Digital Commons Network^™

Context Matters: Profiles Of Emotion Regulation At Work And Home, Roxanne C. Lawrence

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has often examined emotion regulation strategies in isolation, without considering how they may combine to form distinct profiles of emotion regulation. This study aimed to address this limitation by identifying profiles of emotion regulation strategies in the work and home contexts, and by examining their associations with individual differences and outcomes. Latent profile analyses (LPA) with expression of naturally felt emotions and the three emotion regulation strategies suppression, avoidance, and reappraisal as indicators revealed three profiles at work (i.e., low regulators, high regulators, and drain regulators) and three profiles at home (i.e., low regulators, gain regulators, and drain …

Brands In The Metaverse: An Examination & Taxonomy Of Marketing Strategy, Paige L. Bridges

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are many definitions of the Metaverse depending on the context. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the Metaverse as a (hypothetical) virtual reality environment in which users interact with one another's avatars and their surroundings in an immersive way, sometimes posited as a potential extension of or replacement for the Internet, World Wide Web, and social media (Lea & Bradbery, 2020). Corporations have increasingly started to launch brand marketing in the Metaverse to capitalize on its 400 million monthly active users and estimated value of approximately $5 trillion by 2030 (McKinsey, 2022). As an emerging area, research on the Metaverse …

Challenging Vocabulary Words In Graphic Novels: A Multimodal Content Analysis, Karyn Z. Mendez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recreational reading is in a decline for upper elementary aged readers, and along with this decline comes consequent declines in students’ ability to make meaning from what they read and their acquisition of different language forms, including the acquisition of new vocabulary words. However, one reading format is increasing in popularity: graphic novels. As graphic novels, along with other texts with both textual and visual elements, become an increasingly prevalent way of reading in the 21st century, it is important to look at the possibilities multimodal texts have for foundational literacy skills, such as vocabulary acquisition. To date, however, the …

Effectiveness Of Virtual Onboarding, Shanker Menon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

During the COVID pandemic that began in 2020, interest in onboarding efficacy increased with going virtual. This survey research study focused on the effectiveness of virtual onboarding by comparing it with face-to-face (traditional) and hybrid onboarding. It spanned 12 different business sectors and involved 730 respondents, including executives, managers, technical personnel, and non-managerial staff. This exploratory study investigated the influence of the onboarding process on important organizational variables, including turnover intention and perception of self-performance. In addition, the study investigated the perception of success of the onboarding process. Results indicated that hybrid onboarding was the most effective followed by virtual …

“I Was Doing The Best With What I Had”: Exploring Student Veterans’ Experiences With Community Reintegration, Food Insecurity, And Health Challenges, Jacquelyn N. Heuer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Food insecurity is a concern for many populations, including college students and military veterans. The impacts of food insecurity on student veterans are understudied, especially in relation to community reintegration and health. Employing the theoretical frameworks of structural violence and embodiment, this dissertation explores how community reintegration, food insecurity, diet quality, and health interact and influence one another among post-9/11 student veterans in Florida. In doing so, this dissertation considers how the experiences of student veterans are shaped by social inequities (i.e., structural violence) and how these experiences become embodied, thereby shaping student veterans’ health outcomes.

Utilizing findings from surveys …

Psychosocial Factors Influencing The Mental Health And Maternal-Fetal Attachment In Pregnant Women During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Chinyere N. Reid

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: Psychosocial distress, anxiety, depression, and reduced maternal-fetal attachment (MFA) during pregnancy can negatively affect the health of both mothers and their children. Stress during pregnancy is a significant risk factor for maternal mental health issues and low MFA. The global COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in millions of deaths worldwide, is a major stressor that has likely had a profound impact on maternal mental health and MFA during pregnancy.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of COVID-19-related psychosocial factors on the mental health and MFA in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study …

Deep Learning-Based Automatic Stereology For High- And Low-Magnification Images, Hunter Morera

