the linking of dolus specialis with the intent definition, that was so easily accepted at the first genocide trial (Akayesu at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda [ICTR]), has been repeatedly put into question. The new approach being put forward as the …

Vladimir Nabokov And The Vulgar Aesthetic, Will Farina

Honors Thesis and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Chronology Of The Grotte Du Renne (France) And Implications For The Context Of Ornaments And Human Remains Within The Châtelperronian, Thomas Higham, Roger Jacobi, Michèle Julien

KIP Articles

There is extensive debate concerning the cognitive and behavioral adaptation of Neanderthals, especially in the period when the earliest anatomically modern humans dispersed into Western Europe, around 35,000–40,000 B.P. The site of the Grotte du Renne (at Arcy-sur-Cure) is of great importance because it provides the most persuasive evidence for behavioral complexity among Neanderthals. A range of ornaments and tools usually associated with modern human industries, such as the Aurignacian, were excavated from three of the Châtelperronian levels at the site, along with Neanderthal fossil remains (mainly teeth). This extremely rare occurrence has been taken to suggest that Neanderthals were …

Selected Students’, Parents’, And Graduate Student Tutors’ Experiences And Perceptions In A Community Of Interest Summer Literacy Camp, Kim G. Thomas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this qualitative case study, I examined a local summer literacy camp in which

graduate student tutors tutored elementary and middle school students in reading and

writing. I focused the study on the primary stakeholders in the summer literacy camp:

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ts, and the course instructor/camp director because

their voices are limited in the current literature. In this Community of Interest Summer

Literacy Camp, the graduate student tutors moved from a position of fear and trepidation

to a position of empowerment in which they hoped to make changes in their classrooms,

schools, and communities. The tutees learned to appreciate the …

Small Plots, Big Hopes: Factors Associated With Participation In An Urban Garden Project In Lesotho, Charlotte Ann Noble

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Studies of food insecurity have frequently focused on rural dwellers as vulnerable

populations. However, during the ‘global food crisis’ of 2007-2008, riots in more than

50 countries visibly demonstrated the vulnerability of urban populations to food

insecurity due to rapidly rising food prices. This study examines factors associated with

participation in an urban garden project (UGP), utilizing surveys (n=61) and in-depth

household interviews (n=37) to examine food security and dietary diversity of households

in urban Lesotho.

Households that participated in the garden project were more food insecure and

had lower dietary diversity than those that did not participate. However, it …

Developing A Culturally Responsive Literacy Pedagogy: Preservice Teachers, Teaching Cases, And Postcard Narratives, Annmarie Alberton Gunn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The results of the U. S Census provide evidence that our population is becoming more varied and that diversity is most salient in our schools. This demographic shift will continue to have a significant impact on the curriculum, students, teachers, and other aspects of education as we have historically known it. One of the most challenging aspect is that while our students are becoming more diverse, our teacher population is not. Eighty to ninety percent of the teaching population is White, heterosexual, middle class females, with little experiences with people from diverse backgrounds. (Lowenstein, 2009; Sleeter, 2001).

The academic achievement …

Multi-Elemental Chemical Analysis Of Anthropogenic Soils As A Tool For Examining Spatial Use Patterns At Prehispanic Palmarejo, Northwest Honduras, Kara A. Rothenberg

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Plazas and patios were important spaces for expressing power and social identity in prehispanic Mesoamerica. However, plazas can be analytically problematic, because they were often kept clean of material debris. Previous geoarchaeological studies of anthropogenic soils and sediments have shown that specific activities leave characteristic chemical signatures on prepared earthen surfaces. The research presented here uses soil chemical residue analysis and excavation data to examine use patterns in the North Plaza of Palmarejo, Honduras during the Late Classic period. The goal is to determine whether the plaza was used for residential or ceremonial purposes. The chemical results indicate that activities …

Adolf Hitler – America’S First Black President And Other Oval Office Demons: The Right-Wing Rhetorical Assault On Barack Obama’S Health Care Plan, Daniel Ruth

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis endeavors to examine the imagery and rhetoric surrounding the portrayal of President Barack Obama during the national debate over health care reform from the summer of 2009 into the spring of 2010. It is argued that the critics of the health care reform legislation used images to portray the president as Adolf Hitler, Che Guevara, The Joker, as well as other images such as the swastika and the Wehrmacht symbol as stand-in euphemisms for race to discredit Barack Obama.

