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"We're Not Going To Talk About That:" A Qualitative Case Study Of Three Elementary Teachers' Experiences Integrating Literacy And Social Studies, Rebecca L. Powell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this interpretive, qualitative multi-case study (Merriam, 2001; Stake, 1995) was to describe the experiences of three elementary classroom teachers as they integrated literacy and social studies during their literacy instruction. This study was grounded in an interpretivist paradigm and a theoretical lens of symbolic interactionism. The guiding questions were: What are the experiences of three elementary teachers when integrating literacy and social studies instruction? What information do teachers use when making decisions about integrated instruction? How do teachers’ beliefs align with their practices? How do teachers organize, plan for, and provide integrated instruction, including how they use …

Parent Perceptions Of Family Quality Of Life Raising A Child With Autism Spectrum Disorder In The Bahamas, Sharlene Monique Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Numerous research showed having a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can affect families in many ways (Brace, 2009; DeGrace, 2004; Fantaroni, 2012). The primary types of impact include family relationship (spousal and sibling relationships), finances, and access to resources and services to assist with caring for the social, emotional and academic development of a child with autism (Grindle & Remington, 2014; Harper et al., 2013; Koydemir & Tosun, 2009; Ludlow, Skelly, & Rohleder, 2011; Montes & Cianca, 2014). While extensive studies have shown similar findings of the impact of autism on family quality of life in America and other …

Evaluation Of The Teaching Tools For Young Children With Challenging Behavior (Ttyc): Improving Classroom Behavior In Young Children, Leann S. Avila

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Teaching Tools for Young Children with Challenging Behavior (TTYC) presents a useful tool to disseminate evidence-based practices into the classroom setting for teachers to create lasting behavioral changes in young children. This study aims to further examine the use of TTYC by classroom teachers for students ages 4-6 years old with and without disabilities who had difficulty engaging in classroom routines or activities. A multiple-baseline across participants design was employed to demonstrate the outcomes of the TTYC in increasing appropriate classroom behavior and reducing problem behavior of the target children. The results indicated that the teachers’ fidelity of implementing …

Becoming A Woman Of Isis, Zoe D. Fine

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this study, I examine how terrorism is produced and consumed in communication. Using discourse analysis, I investigate how terrorism is constituted in the accounts of four women described in online news reports as having joined, or almost joined the so-called Islamic State (IS): “Alex,” constructed as having been lonely and flirted with IS; “Khadija,” presented as a schoolteacher turned member of IS’s all-women’s brigade; Laura, described as a woman whose partner abandoned her, who met a man online, and who brought her son with her to join IS; and Tareena, referred to as a health worker who brought her …

Animated Pedagogical Agent’S Roles And English Learners’ Prior Knowledge: The Influence On Cognitive Load, Motivation, And Vocabulary Acquisition, Fadwa Yasin Flemban

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Researchers and educators have always strived for creating appropriate instructional tools and resources that help students to acquire knowledge. Animated pedagogical agents (APAs) embedded within multimedia learning settings are one of the emerging technologies that provide a powerful and supportive learning environment. According to previous studies, APAs can effectively promote learning and support social interaction with learners (Johnson & Lester, 2016; Lane, 2016). However, APAs also may cause cognitive load without providing motivational benefits in some cases and distract learners during the learning process. In other words, the results of previous studies on APAs do not provide enough evidence to …

Predictive Validity Of Florida’S Postsecondary Education Readiness Test, Alisa Murphy Žujović

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The role of the community college is constantly evolving. At its inception in the early 1900’s, the community college’s broad focus was to provide quality, affordable education to the members of the community the college serves. Today, that focus remains the same, but has also morphed into one that meets the specific needs of its students. One of these needs that is a critical issue for community colleges relates to developmental education.

