Digital Commons Network^™

Using A Peer-Mediated Bullying Safety Skills Intervention For Children With Disabilities, Jennifer Leigh Trapani

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As bullying continues to be a growing problem in schools, research is needed to further evaluate the effectiveness of current bullying prevention and intervention programs for children with disabilities. The peer-mediated intervention (PMI) is an evidence-based practice that has been successful in teaching social skills to children with disabilities. PMI literature can be extended by exploring and evaluating its effectiveness in teaching bullying safety skills to children with disabilities. The current study examined the use of PMI to teach children with disabilities bullying safety skills with four students (2 peers and 2 learners) in grades kindergarten and third grade. Typically …

Quantifying The Gametogenic Cycle And Reproductive Efforts In The Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea Virginica) In Florida Estuaries, Nicole Patrice Maloney

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Oyster populations from six estuaries in Florida were sampled monthly from January to December of 2018 for reproduction and health analysis. Sites were located in Apalachicola Bay, Caloosahatchee River estuary, Lake Worth lagoon, Loxahatchee River estuary, St. Lucie estuary, and Tampa Bay. Oysters monitored for analysis in South Florida (Loxahatchee River estuary, St. Lucie estuary, and Caloosahatchee River estuary) were chosen as they are a part of a monitoring component of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. These estuaries are highly influenced by freshwater input from Lake Okeechobee and other river basins. Like the South Florida sites Apalachicola Bay is also …

The Rise Of The "Gatecrashers": The Growing Impact Of Athletes Breaking News On Mainstream Media Through Social Media, Michael Nabors

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study provided a detailed examination into how gatekeeping theory is losing its traditional impact due to the increased opportunities social media has afforded the modern athlete. For the purposes of this research, those athletes who communicate through social media were able to circumvent traditional mainstream media (MSM) to broadcast their own messaging and as a result, the exclusivity of their respective content is frequently relevant to contemporary news organizations. The research explored how the MSM uses the content it airs from these athletes. An important distinction and goal of this study was to determine whether this messaging used by …

This Is It: Latina/X Representation On One Day At A Time, Camille Ruiz Mangual

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the tensions between contemporary Latina/x representations and problematic tropes in the sitcom, One Day at a Time (2017-2020) [ODAAT]. ODAAT centers of Elena, Penelope, and Lydia, three generations of a Latina/x family. Many entertainment reviewers and fans praised the series for its progressive and nuanced portrayals of Latina/x characters. However, I argue that while ODAAT depicts Latina/x characters that transcend some United States mainstream media tropes about Latinas/xs, the series also relies on conventional markers of Latina/x identity as tools with which to communicate progressive messages around identity. I expand upon scholarship in Latina/o media …

¿De Dónde Eres?: Negotiating Identity As Third Culture Kids, Sophia Margulies

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sparked by David C. Pollock's (1988) concept of "third culture kids" (children of government officials and military personnel), this thesis uses autoethnography to examine "white-passing" Latinx identity and gender passing as it relates to individuals who identify as transgender to understand what it means to "pass" within these communication contexts. I situate the study at the intersections of queer, trans, and Latinx theories. Ultimately, I argue that the communicative and identity practices inherent to the liminal spaces in which third culture kids perform create the conditions for performances as transnational subjects. What the contexts of place and home are like, …

Delaying Latency To Seizure By Combinations Of Ketone Supplements, Csilla Ari D'Agostino, Dominic Paul D'Agostino, Jay B. Dean

USF Patents

Provided herein are compositions and methods for preventing central nervous system oxygen toxicity in a subject.

Glutathione-S-Transferase Mu 1 (Gstm1) Gene Augmentation Attenuated Oxidative Stress Induced Changes In Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cells (Rpe), Riddhi Sandeep Vichare

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: Loss of Retinal Pigment Epithelial (RPE) cells and photoreceptors leads to Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), one of the leading causes of blindness in the elderly worldwide. Oxidative stress-mediated damage is one of the factors that impair the survival of RPE and photoreceptors in dry-AMD. We sought to determine the role of human Glutathione S-Transferase Mu-1 (GSTM1) in protecting RPE cells from oxidative stress-induced changes.

