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Generative Social Science: Studies In Agent-Based Computational Modeling, Eric C. Jones

Journal of Ecological Anthropology

No abstract provided.

Human Dimensions Research And The Karst Information Portal, Todd A. Chavez, Patricia E. Seiser

KIP Talks and Conferences

Presentation delivered at the 2007 National Speleological Society Convention, Marengo, Indiana, July 23-27. Describes linkages between human dimensions research and grey literature. Open Access See Extended description for more information.

Changing The Subject: First-Person Narration In And Out Of The Classroom, Susan Friedman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The effectiveness of first-person narration for self-transformation and social change is indicated by exploring connections between three emergent discourses: illness narratives and memoirs by rape survivors in which the subject speaks from a privileged yet socially marginalized position about life-altering experiences; clinical discourse that elaborates treatment methods for empowering trauma survivors and helping them reconnect with the social world; and scholarly discourse that reflects on the relationship between trauma, self-representation, witnessing, and recovery. Post-Foucauldian theories of life-writing illuminate how the author-subjects of survivor narratives discursively reconstruct their shattered subjectivity in a therapeutic relationship with themselves and their readers. Cognitive and …

Comprehensive School Reform In The Wake Of No Child Left Behind: Teacher Perceptions In Dodgeland, Allyson Regina Haag

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an analysis of teacher perceptions of the implementation of their school's comprehensive school reform, and the George W. Bush administration's federal educational policy, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Data were collected by a research team as a part of the National Longitudinal Evaluation of Comprehensive School Reform (NLECSR), a project under the direction of the American Institutes for Research (AIR). The thesis is a supplemental qualitative analysis by the author who was part of the NLECSR research team from 2004 through 2005. The NLECSR had a quantitative component (called the Core Study) consisting of a …

The Relationship Between Technology Integration And Achievement Using Multi-Level Modeling, Tina N. Hohlfeld

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the relationship between technology integration indicators and school level achievement. Four years of school level secondary data from publicly available databases maintained by the Florida Department of Education were combined for all public elementary, middle, and high schools in the state. This study examined approximately 2300 schools that participated each year in the Florida Innovates Survey about technology integration between 2003-04 and 2006-07. Complexity theory supported the use of multi-level modeling to examine the relationships between technology integration and outcomes. Three achievement outcomes (reading, mathematics, and writing) and two mediating behavioral …

An Analysis Of Origen’S Charismatic Ideology In His Commentary On The Gospel Of John, Kimberly W. Logan-Hudson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis aims to examine whether Origen projects a charismatic ideology within his Commentary on the Gospel of John. Five characteristics will be utilized during the process: (1) Charismatic authority is given directly from God and only God; (2) Those who have been chosen sought and maintain the position; (3) Individuals must recognize this authority along with others; (4) Those with charismatic authority must mediate God's word for others; (5) This authority may only belong to individuals within the one body of the church. In analyzing Books 1, 2, 6, and 10 along with these five characteristics, the thesis will …

Depressive Symptomatology, Patient-Provider Communication, And Patient Satisfaction: A Multilevel Analysis, Lorraine Marie Novosel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Depression can be a profoundly disabling and costly disorder and is a major public health concern. Despite the efficacy of treatment options, it is often unrecognized, under-diagnosed, and inadequately treated in primary care settings. Research on patient-provider communication supports the connection among the quality of the patient-provider interaction, patient behavior, and health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to systematically examine the impact of patients' depressive symptoms on the patient-provider relationship, patient-provider communication, and patient satisfaction with the primary care office visit. One hundred twenty three patient-provider encounters were audiotaped and coded using the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS). …

Community College Transfer Students’ Experiences Of The Adjustment Process To A Four Year Institution: A Qualitative Analysis, Karen R. Owens

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Today's mobile student population follows diverse paths. This research presents findings from a qualitative study investigating the perceptions of transfer students while they were actively engaged in the transfer process. Fifty-seven incoming community college transfer students (n=57) were interviewed, in a large metropolitan area, through e-journaling during fall 2006 (while students were still attending community colleges) and during spring 2007 (students' first semester of admission to the university).