The assessment of developmental education has been a contentious subject among higher education institutions. Defining college readiness, methods describing how to measure it, and instruments with which to …

Climate Change: Aristotelian Virtue Theory, The Aidōs Response And Proper Primility, John W. Voelpel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is the first anthropogenic alteration of a global Earth system. It is globally catastrophic in terms of food production, sea level rise, fresh water availability, temperature elevation, ocean acidification, species disturbance and destruction to name just a few crisis concerns. In addition, while those changes are occurring now, they are amplifying over decadal periods and will last for centuries and possibly millennia. While there are a number of pollutants involved, carbon dioxide (CO2) which results from the combustion of any fossil fuel is the primary pollutant. It has not been considered a pollutant until recently because of its …

Union Representatives’ Stories: From Leading The Classroom To Leading A District, Holly Magaditsch

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While much is known about what contributes to teacher attrition, there is less research on those who leave teaching positions to work as a union representative. The purpose of this study was to explore how three teacher union representatives frame their experiences with mobility, leadership, and advocacy in education. The research question was: How do former teachers enter and perform the role of teacher union representative? The sub-level questions were: a) How do they story their transition from teaching students to representing teachers? b) How do they frame the responsibility of teacher unions and teacher union representatives to advocate? Data …

Selection Of Energy Systems In Aquaculture Through A Decision Support Tool Considering Economic And Environmental Sustainability, Youngwoon Kim

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Aquaculture had already been distinguished as an important component of global food security and economics. However, aquaculture has expanded at the cost of natural resources and the environment. The vulnerability of the aquaculture industry due to the consequences of global environmental changes and energy price fluctuations has been addressed in various studies. The identification, planning, and implementation of sustainable energy systems are important to ensure the long term economic and environmental sustainability of aquaculture.

This research investigated sustainable energy systems for aquaculture using a life cycle approach, allowing for the identification of the most sustainable energy options under different geographical …

Curating Illustrations Of Lewis Carroll’S Alice’S Adventures In Wonderland, Lindsay Persohn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the 150 years since Lewis Carroll and John Tenniel (1865/1866) first published Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, various illustrators have found inspiration in this story to recreate its images again and again. Since Carroll and Tenniel, Wonderland has concerned itself with sociocultural ideas and the work of artists who re-illustrated this story provide ways to trace history of these ideas.

Accordingly, the purpose of this project was to examine connections and breaks with tradition in illustration that contribute to an evolution of meaning in the Wonderland story. Additionally, through this project, I worked to interpret ideas from different artists in …

The Relationship Between Sleep Quality And Motor Function In Hospitalized Older Adult Survivors Of Critical Illness, Maya N. Elías

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary, descriptive aim of this dissertation was to describe the nighttime sleep quality of previously mechanically ventilated older adult patients within 24-48 hours of transfer out of the intensive care unit (ICU) to a medical-surgical floor. The secondary, exploratory aim was to examine the relationships between post-ICU sleep efficiency (SE) and wake after sleep onset (WASO) with grip strength in previously mechanically ventilated older adult patients within 24-48 hours of transfer out of the ICU.

The study included 30 adults ages 65 and older (11 women, 19 men; age 71.37 ± 5.35, range 65-86 years), who were functionally independent …

The Moderating Effect Of Religion On Death Distress And Quality Of Life Between Christian Cancer Patients In The United States With Muslim Cancer Patients In Saudi Arabia, Doaa Almostadi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cancer is an illness that knows no international boundaries. There are more than eight million global cancer deaths each year. A life-threatening diagnosis generates significant emotional problems for many patients across cultures. Death distress—consisting of death depression, death anxiety and death obsession—often results in poorer treatment adherence and lower overall health and quality of life. The purpose of this study was to determine whether religiosity has a moderating effect on the relationship between death distress and quality of life among patients facing a life-threatening cancer diagnosis.

