Digital Commons Network^™

Sisters In Arms: A Case Study Of The Experiences Of Women Warriors In The United States Military, Carmen Teresa Stein-Mccormick

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Presently there are few studies that describe the current experiences of women warriors relative to issues such as sexual hostility, sexual harassment, and other uncommon experiences during their military careers. Very little is known about how being a woman in a male-dominated military may affect women warriors' choices between making the military a career or returning to civilian life. With better understanding of women warriors' military experiences, mental health professionals, educators, and other human services professionals may have a better understanding of the issues that may affect women in the military. To date there are limited studies that have examined …

Indicators Of Early Adult And Current Personality In Parkinson's Disease, Kelly Sullivan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Previous epidemiologic studies suggest that the personality of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients differs from that of controls, and laboratory evidence supports a potential common pathophysiology of personality traits and PD. One nested case-control study found that PD cases were significantly more anxious than controls before the clinical onset of the disease, and additional data suggest that certain occupations may be risk factors for the disease. Additionally, the latent period that precedes the onset of motor symptoms of PD is unknown.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the association of PD with objective indicators of current and …

The Role Of Contextual Associations In The Selection Of Objects, Noah Patrick Sulman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper describes a sequence of experiments addressing basic questions about the control of visual attention and the relationship between attention and object recognition. This work reviews compelling findings addressing attentional control on the basis of high-level perceptual properties. In five experiments observers were presented with a rapid sequence of object photographs and instructed to either detect or selectively encode a verbally cued object category. When these object categories (e.g. "baseball") were preceded by contextual images associated with a given object category (e.g. "baseball diamond"), observers were less likely to accurately report information about the target item. This effect obtained …

Patient Safety In Nursing Homes, Kali Thomas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Safety of residents has gained increased popularity in recent years following a report from the Institute of Medicine attributing 98,000 hospital deaths each year to errors by staff. As a result, regulatory agencies, advocates, and health care providers have shifted their focus to understanding patient safety and developing a culture that promotes safety. However, nursing homes lag behind other health care providers in their adoption of a patient safety culture and understanding what factors affect safety in resident care. These insights are needed to ensure that nursing home residents receive the safe care.

The purpose of this dissertation is to …

Parent Response To Adolescent Self-Injurious Behavior: A Collective Case Study, Kylee Sue Tuls

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research in the area of self-injurious behaviors and the family context is still emerging. The majority of research available is quantitative in nature. The limited qualitative research available in this area has been conducted outside of the United States. A collective case study was conducted with four parents with an adolescent that had been admitted to an inpatient psychiatric residential facility with a presenting problem of self-injurious behavior. The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth, qualitative understanding of the parent perspective and comprehension of adolescent self-injurious behavior including the parents' ideas on how the parent-child relationship or …

Global Leadership In Higher Education Administration: Perspectives On Internationalization By University Presidents, Vice-Presidents And Deans, Janice Sullivan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to identify international university administrators' perspectives on organizational strategies to support higher education internationalization. Internationalization is the conscious effort to integrate international, intercultural, and global dimensions into the ethos and outcomes of higher education (NAFSA, 2008). A descriptive survey design method was used and the instrument entitled "Strategic Internationalization Priority Scale" was developed for this research. This study is quantitative and cross-sectional. The online survey was sent to 1,043 top university administrators at 149 universities in 50 countries. These universities had active international agreements with the University of South Florida at the time of …

People In Between: The Value Of Life Stories In Exploring The Needs Of Colombian Asylum Seekers, Poonam R. Valliappan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The long, protracted civil war, spanning nearly fifty years, in the South American nation of Colombia has displaced almost four million civilians in as much time. Tens of thousands of refugees were resettled in Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela and other neighboring countries. Some, still threatened in their country of first asylum, and resettled to the United States (US) with their families, must learn to navigate the often complex systems of life and living in America. Resettlement programs that focus primarily on immediate needs such as employment and accommodations are aware of the growing need for more long&ndashterm assistance. However, while there …

A Comparison Of Latina Women In Centeringpregnancy And Individual Prenatal Care, Tara E. Trudnak

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

CenteringPregnancy is a model of group prenatal care that replaces routine, individual prenatal care. The program brings women together into small groups to receive their care and prenatal education, and is based on three components: risk assessment, education, and support. The model is client-centered, designed to empower pregnant women and support persons, and involves the woman in small group discussions of 8-10 other women of similar gestational age. The group discussions provide support, help women educate each other, and invoke self-monitoring. Currently, there have been few publications that closely examined maternal weight and obesity and associated outcomes in women involved …

