Digital Commons Network^™

"Beautifully Awful": A Feminist Ethnography Of Women Veterans' Experiences With Transition From Military Service, Kiersten H. Downs

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As issues of gender inequality in the military are addressed, women will continue to fill jobs traditionally occupied by men, and ultimately take on a greater percentage of leadership responsibility. For these reasons, women will remain the fastest growing population within our active duty forces. An increased need for research, advocacy, and resources for programs and services designed specifically for women veterans is necessary in order to prepare for an upsurge in the numbers of women who will be seeking services in the years to come. This research utilized a feminist ethnographic approach for data collection and analysis. Data was …

Improving Reading Comprehension Of Children With Asd: Implication Of Anaphoric Reference Support With Computer Programming, Seda Karayazi Ozsayin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effects of anaphoric pronouns presented via computer screen on the reading comprehension of four children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Stories from the education.com website were used to collect data. The students’ responses to reading comprehension questions during baseline, treatment, and follow-up sessions were analyzed. The perceptions of students regarding anaphoric pronouns were also analyzed. Initially, reading levels, fluency and comprehension rate, of the students with ASD were identified via the Gray Oral Reading Test, Fifth edition (GORT-5), Test of Narrative Language (TNL), and Test of Narrative Language, Second edition (TNL-2). A randomized multiple baseline (MBL) …

The Control Of Water Contaminants Assisted By Natural Materials, Wen Zhao

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Natural materials can be used to remove water contaminants by applying proper physical, chemical, and biological water treatment processes. This study involves using natural materials, as they are considered to be more environmentally benign and cost-effective than synthetic materials. This dissertation concentrates on monitoring five major water quality parameters—ammonia, fluoride, turbidity, pH, and fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) —in two major applications where clean water is needed. The focus is on meeting the water quality requirements for each contaminant. The overall objective of this study is to control the levels of ammonia in aquaculture wastewater, and adjust fluoride, turbidity, pH, and …

Episodic Work-Family Conflict And Strain: A Dynamic Perspective, Kimberly A. French

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Given rising work and family demands in our society for both men and women, the experience of work-family conflict is commonplace. Work-family conflict occurs when the demands of work or family make it difficult to meet the demands of the alternate domain. A sizeable body of research has established work-family conflict and its nomological network. Despite decades of research, we have yet to form a precise understanding of when work-family conflicts occur and what happens when a conflict arises. The current research addresses these questions using an experience sampling, episodic approach. Two primary research questions are addressed. First, I used …

The Ecology Of Antibiotic Resistance: Sources And Persistence Of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci And Antibiotic Resistant Genes In Aquatic Environments, Suzanne M. Young

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The growing crisis of antibiotic resistance is a major threat to ecosystems and human health. Infections caused by known and emerging antibiotic resistant pathogens are on the rise globally, with approximately 700,000 deaths per year caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria (1). In the United States, infections from antibiotic resistant bacteria cause more than 2 million illnesses and 23,000 deaths (2). Antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes are released into aquatic ecosystems through hospital waste, residential sewer lines and animal agricultural waste streams. Animal agriculture accounts for approximately 70% of antibiotic use in the United States (3). In agricultural ecosystems, …

Learning To Predict Clinical Outcomes From Soft Tissue Sarcoma Mri, Hamidreza Farhidzadeh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Soft Tissue Sarcomas (STS) are among the most dangerous diseases, with a 50% mortality rate in the USA in 2016. Heterogeneous responses to the treatments of the same sub-type of STS as well as intra-tumor heterogeneity make the study of biopsies imprecise. Radiologists make efforts to find non-invasive approaches to gather useful and important information regarding characteristics and behaviors of STS tumors, such as aggressiveness and recurrence. Quantitative image analysis is an approach to integrate information extracted using data science, such as data mining and machine learning with biological an clinical data to assist radiologists in making the best recommendation …

Evaluating Satellite And Supercomputing Technologies For Improved Coastal Ecosystem Assessments, Matthew James Mccarthy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water quality and wetlands represent two vital elements of a healthy coastal ecosystem. Both experienced substantial declines in the U.S. during the 20^th century. Overall coastal wetland cover decreased over 50% in the 20^th century due to coastal development and water pollution. Management and legislative efforts have successfully addressed some of the problems and threats, but recent research indicates that the diffuse impacts of climate change and non-point source pollution may be the primary drivers of current and future water-quality and wetland stress. In order to respond to these pervasive threats, traditional management approaches need to adopt modern …