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Quantification of the true number of stained cells in specific brain regions is an important metric in many fields of biomedical research involving cell degeneration, cytotoxicology, cellular inflammation, and drug development for a wide range of neurological disorders and mental illnesses. Unbiased stereology is the current state-of-the-art method for collecting the cell count data from tissue sections. These studies require trained experts to manually focus through a z-stack of microscopy images and count (click) on a hundred or more cells per case, making this approach time consuming (~1 hour per case) and prone to human error (i.e., inter-rater variability). Thus, …

Reading Rent: Interracial Relationships And Racial Hierarchies, Susanna A. Perez-Field

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In examining the musical Rent by Jonathan Larson (1995) and its film adaptation by Chris Columbus (2005), most scholarly work and analyses have focused on the work’s identity as a queer text. I assert that elements of this musical have been overlooked for its depth of racial and class hierarchies. Utilizing sociological theory and interracial relationships, I will examine characters and musical numbers to explore diversity and class positioning.

I will explore Rent for themes of racial, gender, and sexual identities and how they are presented through the friendships and romantic relationships of the eight principal characters (alphabetically): Angel, Benny, …

Developing New Strategy Toward Ruthenium And Gold Redox Catalysis, Chenhuan Wang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation mainly contains three parts: 1) The discovery of triazole-modified Ru carbene catalysts for alkene metathesis and dynamic covalent chemistry; 2) The study of ligand assisted gold oxidative addition toward aryl iodide to achieve the alkene difunctionalization; 3) Gold redox catalysis via chiral P,N-chelating ligands. In the first part, the 1,2,3-triazole coordinated ruthenium carbene complexes (TA-Ru) were reported for the first time as a new class of modified Grubbs catalyst to achieve challenging olefin metathesis at higher temperatures without catalyst decomposition. With this new TA-Ru catalyst, cross-metathesis (CM), ring-closing metathesis (RCM) and dynamic covalent chemistry (DCvC) were achieved. The …

The Negotiation Of Emotions: Teachers’ Emotional Expression Management In The Ela Classroom, Erika Watts

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study builds on the concept of teacher emotion management in the classroom, with a specific focus on the English Language Arts (ELA) classroom where emotions play a heavy role in texts and the content taught. I analyzed the perspectives of five current English Language Arts (ELA) teachers using an interview study to ask how they describe their emotions during an emotionally challenging moment in the ELA classroom. Through the narratives they shared, I also explored their perceptions of professionally unacceptable emotions and how they make sense of their experiences navigating those emotions. I used a thematic analysis to conclude …

Top-Down Nanomanufacturing Of Anisotropic Two-Dimensional Metals, Md Rubayat-E Tanjil

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have introduced a transformative era in materials science with extensive research being performed to gain a fundamental understanding of their diverse properties and applications. Amongst the broader 2D material family, 2D metals or 2D metallic nanosheets (2DMNSs) typically denotes the nanometer-scale thin elemental metals, compound, or alloys, which shows superlative chemical and physical properties compared to bulk counterparts due to the reduced dimensionality. 2D materials’ widespread direct physical or chemical isolation techniques have been facilitated due to their intrinsic van der Waals layered morphology, whereas 3D close-packed bulk metals with isotropic bonding hinder their facile isolation in …

Booker Creek: Wet Season Water Quality Trends In A Florida Urban Stream, Alexandra M. Shostak

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Booker Creek, a 1.9-mile stream with a 4.9-mi2 watershed, flows southeast through highly urbanized St. Petersburg, Florida, and empties into Bayboro Harbor, which connects with Tampa Bay. This study collected and analyzed water quality data for several parameters (TN, TP, nitrate-nitrite, ammonia, orthophosphate, chl-a, fecal coliform, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, temperature, and salinity) every two weeks, at four different sites, during the 2022 wet season to characterize the current state and geographic variability of Booker Creek. Current creek sampling regimes, though consistent, do not sample at multiple sites along the creek. Urban streams do not display uniform water quality along …

An Experimental Analysis Of The Effect Of Crisis Response Message Strategies On Consumer Emotions, Perceptual Beliefs And Intended Behavior, Valentina Ahumada

