Digital Commons Network^™

Using Functional Communication Training For Students With Disabilities, Carey J. Walls Iv

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When implementing functional communication training (FCT), a gradual reduction in the frequency of reinforcement becomes necessary to minimize the resurgence of problem behavior and systematically fade out the FCT intervention. This study evaluated the implementation of FCT combined with a delay-to-reinforcement procedure for children with disabilities who engage in problem behavior due to limited communication skills. The study participants were three elementary school students, ages 9 or 10 years old and their respective paraprofessionals and classroom teachers in two self-contained classrooms at two public schools. The intervention outcomes for functional communication response (FCR) and problem behavior were evaluated using a …

Teaching Caregivers To Implement The Picture Exchange Communication System: An Evaluation Of Video Modeling, Carlie Lawson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Individuals diagnosed with developmental disabilities may not develop functional vocal repertoires. For these individuals, the use of an alternative augmentative communication (AAC) system may be required. Training caregivers to use an AAC system with their children can increase communication in the home. The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is type of AAC commonly used with individuals that have little to no vocal speech. Video modeling is a training procedure that has been shown to be effective when training individuals to implement behavioral analytic procedures. To date, there is no published research on the use of video modeling to train caregivers …

Using Instructive Feedback To Expand Second Language Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Barbara D. Rodriguez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are millions of people who speak multiple languages (U.S. Census Bureau, 2019), yet there is a common misconception that teaching a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) more than one language will cause delays in language acquisition (Trelles & Castro, 2019). This misconception has led to fear amongst bilingual caregivers, resulting in many choosing to not speak to their child in their heritage language, which in turn can cause communication barriers between them and their child. It is imperative that a child from a bilingual home can communicate (e.g., respond to instructions) in both languages. However, because many children …

Comparing The Genomes Of Multidrug And Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus Faecium From A Florida Wastewater Treatment Plant, Eleanor Brodrick

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) are a serious health threat, causing 50,000 infections and 5,000 deaths each year in the United States (CDC, 2019). Multidrug-resistant VRE are becoming more prevalent, and treatment options for infections caused by these organisms are limited (Arias et al., 2010; CDC, 2019). Multidrug resistant VRE have been previously isolated from wastewater in Brazil, Canada, and Portugal (Araújo et al., 2010; de_Farias et al., 2022; Sanderson et al., 2019). Thirteen vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium isolated from three stages of a Florida wastewater treatment plant were fully resistant to the following antibiotics: vancomycin, ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, tetracycline, and nitrofurantoin, and …

Immunogenicity Of A Plasmodium Vivax Circumsporozoite Protein Vaccine, Eric Cruz Murphy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Malaria is a disease of global public health importance. Improving treatment methods focus on novel antimalarial drugs to combat parasite resistance and the development of vaccines with effective adjuvants. The current vaccine RTS,S/AS01 is moderately effective only against Plasmodium falciparum. There is no vaccine for Plasmodium vivax to date. The development and implementation of a vaccine against P. vivax would inhibit sporozoite infection of hepatocytes, block development into the blood stage and confer future immune protection. The circumsporozoite protein (CSP) is the most abundant on the surface of sporozoites and protein variants VK210 and VK247 are leading vaccine candidates for …

The Power Of Class Consciousness: An Investigation Of Permeability Beliefs, Dehumanization, And Evaluations Of The Poor, Kirsten J. Lee

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Class consciousness, a theoretical construct from the Marxist tradition, promotes an understanding of class dynamics as a structural phenomenon. I hypothesized that class consciousness would moderate animalistic dehumanization of the poor. A total of 435 participants took an online survey containing self-report questionnaires. While a priori hypotheses related to animalistic dehumanization were not supported, exploratory analyses revealed that permeability beliefs—the degree to which an individual sees class boundaries as impermeable—moderate emotional tone when discussing the rich and the poor. Mirroring Marx’s theorizing, those with class consciousness spoke more positively of the poor and less favorably of the rich than their …

