Digital Commons Network^™

Geos: A Service For The Management Of Geo-Social Information In A Distributed System, Paul Anderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Applications and services that take advantage of social data usually infer social relationships using information produced only within their own context, using a greatly simplified representation of users' social data. We propose to combine social information from multiple sources into a directed and weighted social multigraph in order to enable novel socially-aware applications and services. We present GeoS, a geo-social data management service which implements a representative set of social inferences and can run on a decentralized system. We demonstrate GeoS' potential for social applications on a collection of social data that combines collocation information and Facebook friendship declarations from …

Closet Space: Investigating Gay Identity Through Advertising In Gay Media, Jonathan A. Hanna

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research was to examine advertising in gay media publications, namely, The Advocate, in order to assess how advertising corresponds with gay identity formation. This study differed from previous inquiries in that the application of hegemony theory formed the basis of the project and was used as a tool to explicate the preponderance of certain images in gay media advertising and what they signify for gay men. Likewise, a phenomenological method of analysis was applied to the advertisements in order to render them more accessible as aesthetic and literary mediums. Classifying the advertisements according to their notional …

Commencement Convocation Program, St. Petersburg Campus, May 9, 2010, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg

USF St. Petersburg Graduations and Commencements

King O'Neal Awards: Sybil Crocetti, Melissa Harris, Joy Scholing, Tiffany Tran; Outstanding Graduate: Alanna L. Lecher

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, Baccalaureates, May 8, 2010, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

King O'Neal Scholars - Vignesh Alamanda, Hong Ting Chiu, Maria Domino, Brianna Girton, Jody Kelly, Alla Kireeva, Molly McCann, Michael Montuno, Akash Parekh, Nathan Quecan, Sarah Ranes, Janine Villot, and Danielle Weaver-Rogers; Honorary Doctor of Human Letters - R. Gil Kerlikowske; Outstanding Senior - Kristen Corpion

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, Graduate, May 8, 2010, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

President's Global Leadership Award - Allan Goodman

A Descriptive Study Of The Achievement Gap In A Florida County, Harriet Davis-Waller

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe and explain the perspectives of five participants representing the school district and community regarding the achievement gap between Black and White students. This study attempted to answer two major questions:

1. What are the components of their perspectives and how they are formed?

2. What beliefs support or hinder that perspective? In this study social conflict theory was used as the theoretical framework for this study, harnessing the concept of resiliency as a new paradigm shift looking at Black students and community not as "deficient" or "deficits" but implementing their unique cultural …

Community College Faculty Perceptions And Behaviors Related To Academic Advising, Karl A. Debate

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary propose of this study was to identify community college faculty's perceptions regarding the effectiveness of the self-contained campus academic advising center, the importance of the eight established NACADA advising goals, and the role of faculty in the advising process. In addition, the current advising behaviors of faculty at a community college with a self-contained advising system were examined. The study also investigated if perceptions and behaviors regarding advising vary among full-time and part-time faculty.

The results of this study provide an overview of community college faculty perceptions and behaviors with regard to academic advising and the established NACADA …

Who Owns Disability? An Investigation Into The Politics Of Representation, Shelby Forbes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I show how a community of professionals providing equine therapy to individuals with disabilities discursively make sense of their enterprise. A market metaphor illustrates how disability is constructed as the capital sustaining the livelihood of their industry. Disability is a problem-centered concept. It is generally conceptualized according to a medical model which locates disability within the individual, as opposed to understanding it in a sociological sense which accounts for structural, cultural, and communicative factors. Therapy, on the other hand, is problem-determined-it needs to explicitly determine a problem to be treated in order to sustain itself as an …

Upgrading Design: A Mechatronic Investigation Into The Architectural Product Market, Matthew Gaboury

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It was first stated 200 years ago, and reiterated numerous times since, that "architecture is frozen music". While this romantic analogy sufficiently satisfies many in the realm of architecture, it actually is a sad way of defining an idea so inherently lively. Goethe's quote conjures up the notion of a world that is silent, one in which we can see the notes but never hear the music because we are trapped by stasis in time. Like the note admired on a piece of paper, architecture in this world is static regardless of the changing conditions around it.

What if the …

Empowered For Practice: The Relationship Among Perceived Autonomy Support, Competence, And Task Persistence Of Undergraduate Applied Music Students, Julie F. Troum

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among undergraduate applied music students' perceptions of autonomy support, competence, and task persistence. One assumption of self-determination theory was that competence would increase when social environment supported self-organization. A motivational-cognitive framework designed to promote sustained motivation in undergraduate applied music students was proposed.

