Digital Commons Network^™

The Rhetoric Of Corporate Identity: Corporate Social Responsibility, Creating Shared Value, And Globalization, Carolyn Day

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In today's global political and media climate, the stakes are high for corporations, local or otherwise, to create and maintain an `ethical' perception of not only their daily business activities and how they can benefit society or protect the environment, but also their enduring characteristics or `corporate identity' (Conrad, 2011) for numerous, sometimes conflicting stakeholder audiences (Cheney, 1983). This dissertation examines how such forms of `socially responsible' corporate identities are created and maintained through the use of persuasive language. In particular it examines the role and implications of rhetoric within the contexts of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), as well as …

Picturing The Reader: English Education Pre-Service Teachers' Beliefs About Reading Using Photovoice, Michael Dicicco

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As students begin secondary school, they are charged with learning more content, at a faster pace and with increased pressure from accountability measures (Dreschler, Shumaker, & Woodruff, 2004). If secondary students' reading difficulties are not identified and remedied, the gap between struggling readers and their peers widens every academic year (Edmonds, Vaughn, Wexler, Rutebuch, Cable, Tackett, and Schnakenberg, 2009).

The task of reading instruction primarily falls on English teachers, but Strickland and Alvermann (2004) note that while secondary English Teachers do have more preparation in reading instruction compared to other content area teachers, they are not as prepared as they …

Perceptions Of Latino Students Who Enrolled In The Adult Basic Education/Under-Aged General Education Development Program: Searching A Caring High School Experience, Carlos Joseph Diaz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The increasing number of Latino students presents unique challenges to and infinite possibilities for the educational system. Significant numbers of second-generation Latino students are considered at risk for completing a high school credentialing program. Latino students in public and private high schools were more likely to drop out than their White counterparts, and this has curtailed the advancement of Latinos into post-secondary settings. Ultimately, this impacts economic upward mobility. Furthermore, males are more likely than females to drop out of high school, are more frequently disciplined, suspended, and/or expelled from school than their gender counterparts (Perkins-Gough, 2006; Sacks, 2005; Solórzano,Villalpando, …

The "Defective" Generation: Disability In Modernist Literature, Deborah Susan Mcleod

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The "Defective" Generation: Disability in Modernist Literature aims to provide an analysis of how Anglo-American authors in the early twentieth century conceived of, utilized, and portrayed disability in their fiction. Building on the existing scholarship in the field of Disability Studies, I argue that modernists revise the tradition of representation to make disabilities a generational trait rather than a sign of individual deviance. In novel after novel, multiple characters exhibit some form of illness or impairment, which appears as both cause and effect of the instabilities and traumas of modernity. Like many of their predecessors, then, these authors portray …

Measuring The Adaptation Of Military Response During The Second Seminole War Florida (1835-1842): Kocoa And The Role Of A West Point Military Academy Education, Michelle Diane Sivilich

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Conflict archaeology is a fairly new discipline and is in the process of defining its methods and theories. Recently, the American Battlefield Protection Program has started requiring that grant applicants perform a KOCOA analysis. KOCOA is a modern military technique and stands for Key terrain, Obstacle, Cover and Concealment, Observation, and Avenues of Approach. However, this method was developed for modern warfare, and its adoption by the archaeological community has not yet been analyzed. I argue that this method needs a few modifications to make it more applicable to historical research and that it can be broadened to investigate more …

Self-Control Depletion And Nicotine Deprivation As Precipitants Of Smoking Cessation Failure: A Human Laboratory Model, Bryan Heckman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The need to understand the reinforcing properties of smoking and potential precipitants of relapse is exemplified by evidence that relapse rates exceed 95%. The Self-Control Strength model, which proposes that self-control is dependent upon limited resources and susceptible to fatigue, may offer insight into the relapse process. Indeed, there is empirical support that engaging in a task that requires self-control, relative to a comparable control, results in performance decrements on subsequent self-control tasks. The primary goal of the current study was to test whether self-control depletion (SCD) may serve as a novel antecedent for cessation failure, using a validated laboratory …

Acculturation, Self-Efficacy And Breastfeeding Behavior In A Sample Of Hispanic Women, Ivonne F. Hernandez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Breastfeeding confers immunological, physiological and psychological benefits for the infant and mother as well as social and economic benefits to the nation. The United States Department of Health and Human Servcies (HHS), Healthy People 2020 has established national objectives for the initiation and duration of breastfeeding at 82% initiation, 61% at six months and 34% at one year. In addition, they have set goals for exclusive breastfeeding at 3 months to be 46% and 25% at 6 months of infant's age. Currently breastfeeding initiation is at the highest recorded level of 76.9%, yet significant disparities exist (CDC, 2012). The purpose …

