Digital Commons Network^™

The Power Of The Spoken Word: Literature In The American Mass Media Of The 1990s, Codrina Cozma

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The 1990s saw a climax of literature representations in what Ong called the secondary orality, particularly in film, television, and radio; for instance, the film industry produced a number of adaptations of novels that had been accepted into the American literary canon, while television and radio marketed literature through book clubs and literary shows. All these literary productions mediated through film, radio, and television are referred to in this study as mediatized literature.

The argument of this dissertation is that 1990s U.S. mediatized literature constitutes a post-modern re-enactment of the traditional oral literature that initially emerged on U.S. territory …

Molecular Dynamics And Time Correlation Function Theories, Russell H. Devane

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The research presented in this thesis makes use of theoretical/computational techniques to calculate nonlinear spectroscopic signals and molecular volumes. These techniques have become more practical with advances in computational resources and now are an integral part of research in these areas. Preliminary results allude to the power of these techniques when applied to relevant problems and suggest that much progress can be made in understanding the complex nature of nonlinear spectroscopic signals and molecular volume contributions. The nonlinear spectroscopy work involves writing the quantum mechanical response functions in terms of classical time correlation functions which are amenable to calculation using …

Bottom Albedo Derivations Using Hyperspectral Spectrometry And Multispectral Video, Andrew Scott Farmer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Remote sensing reflectance data collected with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) were used to derive bottom albedo and optical properties for a shallow marine environment near Lee Stocking Island, Bahamas. Optical model inversion techniques were applied to hyperspectral measurements of remote-sensing reflectance to derive water absorption and backscatter coefficients. Using these derived water properties, path attenuation and radiance effects were removed from bottom observations to derive bottom albedos. Histograms from multispectral, hyperspatial video images were used to determine the albedo range of optical end members observed in scenes of sand and seagrass. Variations of spectral signatures for optical end members …

Toward Predicting Barrier Island Vulnerability: Simple Models For Dune Erosion, Laura A. Fauver

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study is to quantify the accuracy of two engineering models for dune erosion (SBEACH and EDUNE), and to determine which of the two models is best suited for predicting barrier island vulnerability due to extreme storm events. The first model, SBEACH, computes sediment transport using empirically derived equations from two large wave tank experiments. The second model, EDUNE, theoretically relates excess wave energy dissipation in the surf zone to sediment transport. The first mechanism for model comparison is sensitivity testing, which describes the response of the model to empirical, physical, and hydrodynamic variables. Through sensitivity tests, …

Vowel Identification By Monolingual And Bilingual Listeners: Use Of Spectral Change And Duration Cues, Merete Mã¸Ller Glasbrenner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent studies have shown that even highly-proficient Spanish-English bilinguals, who acquired their second language (L2) in childhood and have little or no foreign accent in English, may require more acoustic information than monolinguals in order to identify English vowels and may have more difficulty than monolinguals in understanding speech in noise or reverberation (Mayo, Florentine, & Buus, 1997). One explanation that may account for this difference is that bilingual listeners use acoustic cues for vowel identification differently from monolinguals (Flege, 1995).

In this study, we investigated this hypothesis by comparing bilingual listeners’ use of acoustic cues to vowel identification to …

The Underdog Effect: Definition, Limitations, And Motivations. Why Do We Support Those At A Competitive Disadvantage?, Nadav Goldschmied

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

From politics to sports to business, people are quick to categorize those at a competitive disadvantage as ‘underdogs’. Moreover, there is ample anecdotal support that most people do not hesitate to align themselves with underdogs, a phenomenon called “the underdog effect”. A series of studies were conducted to examine the scope and limitations of the underdog effect. The first study explored the extent of the underdog effect and determined that resources play a crucial role in forming alliances with those whom we perceive to have the lower chance to succeed. A second series of experiments assessed whether participants, who demonstrated …

The Influence Of Pre-Existing Memories On Retrieval-Induced Forgetting, Leilani B. Goodmon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When people form episodic connections between memories that share a common retrieval cue, the tendency for those memories to interfere in later retrieval is often eliminated, and forgetting of the interfering information is reduced. For example, episodic integration protects memories from retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF), a phenomenon in which practicing retrieving some associates of a cue leads to the suppression of others that interfere with retrieval (Anderson, Green, & McCulloch, 2000). The purpose of this study was to determine whether semantic integration, as a result of pre-existing associations between practiced items and their unpracticed competitors, also moderates RIF. This research was …

“Ethnographizing” Service-Learning: Creating Politically Engaged Anthropology, Wendy Ann Hathaway

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Service-Learning is a popular teaching method that is increasingly being adopted by institutions of higher learning throughout the nation and is enthusiastically promoted as a progressive method for mediating the alleged decline in civic responsibility and ameliorating subsequent social ills. Servicelearning courses are also seen as an answer to growing student disinterest by connecting students to “real world” experiences while simultaneously providing much needed community support in the face of receding social services in this “Post-Welfare” moment (Goode and Maskovsky 2001a).