Method: We cloned human GSTM1 cDNA with P2A tag into a lenti-plasmid vector and later made a lentivector to express GSTM1. After that, we infected human retinal pigment epithelial cells (ARPE-19), screened stable ARPE-19 cells …

Cultivating Courage: Medical Dramas And Portrayals Of Patient Self-Advocacy, Alyssa H. Harrell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the influence of medical dramas on perceptions of patient self- advocacy. With a purposeful sample of college students, the study explored perceptions of information seeking preferences of a medical drama patient. With a quasi-experimental design using an online questionnaire containing both qualitative and quantitative measures, the study was able to compare four unique variables to perceptions of the information seeking preferences of a medical drama patient. The study analyzed the influence that (1) medical drama exposure, (2) patient advocacy rating, (3) perceived realism of medical dramas, and (4) previous experience healthcare each had on college students’ perceptions …

Crow's Nest, March 15, 2021, Crow's Nest Staff

Crow's Nest

The March 15, 2021, issue of the Crow's Nest.

Effect Of Temperature On Growth And Gene Expression In The Marine Diatom, Thalassiosira Pseudonana, John M. Foster

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Diatoms are unicellular, eukaryotic, photosynthetic algae responsible for the production of 20% of our atmospheric oxygen. Diatoms contribute to several important biogeochemical functions. Diatoms contribute to the carbon cycle, sequestering carbon and forming oxygen as a product of photosynthesis. Moreover, by converting abiotic forms of energy such as sunlight into organic compounds (i.e., sugars, starches and lipids), primary producers including diatoms, plants, and phytoplankton feed organisms at higher trophic levels. Consequently, changes in temperature, light intensity, nutrients, salinity and other stress factors that affect primary producers can generate a potentially catastrophic ripple effect at higher trophic levels In this study …

Microbiological Study In A Gneissic Cave From Sri Lanka, With Special Focus On Potential Antimicrobial Activities, Ethige Isuru P. Silva, Pathmakumara Jayasingha, Saman Senanayake, Anura Dandeniya, Dona Helani Munasinghe

International Journal of Speleology

The emergence of antibiotic resistance is a global health crisis, thus the search for novel antimicrobial compounds has become a continuous necessity. Underexplored and extreme environments, such as cave ecosystems, have been identified as a promising potential source for the discovery of novel microorganisms with novel antimicrobial compounds (AMC). This study presents the first cave microbiological investigation in Sri Lanka, with a special preference for bioprospecting of novel AMC. The cave sediment characterization demonstrated the presence of close to strong acidic conditions (pH 3.1 – 3.3) and thus indicates the possibility of isolating acidophilic microorganisms. Eight cave wall/ceiling fungal strains …

Eating And Body Image Disorders In The Time Of Covid19: An Anthropological Inquiry Into The Pandemic’S Effects On The Bodies, Theresa A. Stoddard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lifestyle changes are impacting the experiences of self-identifying women and females with body image disorders (BIDs) and/or eating disorders (EDs), focusing on the mental, physical, and emotional health of participants. Using surveys, person-centered semi-structured interviews, and autoethnography, I collected qualitative and quantitative data regarding the challenges, triumphs, hopes, and fears of participants regarding their EDs/BIDs during the pandemic and situated their experiences within their sociocultural context. Drawing on anthropological and psychological theory, I examine the data through the lenses of Scheper-Hughes’s and Lock’s “The Three Bodies” (the body politic, body …

The Effect Of Cement And Blast Furnace Slag Characteristics On Expansion Of Heat-Cured Mortar Specimens, Jair G. Burgos