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the different dynamics of consumer responses to crisis communication strategies employed by businesses during challenging situations. Focusing on emotions, attitudes, and behavioral intentions, the research explores the impact of denial, diminish, and apology crisis messages on consumers. Drawing on a comprehensive analysis of a crisis scenario, the study illuminates the intricate relationship between these strategies and consumer emotions such as anger, disgust, sadness, and happiness. The findings reveal nuanced patterns, demonstrating that while denial messages evoke strong negative emotions and unfavorable attitudes, diminish messages, when perceived as deflecting blame, can lead to mixed emotional responses and ambiguous …

“We Need To Figure Out Who We Are”: Reframing Manhood In An Online Discussion Forum, Tomas Sanjuan Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I explore the potential of online communities in negotiating alternative forms of “doing” masculinity. I focus on the /r/bropill which is hosted on Reddit – home to thousands of active discussion forums called subreddits. I argue that the members of /r/bropill subreddit are attempting to redefine what it means to live your life not only as a man but as a “good man.” Using a purposive sample, I analyzed 24 discussions which totaled 1325 posts (n = 1325). I conducted a qualitative textual analysis of the original posts and comments inspired by grounded theory. My findings reveal …

Harnessing Multimodal Sensory Feedback: An Exploration Of Rhythmic Asymmetric Cues In Gait Rehabilitation, Scott J. Bartlett Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Stroke remains a leading cause of long-term disability, with survivors often facing challenges in mobility, particularly gait asymmetry. This adversity not only diminishes the quality of life but also imposes substantial socioeconomic burdens. Current rehabilitation methods are somewhat effective yet exhibit a dire need for augmentation to better address gait abnormalities. The novel introduction of Auditory Rhythmic Asymmetric Cues, Tactile Rhythmic Asymmetric Cues, and their simultaneous combination (A-RAC, T-RAC, and AT) offers a fresh perspective toward gait rehabilitation, aimed at taking steps to alleviate the adversities borne by stroke survivors. This study provides a thorough investigation of these asymmetric cues, …

Water Chemistry Variability In Peacock Springs Cave System And Spring Basin: Impacts On Continuous Monitoring Of Karst Aquifers, Mahnoor Kamal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Upper Floridan Aquifer (UFA) is a highly transmissive and heterogeneous karst aquifer that makes it acutely susceptible to pollution. Rapid and extensive water quality changes in nutrients at springs draining the UFA have prompted intensive monitoring at several priority springs, including continuous and discrete water quality sampling. Springs, however, are a discrete discharge point of an often-expansive phreatic cave network that can intersect different land uses and thus drain distinct geographic areas of a springshed. The extensive network contains convergent passages from deep and shallow aquifer regions and may contribute to varying water chemistry across passages resulting in water …

Red Mangrove (Rhizophora Mangle) Recruitment And Retention Dynamics On Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea Virginica) Reefs In A Subtropical Estuary, Noreen Selma Mathews

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mangroves are invading oyster reefs in areas no longer impacted by winter freezes and completely transforming them into mangrove islands. The mechanisms influencing the transition between these two habitat states remain unclear. Here, I test experimentally whether oyster reef (Crassostrea virginica) structure directly facilitates red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) propagule capture via differences in propagule retention and successful mangrove establishment. In addition to oyster reef structure, I compared physical reef features of size, elevation, and wind-wave exposure to uncover whether these traits influenced mangrove retention. Recently- abscised red mangrove propagules were inserted onto 21 oyster reefs across 5 sites in Tampa …

Wastewater Treatment Using Encapsulated Chabazite In Polyvinyl Alcohol-Sodium Alginate Hydrogel Biofilm Carriers, Susieanna Nevada Persaud

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nitrogen discharge from wastewater is a global issue and with increased urbanization as well as industrialization, it has become even more essential to develop more efficient wastewater treatment systems. The dominant form of nitrogen in wastewater is ammonium. Biological oxidation of ammonium to nitrite and nitrate is the first step in biological nitrogen removal processes. If left untreated, nitrogen can cause toxicity to aquatic life, unsafe changes in water quality, and eutrophication.