The Role Of Brca1 Domains And Motifs In Tumor Suppression, Aneliya Velkova

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Individuals that carry deleterious mutations in the breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1) have much more elevated risk to develop breast and/or ovarian cancer than the individuals from the general population. The BRCA1 gene product has been implicated in several aspects of the DNA damage response, but its biochemical function in these processes has remained elusive. In order to probe BRCA1 functions we conducted a yeast two-hybrid screening to identify interacting partners to a conserved motif (Motif 6) in the central region of BRCA1. In this dissertation, we report the identification of the actin-binding protein Filamin A (FLNA) …

Life And Death Journeys: Medical Travel, Cancer, And Children In Argentina, Cecilia Vindrola Padros

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent studies on the Argentine public health system have demonstrated that the lack of medical resources in different parts of the country force pediatric oncology patients and their family members to travel to Buenos Aires in order to access care. This internal migration poses difficulties for these families as travel and resettlement are expensive, lead to the separation of family members, and interrupt the child's schooling. This dissertation was designed to document the everyday life experiences of traveling families in order to understand the barriers they faced while attempting to access medical treatment and the strategies they used to surmount …

School Psychologists' Communication And Collaboration With Community-Based Mental Health Professionals, Audra St. John Walsh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although collaboration between school psychologists and community-based mental health professionals is essential in the provision of comprehensive and effective mental health services for youth with intensive mental health needs, youth may not receive the full benefit of these coordinated efforts, as collaboration may not occur as often as it should. This study investigated the frequency of communication and collaboration between school- and community-based professionals, the purposes and methods of communication, and the benefits and barriers to collaboration. Survey data from 80 members of the Florida Association of School Psychologists were collected and analyzed. Forty-three percent of school psychologists reported communicating …

Celestial Bodies, Jared Calvin White

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The following is a collection of original poetry written over a span of three years while attending the University of South Florida. The poetry is divided into five numbered sections, marking the major thematic divisions. Preceding the poetry is a critical introduction to the work that outlines the author's developing thematic ideology.

Assessment Of Fertility Potential In Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus): An Elisa-Based Biomarker Analysis, Leslie Schwierzke Wade

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As apex predators in coastal systems, bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are susceptible to persistent organic pollutant (POP) accumulation and retention over time, which has prompted continued interest in understanding the extent to which contaminant body burdens or other stressors are sufficient to cause adverse sublethal effects on energetic fitness, immune function, or reproduction. Increasing our knowledge of reproductive endocrinology in bottlenose dolphins may provide insight into changes in reproductive rates, thereby expanding the capacity to assess conservation status. This study used the Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA) technique to examine peptide fertility hormones [inhibin A, inhibin B and anti-Müllerian …

The African American Women's Summit: A Case Study Of A Professional Development Program Developed By And For African American Women Student Affairs Professionals, Nicole Mary-Ella West

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While African American women have been participating in American higher education for more than a century, they remain significantly underrepresented among college and university administrators. Researchers have noted that when these women are able to secure administrative positions, many of them contend with intense isolation and marginalization, which compromises their personal well-being and jeopardizes their professional success. Black feminist scholars have suggested that African American women may be assisted by involving themselves in supportive networks that provide them the opportunity to connect with other African American women. Further, these scholars contend that these activities should be facilitated by African American …

Detection Of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers In Ambient Air At A Wastewater Treatment Facility In Tampa, Florida, Brenda L. White

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study was to quantify the ambient air concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) from three locations within the Howard Curren Wastewater Treatment Facility located in Tampa, Florida. PBDEs have been linked to endocrine disruption, cancer, developmental concerns in children, as well as other toxic effects; however their precise roles concerning these deleterious effects remains to be determined. The present study was motivated by these potential health concerns posed by inhalational exposure to PBDEs. Ambient air was monitored with a Tisch Environmental PUF high volume sampler for 48 hours with collection on three types of media-quarts filter, …

Statistical Models For Environmental And Health Sciences, Yong Xu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Statistical analysis and modeling are useful for understanding the behavior of different phenomena. In this study we will focus on two areas of applications: Global warming and cancer research. Global Warming is one of the major environmental challenge people face nowadays and cancer is one of the major health problem that people need to solve.