In Our Image: The Attempted Reshaping Of The Cuban Education System By The United States Government, 1898-1912, Mario John Minichino

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

During the fourteen years between 1898 and 1912, the influences imparted upon the School System of Cuba were substantial. In the period immediately following the conflict with Spain, known in the U.S. as the Spanish American War, a concerted effort was underway to annex the island of Cuba. This study was undertaken to discover what courses were introduced into the K-12 curricula following the U.S. intervention, who introduced those changes, and what, if any influence those changes brought to the culture of the island. This investigation and analysis was necessary to reinvigorate the discussion regarding the history of the …

Using Multimedia Social Storiestm To Enhance Prosocial Behavior Of At-Risk Preschoolers, Daniella Suric

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated Social StoriesTM (SS) with three at-risk preschool children in a high- need public elementary school. Specifically, this study examined the use of a multimedia SS designed to decrease problem behavior and increase prosocial behavior. A multiple baseline design across participants with an ABC sequence was used to assess the impact of the standard SS and multimedia SS on the children's target behaviors. The results of the study indicated that the standard SS was successful in reducing problem behavior and increasing prosocial behavior for all three participating children. The results also indicated that the multimedia SS had positive …

Predicting Successful Drug Court Graduation: Exploring Demographic And Psychosocial Factors Among Medication-Assisted Drug Court Treatment Clients, Autumn Michelle Frei

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of psychosocial factors on drug court graduation among a medication assisted treatment drug court population. The extant research identifies drug courts as effective in reducing recidivism and relapse rates; however meta-analyses of the drug court literature reveal that there is little explanation as to why drug courts are effectual and especially for whom. This study examined trauma, mental health, and social support to determine predictive psychosocial factors of drug court participants while controlling for certain demographics. The analyses showed that social support was predictive, but failed to identify trauma or …

Associations Between Student-Teacher Relationships And Kindergarten Students' Outcomes, Leslie Marie Wells

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The student-teacher relationship (STR) is an important component of a student's success in school. STRs have the potential to serve as an asset for students' well-being and achievement throughout their school career. Current literature suggests that there are two major components of STRs associated with student's academic and behavioral outcomes: closeness and conflict. Research has indicated that STRs characterized by closeness are linked to positive academic and behavior outcomes for students while STRs characterized by conflict are associated with negative academic and behavior outcomes for students. Although research has demonstrated that closeness and conflict have an impact on student outcomes, …

Marine Viral Diversity And Spatiotemporal Variability, Dawn Goldsmith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Marine viruses are the most numerous biological entities in the ocean, with an estimated abundance of 4 x 10³⁰. They merit study not only because of their sheer abundance, but also because of the role they play in the Earth's biogeochemical cycles. Viral lysis of bacteria redirects the flow of nutrients among marine microbes, which ultimately affects the efficiency of the biological pump. Viral diversity is important because most viruses are host-specific. In preying on a certain type of bacteria, viruses affect the diversity and structure of the bacterial community, leading to changes in carbon and nutrient flows. …

Acts Of Rebellion: The Rhetoric Of Rogue Cinema, Adam Breckenridge

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to articulate a definition and understanding of the emerging genre of rogue cinema through the lens of rhetorical theory. To this end, I lay out a theoretical groundwork based principally on the works of Kenneth Burke and Slavoj Zizek to build a definition and to analyze the works of four filmmakers whose work could be considered rogue: Alejandro Jodorowsky, Dusan Makavejev, Lars von Trier and Werner Herzog.

The first chapter is dedicated to articulating the theorists I use and showing how they can be used to examine rogue films. The second chapter is dedicated …

Creativity-Based Music Learning: Modeling The Process And Learning Outcomes In A Massive Open Online Course, Nicholas Michael Stefanic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While developing creativity is an important goal of many educational endeavors, creating music, from a music education perspective, is a powerful pedagogical tool. Beyond comparing the relative creativity of individuals' musical creative products (e.g., melodies, songs, lyrics, beats, etc.), research in musical creativity must consider how engaging in the creative process can be an effective teaching tool, what I have termed creativity-based music learning. If music teachers are to develop students' abilities “to experience music as meaningful, informed by sensitive discernments and broad understandings, in each particular musical role engagement in which one becomes involved” (Reimer, 2003, p.214), then we …

Multilayer Nanomagnetic Systems For Information Processing, Srinath Rajaram

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Spin-Transfer Torque Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (STT-MRAM) has opened new doors as an emerging technology with high potential to replace traditional CMOS-based memory technology. This has come true due to the density, speed and non- volatility that have been demonstrated. The STT-MRAM uses Magnetic Tunnel Junction (MTJ) elements as non-volatile memory storage devices because of the recent discovery of spin-torque phenomenon for switching the magnetization states. The magnetization of the free layer in STT-MRAM can be switched from logic "1" to logic "0" by the use of a spin-transfer torque. However, the STT-MRAMs have till now only been used …

