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Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: General Education Elementary School Teachers' Knowledge, Training, And Ratings Of Acceptability Of Interventions, Stacey Small M.A.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Given that researchers estimate approximately one child in every classroom has Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and that most of these students are served in the general education classroom, it is imperative that general education teachers know how to effectively teach these students. Seventy-two general education elementary school teachers completed a survey containing demographic information, a knowledge of ADHD questionnaire, and a survey on interventions for students with ADHD. Results indicated that teachers scored an average of 57% correct on the Knowledge of Attention Deficit Disorders Scale (KADDS), scoring statistically significantly higher on the Symptoms/Diagnosis subscale compared to the General and Treatment …

Hazard Vulnerability In Socio-Economic Context: An Example From Ecuador, Lucille Richards Lane

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

How people pereceive the risks associated with natural hazards contributes to their willingness to take protective action. Such action may be constrained by prevailing socio-economic and place-specific conditions that restrict or inform the choice of protective measures available to the individual. Vulnerability to the impacts of extreme geophysical events increases when the range of alternatives is limited or misinformed.

Many evacuees from a potentially violent volcanic eruption in Ecuador returned to their home town of Banos while it was still under an evacuation order in 2000 and considered to be a high risk area by officials. The research examined four …

Dwellness: A Radical Notion Of Wilderness, Martin J. Wortman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The contemporary concept of wilderness, which is central to environmental theory and activism, is both a help and a hindrance to government policy and to popular environmental beliefs. The Judeo-Christian religious tradition and Locke's property theory provides much of the western cultural and historical basis of humans' environmental attitudes that basically engender exploitation. I argue that a more precise interpretation of Genesis and of Locke reveals that both sources actually promote environmental stewardship while decrying ecological abuse. Next I analyze the history and shortcomings of various wilderness concepts. These shortcomings are all forms of an exclusionist mentality and result in …

A Natural Analogue For Long-Term Passivity, Raymond E. Monson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has been engaged in a viability study for a potential underground geological repository in Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The repository is being designed for disposal of high level nuclear waste. A reference design for the repository has focused on the use of natural and manmade barriers to assure that radionucleide release will not be significant though an extended time period on the order of 10,000 years. The reference design utilizes manmade metallic components that are expected to last for this time period. The specified metallic materials depend on a phenomenon known as metallic passivity to …

Performance Verification Of Personal Aerosol Sampling Devices, Steven T. Luecke

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

International standards establish criteria for size-selective aerosol sampling for industrial hygiene. Commercially available aerosol samplers are designed to conform to these criteria. This study uses semi-monodispersed aerosols generated in a vertically aligned test chamber to compare the performance of three commercially available respirable dust samplers, one of which can simultaneously sample for thoracic and inhalable dust fractions. Comparison methods are used to calculate a theoretical fractional value based on the appropriate sampling conventions of the total dust concentration and size distribution of test materials. Performance of actual samplers can be conducted by comparing observed results to the theoretical value. Results …

Evaluation And Implementation Of A Molecular-Based Protocol For The Identification Of Enteroviruses At The Florida Department Of Health – Tampa Laboratory, Matthew Adams Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Enterovirus genus within the family Picornaviridae contains over 100 serotypes, of which sixty-four are known to be human pathogens. Infection with this group of RNA viruses produces a myriad of clinical conditions including poliomyelitis, meningitis, encephalitis, respiratory illnesses, and hand-foot-and-mouth disease. Outbreaks have been documented worldwide; significant morbidity and mortality exist to warrant laboratory surveillance.

