Digital Commons Network^™

Ecological, Behavioral, And Curricular Interventions To Prevent Student Problem Behavior: An Approach To Implementing Effective Practices, Lindsey M. Merritt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While classroom management has been a highly researched topic in Applied Behavior Analysis, there are few empirically validated methods to effectively disseminate classroom techniques into school settings. There are three main classroom management areas that exist in the literature. These are: a) ecological factors, b) behavior principles, and c) curricular modifications. These three areas have been researched independently and in combination to find best classroom management practices. Although these areas are highly researched, dissemination of these materials into public and private classrooms has fallen far behind. However, researchers are finding specific variables that positively influence the success of programs in …

The Christian Zionist Lobby And U.S.-Israel Policy, Mark G. Grzegorzewski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research explores the role of the Christian Zionist Lobby in shaping U.S. policy towards Israel. It is posited that the Christian Zionist Lobby, due to their eschatological goals, diverge from the interests of the larger Israel Lobby described by Mearsheimer and Walt. To test this hypothesis an exploratory case study is implemented to explain why the U.S. shifted its policy from supporting the Road Map to backing Israeli unilateralism. As the results of this study show, the Christian Zionists did actively oppose the Road Map and may have influenced American policy making. However, it would be a mistake to …

School Psychologists Engagement In Parent Training/Education Activities With The Parents Of Children With Chronic Behavior Problems, Rebecca K. Sarlo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this research were to determine the rate at which school psychologists engage in parent training/education with the parents of children with chronic behavior problems and to determine the relationships between school psychologists’ demographic variables, professional practice, training, and perception of barriers and their engagement in such activities. These variables have been found to be related to types of service delivery practices and were hypothesized to also be related to the rate and type of engagement in parent training/education activities by school psychologists.

Five hundred school psychologists were randomly sampled from the membership of the National Association of …

Gadamer And Nāgārjuna In Play: Providing A New Anti-Objectivist Foundation For Gadamer’S Interpretive Pluralism With Nāgārjuna’S Help, Nicholas Byle

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hans-Georg Gadamer rejects objectivism, the position that an interpreter may come to a single correct truth concerning any particular object, in favor of interpretive pluralism. What is not clear is how Gadamer grounds this position. This ambiguity leaves Gadamer open to multiple objectivist counters, ones which he would not wish to allow. The following argument, using a comparative and analytic approach, takes two concepts, pratītyasamutpāda (interdependence) and śūnyatā (emptiness), as they are deployed by Nāgārjuna to provide Gadamer with this much needed anti-objectivist foundation. Specifically, the new foundation is anti-realist in which interpreters and objects of interpretation are metaphysically empty, …

Evaluating Social Work Students’ Attitudes Toward Physical Disability, Rachael A. Haskell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Given the social work profession's commitment to serving individuals with disabilities and cultural competence, the promotion of favorable attitudes toward persons with disabilities within social work education is critical. This study examined the question: "what are the attitudes of undergraduate social work students at three universities toward individuals with physical disabilities as measured by responses on the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons Scale Form B (ATDP-Form B; Yuker et al., 1960, 1966) and Interactions with Disabled Persons Scale (Gething, 1991)?" It explored the following hypotheses, that participants who: 1) have had prior positive contact with persons with physical disabilities; 2) have …

Experimental Translocation Of The Florida Sand Skink (Plestiodon [=Neoseps] Reynoldsi): Success Of A Restricted Species Across Diverse Microhabitats, Nicholas Paul Osman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The fossorial Florida Sand Skink (Plestiodon [=Neoseps] reynoldsi) inhabits a restricted range of scrub and sandhill fragments on the ridges of central Florida. The high rate of urban and agricultural development in this area necessitates conservation strategies other than land acquisition and management because of the limited remaining Florida Sand Skink habitat available. This study tests the viability of translocation as a conservation strategy for this species and assesses which features of a recipient site contribute to the successful establishment of a population. In 2007, 300 individuals were collected and moved from an intact scrub habitat, …

Hydric Life: A Nietzschean Reading Of Postcolonial Communication, Elena F. Ruiz-Aho

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the question of marginalization in cross-cultural communication from the perspectives of hermeneutic philosophy and postcolonial theory. Specifically, it focuses on European colonialism‘s effect on language and communicative practices in Latin America. I argue colonialism creates a deeply sedimented but unacknowledged background of inherited cultural prejudices against which social and political problems of oppression, violence and marginalization, especially towards women, emerge—but whose roots in colonial and imperial frameworks have lost transparency. This makes it especially difficult for postcolonial subjects to meaningfully express their own experiences of psychic dislocation and fragmentation because the discursive background used to communicate these …