Anthropological insights, born out of a liberal humanistic tradition, can be employed to critically examine this popular educational and …

Fat Commentary And Fat Humor Presented In Visual Media: A Content Analysis, Susan Himes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In order to examine the phenomenon of fat messages presented through visual media, a content analysis was used to quantify and categorize fat-specific commentary. Fat commentary vignettes were identified using a targeted sampling procedure, and 135 scenes were excised from movies and TV shows. The material was coded by trained raters. Reliability indices were uniformly high for the seven categories (% agreement ranged from .90-.98; kappas ranged from .66-.94). Results indicated that fat commentary and fat humor is often verbal, directed toward another person, and is often presented directly in the presence of the overweight target. Results also indicated that …

“The Wil Of His Wif:” Discourse, Power, And Gender In Chaucer’S The Tale Of Melibee, Sara D. Jenkins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the Tale of Melibee, Chaucer gives us an excellent illustration of a point French theorist Michel Foucault would make centuries later: That power is something that moves and shifts between people and within institutions, that it is not fixed nor permanent, that it is used as needed toward specific ends, and that it is enacted through the medium of discourse. In Melibee, Melibee’s wife Prudence achieves a place of authority and influence in her marriage via her use of discourse, and specifically by using a more “male” way of speaking. Chaucer is often considered feminist-friendly due to …

Systematic Study Of Amyloid Beta Peptide Conformations: Implications For Alzheimer’S Disease, Jeffy Pilar Jimenez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The amyloid beta peptide particularly the 40 and 42 amino acid residues are the responsible for plaque formation in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Extra cellular plaque formation has been recognized after incessant investigations along with the formation of intracellular tau protein tangles as the hallmarks of AD. Furthermore, the plaque formation has been linked mostly as a cause of the disease and the tangles mostly as a consequence. Our investigation is focused on studying the formation of AD plaques. The amyloid beta (Aß) is a physiological peptide secreted from neurons under normal conditions, along with other soluble forms cleaved from …

Simulating The Electric Field Mediated Motion Of Ions And Molecules In Diverse Matrices, Joseph Hickey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Electroporation is a methodology for the introduction of drugs and genes into cells. This technique works by reducing the exclusionary nature of the cell membrane [125, 129, 186, 189]. Electroporation has successfully been used in electrochemotherapy and electrogenetherapy [57, 68, 86, 87, 110, 112, 131]. The two major components of electroporation are an induced transmembrane potential and the motion of the deliverable through a compromised cell membrane into the target cell [38, 55, 62, 114, 131]. These two components are both dependent on the electrophoretic motion of charged species in an applied electric field [45, 64, 75, 77, 177].

Currently, …

The Benefits Of Clear Speech At Normal Rates For Older Listeners With Normal Hearing, Athina Panagos Panagiotopoulos

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Clear speech is a type of speaking style that improves speech intelligibility for many individuals. For example, one study showed a 17 percentage point increase in intelligibility over conversational speech for individuals with sensorineural hearing loss (Picheny et al., 1985). The clear speech benefit also extends to children with learning disabilities (Bradlow et al., 2003), non-native listeners (Bradlow & Bent, 2002), and other populations. Although clear speech is typically slower than conversational speech, it can be produced, naturally, at normal rates with training. For young listeners with normal hearing, clear speech at normal rates (clear/normal) is more intelligible than conversational …

Performativity And The Latina/O-White Hybrid Identity: Performing The Textual Self, Shane T. Moreman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study is an exploration of Latina/o-White hybrid identity for constructions and negotiations of hybridity as performed in the lives of individuals and as rearticulated in discourse. These discourses are drawn from interviews with nine individuals, stories of my own life, and three published memoirs. Despite these different forms, all the selfidentified Latina/o-White hybrid individuals speak to the difficulty of imagining and enacting a hybrid identity within today’s discourse on race and ethnicity. This study articulates these difficulties as lived experience, theory, and performance come together to argue for and against hybridity as a model for contemporary identity. The project …

Transforming Public Spaces Through Performance, Anthony G. Valentine

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is study about how public spaces can be transformed through performance within them.

More specifically, this study involves two public venues: The Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI), Tampa, FL and The University of South Florida (USF), Tampa, FL in that within these public venues, not only do performances take place, but they transform the space they are performed in and the spaces in-between the public spaces into performance spaces.

