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Deployment, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder And Hypertensive Disorders Of Pregnancy Among U.S. Active-Duty Military Women, Michelle C. Nash

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Introduction. Today women comprise 15% of the U.S. active-duty military, but are often overlooked in research of the Armed Forces. While some of the challenges faced by women are similar to men, they encounter unique stressors related to childcare while deployed, sexual harassment and assault, and gynecological needs. Women are also more likely than men to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Both stress and PTSD have been linked to the development of chronic hypertension and some adverse birth outcomes. We hypothesized that post-9/11/2001 era military women who deployed or who had indicators of PTSD would be at greater risk of …

To Tell The Truth: The Credibility Of Cable News Networks In An Era Of Increasingly Partisan Political News Coverage, Christopher Jadick

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The credibility of the American news media is increasingly under fire. Despite an exponential expansion of information available in the digital media era, increased political news coverage and commentary has brought growing apprehension over how much of today’s news can be trusted and believed. 24-hour cable news channels are among the media most often subject to this criticism. At the same time, the media operates under First Amendment freedom of press protection, a constitutional guarantee granted with the understanding that democracy can only succeed when its citizens are well informed. In the great experiment of our republic, a freely functioning …

Predictors Of Behavior Problems In The Context Of Peer Play Interactions: A Sample Of Low-Income Latino Preschoolers, Olivia Hernandez Gonzalez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Latinos are the fastest-growing minority group in the United States and have higher dropout rates compared to other groups. Moreover, problem behaviors are common in preschool classrooms, and the incidence of these problems is higher for children from low-income families. The purpose of this study was to understand Latino children's problem behaviors in the context of peer play interactions and identify those variables that influence such behavior. 265 five and six-year-old Spanish-speaking children (53.6% female) attending Head Start or kindergarten participated in the study. Additionally, 198 mothers and 78 pre-kindergarten and kindergarten lead teachers participated in the study. Child level …

Real-Time Classification Of Biomedical Signals, Parkinson’S Analytical Model, Abolfazl Saghafi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The reach of technological innovation continues to grow, changing all industries as it evolves. In healthcare, technology is increasingly playing a role in almost all processes, from patient registration to data monitoring, from lab tests to self-care tools. The increase in the amount and diversity of generated clinical data requires development of new technologies and procedures capable of integrating and analyzing the BIG generated information as well as providing support in their interpretation.

To that extent, this dissertation focuses on the analysis and processing of biomedical signals, specifically brain and heart signals, using advanced machine learning techniques. That is, the …

An Anthropological Study Of Security Operations Centers To Improve Operational Efficiency, Sathya Chandran Sundaramurthy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Security Operation Centers (SOCs) have become an integral component of business organizations all over the world. The concept of a SOC has existed for a few years now yet there is no systematic study documenting the occurrences of their operations. A lack of documented operational knowledge makes it a challenge for security researchers interested in improving operational efficiency through algorithms, tools, and processes.

SOC environments operate under a secrecy culture as a result of which researchers are not trusted by analysts and their managers. This lack of trust leads to only superficial information through methods such as interviews. Moreover, security …

Essays On Sales Coaching, Carlin A. Nguyen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In general, scholars and practitioners agree that sales coaching enhances sales performance. Sales firms continue to invest billions of dollars towards coaching endeavors. However, despite the positive benefits of sales coaching, the fact is that most sales coaches are ineffective. In three essays, this dissertation aims to offer insight that will help companies and coaching programs improve the effectiveness of their sales coaches.

The first essay explores the sales coaching process and how it is affected by factors related to the sales manager (coach) and the salesperson (coachee). Using in-depth interviews, we identified various skills, behaviors, and abilities that reflect …

Experimental Analysis On The Feasibility Of Voice Based Symmetric Key Generation For Embedded Devices, Surya Bharat Kamineni

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, we present results of an experimental study in order to generate a secure cryptographic key from the user’s voice which is to be shared between two mobile devices. We identified two security threats related to this problem, discussed the challenges to design the key generation/sharing mechanism, and proposed a new protocol based on bloom filters that overcomes the two main attacks by the intruder. One is when the attacker places its device in the close vicinity of the location where the user attempts to generate/share the key in order to derive the key from eavesdropping on communication …