Traditionally, enteroviruses have been identified to the level of serotype by the serum neutralization assay. However, numerous problems are associated with this assay. The serum neutralization assay is labor intensive, results are often ambiguous, and reagents are becoming difficult to obtain. Recently, molecular-based typing …

Body Image As A Function Of Colorism: Testing A Theoretical Model, Alicia V. Hall

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A Covariate Structure Model was used to examine a possible relationship between colorism as a component of body image and global psychological functioning in the hypothesized model. Two hundred-fifty-five African-American women were recruited from undergraduate psychology and social work classes to participate in the current study from state and community colleges in the southeastern United States, and from social groups and church organizations. The results indicated that the hypothesized model was not a good fit to the data; therefore, the model was re-evaluated. The results of the analysis of the revised model indicated that the revised model was not plausible. …

Evaluation Of Differences In Depression, Defensiveness, Social Support, And Coping Between Acute And Chronic Chd Patients Hospitalized For Myocardial Infarction Or Unstable Angina, Ashley Ellen Owen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study was to examine differences in the psychological characteristics of patients admitted to the hospital for acute or chronic Myocardial Infarction (MI) or Unstable Angina (UA). Depression, anger, anxiety, curiosity, defensiveness, social support, and coping were evaluated for 165 patients (86 MI and 79 UA), who were tested on the Cardiology Stepdown Ward of Tampa General Hospital. The following psychological measures were administered to these patients: the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI-2), the Rationality/Emotional Defensiveness (R/ED) Scale, the Adult Form of the Coping Responses Inventory (CRI-Adult), the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List …

The Incidence Of Positional Nystagmus In Healthy Participants Revisited, Terri L. Schneider

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of nystagmus found in healthy individuals during the positional testing subtest of the standard vestibular test battery. Positional testing involves moving the patient's head, and sometimes the entire body, into a variety of positions while observing eye movement. The hypothesis of the current study was that a relatively low percentage of participants would display nystagmus during positional testing used routinely in clinical diagnostic procedures. The findings were then compared to those of an earlier study in which 82% of normal, healthy individuals were reported to exhibit nystagmus during this testing. …

A Comparison Of Job Stressors And Job Strains Among Employees Holding Comarable Jobs In Western And Eastern Societies, Cong Liu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this study, comparisons on job stressors and job strains have been made between American and Chinese employees. Data were collected from two jobs differing in social status: university professors and university administrative and support staff. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. The quantitative part involved traditional Likert scales for measuring job stressors (e.g., lack of job autonomy, interpersonal conflict, and organizational constraints), and job strains (e.g., turnover intention, frustration, negative emotions, job dissatisfaction, depression, and physical symptoms). The qualitative part was an open-ended questionnaire asking about a stressful job incident. Independent t-tests were used to compare the United …

Belonging In Parent-School Partnerships: Perspectives Of Parents Of Middle School Students With Autism, Michael Wayne Riley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study is to contribute to understandings of parent-school relationships involving parents of students with autism by exploring notions of belonging with a small group of parents. The purpose of the study is to describe the experiences of middle school parents of children with autism. From these descriptions, I examined how parents of students with autism might contribute to understandings of belonging in school-family partnerships and enable schools and families to collaborate more effectively. This study addresses an apparent gap in understandings of belonging of parents of children with autism in their relationships with their child's school. …

Deep Ecology And Heideggerian Phenomenology, Matthew Antolick

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the connections between Arne Naess's Deep Ecology and Martin Heidegger's Phenomenology. The latter provides a philosophical basis for the former. Martin Heidegger's critique of traditional metaphysics and his call for an "event" ontology that is deeper than the traditional substance ontology opens a philosophical space in which a different conception of what it is to be emerges. Heidegger's view of humans also provides a basis for the wider and deeper conception of self Arne Naess seeks: one that gets rid of the presupposition that human beings are isolated subjects embedded in a framework of objects distinct from …

Informed Consent: Its Origin, Purpose, Problems, And Limits, Nancy M. Kettle

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The doctrine of informed consent, defined as respect for autonomy, is the tool used to govern the relationship between physicians and patients. Its framework relies on rights and duties that mark these relationships. The main purpose of informed consent is to promote human rights and dignity. Some researchers claim that informed consent has successfully replaced patients' historical predispositions to accept physicians' advice without much explicit resistance.