“She’S On Her Way Up”: A Case Study Of Mercy Otis Warren And The Gendered Politics Of Commemoration, Sara Ann White

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 2001, a statue of eighteenth-century Bill of Rights advocate Mercy Otis Warren was erected on the Barnstable County Superior Courthouse lawn in Barnstable, Massachusetts. The story of the statue’s eventual placement is a fascinating case study of how the gendered politics of commemoration can play out over time in local communities. The saga of Warren’s commemoration is inextricably bound up with the history of efforts to commemorate Warren’s brother, James Otis Jr., and eventual arguments that Warren’s work deserved recognition in its own right. We first see gendered politics at play as Warren’s real accomplishments were consistently overshadowed by …

From Guns To Intimate Partner Violence: The Impact Of Power And Control, Meaghan E. Brown

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gun violence and intimate partner violence are pervasive public health concerns across the globe. Notably, previous literature has shown a positive relationship between gun ownership and intimate partner violence (IPV), even when a gun is not used during acts of IPV. Despite this established link, few studies to date have explored psychological mechanisms, especially feelings of and desire for power, that could explain this relationship among young men. Given that college students remain one of the most at-risk groups for both victimization and perpetration of IPV, examining the relationship between actual or intended gun ownership and IPV could close vital …

Cornus Officinalis Extract Activates The Keap1/Nrf2 Pathway And Delays T1d Onset In The Nod Mouse, Justin D. Fletcher

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disorder that results in the destruction of the insulin producing pancreatic β cells. The only therapeutic option following T1D clinical onset is exogenous insulin supplementation. At present, there is no cure for T1D and attempted interventional therapy has been focused on modulating the immune system. Few attempts have been pursued at preserving β cell function and survival. Here we provide a novel approach using extract from the fruit of the Cornus officinalis (CO) tree to preserve β cell function through the prevention of β cell stress. CO has been used in traditional Chinese …

Improving Academic Engagement And Task Completion Using Antecedent Physical Exercise In An Elementary School Classroom, Grace N. Maxwell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effectiveness of antecedent physical activity interventions in enhancing academic engagement and task completion among first-grade students displaying off-task behaviors. The research involved three student participants from a first grade general education classroom. An ABAB reversal design was used to assess the impact of the intervention. The intervention, implemented by the classroom teacher, consisted of short, structured physical activities conducted before targeted academic periods. Results revealed significant improvements in both academic engagement and task completion following the implementation of the physical activity interventions. The findings suggest that incorporating brief physical activities into daily classroom routines can lead …

Investigation Of Self-Assembly Of Hen Egg White Lysozyme Fibrils, Nabila Bushra

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Amyloid proteins are a large group of proteins that tend to aggregate and form insoluble fibrils with a characteristic cross-β sheet structure. Intriguingly, this process of “amyloid formation” has been simultaneously linked to devastating human diseases called amyloidoses, ranging from Alzheimer’s Disease, cardiac amyloidoses to type II diabetes, as well as functional biological responses such as hormone storage and sperm quality control. Amyloid fibrils have also attracted significant attention for their unique mechanical, chemical, and optical characteristics, establishing them as promising tough biomaterials. The urgent need to find treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, and the demand for safe and renewable biomaterials …

The Dialectics Of Faith: Kierkegaard, Irony, And Conversion, Douglas Zimmerman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Kierkegaard, the 19th-century Danish philosopher, offers a profound perspective on conversion. According to him, conversion isn't a mere external change, but a deeply personal and internal transformation. It's about moving from a state of despair to faith. Kierkegaard believed that true conversion involves a passionate leap of faith, where an individual confronts their own subjectivity and makes a conscious, often paradoxical, choice to align themselves with their authentic values and spiritual beliefs. In his view, conversion is a constant process, requiring introspection, struggle, and a commitment to live authentically in the face of life's uncertainties. In order to communicate this …

The Effects Of Scenic Pictures And Progressive Time Delay On Intraverbal Responding, Breanna White