Three self-report scales administered in the form of a web survey were completed by undergraduate applied music students (N = 366) at six Florida universities. The scales were designed to measure perceived autonomy support, perceived competence, and perceived persistence in practice in the applied music studio setting. …

Articulating Social Change In Puerto Rico: Environmental Education As A Model For Youth Socio-Political Development And Community-Led School Reform, Federico Cintrón-Moscoso

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent attempts at developing an environmental education agenda in public schools emphasize the need to foster greater public awareness about environmental rights, issues, and solutions, while producing citizens with the knowledge and skills needed to address the ecological challenges of contemporary society. However, some scholars have argued that the attempt to integrate environmental principles into the school curricula has created a conflict between the politically-oriented goals of environmental education and the more passive practices of uncritical assimilation and reproduction found in many schools today (Stevenson 2007). Moreover, although there is a need for public schools to take on the challenge …

Beyond The Business: Social And Cultural Aspects Of The Atlanta Life Insurance Company, Alisha R. Winn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation research is an examination of the social and cultural dynamics of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company (ALIC) in Atlanta, GA. During the Jim Crow era (and post Jim Crow era), the ALIC provided economic mobility through employment, home loans, life insurance, and community solidarity. The company was one of the largest and most successful African-American financial institution in the country during the 20th century. It was founded in 1905 by Alonzo F. Herndon, a prosperous black barber and entrepreneur who rose from enslavement to become by 1927 the wealthiest African American in Atlanta. Renamed as the Atlanta Life …

A Case Study Of School-Based Leaders’ Perspectives Of High School Dropouts, John J. Brown Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

School districts are failing to educate all of America's children. Dropout statistics reveal that almost 7,000 students leave our nation's schools everyday. At this rate 1.2 million students will not graduate on time with their prospective classes. The majority of American male students of African descent are dropping out instead of completing high school. When compared to that of their white peers, the dropout rate of American male students of African descent is significantly higher and the graduation rate much lower.

This research examines high school dropouts from the perspectives of school-based leaders in a high school located in a …

Ang 6766 Research Methods, Rebecca K. Zarger

Service-Learning Syllabi

No abstract provided.

“Ethnic Cleansing” And Genocidal Intent: A Failure Of Judicial Interpretation?, Douglas Singleterry

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article analyzes the similarities and distinctions between ‘‘ethnic cleansing’’ and genocide in the context of both Bosnia’s and Croatia’s genocide claims against Serbia brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It examines the institutional role of the ICJ and the criticisms on how the Court handled Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro. The legal definition and elements of genocide as contained in the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (UNCG) are discussed, with a particular emphasis on the required intent to ‘‘destroy’’ a protected group. The article reviews case law from …

The Effects Of Learning-Styles Information On The Achievement Of Community College Developmental Math Students, Kevin A. Hoeffner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Four out of five Americans will require some postsecondary education. Therefore, a majority of population will return to a community college for retraining and personal growth (McCabe, 2003). Since the turn of this century, many studies have been conducted to examine the success and challenges of the relatively new community college system. One of the most significant challenges is the large percentage of the U.S. population requiring remedial coursework. Fifty-five percent of students entering Florida's postsecondary system require remediation. Of this large remedial population, only 51% will complete their preparatory classes. Students who do complete classes take an average of …

Stochastic Modeling And Statistical Analysis, Ling Wu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of the present study is to investigate option pricing and forecasting problems in finance. This is achieved by developing stochastic models in the framework of classical modeling approach.

In this study, by utilizing the stock price data, we examine the correctness of the existing Geometric Brownian Motion (GBM) model under standard statistical tests. By recognizing the problems, we attempted to demonstrate the development of modified linear models under different data partitioning processes with or without jumps. Empirical comparisons between the constructed and GBM models are outlined.

By analyzing the residual errors, we observed the nonlinearity in the data …

Full Issue 5.1

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

From Real Friend To Imagined Foe: The Medieval Roots Of Anti-Semitism As A Precondition For The Holocaust, Christopher Tuckwood

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This study examines the medieval roots of European anti-Semitism as a precondi- tion for the Holocaust. The twelfth century saw an important transition from Jews being viewed as the adherents of a competing religion to dangerous, inhuman threats to the broader Christian society for the first time. Northern France is used as a case study, examining several Jewish, Christian, and secular primary sources to understand the factors leading to gradual Jewish dehumanization. Growing Church influence and resulting restrictions forced some Jews into what would become their stereotypical occupation of moneylending. Lacking awareness of this broader process and as a result …

The Devil In The Details: “Life Force Atrocities” And The Assault On The Family In Times Of Conflict, Elisa Von Joeden-Forgey

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article introduces the idea of ‘‘life force atrocities’’ and investigates the role they have played in twentieth-century genocides, arguing that genocide is a gen- dered crime intimately associated with institutions of reproduction. Using exam- ples from established cases of genocide, such as the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, Bosnia, and Rwanda, as well as from conflicts not generally under- stood as genocides, such as Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the article outlines two types of life force atrocities that have been common features of these conflicts: inversion rituals and ritual desecrations. Each of these instances of …

Genocidal Intentions: Social Death And The Ex-Gay Movement, Sue E. Spivey, Christine M. Robinson

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

In this article, the authors contribute to the literature on predicting and prevent- ing genocide in an international context, focusing on social death practices elabo- rated in articles II(b)–(e) of the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (UNCG). Analyzing ex-gay movement texts, the authors apply James Waller’s theoretical framework, which explains how ordinary people commit extraordinary acts of brutality, to the rhetoric and public policy advocacy of prominent ex-gay movement organizations and entre- preneurs. Further, they examine the extent to which this new religious movement promotes public policies in the United States …

Author Biographies

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.