A number of exemplar images have been selected from various websites and publications specifically addressing the portrayal of Barack …

Queering Cognition: Extended Minds And Sociotechnologically Hybridized Gender, Michele Merritt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the last forty years, significant developments in neuroscience, psychology, and robotic technology have been cause for major trend changes in the philosophy of mind. One such shift has been the reallocation of focus from entirely brain-centered theories of mind to more embodied, embedded, and even extended answers to the questions,

what are cognitive processes and where do we find such phenomena? Given that hypotheses such as Clark and Chalmers‘ (1998) Extended Mind or Hutto‘s (2006) Radical Enactivism, systematically undermine the organism-bound, internal, and static pictures of minds and allow instead for the distribution of cognitive processes among brains, bodies, …

Understanding School Readiness Abilities Of Bilingual Latino Head Start Children And The Differences Among Latin American Regions, Liza Arango

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Limited research has been conducted focusing on the school readiness abilities among bilingual Latino children. Additionally, little is known about how children from different Latin American regions may differ in their readiness skills. This study examines the differences in school readiness abilities in both English and Spanish of a group of bilingual Latino Head Start children in five counties in Florida (n = 202). Specifically, the study investigates the differences in abilities among children from different Latin American Regions (i.e., North American, Caribbean, Central American, and South American). School readiness skills were assessed using subtests from the Woodcock Johnson III …

System And Method To Avoid Oscillatory Behavior In Proportional-Integral-Derivative (Pid) Controllers By Using Fuzzy Inference And Modified/Active Damping, Carlos A. Smith, Marco E. Sanjuan

USF Patents

An instability avoidance module that can be implemented in SISO PID control loops to automatically adjust the controller's tuning parameters when undesired oscillatory behavior is monitored. This module is a Fuzzy-based Supervisor composed of a dynamic parameter identification module that operates on-line, and a Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) with fuzzy rules to modify PID tuning. Tests in nonlinear process models were performed, demonstrating that this Fuzzy Supervisor—Type 1 (non-intrusive) provides the PID controller the ability to adapt its tuning to eliminate the observed oscillatory behavior.

Problematic Conceptualizations: Allies In Teacher Education For Social Justice, Vonzell Agosto

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Faculty Publications

This review of the literature on the concept ally and ally identity development was inspired by a qualitative study exploring the identities and social justice values of prospective teachers of color. Although the participants in the original study never used the term ally, their narratives inspired me to characterize them as allies in the struggle for social justice education. However, a review of the literature on allies, as analyzed through critical race theory and critical discourse analysis, revealed emerging conceptualizations of ally as incongruent with minority identities as they position people of color at the periphery of this social justice …

Sce 6938 Topics In Science Education, Barbara Spector

Service-Learning Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Sfra Review, Fall 2010, Science Fiction Research Association

SFRA Newsletter (Science Fiction Research Association)

The Fall 2010 issue of the SFRA Review.

Book Reviews, Edward M. Roche, John Coale, Keely M. Fahoum, Leland Erickson, Mark J. Roberts, Millard E. Moon, Ed.D., Colonel (Ret.)

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

Blogs & Glogs: Revitalizing Class Projects, Krista Bittenbender Royal

INTO Faculty and Staff Publications

This workshop looks at two technologies that can be used to energize traditional poster and writing assignments to bring them beyond text: Glogster and Blogger. Both are free, easy to use websites with which students can create web pages with images, text, and audio to share with their classmates and the world. In the workshop, intended for instructors and curriculum coordinators, we will look at each of these platforms, discuss examples of project assignment guides using each of the sites, and talk about other ways they could be integrated into courses. I will also share some student feedback and some …

Preservice Teachers’ Developing Understandings About Culturally Responsive Teaching In A Field-Based Writing Methods Course, Susan V. Bennett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I investigated eight preservice teachers’ understandings about culturally responsive pedagogy as they participated in a writing methods course in which they tutored children from different ethnic, socioeconomic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds in an afterschool program at a local community center. I also investigated how these preservice teachers demonstrated culturally responsive teaching within the writing curriculum. I recognized the need for research relevant to my own personal beliefs and how to strive for more equitable schools. I want to contribute further to the understandings and insights related to culturally responsive pedagogy. According to the literature, it appears teachers remain unprepared to …

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, August 7, 2010, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

President's Fellow Medallion - Rhea F. Law; King O'Neal Scholars - Mateo Duque, Rohini Komarla, and Wade Pratt; Outstanding Senior - Ashley Sims

N400 Activations In Adults Who Stutter In A Picture-Word Priming Task Requiring Attention To Probe Word Phonology, Angela A. Pizon-Moore

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Objective: A neuroscientific picture-word task was used to investigate semantic and phonological activation spreading in adults who stutter (AWS).