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of tact prompts to establish single responses to questions about intraverbal categories. Scenic pictures, a visual depiction of multiple exemplars belonging to a stimulus class, may increase the likelihood that individuals will emit multiple responses when answering categorical questions, and promote response variability. The purpose of this study was to extend Glodowski and Rodriguez (2019) by evaluating the effectiveness of a larger array of visual stimuli and progressive time delay on varied intraverbal responding with individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder between the ages of 8 and 17 within a private school for individuals with …

Sars-Cov-2 Neurotropism: Understanding Effects At The Blood-Brain Barrier And Hematogenous Neuroinvasiveness, Taylor E. Martinez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for COVID-19, has provisional counts of over 110 million documented cases and 1.218 million deaths (as of February 2024) in the United States since January 2020. SARS-CoV-2 is an airborne respiratory virus that primarily infects the lungs via the ACE2 receptor but has well-documented secondary target organs including the kidneys, the gastrointestinal tract, the heart, and the skin. SARS-CoV-2 also infects the brain, but the hematogenous route of viral entry to brain is still not fully characterized. Understanding how SARS-CoV-2 traverses the blood-brain barrier (BBB) as well as how it …

Abundance, Distribution, And Diversity Of The Paralarval Cephalopod Community In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Shannon Leah Riley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The abundance, distribution, and diversity of cephalopod paralarvae from the upper water column (0-130 meters) in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) was studied using samples collected during six ichthyoplankton surveys between 2009 and 2012. A total of 2240 cephalopod paralarvae belonging to 21 families were examined. Octopodidae, Enoploteuthidae, and Ommastrephidae were the most abundant taxa collected in the time series. Five taxa had significantly different abundances between some sampling periods, while no significant differences in abundance occurred between any GOM regions (northwest GOM shelf, north-central GOM shelf, West Florida Shelf, GOM slope, and GOM basin). The majority of taxa …

Spectral Properties Of Wetlands In Michigan Using Remote Sensing To Identify And Classify Wetlands In Roscommon County, Michigan, Kolin Williamson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Biological, geological, and physical. These are only a handful of the many environmental aspects that wetlands functions maintain and protect. Unfortunately, wetlands within the United States have been razed at an alarming rate. The State of Michigan has not gone through this unscathed either, loosing over 1000 acres of wetland a year. One of the most important tools to prevent this destruction are the maps and programs that show where these essential ecosystems are located. The current, federally-created maps and imaging software in use by environmental consultants and contractors may not be up to date which can pose challenges for …

Development Of Novel Analytical Methods For The Investigation Of Mammalian Tissues And Cells, Grace A. Binder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation endeavors to advance the frontiers of analytical chemistry by addressing critical challenges across three distinct chapters. In the first chapter, the focus is on the evaluation of digestion methods for the analysis of trace metals in mammalian tissues and the Standard Reference Material NIST 1577c. The primary goal is to optimize methodologies, laying the groundwork for reliable trace metal analysis and furthering our understanding of their roles in biological systems.

Transitioning into the realm of immunomodulation, the second chapter elucidates immune response, disease and treatment through the optimization and discovery of STING modulators, utilizing the luciferase assay for …

A Republic Of Pawprints: The Rise And Reign Of The Alaskan Sled Dog, 1870-1970, Christopher David Adkins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation charts the career of the Alaskan sled dog: how it was used as an engine of development, how it became a symbol for early American Alaska, and how it fell victim to obsolescence as newer and faster means of conveyance became available. The figure of the sled dog in the Arctic is complex. Because it was closer to the wolf in phenotype both it, and Alaska, were buffeted by the same White settler expectations and Darwinian chauvinism which afflicted its Indigenous peoples. This would intensify during the baptisms by fire of the gold rushes. Dog abuse – overwork, …

Local Ecological Knowledge, Education, And Bilingualism: Ethnography Of A Stem Program For Elementary Students In Southwestern Florida, Barbara D. Herrera