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Delayed ettringite formation (DEF) is a durability issue that typically occurs in concrete exposed to high temperatures at an early age such as precast elements and massive concrete structural elements. There are many advantages to precast concrete such as its quality control, better safety control, and reusable forms, which make them cheaper than casting on site [1]. Heat curing of precast concrete is conducted to obtain high early-strength. However, in doing so, durability issues can arise in the form of internal sulfate attack also known as DEF, if the internal temperature of concrete exceeds 70°C. Past this threshold, ettringite decomposes …

Novel Co2 Transporters From Autotrophic Bacteria From Extreme Environments, Sarah E. Schmid

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Autotrophic organisms are responsible for introducing carbon into food webs. These organisms take up dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and use it as their major carbon source, converting it to biomass using a variety of carbon fixing pathways (e.g., the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle). In nature, DIC concentrations can be low or temporally heterogeneous, so autotrophic organisms adapt with CO2 concentrating mechanisms (CCMs) to facilitate the acquisition and fixation of this dissolved gas. CCMs consist of membrane-spanning DIC transporters, which elevate intracellular DIC concentrations, which in turn are harvested by carboxysomes, proteinaceous microcompartments that contain the carboxylase Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (RubisCO) and carbonic anhydrase. …

The Influence Of Hate Speech On Tiktok On Chinese College Students, Tengyue Chen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the research is whether Chinese college students' attitudes to hate speech and hate speech censorship systems will be affected by the hate speech in TikTok. Meanwhile, the research could explore the third-person effect of hate speech on TikTok on Chinese college students. An online survey was designed for this research. 658 participants who are college students in China completed the online survey. The results showed that Chinese college students believed hate speech on TikTok would affect themselves, while others will affect less by hate speech. The results also stated that the attitude toward the censorship system affects …

White-Nose Syndrome Confirmed In Italy: A Preliminary Assessment Of Its Occurrence In Bat Species, Laura Garzoli, Elena Bozzetta, Katia Varello, Andrea Cappelleri, Elena Patriarca, Paolo Debernardi, Marco Riccucci, Angela Boggero, Carolina Girometta, Anna Maria Picco

KIP Articles

Although no mass mortality has been recorded so far, the precise demographic effect of white-nose syndrome (WNS) on European bats still remains to be ascertained. Following the first isolation of P. destructans in Italy, further surveys were performed to assess the distribution of the fungus in NW Italy and its effects on bats. Data were collected from March 2019 to April 2020 at sites used for hibernation (six sites) and/or for reproduction (four sites) in Piedmont and Aosta Valley. A total of 138 bats, belonging to 10 species, were examined to identify clinical features possibly related to the fungal presence. …

Full Issue 49(3)

International Journal of Speleology

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

International Journal of Speleology

No abstract provided.

Crow's Nest, March 8, 2021, Crow's Nest Staff

Crow's Nest

The March 8, 2021, issue of the Crow's Nest.

Social Cues In Animated Pedagogical Agents For Second Language Learners: The Application Of The Embodiment Principle In Video Design, Sahar M. Alyahya

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the involvement of the Social Agency Theory within a multimedia learning environment to improve English language proficiency. The primary aim of this study is to find the effects of designing language learning instructional videos following the embodiment principle on language learners’ motivation, cognitive load and performance in production of the target language. According to Social Agency Theory, when multimedia learning includes social cues like an on-screen agent with humanlike features (e.g., hand gestures, body movements, eye contact, and facial expressions), the quality of learning will be increased. To examine the effect of the embodiment principle, the study …

The Relationship Between New Graduate Registered Nurse Knowledge, Experiences, Attitudes, And Age Bias Toward The Older Adult, Michelle Fox

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There had been a lack of research on the relationship between a new graduate Registered Nurses’ knowledge, experiences, attitudes, and age bias toward older adults. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there was a relationship between new graduate Registered Nurses’ knowledge, experiences, attitudes, and age bias toward older adults.