A Pilot Study Of Small-Scale Spatial Variability In Aldehyde Concentrations In Hillsborough County, Florida, To Establish And Evaluate Passive Sampling And Analysis Methods, Amanda M. Evans

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Formaldehyde and acetaldehyde are listed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) as urban air toxics. Health effects due to significant exposure to these air toxics include increased incidence of nasopharyngeal cancer, myeloid leukemia, and exacerbation of asthma. Determining the spatial variation of air toxics, such as acetaldehyde and formaldehyde, is important for improving health risk assessment and evaluating the effectiveness of source control and reduction programs.

Here, a pilot study was designed and performed to investigate small-scale spatial variability in concentrations of aldehydes using passive samplers. A literature review was first completed to select and evaluate current …

International Society Cosmopolitan Politics And World Society, Kimberly Weaver

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

How does the international system move from an anarchic system driven by power to a global community driven by the needs/wants of the community at large? Jürgen Habermas utilizes the tenets of his Communicative Action Theory to underline the importance of communicatively based repertoire in the international system between and among states and non-state actors and the citizens themselves. How does arguing and reasoning among states and international institutions bring together legitimization and order? My research aims to analyze the movement of the international system from anarchy towards a global civil society. In doing so, I will examine Communicative Action …

Characterization Of The Structural And Magnetic Properties Of Gd Thin Films, Daryl V. Williams Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The standard material by which all materials exhibiting magnetocaloric effect are

measured is Gadnolinium. In this work we are attempting to understand how

nanostructuring can impact the magnetocaloric effect, to this end we have grown Gd in

various thin film structures. The samples made were grown via magnetron sputtering on

MgO(100) substrates. Samples of thick Gd (2000 A) were grown and sandwiched

between two layers of Cr or W and annealed at increasing temperatures to study how this

can perturb the magnetic and structural properties of the Gd. Another set of samples was

grown in which Gd (at various thicknesses) …

Modeling The Locked-Wheel Skid Tester To Determine The Effect Of Pavement Roughness On The International Friction Index, Patrick Cummings

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pavement roughness has been found to have an effect on the coefficient of friction measured with the Locked-Wheel Skid Tester (LWT) with measured friction decreasing as the long wave roughness of the pavement increases. However, the current pavement friction standardization model adopted by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), to compute the International Friction Index (IFI), does not account for this effect. In other words, it had been previously assumed that the IFI's speed constant (S_P), which defines the gradient of the pavement friction versus speed relationship, is an invariant for any pavement with a …

Variable-Density Flow Models Of Saltwater Intrusion In Coastal Landforms In Response To Climate Change Induced Sea Level Rise And A Chapter On Time-Frequency Analysis Of Ground Penetrating Radar Signals, Swagata Guha

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Populations residing on and near the world’s coasts have become increasingly dependent on coastal groundwater for their supply of freshwater. Under the conditions of predicted climate changes, the expected rise in global sea level can adversely affect the quality and quantity of freshwater resources in coastal areas as a result of saltwater intrusion.

In this study, a suite of two- and three-dimensional variable-density groundwater flow models of major coastal landforms (e.g. deltas, estuaries and small islands) has been constructed to assess the effects of sea level rise (SLR), using different SLR rates of 0.5 m, 1m and 1.5 m over …

A Canine Audience: The Effect Of Animal-Assisted Therapy On Reading Progress Among Students Identified With Learning Disabilities, Julie Omodio Griess

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the use of animal-assisted therapy with students identified with a learning disability and limited reading success. Initially, reading progress was defined as the participants' comprehension rate obtained from an oral Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) passage. The nature of the Informal Reading Inventory requires the introduction of more difficult reading passages as the student's comprehension rate increases, potentially masking the overall effect of the intervention. Due to this factor and erratic student performance, which is a common characteristic of students with learning disabilities, obtaining consistent comprehension rates was difficult. Therefore, progress was defined only as total amount of …

Examining The Relationship Between Work-To-Family Conflict And Parenting Behavior, Eunae Cho