Development Of A Ctd System For Environmental Measurements Using Novel Pcb Mems Fabrication Techniques, Heather Allison Broadbent

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The development of environmental continuous monitoring of physicochemical parameters via portable small and inexpensive instrumentation is an active field of research as it presents distinct challenges. The development of a PCB MEMS-based inexpensive CTD system intended for the measurement of environmental parameters in natural waters, is presented in this work. Novel PCB MEMS fabrication techniques have also been developed to construct the conductivity and temperature transducers. The design and fabrication processes are based on PCB MEMS technology that combines Cu-clad liquid crystal polymer (LCP) thin-film material with a direct write photolithography tool, chemical etching and metallization of layers of electroless …

The Impact Of Privatization Of Primary Care Programs In Large County Health Departments In Florida, Arlesia Lynn Brock

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since the mid-1970s, top managers, politicians, and officials in both public and private institutions have promoted contracting-out services (privatization) as a means of increasing efficiency, flexibility, and quality. The privatization trend has occurred in many public sector organizations particularly in city services and prisons. Public health services are not immune to this trend. Today many county health departments have contracted the provision of public health services like womens health, primary care, and laboratory services. However, very few studies have analyzed the impact of these privatizations on cost, access, and health outcomes. Proponents favoring the private provision of these services argue …

Corrective Feedback In Online Asynchronous And Synchronous Environments In Spanish As A Foreign (Sfl) Classes, Martha E. Castañeda

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation reports on an investigation of corrective feedback provided by instructors to learners in sixteen online asynchronous and synchronous interactions. The overarching objective of this study was to examine the provision of corrective feedback in computer-mediated communication (CMC) environments. This study also sought to examine the frequency of corrective feedback types and the relationship between learner error and corrective feedback provision. Finally, this study investigated what types of corrective feedback led to repaired learner responses.

Over the course of one university semester, the instructors and students in four second-semester Spanish courses participated in bulletin board and chat room discussions …

Learning To Dance While Becoming A Dancer: Identity Construction As A Performing Art, Matthew A. Caudill

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In a university undergraduate dance department, students seem to be learning more than pirouettes and pas de bourées; students are learning how to construct their identities and present themselves as ‘dancers’. As they progress through their undergraduate careers, the students are not only developing technical skills, but they are also learning the ins and outs of how dancers look, speak and behave. Based on three months of observation and in-depth interviews, it seems that developing into a dancer requires developing into an individual who shows unique commitment both to him/herself and to the art of dance itself. While many …

The Predictive Validity Of Four Reading Fluency Measures On A State's "High-Stakes" Outcome Assessment, Jose Michael Castillo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the long-term predictive validity of four reading fluency measures on a statewide reading assessment. The reading fluency measures were administered to a group of first and second grade students and their utility for predicting outcomes on a state's reading assessment in third grade was examined. Specifically, the amount of variance accounted for on the outcome assessment by Curriculum-Based Measurement ñ Reading (R-CBM) probes from two sources, a list fluency measure, and a group measure of fluency was investigated. The extent to which each is an accurate predictor of long-term performance when considered individually and in combination with …

Eros, Paideia And Arête: The Lesson Of Plato’S Symposium, Jason St. John Oliver Campbell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Commentators of Plato’s Symposium rarely recognize the importance of traditional Greek conceptions of Eros, paideia and arête in understanding Plato’s critique of the various educational models presented in the dialogue. I will show how Plato contests these models by proposing that education should consist of philosophy. On this interpretation, ancient Greek pedagogy culminates in a philosophical education. For this new form of education, the dialogical model supplants the traditional practices of kléos and poetic mimēsis, inextricably bound to archaia paideia and traditional forms of education. Plato’s Socrates is searching for knowledge and immortality through an application of the philosophical method, …

Effects Of Constructed Response Contingencies In Web-Based Programmed Instruction On Graphing Compared To Cued-Text Presentation Of The Same Information, Reinaldo L. Canton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Web-based lessons teaching graph construction techniques (via the internet) were presented to 144 undergraduate and graduate college students. One group experienced program-controlled tutorials requiring them to construct answers in a defined sequence. A second group experienced identical lesson material in the form of typographically cued text presentations. The programmed instruction students performed significantly better than the cued-text group on an immediate computerbased posttest assessing comprehension of the graphing lesson material. The cuedtext group performed better on an applied graphing assignment. The experiment did not account for individual’s internet study habits or the metacognitive approaches to learning employed by the study …

"I'Ve Got The Power!": Investigating Pre-Service Special Educators' Perceptions And Abilities To Teach Reading To Students With Disabilities", Tandria Milango Callins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study, through a multiple case study approach, was designed to investigate how pre-service special educators were empowered to teach reading to students with disabilities during their final internship. A developmental-constructivism theoretical framework guided this study in order to examine how a teacher preparation program prepared a six-member cohort of pre-service special educators in the areas of efficacy, competency, and preparedness. Based on the principles of developmental-constructivism, the researcher investigated whether or not these pre-service special educators became more empowered in the areas of efficacy, competency, and preparedness through active-learning and hands-on opportunities.