The study sample consisted of 118 cancer patients: 82 cancer patients from a National …

Transition Of Persons With Developmental Disabilities From Parental To Sibling Co-Residential Care: Effects On Sibling Caregiver Well-Being And Family Functioning, Richard Steven Glaesser

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Comprehensive improvements in medical care, technology and residential settings have resulted in persons with developmental disabilities (DD) advancing to older age and outliving parental caregivers (Heller & Arnold, 2010). Typical siblings are expected to become the primary caregiver to their sibling with DD when parents become ill or die and unable to provide care (Burke, Fish, & Lawton, 2015; Heller & Arnold, 2010). This dissertation looks at the wellbeing and family functioning of siblings who become the co-residential caregiver following the transition of a brother or sister with DD from parental to sibling co-residential care. The family systems framework was …

Operationalizing The Pressure And Release Theoretical Framework Using Risk Ratio Analysis To Measure Vulnerability And Predict Risk From Natural Hazards In The Tampa, Fl Metropolitan Area, Jessica A. Wilder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Significant damage and loss is experienced every year due to natural hazards such as hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, floods, wildfires, volcanoes, and earthquakes. NOAA’s National Center for Environmental Information (NCEI) reports that in 2016 the United States experienced more than a dozen climate disaster events with damages and loss in excess of a billion dollars (NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 2017). Identifying vulnerabilities and risk associated with disaster threats is now a major focus of natural hazards research. Natural hazards research has yielded numerous theoretical frameworks over the last 25 years that have explained important elements of risk and vulnerability …

Effects Of Preprinted Response Cards On Disruptive Behavior Of Students In An Inclusive Education Setting, Haley Paulish

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effects of preprinted response cards on disruptive behavior and rates and accuracy of responding of elementary-aged students in an inclusive education setting with or at risk for Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). An alternating treatments design with an additional baseline phase was used across three teacher recommended students. During baseline, the teacher conducted a group language arts routine as normal, posing questions to the class and prompting them to raise their hands to answer. During the intervention phase, preprinted response cards (two sets: one true/false and one A/B) were passed out to the class to utilize during …

Analysis Of User Interfaces In The Sharing Economy, Taylor B. Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis considers claims of discrimination and the interfaces that six platforms use as companies in the sharing economy.

In 2015, Benjamin Edelman, Michael Luca, and an Svirsky did an experiment with Airbnb to test the discrimination of names that sounded distinctly African American. Before and after their findings, there were members of the community who claimed that they had been discriminated against, some suing the company for not upholding their anti-discrimination policy. This leads to the question of how is one able to discriminate against someone whom they have never met and lives thousands of miles away? What information …

I’M Your Fan – Engaging In Celebrity’S Social Media Page With The Mediation Of Parasocial Interaction And Parasocial Relationship, Jiahui Zhuang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social media enable celebrity to interact with their followers and enable followers to build the relationship through the interaction. Former research has found that openness and perceived interactivity are antecedents for parasocial interaction. In order to investigate the way to increase user’s engagement in celebrity’s social media page, this research examines the relationship between celebrity’s posts employ openness and perceived interactivity, other user’s posts employ openness and perceived interactivity, parasocial interaction, parasocial relationship, and social media engagement. Survey data were collected from 595 followers of one Chinese celebrity through an online survey. The results indicate that neither celebrity’s nor other …

Impact Of Obesity And Expression Of Obesity-Related Genes In The Progression Of Prostate Cancer In African American Men, Mmadili Nancy Ilozumba

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the US, the incidence and mortality rates of prostate cancer (PCa) are higher among African American men compared to European American men. Obesity is an important risk factor of PCa. Obesity is known to alter the gene expression profiles in prostate tumors. This study evaluates the impact of obesity and the expression of obesity-related genes on the progression of PCa in African American men.