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although work-family conflict (WFC) has been of particular interest to work-family researchers, little attention has been paid to the consequences of WFC that reside in the family domain. Research on WFC and child outcomes is especially scant. The current study addresses the gap in the literature by investigating the relationship between work-interfere-with-family (WIF) and three forms of parent-child interaction behavior (PB): physical and recreational PB (PRPB), cognitive and academic-oriented PB (CAPB), and passive and maintenance-oriented PB (PMPB). The mechanism by which WIF relates to PB was further investigated by examining negative emotion as a mediator and trait guilt as a …

Politics And Poetry: Not So Separate Spheres (Voice Of The Minority Muse), Denice N. Traina

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis contributes to continuing assessments of women writers and their political activities during the long eighteenth century. Analyzing works by Aphra Behn, Hannah More, and Anna Letitia Barbauld, I assert that these writers projected their voices into public affairs, and I explore their treatment of poetic forms. Through writing, they claimed equality with fellow authors and participated as equals beside the period's political leaders, debating about and commenting upon a wide array of concerns like the Glorious Revolution, the abolition of the slave trade, British military expansion, and religious and political liberties. This thesis argues that Behn, More, and …

X-Ray Diffraction Applications In Thin Films And (100) Silicon Substrate Stress Analysis, James D. Rachwal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Silicon is used as a substrate for X-ray mirrors for correct imaging. The substrate needs to be mechanically bent to produce a certain curvature in order to condition and focus the X-ray beam. The X-rays impinge a mirror at very shallow angles, in order to reduce the amount of intensity loss in the diffraction process. The X-ray mirrors need to be bent to an extremely precise profile, and even small distortions from this profile can reduce the effectiveness of the X-ray mirrors. The X-rays that impinge on the mirror also produce large amounts of heat that can change the temperature …

An Analysis Of The Influence Of Sampling Methods On Estimation Of Drug Use Prevalence And Patterns Among Arrestees In The United States: Implications For Research And Policy, Janine Kremling

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using data from the Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) and the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) programs collected by the National Institute of Justice the question whether the drug estimates of DUF, using a non-probability sample, and the drug use estimates of ADAM, using a probability sample, yield substantially different results will be explored. The following main questions will be addressed using equivalence analysis: Are there substantial differences in the DUF and ADAM samples with regard to the drug use information obtained from arrestees at nine sites across the United States? The analysis suggests that the drug use information contained in …

Chemical Investigation Of The Antarctic Marine Invertebrates Synoicum Adareanum And Artemisina Plumosa, Jaime Heimbegner Noguez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Of the small percentage of organisms chemically investigated over the years as potential sources of natural products, much less is known about those from the marine realm. Despite the lack of attention they have received in comparison to terrestrial organisms, marine life have recently been found to represent a valuable source for novel bioactive compounds. Cold water marine habitats are home to a plethora of organisms that have the ability to produce secondary metabolites that exhibit a great deal of diversity in both their chemical structures and biological activities. The chemical investigation of these unique and relatively unstudied ecosystems is …

Effects Of Monoclonal Anti-Abeta Antibodies On The Amyloid Beta Peptide Fibrillogenesis And Their Involvement In The Clearance Of Alzheimer's Disease Plaques, Jeffy Pilar Jimenez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of senile dementia worldwide. AD is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of memory and language skill, collapse of the cognitive function, and distortion of social behavior. As of today, the onset mechanisms of AD and cure are unknown; however, three hallmarks are commonly encountered: extra and intracellular accumulation of amyloid beta (A!) peptide plaques, formation of intracellular neurofibrillary tangles, and inevitable neuronal death. Hypothetically, a possible scenario provoking or involved in the onset of AD is a cascade effect that starts with an imbalance in the production and clearance of …

Consumer Responses To Stereotypical Vs. Non-Stereotypical Depictions Of Women In Travel Advertising, Jessica Eran Mcdonald

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Women are active travel consumers, yet travel advertising notoriously depicts women stereotypically. If consumers react negatively to these stereotypical portrayals in advertising, they may disregard the ad or brand and purchase a different travel product. The purpose of this study is to determine if consumers react differently to stereotypical versus non-stereotypical depictions of women in travel advertising. The study will examine these reactions, by measuring attitude toward the ad, attitude toward the brand, purchase intention, and cognitive responses to carefully prepared advertisements that are characterized as ―stereotypical‖ or ―non-stereotypical.‖ Ads are defined as stereotypical by utilizing Goffman‘s (1979) framework for …

The Relationship Between Technology Support And Extent Of Technology Integration Into College-Level Foreign Language Curricula, James T. Green

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although computer use has become widespread throughout foreign language (FL) education, availability of computers alone is not sufficient for increasing their use. Integration requires rich and varied technology support, which includes instructional as well as technical support. To date, in the field of adult FL learning no quantitative examination of the relationship between the different aspects of technology support and computer integration into the curricula has been attempted.