Chinese National Identity And Media Framing, Yufeng Tian

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the relationship between Chinese national identity and media framing and priming effect by combining the two paradigms, the literature of group identity and the discourses of media cognitive effect. Extending social identity theory (Tajfel, 1981), self-categorization theory (Turner, et al., 1987) and subjective group dynamics theory (Marques, Paez, & Abrams, 1998), the current study drew the distinction between descriptive (cognitive/perceptual) and prescriptive (affective/subjective) fit of the social norms that contributed to social identity. After deliberating the macro concept (the ascribed vs. acquired) of a national identity (Westle, 2014), as well as the social, political, economic and cultural …

Mixed Method Study Of Condom Use Among Emerging Adults With New Sex Partners Met Online Or Offline, Shana M. Green

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Emerging adults (young people age 18 to 29) are increasingly using the Internet to seek sex partners, with over 30% having tried an online or mobile dating site. As more emerging adults use dating and sex-seeking websites (DSP) for their love and sexual pursuits, it is imperative to understand how DSPs contribute to HIV/STI risk.

Objectives: The objectives of this research were accomplished by pursuing the following specific aims: Aim 1. To systematically review and quantitatively synthesize evidence from published findings to determine the association between condom use and meeting venue (online and offline). Aim 2. To determine whether …

Functional Roles Of Matrix Metalloproteinases In Bone Metastatic Prostate Cancer, Jeremy S. Frieling

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Skeletal metastasis is a lethal component of many advanced cancers including prostate, the second most common cancer among men. Patients whose prostate cancer is localized and detected early benefit from multiple treatment options ranging from active surveillance to radiation and surgery, resulting in a 5-year survival rate of nearly 100%. Unfortunately, the prognosis and survival for patients with advanced metastatic disease is much worse due to the highly aggressive nature of the disease and a paucity of treatment options. Understanding the mechanisms and interactions that occur between metastatic cancer cells and the bone will enable the future treatment landscape for …

Exploring The Artistic Identity/Identities Of Art Majors Engaged In Artistic Undergraduate Research, Lisa M. Piazza

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In western societies, the persona of the artist has largely been associated with prevailing myths of the creative individual including the artist as genius and outsider. In my inquiry I endeavored to understand what it means to be an artist from the perspective of budding “creatives”. In this study I explored the process of becoming an artist that is how college students construct and navigate an artistic self (selves), and the factors that influenced this process. My purpose in this multiple text narrative inquiry was to discover how undergraduate art majors construct and navigate their artistic identity/identities, particularly while engaged …

Longitudinal Awareness: A Study Of Vulnerability To Flooding In Polk County, Iowa, Kerri A. Dickey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Flooding has become a problem of national proportion and many scholars have started to take note of the human impacts in this area. This study will focus on the social vulnerability framework in tandem with the environmental justice theoretical frameworks being applied to Polk County Iowa so that information can be added to the body of works within a Midwestern U.S. context. This research will contribute to the current geographical knowledge in natural hazards, environmental justice, and vulnerability to flood hazards. Taking into consideration the scarcity of county or sub-county studies in the Midwest U.S. measuring spatial tendencies in hazards …

A Qualitative Study Examining The Learning Orientations Of Adult Doctoral Students In A College Of Education Using Houle’S Typology As A Framework, Kristeen Tiffanee Bulluck

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Houle conducted one of the first studies about adult learner participation. In 1961, Houle wrote The Inquiring Mind, which describes three distinct learning types: goal-oriented, activity-oriented, and learning-oriented learning. For more than fifty years, The Inquiring Mind has been read, referenced, and reviewed. Several scholars during the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s have added dimensions to Houle’s typology including: Sheffield (1964); Burgess (1971); Boshier (1971); Houle (1983); Gordon (1993); and Brockett and Donaghy (2011). What is missing in the current research is that no one has synthesized all of the literature and directly asked learners of today if the …

Terf Wars: Narrative Productions Of Gender And Essentialism In Radical-Feminist (Cyber)Spaces, Jennifer Earles

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation concerns how activists preserve particular feminisms in everyday life, particularly in this postmodern moment as advances in technology create virtual spaces, as feminism experiences generational shifts, and as notions about gender and bodies influence the discursive and political construction of contemporary activism and communities. The particular feminists at the center of this study are self-described radical feminists. While original theories allowed members to question the essentialism of bodies (i.e., sex class), this study focuses on the movement trajectory in which members critique how people assigned male at birth learn masculinity as inextricably tied to the oppression of women …

Evolution, Ecology, And Disparities: Constructing Stature, Immune Functioning, And Reproduction In Brazilian Quilombo, And United States, Women, Anna C. Rivara

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to test how growth, reproduction, and immune functioning interact in two populations of adult women residing in vastly different socio-economic and ecological environments, the Kalunga quilombo in Brazil, and the United States of America. The presence of life history trade-offs was tested to determine how the different envirnonments, and socio-ecological contexts of the populations were creating differential risks for health and reproductive outcomes, and life history trade-offs.