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In response to the limited inclusion of cultural relevant pedagogy in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) centered educational programs, this study illustrates dynamics that encourage inclusivity and provide a space for minority students to develop self-efficacy while also exposing them to formal modes of STEM knowledge. Elementary level English/Spanish speaking children were taught local ecological knowledge (LEK) during a STEM summer program in a city in Southwestern Florida. The use of participant observation, group interviews with the students, and interviews with the educators allowed for an in-depth analysis of the program and the established goals. This study provides insight …

Beach Processes Controlling Erosional Hotspots And Their Influences On Beach Nourishment Performances: A Case Study Along West-Central Florida Barrier Island Beaches, Sophia Gutierrez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the long-term performance of repeated beach nourishment over an approximately 35-year period at two barrier islands, Sand Key and Treasure Island along the west-central Florida coast, USA. Five cycles of beach nourishment on Sand Key and six on Treasure Island were conducted during the study period. Three erosional hotspots were identified along a combined 14-km stretch of the nourished beach. The processes that cause the erosional hotspot were examined through numerical modeling of nearshore wave and current fields.

The most recent three nourishments since 2006 were monitored systematically by this study. Beach profiles were surveyed bimonthly to …

Advancing Text Summarization And Classification: Deep Insights From Transformer-Based Statistical Learning, Kun Bu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a part of human's daily life nowadays. Machine Learning (ML) as one aspect from AI has been rapidly developing during the past two decades, especially from the statistical learning approaches, which emphasized the use of probability and statistics to model data, such as Support Vector Machines (SVMs) for classification and regression tasks to the ensemble learning techniques, such as Random Forest, Gradient Boosting Machine (GBM), and stacking. Ensemble learning has evolved into a pivotal concept in contemporary machine learning, empowering practitioners to amalgamate multiple models to enhance generalization, accuracy, and robustness. As the field of machine …

It's Real, It Just Hasn't Happened Yet: A Three-Article Dissertation On Emerging Technologies In Higher Education, Jeanette Abrahamsen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this three-article dissertation is to better understand the role emerging technologies are playing in learning. This dissertation explores tools on a spectrum of reality from fully immersive virtual reality (VR), semi-immersive VR, non-immersive VR, augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and extended reality (XR). Three studies focus on emerging technologies from the student, educator, researcher perspectives to develop a holistic picture of emerging technologies in higher education. I explore factors that impact new technology adoption, which includes advantages and disadvantages to deploying different digital tools. This dissertation begins with a systematic literature review of 20 research studies …

Thermal Ecology And Swimming Performance Of Native Tadpoles Dryophytes Femoralis In Central Florida, Jessalyn Aretz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Urbanization and climate warming have contributed to global amphibian declines in recent decades. Amphibians are particularly vulnerable to climate and urban-induced warming because their physiological processes are dependent on temperature across all life stages, but few studies have been done on tadpole responses to warming in comparison to adult responses. The study objective was to determine how the thermal ecology and swimming performance of a native Florida tadpole varied with rearing temperature and urban level, and whether these traits are plastic or adaptive. We collected eggs from wild populations of pine woods treefrog (Dryophytes femoralis) tadpoles at an urban and …

Hidden Monstrosities: The Transformation Of Medieval Characters And Conventions In Shakespeare's Romances, Lynette Kristine Kuliyeva

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When Shakespeare’s First Folio was published in 1623, it was entitled Mr. William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies, the title designating the three genres under which his plays would be categorized for the next 250 years. Later, Irish critic Edward Dowden took it upon himself to restructure the Shakespearean canon by adding plays that were not previously published in the First Folio, reclassifying the genres of several of the plays, and establishing a new genre to accompany the previous three: romance. Within this fourth generic category of romance, Dowden situated four of the Shakespearean plays: Pericles, Prince of Tyre; Cymbeline; …

An Ecofeminist Ontological Turn: Preparing The Field For A New Ecofeminist Project, M. Laurel-Leigh Meierdiercks

