Digital Commons Network^™

Workin’ From Cain To Cain’T: Challenges Within Florida’S Gulf Coast Oyster Industry, Diane Marie Wakeman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Oyster tongers are a cultural icon of Florida's maritime heritage and geography. Challenged for generations by the vagaries of weather, including catastrophic storms and years-long droughts, and economic uncertainties this maritime heritage is fading fast. While Florida's north and west coasts produce 90 percent of the Florida oyster harvest and ten percent of oysters consumed in the United States, the industry is at risk today for reasons including a declining demand for Florida oysters because of health concerns; water pollution; population growth and its accompanying development of condominiums, gated communities, and retail shopping centers; and declining interest in the hard …

Florida Sentinel Bulletin, November 13, 2009, Gwen Hayes

Florida Sentinel Bulletin Collection

The November 13, 2009, issue of the Florida Sentinel Bulletin.

Exploring The Effects Of Bmi Health Report Card Letters Among 6Th Grade Students And Parents: An Application Of The Social Cognitive Theory, Jenna M. Kaczmarski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In response to the growing child and adolescent obesity epidemic, some states and local school authorities are mandating the measurement of Body Mass Index (BMI). However, there is limited research addressing whether schools are an appropriate setting and the intended as well as unintended effects of sharing this information with parents. Furthermore, there is yet to be conclusive evidence that shows that BMI screening in the school setting is an effective way to improve student BMI status. Therefore, the purpose of this research study was to explore the effects of BMI Health Report Card Letters among 6th grade students and …

Florida Sentinel Bulletin, November 10, 2009, Gwen Hayes

Florida Sentinel Bulletin Collection

The November 10, 2009, issue of the Florida Sentinel Bulletin.

Determinants Of Nutrition Appointment Non-Attendance Among Male Veterans, Claire Fontenot Bell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

During fiscal years 2006 and 2007, nearly 1 in 4 Veterans failed to keep their individual nutrition appointments, impeding clinic workflow, productivity, and management of weight and nutrition related health conditions. The purpose of this study was to identify determinants of nutrition appointment attendance in the Veteran population. This study examined the cognitive and structural factors that influence nutrition appointment attendance. Specifically, the study sought to determine: Veteran reported reasons for non-attendance and factors associated with appointment attendance. The research design entailed sequential use of qualitative and quantitative methods. Individual, semi-structured interviews and a mail survey were used to identify …

Sucrose Concentration Preference In Nectarivorous Bats, November 2009, Kyle Bevers

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Nectarivorous bats perform vital pollination services for many tropical plant species. While nectarivorous bats have been shown to prefer higher percentages of sucrose in past studies, bat pollinated flowers usually offer a lower sugar concentration in the nectar, equal to 18 percent sucrose on average, thus forcing bats to visit more flowers. Visiting flowers increases outcrossing, pollination, and subsequently, plant fitness. This study attempts to see where bat’s preferences, if any, exist for sucrose within the natural range of bat pollinated flowers. For nine nights, bats were observed at Selvatura Park in Monteverde, Costa Rica, where they forage at hummingbird …

Leaf Choice In Dryas Iulia (Nymphalidae Heliconiinae) Cyanide Content And Toughness, November 2009, Ashley Arthur

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Vines in the Passifloraceae synthesize cyanogenic glycosides that deter general herbivores, but Heliconiinae butterfly larvae such as Dryas iulia have overcome this and utilize Passiflora leaves as larval food. Ovipositing adult females and larvae may access the suitability of leaves caused by various plant defenses such as cyanide content and leaf toughness. D. iulia adult females show no preference in cyanide content (9.01μg ± 28.3, 5.77μg ± 12.6) or toughness (238.67g ± 78.4, 266.58g ± 123.1) for ovipostion, yet larvae prefer leaves with a significantly lower cyanide content (9.01μg ± 28.3, 0.47μg ± 0.51) then the average available leaf but …

Effect Of Cecropia Polyphlebia, Cecropia Obtusifolia, And Bidens Pilosa On Human Lung Capacity, November 2009, Michelle Gin

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Traditional medicine is used by 80% of the world population as their primary care. Monteverde, Costa Rica houses a rich flora including Cecropia polyphlebia (Cecropiaceae), Cecropia obtusifolia (Cecropiaceae), and Bidens pilosa (Asteraceae) that have been identified as medicinal plants to reduce the symptoms of asthma and other respiratory ailments. Fifty-eight human subjects were divided into four groups of tea treatments, including Chamomile Chamaemelum nobile (Asteraceae) as a control. Lung capacity was measured using the amount of air blown into a balloon in a single breath. Initial (pre-treatment) as well as the immediate and long-term effects of plant extracts on lung …

Altitudinal Soil Continuums Of Andisols On The Atlantic Slope Of The Tilaran Mountain Range (Costa Rica), November 2009, Tyler Reynolds