The following research questions guided the study: What do transfer students perceive as a successful transfer process? From the transfer student's perspective, what supports are needed to accommodate a successful transfer process? …

An Exploration Of Three Residence Hall Types And The Academic And Social Integration Of First Year Students, Dorothy E. Paine

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Living on campus has long been an important part of many students' collegiate experience. Most research describing the benefits of living on campus was conducted in the 1960s and 1970s and was based upon students living in double rooms on double loaded corridors with community bathrooms. In recent years, the style of residence hall buildings has changed from these traditional rooms to suite and apartment-style housing offering more privacy and greater amenities to students. This study sought to examine how first year students living in three different types of residence hall environments differ on measures of social and academic integration, …

Just Regular Folks: An Ethnographic Study Of Identity In A Gay And Lesbian Catholic Community In South Florida, Shawn M. Perkins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Much of the research done on religious gays and lesbians has focused upon the cognitive strategies they employ in order to negotiate conflicts experienced between their religious and sexual identities. In contrast to taking a psychological approach, this study focuses upon the role of social context in helping gay and lesbian Catholics to successfully negotiate their religious and sexual identities. Using participant-observation data of a small gay and lesbian Catholic community, the Holy Cross Community (HCC), as well as from interviews with ten of its members, I examine the role of the interpersonal context in identity processes. I outline the …

Perception Of Educational Experiences By At-Risk African-American Students In An Undergraduate Teacher Education Program, Sharman Pride-Mcrae

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore individual perceptions of African-American at-risk students in an undergraduate teacher education program, specifically continuing students or community college transfer students in a four-year urban university College of Education (COE) program. Specific areas of interest included: (a) demographic characteristics profiling the study participants; (b) emotional and motivational factors as they affected the students; and (c) the personal thoughts and effect of institutional and environmental variables and administrative factors. Ten females volunteered to participate in a semi-structured interview. The 22 semi-structured interview questions were developed by the researcher. The questions captured the individual personal …

Relationship Between Nurses’ Management Of Pediatric Oncology Patients’ Symptoms And Job Satisfaction, Jennifer I. Rheingans

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A primary function of the pediatric oncology nurse is to provide symptom management to children with cancer. Symptom management strategies have been published, but there is scarce literature examining neither the actual use of these nursing interventions, nor the effects of using these interventions on the nurses' perceived work environment. The purpose of this study was to examine the nursing interventions used in treating pediatric oncology patients' symptoms, as well as the emotional sequelae from providing this care. Phase One of this study examined the content validity of the newly developed Nurses Distress and Interventions for Symptoms Survey (NDISS) utilizing …

The Impact Of Organizational Climate Variables Of Perceived Organizational Support, Workplace Isolation, And Ethical Climate On Salesperson Psychological And Behavioral Work Outcomes, Robert J. Riggle

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to build and test a model that integrates the marketing, management, and psychological literature with respect to organizational climate variables and their direct and indirect impact on salesperson psychological and behavioral outcomes, as well as one that answers the overarching research question of how organizational climate variables impact salesperson psychological and behavioral work outcomes. Data were collected during the time period from April 2006 until May 2006. Three hundred survey invitations were sent via e-mail to salespeople at three organizations. The participating organizations included a privately owned publishing firm located in the southeastern United …

The Proliferating Sacred: Secularization And Postmodernity, Donald Surrency

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When analyzing the role religion plays in contemporary American society, one is forced to address the notion of secularization. This is a term that broadly refers to the marginalization of religious influence in culture and society that began at the outset of the Enlightenment, sometime during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but, as Peter Berger argues, can actually be traced back to the times of the great Israelite prophets who emerged during the Axial Age (800-200 BCE). Throughout the available literature, proponents of the secularization thesis extend the marginalization of religious influence from the societal level to the level of …

Comparison Of Student Outcomes In Distance Learning Internships Versus Traditional Dietetic Internships, Lauri Y. Wright

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One way in which higher education is responding to technology advances, demographics changes, and economic pressures is through the development of distance learning. Distance learning represents one of the most prominent trends in higher education today. Understanding the impact of this technologically driven change on student outcomes is unmistakably important. One example of this trend in higher education is the distance learning internship in dietetic training programs. The purpose of this study was to compare student outcomes in distance learning dietetic internships to student outcomes in traditional dietetic internships. The pass rate of the registration exam for dietitians, levels of …