Biofilm carriers can help to improve the efficiency of traditional activated sludge wastewater treatment systems by reducing operating costs and reducing hydraulic retention time. Biofilm carriers also promote …

Affordances And Limitations Of Molecular Representations In General And Organic Chemistry, Ayesha Farheen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Molecular representations that show chemical bonding are ubiquitous in general and organic chemistry. These help in communicating chemistry concepts that are fundamental to understanding how and why molecules interact. The goal of this dissertation work is to offer an evidence-based report on the affordances and limitations of the variety of molecular representations by chemistry topic. The variety of representations investigated are chemical formula, Lewis dot structure, line-angle diagram, ball and stick, space filling, and electrostatic potential maps. Five studies were conducted with general and organic chemistry students and three key findings emerged. First, affordances and limitations of molecular representations are …

Cellulose Ester As Membranes For Controlled Release Fertilizer’S, Muhammed Salman Fajis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Growing environmental pollution and non-sustainable materials has escalated the need for research in sustainable practices for many areas including crop production and fertilization. The conventional coating for the controlled-release fertilizers (CRFs) is non-biodegradable. Hence, the development of novel biodegradable coatings for fertilizer prills has emerged as an important area of study. In this thesis, conducting synthesis and application of cellulose esters (biomass membrane) as an encapsulation for the controlled release fertilizers. Therefore, the coating would be effective for a controlled release of nutrients to the crops by sustaining nature. Here, synthesized biodegradable cellulose esters by 8 and 16-carbon fatty acids …

Iot Architecture For Enhancing Wayfinding And Accessibility In Smart Cities, Myles Keller

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research explores the potential of the Internet of Things (IoT) in enhancing urban wayfinding, particularly for the blind and visually impaired (BVI). Utilizing IoT's multi-layered architecture, smart cities deploy integrated sensors and devices to address urban challenges, with wayfinding as a key focus. While various accessible wayfinding methods have been explored, there exists a gap for more efficient solutions. Within this context, a collision warning system was developed for the BVI, integrated within a broader body sensor network (BSN) framework. Building on this, the study presents AWayNet, an RFID-based network, as a transformative solution. Simulations in the CARLA Simulator …

Time To Check In: The Effectiveness Of Modified Check, Connect And Expect For Children Of Incarcerated Parents, Talia E. Shuman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Parental incarceration affects approximately 3.5% of minors in the United States, or about 1 in every 28 children (Federal Interagency Forum on Children and Family Statistics, 2015). Parental incarceration is considered an adverse childhood experience (ACE). ACEs like parental incarceration are positively correlated with increased risk of injury, health problems, poorer attention and decision-making abilities, and difficulties forming healthy relationships (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). In addition, children who have experienced parental incarceration are also more likely to show increased internalizing and externalizing behaviors when compared to same-aged peers who do not have an incarcerated parent (Shlafer & …

Labile Dissolved Nickel (Ni) Concentrations In The North Pacific, Calyn M. Crawford

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nickel (Ni) is an important micronutrient for phytoplankton and bacteria that serves as a required co-factor in several metalloenzymes. Despite these known biological uses, total dissolved Ni concentrations remain elevated in global surface waters, in contrast to the surface depletion commonly observed for macronutrients and other nutrient-type trace elements. A prevailing hypothesis for the muted depletion of dissolved Ni concentrations in surface waters is that dissolved Ni in seawater is not in a bioavailable form. The chemical lability of Ni in seawater provides insight into Ni speciation and bioavailability, but few measurements have been made in the open ocean to …

Liminal Legality, Social Exclusion, And The Island Community: The Uncertain Futures Of Brazilian Immigrant Youth In Martha’S Vineyard., Bárbara F. De Paula

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project explores the realities of Brazilian undocumented immigrant youth who entered the United States before the age of 18 and have settled in the island community of Martha’s Vineyard located in Massachusetts. This project analyzes the barriers that Brazilian undocumented youth encounter in pursuing their dream futures, in the light of their legal status and the island context. The theoretical frameworks used in the study drew from notions of segmented assimilation and modes of incorporation (Bean, 2011; Patler, 2018a), immigrant social networks (Assis, 2003; Padilla, 2006), liminal legality, (Cebulko, 2014; Menjíver, 2006; Patler, 2018a) citizenship frames, (Friorito, 2019; Patler, …

