Digital Commons Network^™

Chinese International Students’ Narratives Of Their Experiences In A Graduate Pathway Program: An Exploratory Study, Lu Norstrand

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Because of the tremendous growth of Chinese international students’ enrollment in American higher education and the rapid rise and development of Pathway programs in American universities, I determined the main purpose of this research was to determine the experiences of three Chinese international students in a Graduate Pathway program at a public four-year university in the Southeastern U.S. Three research questions were addressed:

1. How do three Chinese international students describe their academic experiences in a Graduate Pathway program in the U.S.?
2. How do these students describe differences in their learning experiences between the U.S. and China?
3. How do these students …

Warfare In Christianity And Islam: Unveiling Secular Justifications And Motivations Behind So-Called Religious Violence, Onur Korkmaz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The phenomenology of religion has received the most attention in social science because it has shaped society on social, political, and economic levels throughout history. Religion can be an organization that brings people together and develops a sense of identification, while also acting as a divisive structure for those of other faiths or nonbelievers. And so, we have witnessed the rise of both religious tendencies and violent acts for the last two decades, occasionally intertwined. Various belief systems have increasingly become a factor that politicians, intellectuals, and the mainstream media associate with violence-based modern warfare. However, scholars and analysts who …

Usft Digital Scholarship Services Annual Report: Fy 2019-2020, Digital Scholarship Services

Digital Commons @ USF Publications

This is the annual report for FY 2019-2020, the fourth full year of DSS.

Legitimizing Violence: Functional Similarities Of The Religious And The Secular Violence, Tahir Topal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As a consequence of the separation between religion and politics, known as secularism, the discussion about violence has also been divided into two main categories –Religious Violence and Non-Religious Violence– in the modern Western academia. The tendency of the leading scholarly work in the discourse of "religious violence" is that "religion" is inclined to be violent more than secular institutions for several reasons. Therefore, the state's violence, as being secular, steps in to bring peace. And the foundational cause of the theories relies heavily on the essential differences of "religion" and the secular. With counter-arguments, William T. Cavanaugh and Talal …

Usft Digital Scholarship Services Annual Report: Fy 2018-2019, Digital Scholarship Services

Digital Commons @ USF Publications

This is the annual report for FY 2018-2019, the third full year of DSS.

Three Theorists On Religious Violence In An Islamic Context: Karen Armstrong, Mark Juergensmeyer, And William T. Cavanaugh, Ayse Camur

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Religion is often invoked as a driving force behind violence, disentangled from political, social, and economic reasons. In this thesis, we will be exploring the viewpoints of three prominent religious thinkers in investigating the principal causes behind what is called religious violence. The works of Karen Armstrong, Mark Juergensmeyer, and William T. Cavanaugh are considered as theoretical frameworks for understanding violence in an Islamic context. While Armstrong argues that the root cause of violence can be traced back to economic, political, and cultural reasons, Juergensmeyer contests that religion is the most important cause underlying all violence. In their analyses, both …

Representations Of Indian Christians In Bollywood Movies, Ryan A. D'Souza

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation uses discursive formation as the methodological approach to examine representations of Indian Christians in eleven Bollywood movies released during the 2004-2014 decade. The decade witnessed the exit and eventual re-entry of the Hindu Right, and the citizenry during that period experienced centrist, liberal, and secular governance. Since the present of Indian Christianity is inextricable from a colonial past, and Bollywood emerges in response to colonialism, a postcolonial intervention in methodology and theory is undertaken. A postcolonial perspective illuminates the discourses that enable the formation of the postcolonial nation, i.e., the ways a nation imagines its culture, people, traditions, …

William Of Ockham's Divine Command Theory, Matthew Dee

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There was a long-standing consensus that Ockham was a Divine Command Theorist - one who holds that all of morality is ultimately grounded in God's commands. But contrary to this long-standing consensus, three arguments have recently surfaced that Ockham is not a divine command theorist. The thesis of this dissertation is that, contrary to these three arguments, Ockham is a divine command theorist. The first half of the dissertation is an analysis of the three necessary and jointly sufficient conditions for virtuous action, whereas the second half is a response to the three contemporary arguments that Ockham isn't a divine …

“Living Creatures Of Every Kind:” An Ecofeminist Reading Of Genesis 1-3, T. G. Barkasy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work will examine the Genesis creation narratives through an ecofeminist critical lens to illuminate the ambivalence regarding both the ecological and feminist concerns pertinent to ecofeminist criticism. While ecology and feminism are major issues in today’s social and political climates, ecofeminism and its presence in biblical scholarship is not as prevalent as one might think. When it is discussed, authors come to varying conclusions on the Bible’s stance about either nature or gender, and discussions that consciously espouse ecofeminist methodology are so far insufficient. This work utilizes the documentary hypothesis in order to examine the parallel narratives of creation …

Complex Tripartite Hydro Politics Of River Ganges, Muttaki Bin Kamal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper studies if the Flagship Namami Gange program of Cleaning the river Ganges in India aligns with the transcendental discourse on the river. Web contents as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter along with Indian English daily newspaper reports are used here as the source of data. The study shows that the program aligns with the transcendental discourse on river Ganges as the Mother Goddess and reaching out to her devotees.