This study explores the direction and strength of the relationships among the different types of technology support and the integration of computers into the curricula of college and university FL programs. The …

A Multi-Wilkinson Power Divider Based Complex Reflection Coefficient Detector, James Roger Cooper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the field of applied electromagnetics, there is always a need to create new methods for electrical characterization of materials, systems, devices, etc. Many applications need small and/or inexpensive equipment in performing these characterizations. The current method for making measurements of electrical properties at frequencies above 300 MHz, the transmission/reflection method, has severe limitations in these areas due large size and high price of the necessary equipment for making them. Therefore, presented herein is the conceptualization, design and analysis of a complex reflection coefficient detector which is relatively small, lightweight, and inexpensive.

A reflection coefficient detector is a device designed …

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 …

Examining The Interface Between Alcohol Expectancies, Psychophysiological Reactivity To Alcohol Picture Cues, And Risk For Substance Use Disorders, Ashlee C. Carter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The study examined the overlap between cognitive and affective measures of alcohol expectancies as they related to risk for developing alcohol use disorders. It was hypothesized that cognitive-based, paper-and-pencil measures and appetitive psychophysiological reactivity to alcohol cues would correlate and independently correlate to drinking behavior in a sample of college drinkers. It was also hypothesized that genetic risk would impact the relationship between upstream and downstream expectancy measures, given that children of alcoholics displayed blunted reactivity to appetitive cues.

A sample of 137 college drinkers (67 males; mean age = 20.23 ± 1.61) reporting a range of drinking behavior (mean …

Proportionality In Middle-School Mathematics Textbooks, Gwendolyn Joy Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Some scholars have criticized the treatment of proportionality in middle-school textbooks, but these criticisms seem to be based on informal knowledge of the content of textbooks rather than on a detailed curriculum analysis. Thus, a curriculum analysis related to proportionality was needed.

To investigate the treatment of proportionality in current middle-school textbooks, nine such books were analyzed. Sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade textbooks from three series were used: ConnectedMathematics2 (CMP), Glencoe's Math Connects, and the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP). Lessons with a focus on proportionality were selected from four content areas: algebra, data analysis/probability, geometry/measurement, and rational …

Preservice Elementary Teachers‟ Pedagogical Content Knowledge Related To Area And Perimeter: A Teacher Development Experiment Investigating Anchored Instruction With Web-Based Microworlds, Matthew S. Kellogg

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Practical concepts, such as area and perimeter, have an important part in today's school mathematics curricula. Research indicates that students and preservice teachers (PSTs) struggle with and harbor misconceptions regarding these topics. Researchers suggest that alternative instructional methods be investigated that enhance PSTs' conceptual understanding and encourage deeper student thinking. To address this need, this study examined and described what and how PSTs learn as they engage in anchored instruction involving web-based microworlds designed for exploring area and perimeter. Its focus was to examine the influences of a modified teacher development experiment (TDE) upon 12 elementary PSTs' content knowledge (CK) …

Characterization Of An Urban Heat Island (Uhi) In The Tampa Region Of Florida, Joann Sullivan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Numerous research studies have been conducted on the modification of weather and local climate by the urban environment. In studying the urban environment effects, researchers have investigated the urban heat island (UHI), anthropogenic cloud condensation nuclei, anthropogenic heat emissions and other factors. Many of these studies used data sampling networks, while other studies relied solely on computer modeling. This research has taken an approach between the sampling network studies (which were often limited in spatial density) and the pure computer model studies (which lacked the benefits of observational data) to investigate the Tampa Bay Region UHI. The research utilized inexpensive …

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 …

Sound Production And Behavior Of Red Grouper (Epinephelus Morio) On The West Florida Shelf, Misty D. Montie

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Red grouper (Epinephelus morio) are long-lived, commercially important, soniferous fish belonging to the family Epinephelidae. Found throughout the western North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, they are protogynous hermaphrodites, and peak spawning occurs from March through May. Unlike many grouper species, red grouper do not form large spawning aggregations; rather, they form small polygynous groups, and remain in relatively close proximity to rocky depressions excavated in the sandy bottom by males. This excavation activity creates structure and habitat for a wide variety of species, and as a result, red grouper are a keystone species on the West Florida Shelf. While …