Method: Fourteen AWS and 14 adults who do not stutter (AWNS) participated. On each trial, a picture was named at a delay. Sometimes, an attended probe word was heard before naming. Some probes were Semantically-Related to the labels. Those same probes also appeared following pictures with Unrelated labels. N400 ERPs recorded to these two probe types were compared (Semantically-Related versus Unrelated). Other probes were Phonologically-Related to the labels. Those same probes also appeared following pictures with unrelated labels (P-Unrelated). N400 ERPs …

Literacy And Behavior In Early Childhood: Exploring The Factors That Impact Achievement, Melissa Farino Todd

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Academic achievement has been the focal point in education for decades. In 2001, an Act of Congress was proposed to improve individual outcomes in education through evidenced based research using measurable goals, higher standards, and accountability. This federal legislation, known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, mandates that all teachers be highly qualified by 2006 and that all students become proficient by the 2013/14 school year, specifically in the area of literacy. Consequently, kindergarten readiness has become an area of concern, thus placing preschool teachers under pressure to prepare children for school. The purpose of this study …

Using Ning For Conversation Partner Networks, Krista Bittenbender Royal

INTO Faculty and Staff Publications

Providing opportunities for conversation practice is one way that an IEP can help students improve their English as well as enhance their engagement in the language learning process. However, matching individual language learners to fluent English speakers can be difficult and time consuming. This workshop will introduce participants involved in setting up such interactions to Ning, a free online social networking platform which can facilitate the creation of individualized networks. Participants will gain insights into how one IEP used Ning to connect ELLs to university students interested in having conversation partners.

Teaching Social Skills To Children With Asperger’S And High Functioning Autism: An Evaluation Of Video Self-Modeling And Behavior Skills Training, Krystal M. Mcfee

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of video self-modeling and behavior skills training to teach social skills to children with Asperger’s and high functioning autism. The targeted social skills were social initiations and social responses. The video self-modeling alone condition was implemented first using a video feedforward approach. A behavior skills training (BST) procedure was implemented following the video self-modeling alone condition for each participant. BST consisted of instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback. The frequency of each target behavior was scored from videotapes using 10-second frequency within interval recording. After the video self-modeling was introduced, a …

Effects Of Reading Comprehension And Fluency Abilities On The N400 Event-Related Potential, Annie Hirt Nelson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to add to the knowledge of reading development by investigating reading processes from a neurocognitive and educational perspective. This study seeks to provide some insight about reading development for the neuroscience field. The goals of this study are to attain a clearer picture of reading development by using both behavioral assessments and event-related potentials (ERPs), and to begin to bridge the gap between both fields of study. Children between the ages of 7 and 13 were placed in one of two groups depending on their reading comprehension levels for the first analyses, and reading …

Detecting Group Turns Of Speaker Groups In Meeting Room Conversations Using Audio-Video Change Scale-Space, Ravikiran Krishnan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Automatic analysis of conversations is important for extracting high-level descriptions of meetings. In this work, as an alternative to linguistic approaches, we develop a novel, purely bottom-up representation, constructed from both audio and video signals that help us characterize and build a rich description of the content at multiple temporal scales. Nonverbal communication plays an important role in describing information about the communication and the nature of the conversation. We consider simple audio and video features to extract these changes in conversation. In order to detect these changes, we consider the evolution of the detected change, using the Bayesian Information …

Perspective Taking And Relative Clause Comprehension: A Cross-Modal Picture Priming Study, Nicola C. Jones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fourteen young adults participated in a cross-modal picture priming study. Perspective shift processing, in four types of relative clause sentences and in control sentences, was assessed using reaction times. Predictions were: 1) the easier the perspective shifts, the faster the reaction times and 2) subject relative clauses would reveal a priming effect versus attenuated or no priming in object relative clauses due to difficulty following perspective. A priming effect was observed for 1- switch relative clause sentences and for control sentences, while no priming effect was observed for 0 switch, 1+ switch, or 2 switch sentences. Results suggest that variations …

The Lived School Experiences Of A Select Group Of Female Adolescents Labeled Emotionally/Behaviorally Disordered, Anna Robic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Being a female and having a disability has been referred to as 'double jeopardy' (Wehmeyer & Schwartz, 2001). However research in the area of disabilities has either focused on the specific disability as a whole (i.e. research on learning disabilities or behavior disorders) or on mostly males (i.e. interventions in a classroom made up predominantly of boys). Researchers have pointed out that the school experiences for typical males and females are different as is the development of the two genders (Proctor & Choi, 1994). However in disability studies, the gender issue is seldom addressed (Deschler, 2005; Oswald, Best, Coutinho & …