The researcher employed a concurrent mixed-method design …

The Effect Of Direct Instruction Math Curriculum On Higher-Order Problem Solving, Pamela Christofori

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has examined the effectiveness of Direct Instruction Curriculum over the past thirty years in a variety of areas including rate of learning, effectiveness on different types of learners, and comparisons to other types of instruction. This study attempted to determine the effects of the use of a direct instruction math curriculum on higher-order problem solving. Two groups of 3 – 5 students each participated. The procedures included administering the Kauffman Achievement test to determine current grade level in math and reading. The Saxon Math Second Grade Curriculum was used to instruct the participants. The effects on higher-order problem …

Exploring Women’S Complex Relationship With Political Violence: A Study Of The Weathermen, Radical Feminism And The New Left, Lindsey Blake Churchill

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis I use the radical, pro-violent organization the Weathermen as a framework to examine women and feminisms complex relationships with violence. My thesis attempts to show the many belief systems that second wave feminists possessed concerning the role(s) of women and violence in revolutionary organizations. Hence, by using the Weathermen as a framework, I discuss various feminist essentialist and pacifist critiques of violence. I also include an analysis of feminists who, similar to the Weathermen, embraced political violence. For example, radical feminists Robin Morgan and Jane Alpert criticized the Weathermen's violent tactics while other feminists such as Ti-Grace …

Development Of Interactive Web-Based Tutorials For Chemical Engineering Undergraduates, Stefan Cular

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents the design, creation, and testing of a web-based tool for generating interactive web-based problem set assignments. In prior research (Stetka, 2001) it was shown that students enjoyed interactive problems. In this research, multiple programming languages were used to provide a web-based, fully interactive, problem solving environment for the students. Sample problem sets were written by the author and a few chemical engineering students.

These web pages were then used as a basis to test the effectiveness of the webbased interactive problem sets for two engineering courses. Initial findings are presented illustrating the student’s results along with results …

Assessment Of The Community Healthcare Providers' Ability And Willingness To Respond To A Bioterrorist Attack In Florida, Jeffrey S. Crane

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous findings have demonstrated that the preparedness and infrastructure of the public health system are inadequately developed for a biological and/or chemical terrorism attack. (1-4) Chen et al. reported that those primary care providers that would have to respond to such an attack do not feel prepared to diagnose and manage such an event.(5)

This research was an observational study using e-mail/web based survey to assess the levels of preparedness (PL) and willingness to respond (WTR) to a bioterrorism attack, and identify factors that predict PL and WTR of Florida community healthcare providers. The conceptual framework and questionnaire was designed …

Early Learning Experiences: Education With Coaching And The Effects On The Acquisiton Of Literacy Skills In Preschool Children, Dale Lynn Cusumano

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reading to learn becomes a difficult task for children if they have not become proficient at comprehending written text. It was hypothesized that, for some children, reading difficulties may have been averted had they been reared in homes or participated in early childhood settings where literacy-based activities, interactions, or materials were prevalent. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact that training early childhood educators in researchbased early literacy instructional strategies (within the HeadsUp! Reading curriculum ñ HUR) had on the development of early reading skills in the preschool children they taught. Further examination also identified the impact …

Theoretical And Experimental Investigation Of Phase Behavior Of Polymeric Systems In Supercritical Carbon Dioxide And Their Modeling Using Saft, Ratka Damnjanovic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Environmentally friendly processing of materials is becoming an increasingly important consideration in a wide variety of emerging technologies. Polymer processing, in particular, has benefited tremendously in this venue from numerous advances achieved using high-pressure carbon dioxide (CO₂) as a viscosity modifier, plasticizing agent, foaming agent, and reaction medium. Polymer processing in supercritical fluids has been a major interest for a portfolio of materials processing applications including their impregnation into porous matrices. Also, SCF solvents are being examined as a media for polymerization processes, polymer purification and fractionation, and as environmentally preferable solvents for solution coatings. Pressurized CO_{2 …}

Investor And Worker Response To Corporate Downsizing Of Esop Companies: Wealth Effects, Productivity, And Performance, Jeanean J. Davis-Street

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Finance, economic and management literature document the reduced agency problems, increased productivity, and greater financial benefits that accrue to firms that adopt Employee Stock Ownership Plans, (ESOPs). The literature also documents the increased agency problems, decreased employee productivity, and poor operating performance that usually accompany corporate downsizing activity. To date, none of the studies have examined the effect that downsizing decisions have on companies with existing ESOP plans; this dissertation fills that empirical void. In this study, two essays are presented that examine the effect of corporate downsizing on ESOP versus non-ESOP firms.

In the first essay, I investigate the …