For Global Warming, we are interest to do research on two major contributable variables: Carbon dioxide (CO2) and atmosphere temperature. We will model carbon dioxide in the atmosphere data with a system of differential equations. We will develop a differential equation for each of six …

Sharps Injuries In Medical Training: Higher Risk For Residents Than For Medical Students, Rachel Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Because of their relative inexperience in performing procedures and handling sharps devices, medical students and resident physicians are considered to be at high risk for sharps injuries. A higher rate of sharps injuries for medical trainees implies a higher risk for occupationally-acquired infection with bloodborne pathogens and may have financial and legal implications for training institutions. This study examines the prevalence of sharps injuries among US medical students and resident physicians. A systematic review of the literature yielded 10 studies that gave data on sharps injuries for US medical students or residents, and those data were combined with data from …

A Mixed Method Study On The Peripartum Experience And Postpartum Effects Of Emergency Hysterectomy Due To Postpartum Hemorrhage, Cara De La Cruz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: Little is known about the experience and psychological outcomes for women who experience emergency peripartum hysterectomy (EPH). The objective of this study was to explore women's experiences of EPH and to determine if women who experience EPH were more likely to experience mental health sequelae.

Methods: This mixed method design involved a quantitative and a qualitative phase. The quantitative phase used a retrospective cohort design. Women were sampled through on-line communities, including an EPH support group, and a larger website for mothers. Women completed on-line surveys covering sociodemographic, obstetric/gynecological/ and psychiatric information, including screens for depression and Post-Traumatic Stress …

The Evaluation Of Hybrid Slurry Resulting From The Introduction Of Additives To Mineral Slurries, Kyle Douglas Yeasting

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Drilled shaft construction often requires the use of drill slurry to maintain borehole stability during excavation and concreting. While drill slurry may be composed of fluids ranging from air to petroleum, drilled shaft construction typically makes use of water based drilling fluids. Although clean water may be utilized as a drilling fluid, a premixed slurry consisting of water, minerals, and/or polymers is more commonly used. Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) specifications require the use of mineral slurry for all primary structures. The slurry resists the intrusion of groundwater, slows the outward migration of drilling fluid from the excavation, and aids …

Evaluating The Use Of Task Clarification, Self-Monitoring And Performance Feedback, Jennifer Marie Rodriguez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The effects of self-monitoring, task clarification, and performance feedback on the performance of critical tasks by assembly group supervisors in a manufacturing company were examined. This intervention involved the training of a supervisor to use task clarification, self-monitoring, and performance feedback to improve the work performance of the participating group leaders. A multiple baseline across participants and tasks design was used to examine the effects of the intervention. Measures included: generalization of group leader performance to another work period, procedural fidelity for training the supervisor, intervention integrity of the supervisor's training of the group leaders, treatment acceptability, and social validity. …

Design Of Small Scale Anaerobic Digesters For Application In Rural Developing Countries, Laurel Erika Rowse

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The high incidence of upper respiratory diseases, contamination of waterways due to pathogens and nutrients from human and animal wastes, unsustainable deforestation, gender disparities in burden of disease due to unequal exposure to indoor air pollutants, and carbon black emissions from the burning of solid fuels are interrelated problems in many developing countries. Small scale anaerobic digestion provides a means of alleviating these problems by treating livestock waste onsite to produce biogas (methane and carbon dioxide) in rural areas in developing countries. Fuel can then be used for cooking, lighting, and heating. Methane fuel is an alternative to traditional three-stone …

Identification Of Patient Recovery Patterns After Cardiovascular Surgery Based On Laboratory Tests Results, Alcides Ricardo Santander Mercado

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation is proposed a methodology to identify patient's recovery patterns after cardiovascular surgery based on laboratory tests results. The main purpose is to enhance the understanding of the manifestations of postsurgical complications in patients who underwent cardiovascular surgery. The analysis of patients' recovery process is based on the relationship between plasma calcium, ionized calcium and platelet count over time.

Laboratory results from the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital databases, related to patients admitted to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) after cardiac surgery (coronary artery bypass, aortic value replacement and mitral valve replacement), are used. These databases contain …

The Effects Of Manipulating Conditioned Establishing Operations On The Acquisition Of Mands In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Claudia Troconis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In Verbal Behavior, Skinner (1957) suggested that each verbal operant has independent response functions, in which acquiring one does not automatically result in the other, unless transfer between the verbal operants is directly trained. Although several researchers have shown that mands and tacts are functionally independent, more recent research has demonstrated that mands may emerge following tact training. However, this research has not clarified the influence of establishing operations on the emergence of pure mands following tact training. Therefore, the present study investigated the effects of tact training on the acquisition of impure and pure mands in children with autism …