Philosophy Of New Jazz: Reconstructing Adorno, Dustin Bradley Garlitz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Theodor W. Adorno, the towering twentieth century German intellectual figure and distinctive musical thinker, was legendary for being over-critical of jazz music. Through a consideration at his admiration for avant-garde chamber and symphonic music, I plan to develop a position that, surprisingly, points towards a theory of unacknowledged acceptance of jazz. The style of jazz that will be the newly constructed musical idiom of admiration for Adorno will be of the heterodox variety. My method of reconstruction will be to interrogate the inconsistencies in Adorno's critical musical writings, and negate such negations with factual evidence of affirmation found in the …

The Gothic As Counter-Discourse: Mark Twain, Charles Chesnutt And Toni Morrison, Hyejin, Kim

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Revisiting the American Gothic via Julia Kristeva's theory of "the abject" demonstrates how Gothic strategies expose the historical contradictions of race in works by Mark Twain, Charles W. Chesnutt, and Toni Morrison. As theorized by Kristeva in Powers of Horror, the archaic process in which the subject attempts to constitute itself as homogeneous by casting off or "abjecting" all that cannot be assimilated to the self-same necessarily opens the way to repeated returns of the abject(ed) and the "horror" it provokes. Because the Gothic enacts the return of the abject, it was itself abjected from the literary canon until recently. …

Responsibility And Practice In Notions Of Corporate Social Responsibility, Denise Kleinrichert

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This treatise presents a transcendental argument for corporate social responsibility. The argument is that corporate social responsibility, or CSR, is best understood as a collective moral practice that is a precondition for sustainable business. There are a number of theories and definitions of CSR in the contemporary business literature. These theories include considerations of economic, legal, social, and environmental notions of what a corporation ought to take responsibility for based on either motives or concerns of accountability for corporate acts. This work focuses on economic theories. I analyze the distinction between the technical terms "responsibility" and "accountability" found in these …

Meaning Makers Make It: Ambivalence About Ambiguity In Academic Discourse, David Haldane Lee

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a broad survey of the uses of ambiguity in academic discourse. I note the uses of ambiguity in literary criticism, linking ambiguity with epistemic relativism. Then I pose the question, is the notion of "reframing" in psychotherapy analogous to the concept of "spin" in propaganda, advertising and public relations? In a consideration of theories that posit the social construction of reality, I examine articles by Judith Butler and Ian Hacking, noting the ambiguous reception of performativity and nominalism, respectively, within academia. In 1996 a physicist named Alan Sokal published an article which argued that reality is a …

Venturesome Women: Nineteenth-Century British Women Travel Writers And Sport, Precious Mckenzie-Stearns

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes the travel writings of Isabella Bird Bishop, Mary Kingsley, Florence Douglas Dixie, and Isabel Savory. While away from England, these women writers participated in cultural exchanges which led to reevaluations of British womanhood. British women travel writers operated not only within the power structures of gender but also within the structures of empire, class, and race. Women travel writers blazed the trail for the New Woman of the end of the century. Before cycling and cigarette smoking were allowed, daring women such as Isabella Bird Bishop and Mary Kingsley crisscrossed the globe in defiance of patriarchal tradition …

Modifiable Factors For Disability: Is There Potential For Reducing Racial Disparities In Disability In Older Age?, Mihaela A. Popa

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

White-Black disparities in disability in the older population are consistently reported in the literature, and are usually ascribed to differences in socio-economic, health, and cognitive status. However, the role of modifiable influences on disability, such as health and lifestyle behaviors or health care utilization on these differences is less clear. This dissertation examines: (1) longitudinal White-Black differences in disability and the potential contributions of distinct health behaviors to these differences; (2) White-Black differences in the effects of health care utilization on trajectories of disability; and (3) whether cognition mediates the effects of health behaviors on disability in Whites and in …

Real Challenges, Virtual Challengers: The Democracy For America Movement, Noah Porter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The project examines the effects of Internet use by the social movement organization (SMO) Dean for America/Democracy for America (DFA). This study describes the relationship between Internet usage and SMO beliefs, organization, causes, reasons for joining, strategies, reactions, and effects. Dean for America started out with few resources or supporters, and was seen as an unlikely contender for the 2004 presidential campaign. From its humble beginnings, it skyrocketed from being virtually unknown to frontrunner status in the span of a year. After Howard Dean withdrew from the race in February 2004, Dean for America transformed itself into Democracy for America, …