Although the doctrine of informed consent promotes ideals worth pursuing, a successful implementation of these ideals in practice has yet to occur. What has happened in practice is that attorneys, physicians, and hospital administrators …

Effect Of Presentation Modality On Predictions Of Children’S Communication Ability In The Classroom, Mary Aguila

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The modified Goodman scale, a hearing loss classification scale, is commonly used to describe audiometric findings for both children and adults (Haggard & Primus, 1999). This scale uses one or two word descriptors for hearing level categories and is based on a pure tone average (PTA), the average of hearing thresholds at 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz. Although these categories were developed from clinical and educational observations (Goodman, 1965), degree of hearing loss has not been shown to reliably predict the educational or language performance of children with hearing impairment (Martin & Clark, 1996). This study was designed to evaluate …

The Effects Of Animated Textual Instruction On Learners' Written Production Of German Modal Verb Sentences, Elizabeth A. Caplan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of animation for a technology-assisted German grammar presentation on modal verbs. The premise was that many intangible concepts of dynamic grammar involve syntactic components that possess visuo–spatial characteristics. It was further speculated that these characteristics could be more effectively represented by animated versus static instructional presentations.

The supposition that animation would lend pedagogical advantage was supported by dual coding theory (Paivio, 1971, 1990), which posits two functionally separate representational systems, the verbal and the nonverbal, with dynamic mental imagery residing solely in the nonverbal system. The strength of dually coded information is that it is …

Analysis Of States Gun Control Restrictions, Xiaofeng Cheng

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the policy effects of several state gun control restrictions in the United States. The study employs the data of gun related crimes and gun control restrictions from Statistical Abstract of Criminal Justice Handbook through five years (from 1995 to 2000). Although many scholars have studied previously gun control policy effects on crimes, they always focus on the total violence level and ignore to compare the policy effects of different gun control laws. The present study examines intensively gun related crimes and compares several gun control policies.

Pooled data is employed to access the effects of gun control …

Selection Of Clinical Trials: Knowledge Representation And Acquisition, Savvas Nikiforou

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When medical researchers test a new treatment procedure, they recruit patients with appropriate health problems and medical histories. An experiment with a new procedure is called a clinical trial. The selection of patients for clinical trials has traditionally been a labor-intensive task, which involves matching of medical records with a list of eligibility criteria.

A recent project at the University of South Florida has been aimed at the automation of this task. The project has involved the development of an expert system that selects matching clinical trials for each patient. If a patient's data are not sufficient for choosing …

The Role Of Audiology Assistants In A Clinical Setting, Joseph K. Duran

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The employment of audiology assistants to relieve masters and doctoral level audiologists of routine tasks is a timely and controversial topic in our field. Berardino (2000) examined the roles of audiology assistants within Veteran’s Administration (VA) Hospitals using an e-mail survey that was sent out to VA audiologists. The results of that survey suggested that the majority of VA audiologists were in favor of the participation of audiology assistants in the clinic to varying degrees. The purpose of this survey was to determine the current attitudes of audiologists and otolaryngologists toward the role of audiology assistants in the hearing health …

The Effects Of Induced Depressed Mood On Recall Of Experiences With Racial Discrimination, Tamra Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two studies examined the relationship between reported racial discrimination and depression, and whether this relationship may be due to depressed mood induced influences. In study 1, sixty-four African American undergraduates completed measures of current depression, a racial discrimination index, and rated vignettes that were ambiguous in terms of the presence or absence of racial discrimination. A significant correlation was found between depression and reported racial discrimination. The purpose of Study 2 was to examine the effect of mood on recall of past experiences with discrimination. Groups of subjects were randomly assigned to either a sad mood induction condition or a …

Public Participation In Environmental Management: Seeking Participatory Equity Through Ethnographic Inquiry, John V. Stone

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation reports the activities, methods, and key findings of a doctoral research project in applied anthropology and an environmental anthropology fellowship. The research project was conducted through the Department of Anthropology at the University of Michigan, while the fellowship was sponsored jointly by the Society for Applied Anthropology and the United States Environmental Protection Agency and was conducted through the Great Lakes Fellowship Program of the Great Lakes Commission, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Together, these projects demonstrated the utility of an ethnographic approach called Risk Perception Mapping (RPM) to the public consultation and social research interests of the Commission …

Computerized Dynamic Visual Acuity With Volitional Head Movement In Patients With Vestibular Dysfunction, Erika L. Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Patients with non-compensated vestibular dysfunction frequently complain of the ability to maintain dynamic visual acuity during activities which require the movement of the head. When this occurs the patient is experiencing oscillopsia, which is the symptom resulting from a non-functional vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR). To measure the presence of oscillopsia, tests of dynamic visual acuity (DVA) may be used.