An Examination Of Electrodermal Activity During Tic Suppression In Adults, Bryan Brandt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although tic disorders are diagnosed as neurological disorders, neurobehavioral models suggest that tics are controlled by premonitory urges that may be conditioned to become aversive through childhood, and that tics are exhibited to alleviate such phenomena. However, only indirect measures have been used to assess the presence of the premonitory urge. This study utilized self-report and GSR measurements to examine whether a punishing contingency conditioned stimuli to be aversive during conditions of tic suppression and whether punishing contingencies exacerbate aversive private phenomena in two adults. Results indicated that conditions of response cost (RC) and differential reinforcement (DRO) were effective at …

Evaluation Of Video Modeling To Teach Children Diagnosed With Asd To Avoid Poison Hazards, Shannon Eileen King

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Accidental poisonings are one of the leading safety threats for young children, so it is important to teach children to avoid ingesting poisonous substances. Research has shown that behavioral skills training (BST) and in situ training (IST) are effective in teaching children safety skills to prevent gun play, abduction, and poison ingestion. However, little research on safety skills has been conducted with children with autism. Video modeling has been shown to be effective in teaching abduction prevention skills to children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of video modeling to …

Can Cognitive Priming Influence The Reinforcing Efficacy Of Alcohol Within A Behavioral Economic Framework?, Lauren J. Adams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A considerable body of research supports the application of behavioral economic principles to study the relative reinforcing efficacy of drug and alcohol use. One self-report measure, the Alcohol Purchase Task, is thought to account for individual differences in the subjective valuation of alcohol consumption. To date, however, behavioral economic approaches have not evaluated the possible influence of memory-based expectations regarding the cognitive and behavioral effects of substance use on their measures. Alcohol expectancy research has found that more positive expectancies about the effects alcohol directly mediate drinking behavior and are associated with a number of alcohol-related outcomes. Given the importance …

Beyond The Skilled Application Of Know-How: Pedagogical Reasoning As Phronesis In Highly Competent Teachers, Kathryn Boney

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Given the teacher-as-technician view and the instrumentalist values that pervade professional schools, practices, and policy decisions (Kinsella & Pitman, 2012a; Zeichner, 2012) with regard to teacher qualification, evidence-based practices, and scripted curricula, there is growing concern that something of fundamental importance and moral significance is missing from the vision of what it means to be a professional, particularly in the field of education. In order to articulate teacher practical knowledge in a way that reflects the complexities of practice, a framework that captures the complexity of teaching practice and helps to define the type of knowledge beyond content and technique, …

Attitudes About Globalization, Internationalization, And The Role Of Student Affairs Administrators In Internationalizing Florida's Community And State Colleges, Donna Rae Burdzinski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This study had a three-fold purpose: first, to assess the attitudes of student affairs administrators working in the Florida College System (FCS) about globalization, internationalization, and their strategies for effecting internationalization efforts at their community/state colleges. This study also investigated the relationship between student affairs administrators' attitudes about globalization and internationalization and what they considered to be the role of student affairs administrators in internationalizing the community/state college. Finally, this study examined the relationship between student affairs administrators' attitudes about their perceived role in internationalizing the community/state college and certain demographic variables. No study has been found which asks …

Potential Targeted Therapeutic Strategies For Overcoming Resistance In Braf Wild Type Melanoma, Vito William Rebecca

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Melanoma manifests itself from the malignant transformation of melanocytes and represents the deadliest form of skin cancer, being responsible for the disproportionate majority of all skin cancer deaths. The 2002 discovery that 50% of all melanoma patients possess activating BRAF mutations ignited a significant paradigm shift in the way the melanoma field approached research and how patients were treated [1]. The era of targeted therapy had begun and with it came successful targeted BRAF inhibitor therapy regimens, which have accomplished improved clinical benefit (response rate, progression free survival, and overall survival) compared with treatment with chemotherapy in three phase III …

Hail Formation In Florida, Matthew Stanley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Hail poses a substantial threat to life and property in the state of Florida. These losses could be minimized through better understanding of the relationships between atmospheric variables that impact hail formation in Florida. Improving hail forecasting in Florida requires analyzing a number of meteorological parameters and synoptic data related to hail formation.

