Digital Commons Network^™

A Comparison Of Different Modeling Techniques To Establish Token Reinforcers In Classroom Settings, Spencer B. Gauert

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prior research has supported the use of reinforcer-based methods in school settings. Video based modeling methods for establishing conditioned reinforcers without the need for explicit pairing with primary reinforcers can help to extend the use of these resources into new contexts. The use of video based conditioning has potential applications in school settings to increase academic skills without the use of more costly-to-implement reinforcer systems. However, conditioning of this kind might be restricted by the need to individually condition stimuli with different participants. The current study evaluated effects of video based conditioning on relative rate of sight word reading across …

Least Of My Worries: Food Security, Diet Quality, And Antiretroviral Adherence Among People Living With Hiv, Charlotte Ann Noble

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

More than forty years into the epidemic, HIV continues to impact the health and well-being of millions of people – nearly 37 million across the globe and in excess of 1 million in the U.S. – more than 44% of which live in the Southern United States. HIV continues to disproportionally affect marginalized populations, and vast amounts of money, time, and effort have been spent to understand how to slow the rate of new infections and improve health outcomes for People Living with HIV (PLWH). This study aims to understand the experience of living with and managing HIV while on …

Using Critical Race Theory To Examine Race And Racism In Social Work Education, Ebony Nicole Perez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Race and racism have proven to be a core concept of U.S. society that impacts People of Color through a set of challenges which have created and maintained enduring racial disparities and inequities. The social work profession has a time-honored commitment to working with and advocating historically marginalized populations. Social workers work with individuals, groups, and communities to help assess needs, strengths, support networks, respond to crisis situations, and advocate for social justice. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate the experiences of undergraduate social work educators (BSWEs) who teach to encourage the development of students’ knowledge, …

“We Can Learn Some Things From Them, But They Can Learn Some Things From Us Too”: Intergenerational Perceptions Of Shared Infant Feeding Information, Alexis L. Woods Barr

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Breastfeeding is associated with unparalleled benefits for infants, mothers, families and society. In light of the breastfeeding disparities and health disparities experienced by the African American community, their women and children stand to gain the most from breastfeeding practices compared to other first-food feeding methods. Moreover, African American mothers are constantly exposed to messages, images, and stereotypes about motherhood (from multiple channels of communication) which influences their infant feeding practices. Many of these exposures send mixed messages and tend to be cultural contradictions of Black motherhood. What complicates this issue is the shortage of research that investigates the intergenerational infant …

Exploration Of Gratitude In Cardiovascular Health: Mediators, Medication Adherence And Psychometrics, Lakeshia A. Cousin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the effect of gratitude on cardiovascular health outcomes using mediators, medication adherence, and psychometrics. The specific aims were to (1) establish the state of the science for gratitude and cardiovascular health outcomes via a state-of-the-science literature review, (2) explore mediators affecting gratitude and medication adherence using a structural equation model in patients with cardiovascular disease, and (3) analyze the psychometric properties of the Gratitude Questionnaire-6, a self-report questionnaire designed to assess individual differences to express dispositional gratitude, to provide evidence for the validity and reliability of the instrument in African Americans at …

Taking An “Ecological Turn” In The Evaluation Of Rhetorical Interventions, Peter Cannon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to develop a new method for the evaluation and assessment of therapeutic libraries in a health ecology. To do so, I employ a modified version of Lloyd Bitzer’s rhetorical situation as a methodological tool for the investigation of health ecologies by applying an ecological analysis to an alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment center in Tampa, Florida. By modifying Bitzer’s rhetorical situation schema and expanding the concept of health ecologies, I develop several innovations useful for tracing the impact of actants and rhetorical events specific to health and medicine. A major focus of this dissertation is a …

Understanding The Family Planning Care Experiences Of Young Black Women Using An Intersectionality Mixed Methods Approach, Rachel G. Logan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Black women in the U.S. disproportionately experience unintended pregnancy, particularly as compared to their white counterparts. When racial and ethnic disparities in reproductive health are combined with other marginalized identities, such as low social status and young age, Black women’s risk of negative health outcomes may increase and further produce disadvantage.

Objective: The overall objective of this research was to understand the family planning care experiences of young Black women.