Usft Collection Assessment Dss Annual Report Digital Collections 2018-2019fy, Usf Libraries

All Assessment Data

No abstract provided.

Usft Services Assessment Dss Annual Report 2018-2019fy, Usf Libraries

All Assessment Data

No abstract provided.

Constructing The Pluriverse: Lessons Learned Thus Far, Bernd Reiter

School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Traditional Regression Methods Versus The Utility Of Machine Learning Techniques In Forecasting Inmate Misconduct In The United States: An Exploration Of The Prospects Of The Techniques, Fawn T. Ngo, Ramakrishna Govindu, Anurag Agarwal

Criminology Sarasota Manatee Campus Faculty Publications

In the U.S., prison administrators often rely on risk assessment instruments to place and supervise inmates, as well as manage, plan and allocate resources. Hence, any improvement in the accuracy performance of risk assessment instruments is likely to result in significant benefits for offender classification and rehabilitation, management systems, and public safety. To date, researchers have explored the relative predictive performance between regression and non-regression methods and the overall evidence is inconclusive. In this study, we seek to advance the debate regarding the efficacy of traditional regression methods versus the utility of machine learning techniques in forecasting inmate misconduct by …

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, Baccalaureates, December 7, 2018, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

Honorary Doctor of Science - Melanie Sanford; President's Fellow Medallion - Mayor Bob Buckhorn; President's Global Leadership Award - Dyann Wirth; King O'Neal Scholars - Andrea Arciniegas, Jessica Bullock, Anna Eliason, Tiffany Garner, Bailey Gavulic, Victoria Hoang, Stephanie Hogue, Briana Luthman, Asgard Marroquin, Justin Mohr, Jenn Moser, Rida Mughal, Kristiana Nasto, Marilluly Peraza, Kirby Powers, Keska Register, Jordan Stofan, Michael Talavera, Veronica Vazquez, Thomas Vieiera, Rylee Wagner, Savannah Warner, Aubrey Wolfe, David Wylie, and Shahrzad Zamani; Outstanding Graduate - Shahriar "Shawn" Zamani

Commencement Convocation Program, St. Petersburg Campus, August 5, 2018, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg

USF St. Petersburg Graduations and Commencements

No abstract provided.

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, August 4, 2018, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

King O'Neal Scholars - Katlyn Eastridge, James Garrett, Gautam Krishna Koipallil, Kayla Li, and Olivia Taylor; Outstanding Graduate - Barbora Skopalova; Global Citizens Award - Kayla Li, Phoung Ly, and Hannah Seamans

Commencement Convocation Program, St. Petersburg Campus, May 6, 2018, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg

USF St. Petersburg Graduations and Commencements

King O'Neal Award: Catherine Taunton, Daniel Adams; Outstanding Graduate: Alexandra Kuchta

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, Graduate, December 9, 2017, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

Honorary Doctor of Engineering and Nursing - Patricia Flatley-Brennan

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, Baccalaureates, December 8, 2017, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

Outstnding Graduate - Alexis Drees; Honorary Doctor of Science - Andrew Hamilton; King O'Neal Scholars - Aneesa Ali, Andrew Apugliese, David Blanchard, Janet Diaz Montes, Mary Edwards, Shayna Gurvitz, Bonnie Hogan Lowlery, Ryan Kurtz, Robert Lockridge, Natalie Meyer, Rachel Moore, Ashley Nandrasy, Carlos Pena Duran, Brittany Raymond, Paul Rogers, Nicholas Romano, Khadijah Tiamiyu, Xamil Vega, Amy Whitehurst, George Wolf, and Alexander Zhideev

Changing Changelessness: On The Genesis And Development Of The Doctrine Of Divine Immutability In The Ancient And Hellenic Period, Milton Wilcox

