Digital Commons Network^™

Managing At The Intersection: The Negotiations Of Racialized Role Strain Of Black Mid-Level Student Affairs Administrators At Predominantly White Institutions, David Frank Hibbler Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative interview study was to identify the unique stressors Black mid-level student affairs administrators encounter, how they cope with such stressors, and the perceived consequences of these encounters and coping mechanisms. Data for this qualitative interview study was collected from face-to-face interviews with eight Black mid-level student affairs administrators at predominantly White institutions in the U.S, and from and an optional diary entry. Findings revealed that participants experienced racialized role strain as a result of interactions with White peers and supervisors, same-race peers, and navigating campus climate. Specifically, the Black mid-level participants experienced strain in their …

When The Beat Drops: Exploring Hip Hop, Home And Black Masculinity, Marquese Lamont Mcferguson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this autoethnographic dissertation, I take readers on a narrative journey to three of my storied homeplaces and explore my lived experiences within each site. In the process of exploring my homeplaces, I analyze how I perform my black masculine self within the context of each location, how my cultural body supports and challenges hegemonic black masculinity, and how each location constrains and frees up my performance of self. With this dissertation, I will contribute to the field of communication studies by extending the method and writing practice of autoethnography, the theorization of the black masculine, and the exploration of …

“They Will Think We Are The Cancer Family”: Studying Patterns Of Cancer Disclosure And Communication Among Indian Immigrants In The United States, Kanan Mehta

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Studies of Indian immigrants in Western countries show that the rates of cancer increase significantly within a generation in the host country. The negative social perceptions associated with health outcomes of cancer often perpetuate limited disclosure regarding the diagnosis of cancer among patients and families. This can result in disrupted communication in clinical settings, while causing increased stress among patients and caregivers. These findings demonstrate the need for studying lived experiences of cancer-related illness and its impacts on social relationships in the domestic and public sphere.

This study explored cancer disclosure and communication among Indian immigrants in the United States …

The Effects Of Product Recalls On Competitors’ Market Value And Recalling Firm’S Reputation, Dong Liu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Scholars have paid intensive attention to product recalls over the past two decades. Prior studies show that product recalls negatively affect the recalling firm’s sales, consumer-based brand equity, and firm value. However, less attention has been paid to the spillover effect of product recalls on the market value of the recalling firm’s competitors in the same industry, and the long-term effect of product recalls on firm reputation. The objective of this dissertation is to fill up these research gaps through two essays.

In Essay 1, I investigate factors affecting the spillover effect of a product recall on the firm value …

Winning “Americans” For Jesus?: Second-Generation, Racial Ideology, And The Future Of The Brazilian Evangelical Church In The U.S., Rodrigo Otavio Serrao Santana De Jesus

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Beginning in the mid-1980s, a significant number of Brazilians began to leave their country due to economic stagnation, affecting the population and the middle class in particular. This event became known as the “Brazilian Diaspora” and was characterized by a type of labor diaspora that made scholars identify Brazilian immigrants as economic refugees. In the United States, churches have been one of the most important institutions to receive and socialize Brazilians. Considering that a new generation of U.S. born Brazilian Americans emerged, this dissertation provides one of the first studies to investigate the dynamics of a second-generation Brazilian church. In …

Forum, Volume 44, No. 1, Spring 2020, Florida Humanities, Jacki Levine

FORUM: The Magazine of Florida Humanities

Contents: How the Humanities Keep us Free -- Surprising Tales of Florida Democracy -- Humanities Today: For Those who Came Before -- A Tribute to David Colburn -- What's New at Florida Humanities -- Voices and Votes: Democracy in America -- Choosing Loyalty to the King -- The Rise and Fall of Florida's Would-be Capital -- Home for History for 200 Years -- We Hold These Truths... -- A Mirror to Our State -- A Voting Primer -- Women's Suffrage Centennial -- Why Our Voting Rates Lag Behind -- Let There by Sunshine -- Learning to be Citizens -- Awake …

Covid-19 Experience Survey, April 2020, Marissa Hamby

Monteverde Institute: Culture, Community, and Health

With the rapid spread of COVID-19 around the world, there have been many recent changes to the way that we all live. In the past month or two, myself and all of my fellow peers abroad have been asked to return to the States from their various study abroad locations. While I was abroad in Costa Rica, I was able to watch the other countries slowly unravel and witness how they planned to deal with the increasing virus cases. However, both my home state of South Caroline and Costa Rica seemed to be on the backside of the virus spread, …