Methods: This study used a transformative mixed methods design to understand young Black women’s most recent family planning care experience in the last 12 months through Intersectionality, Psychological Reactance, …

Adolescent Identity Exploration And Civic Identity Development In A U.S. Government Classroom, Sarah Mead Denney

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As technological advances provide minute-by-minute updates of current events and personalized media feeds push the boundaries of political polarization, the task of social studies educators to provide students with the tools to become effective citizens becomes increasingly important. Undergirded by theories of psychosocial identity development, civic identity development, and the promotion of identity exploration in the academic curriculum, this qualitative multiple case study attempts to examine the processes of adolescent identity exploration and civic identity development in relation to the assignments and activities in a twelfth-grade Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. Government classroom. Classroom observations, teacher and student interviews, and artifact …

Building A Collaborative Culture In A Middle School: A Case Study, Andrew Olson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is extensive research indicating the importance of teachers working together in teams and in conjunction with school leadership to improve teaching practice and, ultimately, outcomes for students. However, there is little evidence that collaboration is valued in the American school system. Tension pervades in a system that often prescribes a top-down approach to teacher evaluation, fails to provide sufficient time for teachers to collaborate, and unfairly scapegoats teachers for many challenges both within society and the education system itself. It is not surprising that teachers are leaving the profession at an alarming rate.

Combine these contextual factors with the …

An Assessment Of The Role Of Florida Pharmacists In The Administration Of Inactivated Influenza Vaccine To Pregnant Women, Oluyemisi O. Falope

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The influenza vaccine is a safe and effective vaccine in preventing influenza infection in the general population. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommend that pregnant women receive influenza inactivated vaccine (IIV) due to the high morbidity and mortality associated with influenza infection in pregnant women. Despite the recommendation, the U.S. national influenza vaccine uptake rates among pregnant women continue to remain low. Studies have shown barriers to influenza vaccine uptake in pregnant women to include issues with access, unavailability of vaccine, and lack of time during prenatal visits. These barriers can be overcome using pharmacists because, among healthcare providers, …

"The Weak Are Meat, And The Strong Do Eat"; Representations Of The Slaughterhouse In Twentieth And Twenty-First Century Literature, Stephanie Lance

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores how literary representations of the slaughterhouse predict the trajectory of human greed that is fueled by capitalist economic practices that shape environmental policies. I argue that literature brings attention to what is generally hidden from public view: the way humans and animals are erased in the production of food, which includes the inhumane treatment of humans and other animals in the slaughterhouse. The literature in this dissertation provides an avenue through which we can investigate the entangled oppression of humans and other animals in an effort to challenge perceptions that reduce animals, and marginalized humans, to objects. …

An Autobiographical Narrative Of A Principal's Personal Journey With Autonomy, Delilah Rabeiro

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Educational reform and state policies have stripped principals and teachers of autonomy, and this has been attributed as one of the reasons why teachers leave the profession. Adamson (2012) stated, "To implement reform at their school sites, principals need a certain degree of autonomy. This study sought to understand what I experienced of autonomy as I embarked on my journey as a principal of a turnaround school; what I did, or did not do, to extend autonomy to teachers; and what I came understand about autonomy in this turnaround setting.

This was an autobiographical narrative inquiry (Freeman, 2007; Saleh, Menon, …

“I Can’T Complete This Template”: The Complexities Of Using Asset-Based Discourse In Schools, Anthony P. Jones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this study, I analyzed three important documents to principals in Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) in Florida for the presence of deficit and asset-based discourse. I chose the documents for this study because of their impact on my practice as a Principal in HCPS. The first document is the template for the school improvement plan (SIP) required of all schools in Florida who fall under the Differentiated Accountability (DA) status in Florida. The second document is the HCPS principal evaluation rubric used to evaluate principal practice in the district. The third document is the HCPS Tell teacher perception inventory …

Reading Rape And Answering With Empathy: A New Approach To Sexual Assault Education For College Students, Brianna Jerman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The issue of sexual assault on college campuses is addressed in part by a mandate that all college students complete some form of sexual assault education. While current education programs have proven successful in teaching bystander education and dispelling rape myths, they have not proven to increase reporting rates while also decreasing the number of sexual assaults. This dissertation makes a pedagogical argument for a new approach to sexual assault and prevention education at the college level that would use literary rape narratives to dispel sexual assault myths, teach trauma theory principles, and address intersectional aspects of rape culture with …

Detection Of Gender-Related Differential Item Functioning (Dif) In The Mathematics Subtests In Turkey, Zeynep Merve Sapmaz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The main goal of this study was to investigate differential item functioning by gender in the Fundamental Mathematics (FMS) and Mathematics subtests (MS) of the MSPC-2018 Higher Education Institutions Examination. Each test consists of 40 items and for both subtests random samples of 10.000 students were received from the MSPC separately. To compare non-IRT (Classical Test Theory) and Item Response Theory (IRT) approaches, Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel (C-M-H), Logistic Regression (LR), and 2-PL IRT-LR statistics were used.