The researcher used correlational, non-experimental, quantitative design for this study. The instruments used in this study were the Facts on Aging Quiz, the Kogan Attitude Toward Old People scale, and a demographic questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the demographic data and correlation coefficients were used to …

The Weekly Challenger, March 4, 2021, The Weekly Challenger, Et Al

Weekly Challenger Newspaper Collection

The March 4, 2021, issue of The Weekly Challenger.

Landscape Genetic Connectivity And Evidence For Recombination In The North American Population Of The White-Nose Syndrome Pathogen, Pseudogymnoascus Destructans, Adrian Forsythe, Karen J. Vanderwolf, Jianping Xu

KIP Articles

White-Nose Syndrome is an ongoing fungal epizootic caused by epidermal infections of the fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (P. destructans), affecting hibernating bat species in North America. Emerging early in 2006 in New York State, infections of P. destructans have spread to 38 US States and seven Canadian Provinces. Since then, clonal isolates of P. destructans have accumulated genotypic and phenotypic variations in North America. Using microsatellite and single nucleotide polymorphism markers, we investigated the population structure and genetic relationships among P. destructans isolates from diverse regions in North America to understand its pattern of spread, and to test hypotheses about factors …

Cutin-Like Materials With Advanced Functionalities And Methods Of Manufacture, Norma Arcelia Alcantar, Ryan Gates Toomey, Fei Guo, Zeinab Veisi, Tunan Peng

USF Patents

Cutin-based devices, coatings and methods of producing such devices and coatings are presented herein. Cutin-like materials (CLMs) are presented which mimic and adapt coatings found in nature for the next generation of functional coatings. Cutin has several advantages including excellent UV resistance, natural resistance to bacteria and viruses, noncorrosive, and stability under abrupt changes in temperature and environment. CLMs can be engineered at the nanoscale and readily impregnated with metals and metal oxides materials.

The Differential Effects Of Navigational Aids On Adults With Intellectual Disabilities, Virginia Morash-Macneil

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the differential effects of a GPS based navigational app displayed on a smartwatch and a paper map on the ability of individuals with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities (ID) to independently navigate unfamiliar walking routes. A single case alternating treatment design was used to compare the effectiveness of these navigation supports on independent pedestrian navigation. Five adults ranging in age from 26 to 45 with mild to moderate ID participated in the study. Visual analysis and the comparison of means between treatments indicate an increase in performance during the app treatment phase for all participants. Overall, all …

Journalism And Numeracy In Context: Four Case Studies, Steven Harrison

Numeracy

Although research into the relationship between quantitative literacy (QL) and news reporting is sparse, the consensus among researchers is that journalists tend not to place QL very highly among their professional values and that journalism suffers as a consequence. This paper is an attempt to provide concrete examples of the ways in which news reports systemically misinterpret, misrepresent, or misuse numerical data as part of the reporting process. Drawing on scenarios ranging from elections and healthcare to the mundane world of food preparation, it shows how a lack of rigour in the fields of reporting and news production can lead …

Usfsm Library Services Faculty Needs & Strategic Opportunities Assessment 2021, Usf Libraries

All Assessment Data

No abstract provided.

Genealib Archive 2021-03, Genealib

GENEALIB Archive

No abstract provided.

Crow's Nest, March 1, 2021, Crow's Nest Staff

Crow's Nest

The March 1, 2021, issue of the Crow's Nest.

Building An Archaeological Data Repository: A Digital Library And Digital Humanities Collaboration At The University Of South Florida, Xiying Mi, Richard Bernardy, Leetta Schmidt

USF Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Digital Humanities projects have shown to be projects of collaboration and interdisciplinary cooperation. As digital humanities researchers are creating and discovering new methods of collaboration, libraries have been reflecting on how they can best support and nurture such collaborations. This paper aims to demonstrate a practical case of what the University of South Florida Digital Collections has done to support the accessibility and discoverability of a new archaeological dataset in collaboration with a Digital Humanities research facility on campus.This paper is a case study to showcase the process employed by the University of South Florida Libraries in its partnership with …