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Presently, little is known about soils along an altitudinal gradient on the Atlantic Slope of the Tilarán Mountain Range in Costa Rica, so soil samples were taken and horizons were measured, on altitudinal transects from 1700m to 1300m in elevation. Precipitation patterns, decomposition rates, litterfall rates, temperature, and soil parent material depth, are recognized as playing important roles in the % soil root mass and nutrient cycles of tropical mountain soils. This study looks to find trends between these soil formation and maintenance factors, and altitude. These data present significant positive correlations of soil Nitrate-N and Phosphorus concentrations with elevation, …

Homegardens Of Monteverde: Exploring Changes In Home Crop Cultivation, November 2009, Abigail Smith

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Homegardens are model forms of sustainable land use in tropical agroforestry systems. Known as an assembly of varied crops and animals, these small homestead farms provide a cheap, nutritional source of food to the family while maintaining the biodiversity and productivity of the surrounding ecosystem. With the introduction of ecotourism into the Monteverde area, an economy traditionally based on agriculture shifted towards tourism services, thus changing the underlying dynamics of the community. Thirty families of the Monteverde area were interviewed and provided information relating to homegarden contents, family history, and lifestyle choices. This study shows that homegardens have declined significantly …

The Weekly Challenger, October 29, 2009, The Weekly Challenger, Et Al

Weekly Challenger Newspaper Collection

The October 29, 2009, issue of The Weekly Challenger.

Mercury Perception, Community Awareness And Sustainability Implications For The Tampa Bay Region, Florida, Trina Halfhide

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over one million acres of land and water in Florida has been classified as impaired by mercury. Approximately 80% of national fish advisories are issued due to mercury contamination. There have been a number of consumption advisories in the Tampa Bay Region for locally eaten fish such as largemouth bass (

Micropterus salmoides), bowfin (Amia calva), and alligator gar (Lepisosteus osseus). The main purpose of this study was to determine if there is adequate dissemination of mercury related risk information by government agencies to recreational and subsistence fishermen in the Tampa Bay Region. This research …

Living With Sugar: Socioeconomic Status And Cultural Beliefs About Type 2 Diabetes Among Afro-Caribbean Women, Chrystal A.S Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the U.S., individuals of Afro-Caribbean and Latino descent are two to three times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than non-Hispanic whites. Caribbean and Latin America migrants, particularly minority women bear a disproportionate burden of type 2 diabetes and its risk factors. The purpose of this research is to investigate if Afro-Caribbean women share a cultural belief model about type 2 diabetes and how this belief model, along with structural barriers to health care, influence disease risk and management.

A sample of 40 women, primarily Jamaican and Trinidadian, 35 to 90 years of age previously diagnosed with type …

Goal Attainment On Long Tail Web Sites: An Information Foraging Approach, James A. Mccart

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation sought to explain goal achievement at limited traffic “long tail” Web sites using

Information Foraging Theory (IFT). The central thesis of IFT is that individuals are driven by a

metaphorical sense of smell that guides them through patches of information in their environment.

An information patch is an area of the search environment with similar information. Information

scent is the driving force behind why a person makes a navigational selection amongst a group

of competing options. As foragers are assumed to be rational, scent is a mechanism by which to

reduce search costs by increasing the accuracy on …

Literary Bodies: The Novel As Experience, Britt Dienes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For my MA thesis I propose to examine a series of novels that combine motifs of the body with structural and linguistic experimentation that parallels the state of the bodies within the text. Using Tsitsi Dangarembga's 1988 "bodybildungsroman" Nervous Conditions, Sherley Anne Williams' 1986 neo -slave narrative Dessa Rose, Samuel Beckett's 1938 existential novel Murphy, Vikram Seth's 1986 poetic novel Golden Gate, and Vladimir Nabokov's 1962 poetic novel Pale Fire, I will argue that these texts portray the body as a readable space of culture, a legible site of conflict or creation.

I contend that these novels …

Neoliberalism And Dependence: A Case Study Of The Orphan Care Crisis In Sub-Saharan Africa, Christine Concetta Gibson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Scholars have examined the impacts of neoliberal policies on women, children, small farmers and more, but little attention has been paid to the impact of these policies on orphans. The issue of orphan care is crucial now, and will become increasingly more urgent in the future. Even as HIV/AIDS rates are on the decline, more and more children are being orphaned by the disease. This paper examines the policies, positions and language of the World Bank and I.M.F. regarding orphans in order to understand the biases and assumptions within neoliberalism about orphans, and who is responsible for providing care for …

What's Happening At Usf St. Petersburg, September 23, 2009, Melanie Marquez

USF St. Petersburg Campus News and Press Releases

No abstract provided.

Florida Sentinel Bulletin, September 22, 2009, Gwen Hayes

Florida Sentinel Bulletin Collection

The September 22, 2009, issue of the Florida Sentinel Bulletin.