A recent test of DVA has been reported which is administered while patients are walking on a treadmill. Although this test has been shown to be useful in evaluating DVA in patients, there are several disadvantages to treadmill use. These include physical …

Ammonia Sampling Using Ogawa® Passive Samplers, Paul Tate

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this research were to determine the efficacy of using the Ogawa® passive sampling device (PSD) to measure ammonia and to identify significant ammonia sources adjacent to Hillsborough and Tampa Bay. Ninety-four samplers were deployed over a 180-km² area for two weeks in October 2001. Within the area sampled were located suburbs, an urban center, major highways, port activities, fertilizer manufacturing, wastewater treatment, coal-combustion power plants, warehousing and dairy farming. The sampled locations were arranged in a triangular grid pattern spaced 1.5 km apart. The pattern was designed to locate circular hot spots with a minimum radius …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between The U-Titer Ii And Hearing Aid Benefit, Maura Koenig Kenworthy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study was to measure the effects of audiologic intervention on self-perceived quality of life in the elderly hearing-impaired population. The tested hypothesis was that hearing aid use would result in improved quality of life as measured by utilities. In this study, utilities were obtained using the U-Titer II, an interactive software program designed to measure an individual's health state preference or utility. This study also examined the issue of numeracy, which is described as an understanding of basic probability, and its effect with an individual's ability to accurately complete utilities.

Data from 54 individuals …

Physical-Statistical Modeling And Optimization Of Cardiovascular Systems, Dongping Du

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Heart disease remains the No.1 leading cause of death in U.S. and in the world. To improve cardiac care services, there is an urgent need of developing early diagnosis of heart diseases and optimal intervention strategies. As such, it calls upon a better understanding of the pathology of heart diseases.

Computer simulation and modeling have been widely applied to overcome many practical and ethical limitations in in-vivo, ex-vivo, and whole-animal experiments. Computer experiments provide physiologists and cardiologists an indispensable tool to characterize, model and analyze cardiac function both in healthy and in diseased heart. Most importantly, simulation modeling empowers the …

The Goal Of This Study Was To Examine Differences In The Psychological Characteristics Of Patients Admitted To The Hospital For Acute Or Chronic Myocardial Infarction (Mi) Or Unstable Angina (Ua). Depression, Anger, Anxiety, Curiosity, Defensiveness, Social Support, And Coping Were Evaluated For 165 Patients (86 Mi And 79 Ua), Who Were Tested On The Cardiology Stepdown Ward Of Tampa General Hospital. The Following Psychological Measures Were Administered To These Patients: The Beck Depression Inventory (Bdi), The State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (Staxi-2), The Rationality/Emotional Defensiveness (R/Ed) Scale, The Adult Form Of The Coping Responses Inventory (Cri-Adult), The Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (Isel), The Illness Perception Questionnaire (Ipq), The State-Trait Personality Inventory (Stpi), And The Structured Clinical Interview (Scid-I) For The Dsm - Iv. Significantly More Chronic Patients Than Acute Patients Met Criteria For Depression As Measured By The Scid Following Admission To The Hospital, And More Ua Than Mi Patients Also Met These Criteria. However, No Differences Were Found Between The Acute Vi And Chronic Mi And Ua Patients Two Weeks Prior To Admission. Results Of This Study Also Indicated That Chronic Patients And Ua Patients Reported A Greater Frequency Of Illness Symptoms And Tended To Cope With Their Heart Disease Through Avoidant Strategies. Chronic Patients Endorsed Higher Levels Of State And Trait Anger Compared With Acute Patients, And Ua Patients Were Less Likely To Believe That Their Illness Could Be Cured Or Controlled (Control Of Cure) Than Mi Patients. Based On The Results Of This Study, It Appears That Avoidance Coping May Be An Insufficient Strategy For Addressing Negative Emotions Of Chronic Patients And Ua Patients. In Addition, Perceived Lack Of Control Over The Success Of Treatment May Be Related To Depression For Ua Patients. These Findings Have Important Implications For The Development And Implementation Of Interventions Designed To Address Perceived Control Over Treatment Effectiveness And Coping Skills For Negative Emotions In The Treatment And Rehabilitation Of Cardiac Patients., Gregory J. Spirakis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the stability of hearing aid benefit, as measured by the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB; Cox & Alexander, 1995), between three months post hearing aid fitting and at next the annual audiological re-evaluation. The annual re-evaluation was at least, and as close to nine months as possible, after the previous audiological. The maximum time between the two evaluations was 18 months. Thirty-six hearing aid patients participated in this study. The participants were both male and female, and were fitted monaurally or binaurally with hearing aid(s). All participants had sensorineural hearing …