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project will track and explain the development of the Doctrine of Divine Immutability from early mythological and scriptural source material that seems to indicate that divine entities are changeable into metaphysical systems that demand a perfectly consistent deity. The Doctrine of Divine Immutability is a philosophical and theological postulate that has long been a staple of systematic metaphysics and theology, but its function in robust and fully formed systems is different than its function when it is first generated in Ancient Greece and Judah. Methodologically mostly primary sources are studied and compared with interpretive help from relevant secondary sources. …

Modern Mythologies: The Epic Imagination In Contemporary Indian Literature, Sucheta Kanjilal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project delineates a cultural history of modern Hinduism in conversation with contemporary Indian literature. Its central focus is literary adaptations of the Sanskrit epic the Mahābhārata, in English, Hindi, and Bengali. Among Hindu religious texts, this epic has been most persistently reproduced in literary and popular discourses because its scale matches the grandeur of the Indian national imagining. Further, many epic adaptations explicitly invite devotion to the nation, often emboldening conservative Hindu nationalism. This interdisciplinary project draws its methodology from literary theory, history, gender, and religious studies. Little scholarship has put Indian Anglophone literatures in conversation with other …

Commencement Convocation Program, St. Petersburg Campus, May 7, 2017, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg

USF St. Petersburg Graduations and Commencements

Outstanding Graduate: Hunter Paul Drake

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, Graduate, May 6, 2017, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

President's Global Leadership Award - France Cordova

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, Baccalaureates, May 5, 2017, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

President's Global Leadership Award - Ibrahim Gambari; Honorary Doctor of Science - Phillip Furman; Honorary Doctor of Engineering and Nursing - Patricia Flatley Brennan; Honorary Doctor of Education - Michael Gessler; King O'Neal Scholars - Nelly Arenas, Abdulah Barakat, Nicholas Buliga, Jheuel Carter-Guy, Harmelle Davis, Michael Gile, Daniel Gomero, Ashleigh Haliabalias, Alexis Johnson, Evan Johnson, Patrick Lepochat, Alexis Low, Jacelyn Macip Billbe, Chandler Miller, Anita Nguyen, Thao Nguyen, Lauren O'Farrill Blanco, Typer Palbicke, Cheyanna Patrick, Michael Putnam, Omar Rodriguez, Tracey Rose, Mary Samarkos, Shaan Sehgal, Natalie Soyster, Yonatan Tamir, Andrew Vieira, Jhulianna Vivar, and Brian Win; Outstanding Graduate - Natalie …

Learner-Directed Vs. Instructor-Provided Curriculum Among Undergraduate Students, Christopher D. Martinez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There has been little or no research on the use of a Learning Object in the field of religious studies. The purpose of this research study was to assess undergraduate student knowledge gain outcomes between instructor-provided and learner-directed methods, which is the independent variable, using asynchronous, online, narrated PowerPoint presentations compared to undergraduate student knowledge gain using an online learning-objects unit, in a college-level world religions survey course at St. Petersburg College. This study assessed undergraduate student knowledge gain outcomes between instructor-provided and learner-directed methods among 90 college undergraduate students and determined whether there was a significant difference in the …

Practical Theology In An Interpretive Community: An Ethnography Of Talk, Texts And Video In A Mediated Women's Bible Study, Nancie Hudson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study of social interaction in a small religious group used ethnography of communication as a research method to collect and analyze data from 20 months of fieldwork. As a long-term participant-observer in a women-only interdenominational Bible study, I investigated the group’s patterned ways of speaking, how print and electronic learning materials influenced the practical application of Scripture to daily life, and how the contemporary format for women’s Bible study alters the traditional Bible study experience. Patterned ways of speaking in this setting included group discussions and conversational narratives about religion, motherhood and lack of time. Using affirmations of faith, …

Functionality Of Radicalization: A Case Study Of Hizb Ut-Tahrir, Farhaan Wali

Journal of Strategic Security

Moving beyond the concern with causes of radicalization, this article explores the transformative aspect of radicalization within Hizb ut-Tahrir (The Liberation Party). The personal narratives obtained from this ethnographic fieldwork are placed into a frame of reference related to how radicalization occurs within Hizb ut-Tahrir. Gaining insight into this social phenomenon required an ‘ethnographic’ approach, which allowed me to study members of Hizb ut-Tahrir in their natural setting. My access to Hizb ut-Tahrir put me in the unique position of being able to gather the biographical information required to study radicalization. In essence, I sought to acquire, from within the …

Commencement Convocation Program, Sarasota - Manatee Campus, December 11, 2016, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

Outstanding Graduate Award and Golden Bull Service and Leadership Award - Jennifer Caba; Outstanding Professor - Jean Kabongo

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, Graduate, December 10, 2016, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

Honorary Doctor of Business - Retired Vice Admiral Mike McConnell