The primary outcome of interest is biochemical recurrence (BCR) of PCa. There were 48 African American prostate cancer patients in the study. The tissue samples included 42 normal tissues, 40 Prostate Intraepithelial Neoplasia (PIN) and …

Teacher-Implemented Presession Pairing To Improve Classroom Behaviors In Public Schools, Rachel M. Sofarelli

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Presession pairing is an antecedent intervention that has shown to decrease problem behavior of elementary school children with autism, whose problem behavior is maintained by social reinforcement. It has also shown modest increases in academic responding. However, the research on presession pairing has not examined its efficacy or acceptability in the natural classroom setting when implemented by the teacher. Therefore, this study used teacher training and a multiple baseline across participants design to test the potential efficacy of teacher-implemented presession pairing in increasing on-task behavior and reducing problem behavior of four students with problem behavior in inclusive public elementary school …

Incorporating Auditory And Visual Feedback And Student Choice Into An Interdependent Group Contingency To Improve On-Task Behavior, Beth Giguere

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Group contingencies are efficient and effective behavioral interventions that allow teachers to apply a reinforcement criterion to a large group of students. However, most research on group contingencies has not examined the impact of types of teacher feedback and student choice of teacher feedback incorporated into the use of group contingencies. The current study used a multiple baseline across participants design with an embedded alternating treatments design to explore the use of an interdependent group contingency that compared the effectiveness of incorporating auditory or visual feedback to improve student on-task behavior of three students in public elementary school classrooms. The …

Political Talk Shows In Taiwan: First- And Third-Person Effects, Their Attitudinal Antecedents And Consequences, Shou-Chen Hsieh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate empirically the political talk show phenomenon in Taiwan. Specifically, the study examined the perceived influence of political talk shows on the Taiwanese audience themselves (first-person effect) and others (third-person effect), the attitudinal antecedents of the perceived influences, and attitude toward restrictions on political talk shows. Data were collected from a convenient sample of 1053 adult Taiwanese citizens via an online survey. The results supported the hypothesized relationships between attitude toward political talk shows and perceived influence of the shows on self and others. Results also supported the looking glass perception hypothesis whereby …

General Education Teachers’ Perceptions Of Response To Intervention Implementation: A Qualitative Interview Study, Adhwaa Alahmari

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this interview study was to explore teachers’ perceptions of Response to Intervention (RtI) implementation in their school. Particularly, the study explored teachers’ knowledge of RtI, teachers’ perceptions of RtI tiers intervention/instruction in their school, and teachers’ suggestions of RtI implementation in their school. The study design was a qualitative interview study and data were collected from the face-to-face interviews with four teachers in one school. Findings revealed that RtI is meant to identify students’ problems. Positive teachers’ perceptions of their implementation included: (a) Students who demonstrate progress through RtI, (b) Students who receive special education services, (c) …

Once Upon A Genre: Distant Reading, The Newbery Medal, And The Affordances Of Interdisciplinary Paradigms For Understanding Children’S Literature, Melanie Griffin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Typical critical patterns for studying children’s literature, defined in this study as a written text intended for a reader up to the age of 14, make it difficult to chart generic change across a large corpus of texts. Traditionally, criticism of children’s literature focuses on cherry picked archetypes, exemplars, and the standout extraordinary. This study employs interdisciplinary methods and data sources from library science, education, and literary studies to create a method for analyzing a sample corpus of children’s literature more holistically vis-à-vis distant, macroscopic reading techniques.

In this dissertation, I macroscopically read the corpus of Newbery Medal-winning texts in …

An Exploration Of The Relationship Between Institutional Financial Resources And Global Ranking, Matthew S. Anderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Global rankings are a popular way for governments, HEI’s, faculty, staff, and students to compare institutions worldwide, therefore it is important to rank well. However, in order to have top-quality research and education programs, HEI’s need to have significant financial resources. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between an institution’s financial resources and its global ranking. The results of this study provide additional insight and a better understanding of global rankings and the nature of the relationship between various financial resources and global rankings.