Manual Handling Workload And Musculoskeletal Discomfort In Nursing Personnel, Nancy Nivison Menzel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nursing staff members (registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and nursing aides) have one of the highest incidence rates of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) of all occupations. Ergonomic research has identified patient handling and movement tasks that put the caregiver at high risk for a WMSD each time they are performed. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the frequency of performing the highest risk tasks, as well as certain other risk factors affecting physical workload, were related to the frequency of musculoskeletal discomfort. Also investigated was whether the manual handling workload varied by job category. The cross-sectional study …

Safe At Home: Agoraphobia And The Discourse On Women’S Place, Suzie Siegel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My thesis explores how discourse and material practices have created agoraphobia, the fear of public places. This psychological disorder predominates among women. Throughout much of Western history, women have been encouraged to stay home for their safety and for the safety of society. I argue that agoraphobic women have internalized this discourse, expressing fears of being in public or being alone without a companion to support and protect them; losing control over their minds or their bodies; and endangering or humiliating themselves. Therapeutic discourse also has created agoraphobia by naming it, categorizing the emotions and behaviors associated with it, and …

Creating Healing Spaces, The Process Of Designing Holistically A Battered Women Shelter, Lilian Menéndez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My interest in the environment has led me to study the effects of space on people, both natural and man-made. This project explores how architects and designers can design spaces conducive to the healing process. The emphasis of this thesis is on my design methodology, with the hope that this project will help other designers in their struggle to create spaces that heal the body, soul and spirit.

To develop this project, I chose a shelter for battered women as the building type. This shelter is theoretically located in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Its main goal is to create an environment …

A Tutorial: Use Of The Who Icidh-2 For Determining Aural Rehabilitation Goals, Nancy Muscato Patterson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to implement the newly revised International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICIDH-2) developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), to establish specific aural rehabilitation goals. Five graduate clinicians in speech language pathology and audiology interviewed ten participants with adult onset hearing loss. A modified version of the General Questions for Participation and Activities (i.e., a structured interview technique) from the ICIDH-2 Checklist, was developed. Prior to completing this checklist, the students attended a brief training session to become familiar with the major components of the ICIDH-2, specifically the ICIDH-2 Checklist. Completion of the …

A Time Study Of Audiological Practice Patterns And The Impact Of Reimbursement Changes From Third Part Payers, Melody A. Tucker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary objective of the project was to survey audiologists in clinical practice setting to determine the amount of time taken to perform various audiologic tests using Current Procedural Terminology, (CPT) codes to define these tests and if these CPT codes were felt to be adequate. Audiologists were also asked to respond regarding possible impact and reimbursement changes in their clinical practices related to managed care. Responses of audiologists were analyzed to determine: a) adequacy of CPT codes; b)average time to perform various audiologic tests; c) impact managed care onclinical practice; and d) changes in reimbursement as a result of …