For the FMS, C-M-H, LR, and 2-PL IRT-LR procedures identified 18, 16, and 10 out of 40 items that had DIF, respectively. Based on the non-IRT …

The Hostile Media Effect And Its Potential Consequences: Examining The Influence Of Presumed Influence Of International Media Coverage, Zhennan Liu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore American and Chinese's perception towards foreign media's coverage about their own country, as well as the main influencing factors and its consequences of this phenomenon. We designed an online survey based on the existing literature on hostile media perception. The sample included 301 American participants and 300 Chinese participants (N=601).

The current study used paired sample T test, Pearson correlation coefficient and SEM model test. Three important results were found. First, hostile media perception is widespread. In the study, both American and Chinese participants were biased to varying degrees against foreign media …

Teaching Towards Critical Consciousness: Preservice Teachers Narrate Race In English Education, Joanelle Morales

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

English teacher educators argue the need to reshape English Education programs by offering transformative discussion that promote “Critical Race English Education” which centers race and racism and examines the role of language and literacy in disrupting existing power relations (Baker-Bell, Butler, & Johnson, 2017). This study explored four secondary English preservice teachers’ understandings of race in education under a Critical Race Theory lens. Through narrative inquiry, their stories revealed how they constructed and made meaning of their racial identities and how these identities informed their practices and instructional decisions as English teachers. By inviting preservice teachers to confront their experiences …

Using Video Modeling To Teach Trial-Based Functional Analysis, Breana A. Pauline

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The trial-based functional analysis (Trial-based FA) was adapted from the traditional functional analysis (FA) to make FA methodology more feasible to conduct in situations where controlled settings are unavailable. Additionally, teachers and paraprofessionals have been trained to conduct trial-based FAs with high fidelity (Kunnavatana, Bloom, Samaha, & Dayton, 2013). Behavioral analytic procedures such as video modeling are available to teach these skills to behavior analysts that do not have access to these training. This procedure is effective, well-liked, and can be used remotely. Video modeling may be used to train behavior analysts to conduct trial-based functional analysis remotely, which could …

Interventions To Improve Older Driver Safety, Bernadette A. Fausto

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increased longevity coupled with age-related declines that compromise driving safety and fragility render older adults as vulnerable road users (Oxley & Whelan, 2008). To address this public health concern, researchers continue to investigate interventions to improve older driver safety. The current dissertation consists of two papers examining: a) the state of the literature on older driver interventions and b) the efficacy of one approach, Useful Field of View cognitive training, to reduce at-fault crash involvement. The first paper sought to identify and quantify the effects of different interventions among older adults on outcomes of crashes, on-road driving performance, self-reported outcomes …

A Study On The Influence Of Instructional Mentors On Novice Teachers In High-Needs Schools, Dodi Palkovic Davenport

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Within the first five years of new teachers’ employment, between 30 and 50 percent leave the profession (Smith &Ingersoll, 2004). High levels of teacher attrition are associated with negative effects on student achievement (Strong, 2005). In an effort to retain teachers and improve the quality of the teaching workforce, many states and local school districts require new teachers to enroll in induction and mentoring programs. This study is part of a larger program evaluation of one public school district’s new teacher induction program. The purpose of this investigation was to determine how a novice teacher perceives the influence of a …

Evaluating The Evidence Base For Evidence-Based Instructional Practices In Chemistry Through Meta-Analysis, Md Tawabur Rahman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Investigating the effectiveness of instructional practices provides an evidence base to inform instructional decisions. Synthesizing research studies on instructional effectiveness provides an estimate of the generalizability of effectiveness across settings, along with an exploration of factors that may moderate the impact, which cannot be achieved within individual studies. This study sought to provide a synthesis of evidence- based instructional practices (EBIPs) particular to chemistry through meta-analysis. 99 studies were analyzed comprising a broader view of chemistry specific studies than past meta-analyses. The results showed that EBIPs feature a demonstrably positive impact on students’ academic performance in chemistry, although assessment topic …

Digital Corpus Use In Learning L2 Prepositional Collocations: A Pilot Study, Matthew A. Siegel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Because of their prevalence in both spoken and written English, collocations—words that go together—are important for the English language learner. Collocations that contain prepositions have been shown to pose particular difficulty (Hong, Rahim, Hua, & Salehuddin, 2011). Collocational errors are common, even among advanced learners (Laufer & Waldman, 2011). The purpose of this pilot study was three-fold: (1) to determine whether the use of a digital corpus by English language learners is effective in learning prepositional collocations, (2) to determine if proficiency level exerts any influence on effectiveness of using a digital corpus to learn prepositional collocations, and (3) to …

A Quiet Valley At Roztoky: Testimony Of Singularity In The Landscape Imagery Of Zdenka Braunerová, Zdislava Ungrova

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although Czech artist Zdenka Braunerova (1858-1934) has been recognized by scholars for her contributions to the Czech cultural scene, thorough visual analyses of her artworks are rare. By investigating a single landscape painting, A Quiet Valley at Roztoky, and placing it into the visual and contextual frame of its creation, this thesis thus approaches Braunerova’s artistic oeuvre in an uncommon way. I argue that if understood within its social, cultural and historical context, the painting transcends the purely optic qualities of a landscape genre and acquires instead the self-referencing character of a self-representation.