Constructing A Clinical Research Data Management System, Michael C. Quintero

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Clinical study data is usually collected without knowing what kind of data is going to be collected in advance. In addition, all of the possible data points that can apply to a patient in any given clinical study is almost always a superset of the data points that are actually recorded for a given patient. As a result of this, clinical data resembles a set of sparse data with an evolving data schema. To help researchers at the Moffitt Cancer Center better manage clinical data, a tool was developed called GURU that uses the Entity Attribute Value model to handle …

How Did I Get Here? Testing The Translation Of The Morris Water Maze And The Influence Of Hemoglobin A1c On Spatial Navigation Performance, Colleen Pappas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Changes in cognitive status occur with aging and significant attention has been placed on developing interventions to possibly delay cognitive decline and identifying risk factors that exacerbate cognitive deficits. One issue that arises when studying interventions is that they do not always effectively translate from animal models to human subjects. When testing potentially modifiable risk factors related to cognitive impairment, more sensitive metrics could help in identifying targets for intervention at earlier time-points. Therefore, the aims of the current dissertation were twofold. The first study examined the ability to translate between species using a common behavioral paradigm, the Morris water …

Effect Of Exergaming On Physical Activity Of Adults With Intellectual Disabilities, Jennifer Dawn Vergara

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor related to death (World Health Organization, 2016a). Thus, the World Health Organization (2016a) suggests engaging in at least 150 min of physical activity (PA) throughout the week. Many individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) engage in sedentary lifestyles that raise concern about their long-term health. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of exergaming on PA and intensity when implemented with adults with ID. Four adult males diagnosed with ID were recruited. During the scheduled phase, percent occurrence of PA was variable across both conditions for each participant. During the …

Influence Of Leadership, Peer Status, And Social Goals On Overt And Relational Aggression During Early Adolescence, Casey Schick

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Peer relationships are highly salient during early adolescence, especially during the first year of middle school. As a result, coolness (a facet of peer status) is prioritized and increasingly associated with aggression. Recent research indicates the relationship between peer status (coolness) and aggression is moderated by social goals (popularity, dominance, intimacy) and gender. Leadership among peers is also salient during early adolescence, although it is understudied in comparison to peer status (coolness). Leadership is worth additional investigation, as youth leaders are considered interpersonally competent and possess the social skills necessary to influence peer behavior. Research is needed to examine the …

Water, Sanitation, And Citizenship: Perceptions Of Water Scarcity, Reuse, And Sustainability In Valparaiso De Goias, Brazil, Paola Andrea Gonzalez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Access to reliable water and sanitation are two important goals to improve livelihoods around the world. Providing access to improved and safe water resources that are equitable and appropriate to local needs is important to improve sustainability long-term. In addition, framing access to water and sanitation as basic human rights is often used as a rationale in developing new water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions in developing countries around the world. But not all countries consider access to safe water and sanitation as a human right. In the thesis, the politics of improving and investment in water access and sanitation provision …

Household Food Waste Prevention In Malaysia: An Issue Processes Model Perspective, Syahirah Abd Razak

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Food waste has been a worldwide concern for several decades but this problem is relatively new in the Malaysian context due to the increasing amount of food waste in recent years. Thus, the goal of the study is to provide the basic information of knowledge and involvement level, and their interaction in food waste prevention among households in Malaysia. This study seek to further mass communication research in the area of food waste. The Hallahan’s Issues Processes Model was used within this study in order to determine the relationship between knowledge, involvement, and food waste prevention behavior. The convenience sampling …

The Ability Of The U.S. Army Heat Strain Decision Aid (Hsda) To Predict A Limiting Heat Stress Exposure, Katelynn E. Glisson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Working below the threshold limit value (TLV) for heat stress is not always feasible. When work above the TLV is required, an exposure method is needed that can help protect workers from time limiting heat stress by calculating a safe time for work at certain heat exposures. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the USARIEM Heat Strain Decision Aid (HSDA) can be used to predict time limiting heat stress exposure in an occupational setting.

Twelve adults participated in time limited heat stress exposures. A range of heat stress conditions were designed using three different ensembles and five …

Psychopathic Traits, Gender, And Sexual Motivations: Paths To Sexual Coercion, Amy M. Hoffmann

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although evidence suggests that both men and women perpetrate sexual coercion, the majority of work has traditionally focused on men as perpetrators and women as victims. Psy-chological factors, including psychopathic traits and sexual motivations, have been proposed to characterize sexually coercive men. However, the sparse existing research using female samples suggests that these models may not adequately characterize female sexual coercers. In particular, although there is evidence that sexual motivations may mediate the relationship between psycho-pathic traits and coercion perpetration, there is a dearth of information regarding gender as a po-tential moderator of these mediating paths. To improve our understanding …