Martian Modules: Design Of A Programmable Martian Settlement, Craig A. Trover

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The evolution of human beings is marked

by adaptation. The ability to adapt to and

manipulate our environment is one definer of

intelligence, and ours is unique among life

on Earth. Since moving off of the African

Continent, humans have migrated to inhabit

every part of the Earth. Human existence

and perpetuity in the universe depends upon

the success of this adaptation, and inevitably,

migrating off of this planet. The technological

advances being developed today will change

our way of life, and enable people to travel to

and live permanently on the Moon and Mars.

This study involves the architectural …

Florida Sentinel Bulletin, September 4, 2009, Gwen Hayes

Florida Sentinel Bulletin Collection

The September 4, 2009, issue of the Florida Sentinel Bulletin.

A Randomized Trial Of A Dissonance-Induction Intervention To Decrease Tanning Behaviors Among College Females, Sari R. Chait

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sun exposure is implicated in the majority of skin cancer cases so it is important to identify interventions that successfully decrease young people's tanning behaviors and increase their sun protection behaviors. Research suggests that interventions that focus on the more immediate appearance related effects of tanning, rather than on future health risks, may be more effective in altering UV-related behaviors. Dissonance induction is a strategy that has been used to successfully alter other health-related behaviors. This study sought to determine if a dissonance induction intervention might be similarly successful in changing UV-related behaviors. The study yielded mixed findings. Relative to …

Hunger Of The Body, Hunger Of The Mind: The Experience Of Food Insecurity In Rural, Non-Peninsular Malaysia, Elizabeth Elliott Cooper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Supplementary feeding continues to be a widespread strategy for child health promotion though its efficacy remains contested. The long-standing, Malaysian national food assistance program for children - Program Pemulihan Kanak-Kanak Kekurangan Zat Makanan (PPKZM) - fits this pattern, receiving severe criticism for its limited impact on child nutritional status. Still, the program remains, producing a seeming paradox and prompting questions of how it fits into (1) the larger political context of national health policy and (2) more localized village and clinic environments. This research combines historical inquiry with the in-depth, ethnographic study of two predominantly Malay coastal villages in Malaysian …

The Weekly Challenger, August 13, 2009, The Weekly Challenger, Et Al

Weekly Challenger Newspaper Collection

The August 13, 2009, issue of The Weekly Challenger.

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, August 8, 2009, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

King O'Neal Scholar - Kimberly Michelle Patarini; President's Global Leadership Award - Indira Chakravarty; Outstanding Senior - Anthony Le

The Weekly Challenger, August 6, 2009, The Weekly Challenger, Et Al

Weekly Challenger Newspaper Collection

The August 6, 2009, issue of The Weekly Challenger.

Florida Sentinel Bulletin, August 4, 2009, Gwen Hayes

Florida Sentinel Bulletin Collection

The August 4, 2009, issue of the Florida Sentinel Bulletin.

Florida Sentinel Bulletin, July 31, 2009, Gwen Hayes

Florida Sentinel Bulletin Collection

The July 31, 2009, issue of the Florida Sentinel Bulletin.

Memorandum Of Understanding, Regarding Quality Of Education - Student Achievement By And Between Plaintiffs And Defendants, July 28, 2009, United States. District Court (Florida : Middle District)

Concerned Organization for Quality Education for Black Students, Inc.

A memorandum of understanding between Leon Bradley as the plaintiff acting for the Concerned Organization for the Quality Education of Black Students, Inc. (COQEBS), and the Pinellas County School Board about the achievement gap between Black and white students in Pinellas County, Florida.

Crystal Engineering Of Nutraceutical Cocrystals, Dalia A. Aboarayes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The work presented herein focus upon crystal engineering of nutraceutical cocrystals. Cocrystals are considered unique solid dosage form which has many advantages over other traditionally known solid forms. Furthermore, cocrystals have proven to improve stability, solubility and bioavailability of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) as shown in the case of carbamazepine and other APIs in previous studies.

Crystal engineering is commonly used to design new solid forms based on the bases of supramolecular chemistry. In this study, crystal engineering based on intensive Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) analysis used to predict and design new cocrystals of targeted nutraceuticals. Two nutraceuticals were selected …

Effects Of A Commercially Available Energy Drink On Anaerobic Performance, Jason J. Downing

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In an attempt to improve aerobic and anaerobic performance, athletes and fitness enthusiasts consume a variety of supplements. Because of this, energy drinks are quickly becoming more and more popular every day. Despite its highly addictive nature, caffeine, which is the main active ingredient in energy drinks, is gaining recognition as an ergogenic aid. However, due to the many factors that affects the action of caffeine, and because the research on caffeine and anaerobic performance is limited, the potential for studying energy drinks and anaerobic performance is quite large. PURPOSE: To determine if a commercially available energy drink has any …