The Threat Of Virality: Digital Outrage Combats The Spread Of Opposing Ideas, Curtis Puryear

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The prevailing stage for conversations about politics and morality has shifted from private and face-to-face to public and digital. Moreover, the digital landscape itself changed considerably in the past decade. The era of static webpages has been replaced by dynamic social networks where ideas and reactions to events spread rapidly. With every comment we, or a political adversary makes, numbers quantifying social approval tick up or down. Instead of holding digitized versions of one-on-one conversations, we argue in front of audiences who throw digital “points” at and accelerate the spread of the winning side’s ideas. I argue this subjectively raises …

The Illogical Logic Of American Entanglement In The Middle East, Ryan Burke, Jahara Matisek

Journal of Strategic Security

The logic of the American approach to the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Syria – both in policy and practice – bears striking resemblance to the U.S. approach to Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s. Despite policies of restraint, it has proven difficult to stop the inertia of war, be it against Communism or terrorism. As this inertia grows, so too does illogical entanglement. Such deepening involvement, whether in Vietnam or the Global War on Terror, often results in combat forces undertaking nation- and state-building missions that they are not designed for, yet have been doing for almost two …

Blockchain Empowers Social Resistance And Terrorism Through Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, Armin Krishnan

Journal of Strategic Security

The invention of the Internet has changed the way social resistance, revolutionary movements and terror groups are organized with new features such as loose network organization, netwars, social media campaigns, and lone wolf attacks. This article argues that blockchain technology will lead to more far-reaching changes in the organization of resistance to authority. Blockchain is a distributed ledger that records transactions using a consensus protocol, and when it meets objective conditions, it also enables smart contracts that execute transactions. Blockchain technology is not only a system for transferring value, but also it is a trustless system in which strangers can …

Uk Newspapers’ Portrayal Of Yazidi Women’S Experiences Of Violence Under Isis, Busra Nisa Sarac

Journal of Strategic Security

Although as of early 2019 ISIS has lost all of the territories it occupied, scholarly and media attention has continued to focus on its barbarity and brutal treatment of the women living in its former territories. The extremist group has committed a long list of severe human rights violations since it seized territories in Iraq and Syria. In this article, I aim to illustrate the reporting of this violence against the Yazidi women from 2014 to 2019 by the UK’s national newspapers because the media’s portrayal of these women shapes public opinion and policy towards this group in relation to …

Isis In Their Own Words: Recruitment History, Motivations For Joining, Travel, Experiences In Isis, And Disillusionment Over Time – Analysis Of 220 In-Depth Interviews Of Isis Returnees, Defectors And Prisoners, Anne Speckhard, Molly D. Ellenberg

Journal of Strategic Security

Two hundred and twenty Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) defectors, returnees, and imprisoned ISIS cadres were in-depth interviewed by the author, a research psychologist working for the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism (ICSVE) from 2015-2019. These interviews were conducted in Turkey, Iraq, Syria, the Balkans, Europe, and Central Asia with ISIS prisoners, returnees, and defectors. The purpose was to learn about their recruitment history, motivations for joining, travel, experiences inside the group, disillusionment over time, and defection, return or capture. This article reports on a sample of both male and female former ISIS members representing …

Governmentality, Biopower, And Sexual Citizenship: A Feminist Examination Of Sexual And Reproductive Healthcare Experiences Of 18-24 Year-Olds In The U.S. Southeast, Melina K. Taylor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sexual and reproductive healthcare in the U.S. is a contentious and often stigmatized topic. Conservative politics and Christian religious ideology guide laws and policies that inform narratives of sexual citizenship that promote white, heterosexual, procreative, cis-gendered relationships as the ideal. For young people, exposure to sexuality education greatly influences their self-identity as sexual citizens and guides how they form intimate relationships. While sexual and reproductive healthcare has been included marginally in the discipline of anthropology, almost no research has focused on young people’s sexual and reproductive healthcare within the U.S.