The Impact Of Hospice And Dementia Special Care Units On End-Of-Life Care For Individuals With Dementia, Catherine Elizabeth Mccarty

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Hospice and Dementia Special Care Units (DSCUs) have been shown to be gold standards of care for individuals who are dying and for those with dementia in nursing homes. Using a retrospective administrator and family survey, this study investigated whether the processes of care used in hospice and DSCUs are associated with increased quality of end of life (EOL) care for individuals with dementia. A convenience sample of 17 facilities in four states (FL, PA, MD and MA) was included in the study. Nursing home administrators were surveyed between September 2008 and October 2009. The administrators identified 116 family …

Fabrication And Characterization Of Electrospun Cactus Mucilage Nanofibers, Yanay Pais

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work seeks to fabricate, optimize, and characterize nanofibers of cactus Opuntia ficus-indica mucilage and Poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) by electrospinning. Mucilage is a neutral mixture of sugars produced by cactus and PVA is a non-toxic, water-soluble, synthetic polymer, which is widely used as a co-spinning agent for polymers. Mucilage was extracted from the cactus pad and prepared for electrospinning by mixing with acetic acid. Two types of PVA were used differentiating in high and low molecular weights. Concentrations of PVA were varied to find an adequate threshold for fiber formation. Changing the ratio of PVA to cactus mucilage produced …

A Comparison Of Ecological Conditions And Relationships In An Altered Wetland And An Unaltered Wetland, Mark Kiyoshi Hurst

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study is to identify and quantify the hydrologic and ecologic differences between two adjacent sections of Colt Creek; one section unaltered and one section altered by clearing and drainage. These differences were measured by monitoring water levels, groundcover vegetation in each of the two areas, and monitoring numbers and species of birds utilizing the two areas. Surface water levels were measured in three locations: in the historic Colt Creek flow way, in the ditch draining the creek, and in an adjacent wetland strand. In addition, a shallow monitor well in the creek was used to measure …

Assessing The Relationship Of Monocytes With Primary And Secondary Dengue Infection Among Hospitalized Dengue Patients In Malaysia, 2010: A Cross-Sectional Study, Benjamin Glenn Klekamp

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Dengue, a group of four similar viruses transmitted through the bite of a mosquito, is estimated to infect upwards of 100 million annually in over 100 nations throughout the global equatorial belt. Distribution of global dengue is highly skewed as Southeast Asian and Western Pacific regions endure 75% of the global dengue burden. Similar to other regional countries, Malaysia has been rapidly urbanizing, which has supported a hyperendemic dengue state.

The biological pathway by which dengue infection causes a wide range of clinical manifestations, spanning asymptomatic to life-threatening severe complications, is not comprehensively understood. Historically, severe dengue complications have primarily …

Resource Allocation Methodologies With Fractional Reuse Partitioning In Cellular Networks, Hazar Aki

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Conventional cellular systems have not taken full advantage of fractional frequency reuse and adaptive allocation due to the fixed cluster size and uniformed channel assignment procedures. This problem may cause more fatal consequences considering the cutting-edge 4G standards which have higher data rate requirements such as 3GPP-LTE and IEEE 802.16m (WiMAX). In this thesis, three different partitioning schemes for adaptive clustering with fractional frequency reuse were proposed and investigated. An overlaid cellular clustering scheme which uses adaptive fractional frequency reuse factors would provide a better end-user experience by exploiting the high level of signal to interference ratio (SIR). The proposed …

An Evaluation Of Booster Training Using Video Modeling With Foster Parents, Anna Katherine Caravello

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In order for foster parents to be prepared to manage problem behavior and develop a positive relationship with a child in their home, local foster care agencies require these parents to attend parent training classes. Unfortunately, even foster care agencies that offer empirically validated parent training courses are unable to prevent the parents' performance from decreasing over time (Cowart, Iwata, & Poynter, 1984; Forehand & King, 1977; Mueller et al., 2003). However, researchers have created booster training sessions to counteract this issue. Booster training sessions allow participants to attend a brief refresher course on skills they have previously learned. Another …

The Impact Of Pharmacy Work Design On Pharmacist Productivity, Nicholas Allen Coblio

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Healthcare costs in the United States continue to grow at an alarming rate. Concerning the cost of medications, there are a number of factors that drive these costs. While personnel costs are not the largest of these, they do contribute a significant portion. The cost of the cognitive component of order processing by pharmacists can range from three dollars to over six dollars per prescription depending on the production throughput of the pharmacist.

Studies at the organization which was the focus of the research, as well as reports in the literature, indicated that work disruption and other environmental factors could …