I hypothesized that the Kalunga people, living in very difficult and harsh conditions, would experience greater amounts of, and more severe, life history trade-offs than the U.S. …

Faculty Perceptions Of The Quality Enhancement Plan In A Us Public Doctoral University With Highest Research Activity: A Case Study, Maha Alamoud

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this case study was to explore faculty members’ perceptions of the QEP in a public doctoral university with highest research activity. Particularly, the study explored how faculty members perceive the role of the QEP in student learning and institutional effectiveness, the relevance of the QEP activities in student learning and institutional effectiveness, and how faculty members’ involvement with the accreditation process associated with their perceptions of the QEP. The study design was a qualitative single case study and data were collected from the Quality Enhancement Plan Questionnaire (QEPQ), face-to-face interviews, and documents. Findings revealed that faculty members …

Investing In Change: Illuminating Interactive Systems In Hiv Research, Communication Diffusion, And Financing In Lesotho, Sharon Elizabeth Watson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the field of HIV, more than 30 years into the epidemic, the need to ensure that what researchers learn makes its way into tangible actions in the real world is especially poignant. This dissertation addresses the critical divide between research production and its translation into practice. It advances ways to measure the investments of citizens and stakeholders in qualitative studies and offers new perspectives on the losses inadvertently caused by particular investments in health research and services. Unfortunately, many of the problems in how we practice and disseminate research are rampant throughout the health and development research sector. Therefore, …

Complex Electric-Field Induced Phenomena In Ferroelectric/Antiferroelectric Nanowires, Ryan Christopher Herchig

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Perovskite ferroelectrics and antiferroelectrics have attracted a lot of attention owing to their potential for device applications including THz sensors, solid state cooling, ultra high density computer memory, and electromechanical actuators to name a few. The discovery of ferroelectricity at the nanoscale provides not only new and exciting possibilities for device miniaturization, but also a way to study the fundamental physics of nanoscale phenomena in these materials. Ferroelectric nanowires show a rich variety of physical characteristics which are advantageous to the design of nanoscale ferroelectric devices such as exotic dipole patterns, a strong dependence of the polarization and phonon frequencies …

Cartesian Method And Experiment, Aaron Spink

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The conception of René Descartes as the arch-rationalist has been sufficiently exploded in recent literature; however, there is still a large lacuna in our understanding of how empirical research and experimentation fits within his philosophy. My dissertation is directed at addressing just this problem. I contend that Descartes’ famed method is not a singular monolith but instead two interdependent methods: one directed at metaphysical and epistemological truth, while the other directed at empirical questions and contingent facts of the world. I claim there is evidence for this position not only in his actual scientific practice, but also in the rhetorical …

Heteroglossic Chinese Online Literacy Practices On Micro-Blogging And Video-Sharing Sites, Yi Zhang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates Chinese online users’ adoptions of various languages and other meaning making signs in their online literacy practices in two popular Chinese CMC sites, Weibo (micro-blogging) and bilibili.com (video-sharing). Adopting the theoretical framework of heteroglossia (Bakhtin, 1981), I explore how various meaning making resources are creatively and playfully utilized by Chinese users in their online communication. After two-month data collection, I sampled the non-standard literacy practices (e.g., foreign language transliteration) identified from micro-blogging postings and comments in Weibo, as well as spontaneous (known as “bullet curtain” comments) and traditional text-box comments from featured videos in bilibili.com. The findings …

Perceptual Learning Style Modalities: Comparing Latino, Black, And Caucasian Adults, Nicolle Chantelle Hardy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the individual learning modalities of Latino, Black, and Caucasian males and females with at least some college education utilizing the Multi-modal Paired Associates Learning Test IV (MMPALT IV). Using the MMPALT IV, 20 participants from each of the three race/ethnicities above the age of 40 were measured in each of the seven perceptual modalities: Visual, Print, Aural, Interactive, Haptic, Kinesthetic, and Olfactory. The MMPALT IV is a performance-based test, which measures a person’s capacity to acquire information through each of the seven learning channels.