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ecofeminists have predominantly refuted oppressive conceptual frameworks by rejecting dualistic logic and value hierarchies, despite the foundational view of ontology that underlies our logic and value systems. I argue that ecofeminists must engage in the creative process of articulating an ecofeminist ontology. I demonstrate that the omission of ontological discourse in ecofeminist scholarships is primarily due to the time period during which ecofeminism gained peak traction and their concerns with essentialism. I also show that feminists experienced an ontological turn in the 2000s that produced a new model for ontological theories that would be beneficial for ecofeminists to embrace. In …

Introductory Geology Laboratory Students' Learnings From And Perceptions Of Physical And Virtual Polarizing Light Microscopes – An Exploratory Mixed Methods Study, Christy M. Bebeau

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Undergraduate geoscience laboratory courses provide hands-on learning about earth materials. However thin section analysis is not typically included in introductory geology laboratories, likely due to the polarizing light microscope (PLM) costs. Therefore, there is a lack of research about the educational outcomes of novices learning these skills.

In this inquiry, I conducted mixed methods research about novice students' learning of thin section analysis in an introductory geology laboratory and evaluated learning and perception differences between students who used a virtual PLM and those who used a physical PLM. I collected data from Creative Exercise (CE) assessments in student midterm and …

Integrated Process Modeling, Techno-Economic Analysis And Life Cycle Assessment For Enhanced Biogas-To-Energy Sustainability And Efficiency, Rarosue Jennifer Amaraibi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation aims to enhance the cost competitiveness and minimize the environmental footprint of technologies that convert biogas to energy, contributing to global climate change mitigation efforts. Biogas, a by-product of the anaerobic decomposition of organic waste from various sources, is a renewable energy source with the potential to reduce carbon emissions and meet local energy needs. However, widespread adoption requires the development of economically viable and environmentally friendly technologies.The central hypothesis of this dissertation suggests that by adopting a holistic strategy that combines cutting-edge techniques to purify biogas and improve its conversion into valuable liquid fuels, we can substantially …

Zeros And Ones: Digital Video Aesthetics And Geopolitical Economy In Blackhat, Everett Barnett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Film and media theory has been fundamentally altered by the advent of digital technology, both in terms of film production and broader aesthetic overtures but also in terms of greater digital mediation. Blackhat (Michael Mann, 2015), although not a commercial or critical success, articulates many of the exact circumstances and broader consequences of digital technology in relation to its digital video aesthetics but also its narratives content involving global telecommunication and data systems. As a wholly digital film, Blackhat is uniquely situated to speak not only developments in digital filmmaking but also, by way of its plot line involving stateless …

Human Motion-Inspired Inverse Kinematics Algorithm For A Robotics-Based Human Upper Body Model, Urvish Trivedi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research is to develop a human motion-inspired inverse kinematics algorithm framework specifically designed for a Robotics-Based Human Upper Body Model (RHUBM). This framework offers solutions to challenges in various fields. In humanoid robotics, the framework addresses the problem of unnatural robot movement by enabling the development of motion planning algorithms that incorporate human-like movements. For prosthetics, the framework tackles the challenge of amputee difficulty in learning and controlling prosthetics by providing a user-friendly interface that predicts and visualizes upper limb movements, enabling learning and practice. In rehabilitation therapy, the framework tackles …

Hurricane Impacts On Water Resources: A Look At Nature-Based Solutions To Improve Long-Term Resilience, Fautemeh Sajadi Bami

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Severe storms are a common occurrence in the state of Florida. Hurricane events may cause hazards such as flooding, property damage, death, and many others. Such far-reaching impacts may potentially result in dangerous consequences where they occur. Of interest to this study were the impacts on water resources and water quality caused by storms. Hurricanes can bring about a deluge. An apparent excess of water may cause the notion of water scarcity to seem less significant. However, problems with potable water can be quite frequent due to storms.

This research sought to address the impacts of severe storms on water …