This dissertation examines the viewpoints and experiences of 18-24 year-old …

Fields Brook Superfund Site: Race, Class, And Environmental Justice In A Blasted Landscape, Richard C. Bargielski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 1980, the United States Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). This federal law provided the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the legal tools necessary to pursue polluters who had improperly stored or disposed hazardous wastes. Since its passage, more than a thousand sites have been added to the National Priorities List (NPL), but only a fraction have been cleaned up. Proponents of neoliberalism argue that aggressive environmental policies such as CERCLA harm workers by making it impossible for businesses to operate profitably. This coincides with a drop of nearly 50% in the U.S. …

The Geopolitics Of Juan Perón: A New Order For An Imperfect World, Robert D. Koch

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 1973, Juan Domingo Perón (1895-1974) proposed a new world order to the Non-Aligned Movement, shortly before returning to the Argentine presidency after eighteen years in exile. He was Argentina’s most important modern figure but divisive. The military toppled Perón in 1955, and then outlawed him and Peronism. They considered his nationalism and authoritarian methods fascist nightmares, and United States officials passed similar judgments despite his victories in democratic elections. Today, his ideas continue to influence Argentina, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Vatican, yet, his authoritarianism and origins in a dictatorship taint his legacy. Influential media and scholars use him …

Role Of Thyroid Hormone Modulating Astrocyte Activation, Payal Ghosh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Astrocytes are the specialized cells in the central nervous system (CNS). They play an important role in neuronal homeostasis. When activated, astrocytes may cause neuronal inflammation and degeneration. Thyroid hormones are important in maintaining neuronal development and homeostasis. Astrocytes play a pivotal role in this process. However, the role of levothyroxine (T4) in neuroinflammation is not clear. It is hypothesized that thyroid hormone treatment will reduce the inflammatory activation in astrocytes. Available oral T4 supplementations allow accumulation of T4 in the body and cause toxicity and side effects. It is hypothesized that the encapsulation of T4 in liposomes would reduce …

Mass Spectrometry Discovery-Based Proteomics To Examine Anti-Aging Effects Of The Nutraceutical Nt-020 In Rat Serum, Samantha M. Portis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Aging is a complex physiological process that leads to the deterioration of all cells and tissues throughout the body. Aging is a major risk factor for the onset of many degenerative diseases in both the central nervous system (CNS) and the periphery, but even nonpathological aging (“normal” aging) is associated with chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and decreased stem cell proliferation and regenerative capacity. This decreased regenerative capacity in stem cell niches is thought to be a key component underlying the aging process and many disease states associated with aging.

While the exact biological mechanisms underlying impaired stem cell proliferation and …

The Weekly Challenger, March 26, 2020, The Weekly Challenger, Et Al

Weekly Challenger Newspaper Collection

The March 26, 2020, issue of The Weekly Challenger.

Academic Digital Badges: Industry, Employment, And Prospects, Terry M. Mcgovern

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Digital badges are becoming more prevalent in the credentialing sector yet there is limited understanding of how the industry is developing or how digital badges influence the hiring process. This study employed an exploratory case method to make known the development of the badging industry. This dynamic new educational technology has a wide range of stakeholders working at establishing standards to ensure consistent and effective application across the badging ecosphere. To understand academic badging further, the researcher conducted a type of field experiment called a résumé audit study. In the late Spring of 2019, the investigator applied to 1,848 unique …

Addressing The Student Loan Crisis: Nudging Borrowers To Lower Their Repayment Costs, Genevieve O. Dobson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Purpose of Research is to determine why student loan borrowers are making poor decisions regarding their repayment plan selection and how we could use the theory of nudge to get them to make better choices. This study evaluates three main biases found in decision making to determine which one is most likely to be utilized in making decisions. It also investigates ways a tool can be created to allow borrowers to make better choices.

I use the Elaborated Action Design Research Methodology to diagnose, design and implement an effective tool. In my study, I create an artifact that allows …

Report, Student Affairs, Effective 2018, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg

Administrative Unit Reports

A report with outcomes and objectives, means of assessment, findings, and use of findings for the various units within Student Affairs at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. Units include Campus Recreation; Campus Visitation, Orientation, and Onboarding, Enrollment Marketing; Career Services; Compass; Dean of Students: Housing and Residence Life, Veterans Services, Student Conduct, Students of Concern Assistance Team (SOCAT); Enrollment Management and Planning; Financial Aid and Scholarships; the Registrar; Student Life and Engagement; and Wellness Center/Disability Services.

Report, Academic Affairs, Effective 2019, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg

Administrative Unit Reports

A report with outcomes and objectives, means of assessment, findings, and use of findings for campus units related to academic affairs at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. Units included are: Academic Advising; Center for Civic Engagement; Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning; College of Arts and Sciences; College of Education; Debbie Nye Sembler Student Success Center; Global Initiatives; Graduate Studies; Institutional Effectiveness; Kate Tiedemann College of Business; Nelson Poynter Memorial Library; Quality Enhancement Plan; and Research.

Report, Communications And Marketing, External Affairs, University Advancement, Effective 2019, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg

Administrative Unit Reports

A report with outcomes and objectives, means of assessment, findings, and use of findings for several units at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg including Communications and Marketing, External Affairs, and University Advancement.