ANOVA tests (2 x 3) with a …

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 …

Physical, Verbal, Relational And Cyber-Bullying And Victimization: Examining The Social And Emotional Adjustment Of Participants, Melanie Mcvean

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cyber-bullying has been gaining in popularity as online technology use has greatly expanded in the past decade. There has been quite a bit of research on traditional forms of bullying, which has demonstrated links to various demographic and psychosocial factors. Participation in cyber-bullying and victimization has been linked to some characteristics that are different from other types of bullying. There has been some discussion in the literature regarding whether cyber-bullying is significantly different from other forms of bullying. The literature has also noted the need for more studies utilizing peer-report data. This study utilized peer-report bullying data to examine self-reported …

Receptor-Associated Protein (Rap) Models In Vivo Reelin Haploinsufficiency: Implications In Schizophrenia, Jamileh Ahmed

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The “two-hit” schizophrenia hypothesis suggests genetic and environmental abnormalities interrupt early CNS function. This increases vulnerability of a “second hit” and schizophrenia onset. Chronic stress and decreased Reelin signaling are reportedly associated with schizophrenia. Heterozygous Reeler Mice (HRM) show a 50% reduction in Reelin and display major schizophrenia phenotypes. Receptor-Associated Protein (RAP) blocks ligand-association to Reelin receptor Apolipoprotein E receptor 2 (ApoER2). In this study, we sought to replicate major heterozygous reeler mouse (HRM) phenotypes using in vivo RAP studies to establish an experimental in vitro model. Using an in vitro model, we investigated the effects of chronic stress and …

Traveling Women And Consuming Place In Eighteenth-Century Travel Letters And Journals, Cassie Patricia Childs

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Traveling Women and Consuming Place in Eighteenth-Century Travel Letters and Journals considers how various women-authored travel narratives of the long eighteenth century employ food in the construction of place and identity. Chronologically charting the letters and journals of Delarivier Manley, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Janet Schaw, and Frances Burney, I argue that the “critical food moments” described in their letters and journals demonstrate material, cultural, and social implications about consumption. My interdisciplinary project is located at the intersection of three seemingly divergent topics: food studies, human geography, and women-authored travel narratives. Approaching “place” as a way of being-in-the-world, my project …

The Relationship Between Trait Emotional Intelligence And L2 Motivation, Jelena Vuksanovic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Motivation is considered an important factor in initiating and sustaining the second language (L2) process. Since learning an L2 can be seen as a lengthy process, one that needs sustained motivation over a long period of time, learners need to be able to successfully deal with their and others’ emotions in order to generate and sustain their motivation for learning. The role of learners’ emotions and trait emotional self-efficacy, or trait emotional intelligence (EI), in L2 motivation and language learning has been a relatively unexplored area. To fill this gap, the current study posed three research questions that addressed the …

Resilience Of Cloud Networking Services For Large Scale Outages, Mahsa Pourvali

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cloud infrastructure services are enabling organizations and enterprises to outsource a wide range of computing, storage, and networking needs to external service providers. These offerings make extensive use of underlying network virtualization, i.e., virtual network (VN) embedding, techniques to provision and interconnect customized storage/computing resource pools across large network substrates. However, as cloud-based services continue to gain traction, there is a growing need to address a range of resiliency concerns, particularly with regards to large-scale outages. These conditions can be triggered by events such as natural disasters, malicious man-made attacks, and even cascading power failures.

Overall, a wide range of …

Decision Support Models For A Few Critical Problems In Transportation System Design And Operations, Ran Zhang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Transportation system is one of the key functioning components of the modern society and plays an important role in the circulation of commodity and growth of economy. Transportation system is not only the major influencing factor of the efficiency of large-scale complex industrial logistics, but also closely related to everyone’s daily life. The goals of an ideal transportation system are focused on improving mobility, accessibility, safety, enhancing the coordination of different transportation modals and reducing the impact on the environment, all these activities require sophisticated design and plan that consider different factors, balance tradeoffs and maintaining efficiency. Hence, the design …

An Exploratory Case Study Of Hospitality Students’ Perceptions Of Experiential Learning, Joe Askren

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore how students described the curriculum in the Introduction to Food Production class and how they perceived the curriculum prepared them for their future in the hospitality industry. The exploratory questions that guided the study were how do students describe the experiential learning curriculum in the Introduction to Food Production course, what ways do students perceive the curriculum in the Introduction to Food Production course prepares them for their future in hospitality industry, and what changes in the curriculum do students think might improve the Introduction to Food Production course and why? 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, …