An Experimental Analysis Of Activist Message Strategy Effect On Receiver Variables, Andrea Schuch

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing communication and activist organization perspectives, this empirical study examined activist message strategies and how they influence variables related to the receiver of activist communication. Specifically, J.E. Grunig's (1997) situational theory of publics and Fishbein and Ajzen's (1975) theory of reasoned action were used to explain the communication effects of the seven activist message strategies developed from Hazleton and Long's (1988) public relations process model. The findings of this study support the premise of situational theory of publics and contribute to the extension of the theory through the inclusion of goal compatibility as a predictor of information seeking behavior and …

Life As A Student At An Independent Day School, Diana R. Torres

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the interconnectedness of social class, education, and cultural capital. Considered academically elite, the independent school is be an ideal environment to find increased instances and opportunities for the acquisition and reproduction of elite, or "dominant" cultural capital. By implementing an ethnographic approach within an independent school setting, this study attempts to illuminate the student experience through adolescents' eyes. Past cultural capital studies focus on the relationship between cultural capital and academic achievement and/or social reproduction; instead, this study focuses on the everyday student experiences as they point to potential indicators of cultural capital. Results suggest that students' …

Technology And Older Faculty: A Descriptive Study Of Older Florida Community College Faculty, Christopher D. Van Der Kaay

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Institutions of higher learning across the United States are experiencing an aging faculty population. A significant proportion of college and university faculty are over 55, a growth expected to continue in future years. Parallel to this growth and change has been an expanding use of technology in higher education. Despite this trend and potential implications, few studies have provided in-depth insight into older faculty and technology. The study used a quantitative descriptive design to provide a comprehensive look at older community college faculty and various aspects of technology. Areas examined included older faculty's perceptions of technology, their attitudes toward institutional …

Caregivers’ Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of The Helping Our Toddlers, Developing Our Children’S Skills Parent Training Program: A Pilot Study, Jillian Leigh Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to evaluate a parent training curriculum: Helping Our Toddlers Developing Our Children's Skills (HOT DOCS© ) using archival data collected between August 2006 and April 2007. The evaluation studied the impact of specific components of the parent training program on both participants' knowledge and attitudes and their perceptions of targeted children's behavior. One-hundred-forty-six caregivers of children between the ages of 14 months and ten years of age participated in the parent training program and were included in the analyses. Measures included a pre/post knowledge test, rating scales of child problem behavior, weekly progress monitoring forms for …

Graduate Students/Mothers Negotiating Academia And Family Life: Discourses, Experiences, And Alternatives, Shirlan A. Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the experiences and perceptions of graduate students who are mothers. Based on discourse analysis, one-on-one interviews, and focus groups, this study argues that institutional discourses and practices place graduate students who are mothers in untenable and irreconcilable positions between "mom" and "student," between "family" and "the academy," between "self" and "success." These irreconcilable differences are created in discourse, enacted in institutional policies, and lived by the participants. The study offers action-based alternatives to the status quo policies of the university based on the self-described needs of these women. It reveals that support from all fronts--the home, the …

Honor – A Double Edged Sword: An Examination Of The South’S “Culture Of Honor” Wounding Of Two Races, Vernetta K. Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work expands the understanding of the "culture of honor" that social psychologists maintain exists in the American South. Social psychologists attribute the higher incidence of violent crimes, especially murder committed by white men in the South as compared to Northern white men, to this "culture of honor." While social psychologists have restricted their work to white men, this work explores how this distinct culture has impacted the Southern black community while uncovering deeper ways in which the culture has affected the Southern white community. Using historically-based literature and film by African Americans, the work provides a more comprehensive look …

Commencement Convocation Program, St. Petersburg Campus, December 17, 2006, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg

USF St. Petersburg Graduations and Commencements

Regional Chancellor's Award for Civic Leadership: Frances L. Stavros

Commencement Convocation Program, St. Petersburg Campus, December 17, 2006, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

Regional Chancellor's Award for Civic Leadership - Frances L. Stavros