Report, Student Affairs, Effective 2019, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg

Administrative Unit Reports

A report with outcomes and objectives, means of assessment, findings, and use of findings for the various units within Student Affairs at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. Units include Campus Recreation; Campus Visitation, Orientation, and Onboarding, Enrollment Marketing; Career Services; Compass; Dean of Students: Housing and Residence Life, Veterans Services, Student Conduct, Students of Concern Assistance Team (SOCAT); Enrollment Management and Planning; Financial Aid and Scholarships; the Registrar; Student Life and Engagement; and Wellness Center/Disability Services.

Report, Communications And Marketing, External Affairs, University Advancement, Effective 2018, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg

Administrative Unit Reports

A report with outcomes and objectives, means of assessment, findings, and use of findings for several units at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg including Communications and Marketing, External Affairs, and University Advancement.

To Mid-Cell And Beyond: Characterizing The Roles Of Gpsb And Ypsa In Cell Division Regulation In Gram-Positive Bacteria, Robert S. Brzozowski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The bacterial cell division protein FtsZ is a tubulin homolog that forms a ring-like structure at the site of cell division in most bacterial species. There it acts as a scaffold, aiding in the recruitment of other divisome proteins to the site of cell division. Furthermore, studies focusing on the role of FtsZ treadmilling and septal peptidoglycan synthesis implicates that FtsZ plays a direct role in the ultimate closure of the division septum. Thus, many studies in the field of bacterial cell division have focused on FtsZ in terms of its spatial and temporal regulation as well as its ability …

Growth And Characterization Of Spatially Ordered Nanostructures Of Functional Materials, Domingo J. Mateo Feliciano

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Thin films and nanostructures of functional materials like lead zirconium titanite oxide (PZT) and Zinc Oxide (ZnO) offer multitude of applications in ferroelectrics, piezoelectrics and piezotronics. While the properties of thin films of ZnO and PZT are well understood, methods for the fabrication of vertically-aligned and spatially ordered nanocolumns of these materials are not common. To achieve a spatially ordered arrangement of either PZT or ZnO, a Silica Nanosphere (SNS) Monolayer Template has been constructed to serve as nucleation site for the growth of a specific number of nanocolumns. The SNS monolayer template is constructed by Langmuir-Blodgett dip coating, using …

Spatiotemporal Changes Of Microbial Community Assemblages And Functions In The Subsurface, Madison C. Davis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The subsurface hosts diverse microbial community assemblages and functions. These communities play an important role in biogeochemical cycling and groundwater purification. Many physicochemical factors affect microbial communities and can cause short-term or long-term perturbations. Subsurface microbes are susceptible to anthropogenic changes in the environment, which can be caused by nutrient inputs or municipal groundwater extraction. Despite the importance of the subsurface microbiome, these microbial communities are poorly characterized. This dissertation describes the characterization of spatiotemporal drivers of subsurface microbial communities through a variety of techniques that include eDNA analyses, bioinformatics, hydrochemical analyses, stable isotope geochemistry, and multivariate statistics. Three coastal …

Luciferase Reporter Crc Cell Line For Bioluminescence Imaging In Orthotopic Tumor Model, Pratik Chopade

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

CRC is the second most common type of cancer in women and the third most common type of cancer in men. It accounts for 9.7% of all cancers in terms of people diagnosed. Measuring the real-time effect of chemotherapeutic drugs has been a major obstacle in developing a tumor model mouse. Tracking the regression of cancer cells after chemotherapy could be an effective way to resolve this issue. Therefore, cancer cells expressing the constitutive luciferase reporter gene can be a potential solution. The biggest advantage of the luciferase (Luc) reporter is that it is detectable at very low concentrations in …

Identification Of Snps Associated With Multiple Antibiotic Resistance Genes In Eight Clinical Variants Of Enterococcus Faecium., Krishna S. Karia

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The evolution of multi drug resistant (MDR) bacteria has been well documented these last decade, suggesting that resistance to antibiotics is most commonly associated to single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) mutation. To this aim, several molecular methods have been performed to elucidate SNPs in the increasing number of resistant microorganisms. Early detection of MDR bacteria has become of prime necessity in order to combat the disease and ensure public health. Therefore, this research was conducted to screen for SNP mutations correlated to drug resistance in some nosocomial MDR bacteria strains donated from Moffitt Cancer Center (MCC) hospital. Blood, stool, urine, and …