Predicting Hand Surface Area From A Two-Dimensional Hand Tracing, Myles O'Mara

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent occupational health studies have focused on dermal exposure at the hands, but have been unable to accurately express dose without knowing the HSA. There is no standard method to calculate HSA, though some researchers have derived HSA formulas based on dimensions from a Taiwanese population. This research paper describes a shortcut method to estimate the hand surface area (HSA) of a human hand from a two-dimensional hand tracing, and repeated a Taiwanese HSA study in order to explore the viability of its HSA formula in an American university population. A sample of nine adult men and nine adult women, …

An Exploration Of Social Determinants Of Health Constructs As Potential Mediators Between Disability And Condom Usage, Karina Pineda

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is limited knowledge on the sexual health behaviors of young adults with physical disabilities, as people with disabilities have traditionally been treated homogenously without acknowledgement of the potential differences between disability types. The objective of this study was twofold. The first goal was to take a novel approach by guidance of the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) framework to compare how young adults with physical disabilities compare against those without physical disabilities in: 1) vaginal sexual activity, 2) condom usage, and 3) the effect of SDOH factors as potential mediators in predicting unprotected vaginal sex. Relatedly, the second goal …

Capturing Resilience In Context: Development And Validation Of A Situational Judgment Test Of Resilience, Yuejia Teng

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study developed a 40-item situational judgment test (SJT) to measure resilience in context. Undergraduate samples were used in the study and situational stems of the SJT consisted of both daily stressors and major life crises; each response alternative was designed to reflect one of five resilience-related factors. A crowd-sourcing method was utilized to create scoring keys for the SJT. The Resilience SJT demonstrated good psychometric properties, and showed evidence of construct and criterion-related validity. The SJT scores moderately correlated with scores from two resilience Likert scales, a hardiness scale as well as a negative affect scale. Compared to …

Mechanism Elucidation And Inhibitor Discovery Against Serine And Metallo-Beta-Lactamases Involved In Bacterial Antibiotic Resistance, Orville A. Pemberton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The emergence and proliferation of Gram-negative bacteria expressing β-lactamases is a significant threat to human health. β-Lactamases are enzymes that degrade the β-lactam antibiotics (e.g., penicillins, cephalosporins, monobactams, and carbapenems) that we use to treat a diverse range of bacterial infections. Specifically, β-lactamases catalyze a hydrolysis reaction where the β-lactam ring common to all β-lactam antibiotics and responsible for their antibacterial activity, is opened, leaving an inactive drug. There are two groups of β-lactamases: serine enzymes that use an active site serine residue for β-lactam hydrolysis and metalloenzymes that use either one or two zinc ions for catalysis. Serine enzymes …

Intimate Partner Violence And The Capacity And Desire For Self-Control, Krista Taralynne Brewer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The effect of self-control on one’s criminal offending is a product of both an individual’s capacity to exercise self-control as well as their desire to exercise self-control. The present study utilized self-report data gathered at a large urban university in Florida (n=1,307) to test the independent and interactive effects of control-capacity and control-desire on intimate partner violence perpetration. The study suggests that while both capacity and desire for control have effects on one’s likelihood of reporting IPV, these effects are independent of each other.

A Component Analysis Of Response Interruption And Redirection For Vocal Stereotypy In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Katherine Peña

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Response Interruption and Redirection (RIRD) was compared to no-interaction, continuous neutral sound, and contingent neutral sound in order to determine the mechanism by which RIRD functions to suppress vocal stereotypy in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. A neutral sound was determined through the use of a preference assessment of various sounds. Use of a neutral sound did not suppress vocal stereotypy in participants. Manipulating the amount of time with a sound playing did not have an effect on vocal stereotypy either. These results suggest that it is unlikely that RIRD suppresses vocal stereotypy through an extinction-like effect. Rather, it …

The Role Of High-Elevation Headwater Runoff In Streamflow Generation And Water Supply In The Northern Andes, Colombia, Laura Lotero Lozano

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water security requires that sufficient quantities of water be available at critical times. This is particularly challenging for high-intensity urban and agricultural settings. In underdeveloped nations, streamflow is commonly the preferred water source, as it is readily available and delivered cost-free to users. Yet, the sources of these critical streamflows are often unknown. This issue is salient in the Northern Andes, where basic knowledge of controlling factors for the quantity, quality, and timing of runoff is lacking. High-elevation headwaters are the primary catchment areas in the Northern Andes, but the extent of water providing to municipalities in the Northern Andes …

Cyber Deterrence Against Cyberwar Between The United States And China: A Power Transition Theory Perspective, Yavuz Akdag