Understanding Controls On Spring Hydrographs In An Eogenetic Karst Aquifer In North-Central Florida, Ryan Almeqhem

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Florida has one of the largest karst aquifers in the United States, with a significant portion of its water resources originating from the eogenetic karst system in north central Florida. Despite the importance of this system, eogenetic karst still needs to be studied compared to telogenetic karst. The hydrological behavior of karst aquifers is complex, with numerous factors influencing the timing, magnitude, and shape of spring hydrographs. One hypothesis, by Florea and Vacher (2006), suggests that matrix permeability is the primary control of spring hydrographs in karst systems. However, this thesis challenges this hypothesis by presenting evidence that the recharge …

Improving Interview Skills Through Virtual Reality With Behavior Skills Training For Students With Disabilities, Garrit Dubois

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with disabilities experience lower employment rates compared to the general population, highlighting the need for interventions to enhance their employability. Interview skills are the most crucial skills to develop. Researchers have used behavioral skills training (BST) to improve vocal and non-vocal aspects of interviewee behavior. Additionally, virtual reality (VR) has been used to simulate the interview process and promote generalization of skills across various environments. However, limited research has investigated the use of VR for vocational skills training in students with disabilities, particularly those still enrolled in high school. This study aimed to examine the use of VR combined …

Hurricanes And Tropical Storms’ Impact On Water Quality In Lake Okeechobee, Florida, Daniela Vasquez Diaz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hurricanes are natural events with catastrophic outcomes, while climate change's effects on their intensity and frequency remain discussed. However, it is crucial to analyze these through models and statistics to understand their behavior and impact on the basins. Particularly in lakes on tropical coasts since disruptive events such as hurricanes tend to be highly affected. Lake Okeechobee is a unique lake located in Florida and one of the largest freshwater lakes. The lake and some of its significant stations are the locations chosen to perform the investigation. The main focus of the investigation is determining the effect that hurricanes have …

Time-Series Analysis Of Coral Reef And Reef-Fish Biodiversity In The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Cara L. Estes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The general decline in coral-reef ecosystem health throughout the Caribbean between the 1970’s and late 1990’s seems to have slowed down or stopped, with only slight decreases in coral reef cover observed in the 2000’s through 2019. The earlier decline can be attributed to many different local and regional stressors that have acted together, and include naturally occurring (hurricanes, diseases) and anthropogenic pressures (increased sedimentation, fishing). These ecosystems provide a range of services to people, including food and protection from storms, with an annual benefit of billions of dollars. This has driven a desire to better understand these ecosystems. The …

Patterns In Biodiversity And Community Assemblage In Macrofaunal Fouling Communities On Tampa Bay Floating Docks, Cassidy C. Bell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Understanding biodiversity trends of highly disturbed urban landscapes is essential as anthropogenic factors continue to drive global biodiversity loss. Within marine ecosystems, macrofaunal fouling communities, aggregations of epibenthic invertebrates that colonize human-made structures, represent an ecologically important subset of urban coastlines. Tampa Bay is a highly urbanized estuary in Florida, USA, and is home to the state’s largest port, Port Tampa Bay. This makes the bay a prime site for the introduction of new species, with many organisms either considered invasive or cryptogenic, their origins left unclear. Many factors may contribute to the communities that form on urban structures including …

The Sun Shines On Us, Too: Bobby Smith And Tampa's Early Lgbtq Community, Connor G. Lasseter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bobby Smith (1923-2008) was a Tampa Bay butch lesbian, photographer, and earlyLGBTQ Florida figure, together with his partner of nearly fifty years, Katherine “Kay” Thompson (1923-2009). Coming of age as the Second World War provided women and girls with a certain level of independence, Smith easily found comfort presenting in a masculine, butch fashion outside of certain spheres such as school, and quickly dropped any remaining femininity once he left it. Throughout his life, in the workplace, at social gatherings, and at home, he maintained a masculine presentation for his entire life. As a photographer, Smith documented numerous photographs of …