NOAA archive data was retrieved to create a database that was used to categorize text files of hail days. The text files were entered into the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Earth System Research Laboratory website to create National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric …

Applying Public Relations Theory To Assess Service-Learning Relationships, Karen Strand

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In Service-Learning (S-L) partnerships, universities and community organizations exchange resources and influence. Community engagement scholars Cruz and Giles proposed that relationships within S-L partnerships serve as units of analysis for the study of community outcomes of engagement. Yet, the scholarship of engagement lacks a suitable instrument to assess such relationships. This study brings together two lines of scholarship-relationship studies within community engagement and cocreational studies within public relations-to address the problem of assessing the community outcomes of S-L relationships, and it applies Cruz and Giles' ideas about using relationship analysis to assess community outcomes when it considers the perspectives of …

Striving For Success In An Uncertain Environment, Sandra Stershic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using one's success and failure experiences can be an indicator of how well risk is being managed in uncertain situations, particularly because exact probability information about outcomes is often missing. Experience-based paradigms include this more real-world aspect of a lack of information when studying risk taking behavior. This thesis builds upon experience-based paradigms to include the element of skill.

A puzzle task was developed. A goal was given to participants to try to discern a pattern in each puzzle that would yield consistently positive outcomes. Participants were randomly assigned to a high or low success rate, but told that skill …

The Relationship Between Living Learning Communities And Student Success On First-Year And Second-Year Students At The University Of South Florida, Mark Martin Stier

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The college experience for many students is an exciting and sometimes awe-inspiring journey. For the first time many students find themselves responsible for making life altering decisions that will determine the course of their adult lives for years to come. They are making the decisions to participate in specific academic majors, a variety of housing options and a multitude of extra-curricular activities. Unfortunately, without proper guidance and structure many of these students find themselves unable to cope with the new challenges of academia, faculty staff interaction, peer relationships and financial obligations. It is because of these challenges that institutions of …

Masculinity, After The Apocalypse: Gendered Heroics In Modern Survivalist Cinema, Sean Michael Swenson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Emerging out of a tradition of dystopic and apocalyptic cinema, the survivalist film has arisen as a new subgenre owing to a collision of several divergent modes of cinema. While the scholarly discourse has been preoccupied largely with the task of setting up the parameters of this new cinematic line little attention has been paid to unraveling what the new modes of masculine performance within the films mean in the post-9/11 moment in which they have emerged. This paper looks at the ways in which the gendered heroics on the screen are indebted to the slasher and zombie subgenres in …

Caribbean Traditions In Modern Choreographies: Articulation And Construction Of Black Diaspora Identity In L'Ag'ya By Katherine Dunham, Viktoria Tafferner-Gulyas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The interdisciplinary field of Dance Studies as a separate arena focusing on the social, political, cultural, and aesthetic aspects of human movement and dance emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Dance criticism integrated Dance Studies into the academy as critics addressed the social and cultural significance of dance. In particular, Jane Desmond created an integrated approach engaging dance history and cultural studies; in the framework of her findings, dance is read as a primary social text. She emphasizes that movement style is an important mode of distinction between social groups, serving as a marker for the production of …

The Effect Of Ovulation As A Male Mating Prime On Drinking And Other Mating Behaviors, Robin Tan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A recent line of research grounded in evolutionary theory has shown that exposure to women's fertility cues affects men's mating cognition and behavior. This area of research has not yet been examined in relation to alcohol. As alcohol has also been shown to facilitate the formation of sexual connections for males, establishing the intersection between these two lines of research seems necessary to understand the impetus behind human behavior. Ninety-eight male participants were primed with either the scent of a fertile woman or the scent of nonfertile woman and then completed measures assessing their level of attraction to pictures of …

Rising Above A Crippling Hermeneutic, Luke Steven, Carlos, Armando Thompson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sacred texts authored in antiquity present a challenge for contemporary religious practitioners because there is always a question regarding how to interpret and apply the message today. Prominent Pentecostal theologian and disability theorist Amos Yong faces this challenge concerning the Bible as it relates to disabilities and those who have them. As I argue in this thesis, Yong succeeds in challenging the Pentecostal perceptions of disability without compromising on the over-all Pentecostal view of scripture.

The Hebrew Bible, which, according to Yong, "...serves as the foundation of the Christian scriptures," contains multiple passages that portray disability in a negative light. …

Physical And Mental Health Status Of Adults With Serious Mental Illness Participating In A Jail Diversion Intervention, Robin Telford

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adults with mental illnesses are at an increased risk to be diagnosed with one or more comorbid physical illnesses compared to the general population. Much of the disparities faced by adults with serious mental illnesses (SMI) can be attributed to medication side effects, increased risk for metabolic diseases, inability to communicate about severity and monitor physical health symptoms, poor health behaviors, high rates of smoking, and poor quality health care. The rate of physical illnesses for adults with mental illnesses are even higher among those who have been involved with the criminal justice system. In order to understand the relationship …