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the last three decades, states and societies have increasingly been connected to each other through Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) such as satellites and the Internet, thus expanding the sphere of influence of cyberspace. While offering numerous economic and security benefits, this increased global connectivity also poses various security challenges and threats at the national and international level. In particular, the threat of cyberwar has become one of the top national security issues in both the United States and China, as reflected in an increasing number of cyber disputes between the two nations recently. In the wake of this …

Diagnostic Divisions Of Eating Disorders: A Critical Analysis, Channah A. Leff

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this thesis is to critically examine the diagnostic divisions of eating disorders as proposed within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). I focus on Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder, and Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED), although there were several new categories issued in 2013. Using person-centered ethnographic interviews, focus groups, participant observation, and autoethnography, I collected qualitative data to highlight how disordered eaters perceive themselves and their behaviors in relation to their diagnoses. I recruited participants in Boston, MA from Eating Disorders Anonymous (EDA), a decentralized network of support groups …

Can We Re-Use “Single-Use” Solid Phase Extraction Cartridges?, Erin R. Morrison

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Organic and inorganic compounds are present as contaminants in varying concentrations throughout our water cycle. Examples of these contaminants include the endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) bisphenol-A (BPA) and 17β-estradiol (E2) from plastics and pharmaceutical use. It can be necessary to obtain the concentration of these compounds within the water cycle for analysis by interested parties such as research groups, regulatory agencies, and private organizations. These concentrations, however, can be too dilute within the initial sample for analysis. Therefore it is necessary to concentrate the compound of interest (analyte) prior to analysis. One such way to do this is by way …

The Road To The White House: A Correlational Analysis Of Twitter Sentiment And National Polls In The 2016 Election Cycle, Melissa G. Pelletier

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, the author examines the last 131 days of the 2016 election cycle. This analysis focuses on how sentiment is present on Twitter when people engage in political communication on social media. With the increasing online political discussions created on social media such as Twitter, an analysis of sentiment is critical. The data could be obtainable for candidates to estimate the electorate’s opinion of each candidate. A shift of sentiment offers a deeper insight into tracking changing attitudes toward candidates. Because Twitter only allows each tweet to be 140 characters there is a simplicity that offers statements to …

Perceptions Affecting Tree Valuation: An Analysis Of Recently Sold And Leased Properties In Tampa, Florida, Cody R. Winter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The urban forest is a structure that is fluid in both species composition and how it is integrated in our cities and suburban areas. Much like the fluidity in its structure, the urban forest provides ecosystem services and disservices in many forms. These services and disservices can often come in the form of temperature regulation, lower crime rates, and even higher property values. The latter, which is associated with the economic value of trees, is a part of the hedonic pricing literature which suggests that there is a disparity in the value associated with trees to house prices. With the …

Smog Pollution In China: News Framing And Issue-Attention Cycle Per The, Yingying Zhang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

China's smog air pollution has become an increasingly urgent environmental crisis in China. Using framing as theoretical framework, this research examined how much media attention is focused on smog air pollution and how print media frame smog air pollution. An empirical content analysis of 339 articles in the People’s Daily newspaper was conducted from 2000 to 2016, and the results showed that “non-voluntary solutions” and “problem” frames were the two frames that had been most utilized to construct stories about air pollution. Smog air pollution crisis also discussed in terms of Downs issue-attention cycle, a five-stage model explaining the rise …

The Impact Of Traumatic Event Exposure In The Emergency Medical Services: A Weekly Diary Study, Stephanie A. Andel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Emergency Medical Service (EMS) professionals are consistently exposed to a variety of traumatic events on the job, such as cases that involve the death or injury of a patient, being physically threatened, or encountering a mass casualty incident. Not surprisingly, research has found that such traumatic exposure has major implications, as it has been related to a plethora of negative strain outcomes such as posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms and burnout. However, at this point, research has not empirically examined the mechanisms by which these traumatic events lead to strain. Therefore, this study aims to further investigate these mechanisms by incorporating …

Validation Of The Electronic Kids Dietary Index (E-Kindex) Screening Tool For Early Identification Of Risk For Overweight/Obesity (Ow/Ob) In A Pediatric Population: Associations With Quality Of Life Perceptions, Patricia A. Hall

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite a worsening obesity epidemic and despite the American Medical Association (AMA) declaring Obesity a disease (2013), few assessment tools exist that assist practitioners who are charged with identifying risk for development of OW/OB in children. The Center for Health Statistics (2017) reported a 40% rate in obesity in the adult population and 18.5% in children in the U.S. Successful weight loss maintenance after 1 to 2 years of non-invasive treatment is less than 1%, indicating obesity is nearly incurable, making prevention imperative. Assessing risk for OW/OB in children has proven difficult given the lack of validated tools. The purposes …