This was a quantitative study that used ranking data from the Academic …

Design And Implementation Of A Ferrocement Improved Cookstove In Rural Panama, Josh Donegan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Household air pollution contributes to the premature death of more than 4 million people annually. Improved cookstoves are one technological intervention that can potentially reduce exposure to household air pollution. However, improved cookstove implementation programs need to consider measures to increase sustainability and promote long-term adoption. The objectives of this research were 1) to develop and implement a new ferrocement cookstove for Peña Blanca, a rural indigenous community in the Ngäbe-Bugle region of Panama, 2) to evaluate its potential sustainability in comparison to the most common cooking technologies observed in the community, 3) to prepare a construction manual for the …

"Ain't I A Woman?": Black Women Negotiate And Resist Systemic Oppression In Undergraduate Engineering And Mathematics Disciplines, Jessica Alyce Wilson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this inquiry I used Black Feminist Thought as the interpretive lens to investigate the characterizations and experiences of high achieving Black women undergraduate engineering and mathematics majors at a predominantly white institution. The qualitative inquiry considered intersecting oppressions to evaluate the experiences of this population. In particular, Black women operate in the intersection of race and gender, thus for a thorough analysis of their engineering and mathematics experiences to occur, the historical context of the United States and its oppressive structures must be considered. Stereotypes and systemic oppression follow this socially constructed identity as the participants enter the fields …

Perceptions Of Arab American Mothers Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Exploratory Study, Haifa Alsayyari

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A gap exists in the literature regarding the needs, concerns, and overall experiences of Arab American parents of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (Al Khatib, 2017; Goforth, 2011; Haboush, 2007). This study explored the experiences of five Arab American mothers of children with ASD. A qualitative interview approach, utilizing in-depth interviews, was used in order to investigate Arab American parents’ experiences of caring for children with ASD, their cultural beliefs and understandings of their children’s ASD, and their concerns and needs regarding their children. Six themes emerged from the interview data, which offered insight into Arab American parents’ …

Distinguishing Patterns Of Utopia And Dystopia, East And West, Huai-Hsuan Huang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Before Sir Thomas More published Utopia and defined his ideal world with this fictional land, humans had been looking for their ideal society for centuries based on various religions and cultures. Yet, there are a few studies focusing on Utopia and Dystopia in cross-cultural contexts. This thesis will explore the two main questions: 1) can Utopia and Dystopia be separated? and 2) how does the utopian concept in the West involve in Eastern culture during the postwar period in postcolonial perspective?

Phoenix in Japan and THX 1138 in U.S. are two well-known works during the post-World War II period via …

“I Use To Pray And Ask God To Give Me Another Chance”: A Phenomenological Analysis Of Black Males’ Journey Attending An Alternative School, Jimmy R. Caldwell Jr

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests that there still exists a disproportionate number of Black males who have contact with juvenile justice systems across this nation (Nance, 2016). The disproportionate placement of students of color, specifically, Black American males in alternative schools, serves as the gateway to the school-to-prison-pipeline (Pelzer, 2012). This study examined the lived educational experiences of two Black American juvenile males, who enrolled in an alternative school in the Southeast. This study incorporated phenomenological and narrative methods and provides rich, descriptive analyses of the participants’ experiences while attending an alternative school. Findings from this study revealed instability among the participants’ home …

Spatial-Temporal Distribution Of Mosquito Larval Hot Spots In Papoli, Uganda: A Community-Based Approach To Mosquito Control, Ryan E. Tokarz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mosquito species of the Anopheles gambaie complex are the predominant vectors of malaria transmission throughout sub-Saharan Africa. These mosquitoes tend to be endophilic, as well as anthropophilic, making them prime candidates for disease transmission. Within the same region, related mosquito vectors play a significant role in the transmission of additional human and zoonotic diseases. Furthermore, mosquito nuisance biting is an immense issue that cannot be ignored in terms of its impact on African communities. Depending on the respective factors involved, mosquito control programs throughout the continent have attempted to tackle these issues in a multitude of ways. This research approached …