By subjecting the chosen painting to a …

Job Crafting And Individual Management Of Work-Family Balance Across Family Stages, Victor S. Mancini

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Past research often viewed work-family balance as static and has rarely explored how perceptions may differ across stages of life. This study adopted a family life course developmental theoretical framework to test for mean differences in work-family balance across unique family stage groups. Results indicated that mean work-family balance varied across groups, but not according to the specific patterns that were predicted. In addition, this study proposed that job crafting was a cognitive-behavioral strategy that individuals can use to alter their own levels of work-family balance. Correlational, time-lagged, and change-to-change effects provide initial support for the relationship between job crafting …

A Research On Esports Users’ Motives And Satisfaction In China The Case Of League Of Legends, Qianyin Sun

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research mainly explores the motives and satisfaction of Chinese eSports users. Due to the changing role of eSports in China this year, the attitude of Chinese society towards eSports has changed from depreciation to praise, and the identity of belonging sense of game players has become one of the motives for them to continue playing League of Legends (LOL). In addition, as a milestone in eSports field, the playability of LOL itself and its pastime and social functions as a mass media will affect the motives and satisfaction of players. This survey used online survey to investigate the satisfaction …

Associations Between Mental Health, Academic Success, And Perceived Stress Among High School Freshman In Accelerated Coursework, Andrew S. Jenkins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Youth in accelerated curricula programs are an understudied population in relation to groups who struggle academically. To date, few studies have been conducted examining relationships between psychopathology symptomology, life satisfaction, academic achievement, and perceived stress. To address this, the current study completed a secondary analysis of an archival dataset in order to expand upon previous research into the predictive relationships between mental health (psychopathology and life satisfaction; beginning of year) and students’ subsequent academic achievement and perceived stress (assessed mid-year). Furthermore, the current study investigated the predictive effects of mid-year academic achievement (course grades) and perceived stress on students’ subsequent …

The Research On The Determinants Of Users' Willingness To Pay For Chinese Paid Sports Model Based On Use And Gratification Theory, Jing Li

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study adopted use and gratification theory as a theoretical guide to explores the impact of individual needs, product variables, and copyright consciousness on audience’s willingness to pay in paid sports media in China. The most important part of this study was tested whether product variables act as a mediating factor and whether copyright consciousness plays as a moderating factor to influence the relationship between individual needs and willingness to pay. This quantitative study collects the data from a sample of 679 (valid N=568) Chinese adults who have some exposure or understanding of the paid sports model in mainland China. …

Students' Perceptions On Alternative Break Experiences And Selecting An Academic Major In A Four-Year College, Bianny Fernández Collado

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research shows that 50-80% of college students are exploratory/undecided or appear as declared and will change their major at least once. Although higher education institutions have developed and implemented several initiatives to assist students with selecting an academic major, students are struggling to reach this milestone. According to Gebhard (2015), real-world and experiential opportunities successfully prepare students to select an academic major. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative exploratory study is to describe in-depth a phenomenon: how a service-based experience, offered through an Alternative Breaks (aB) program may prepare student participants for the selection of an academic major. The study …

Authentication Usability Methodology, Jean-Baptiste Subils

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nowadays many systems require end users to authenticate themselves. Authentication is one of the security activities that end users perform the most. Thus, the usability of this security feature plays a major role in the proper utilization and adoption of a novel authentication method.

This dissertation presents coauthentication, a novel authentication system. Many authentication methods and protocols exist, but passwords remain the predominant authentication method used. Coauthentication is presented here in detail in several possible variations and their associated protocols, with performance comparisons.

This dissertation also presents a framework to evaluate authentication methods in terms of usability.

A large body …

Ripping The “Paper Ceiling”: How Social Studies Teachers Conceive And Enact The Integration Of Gender And Women’S Experiences In Their Curriculum, Andrea Watson-Canning

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the intentions of teachers who report incorporating gender and women’s experiences into their social studies curriculum and how those intentions are manifested in the classroom. I examine how teachers talk about the purposes of social studies education, their reasons for incorporating gender and women’s experiences into their curriculum, and their descriptions of incorporation (the intended curriculum). Then, I analyze how the intended curriculum is enacted in the classroom.

Using educational connoisseurship and criticism and portraiture, I construct narrative portraits of the phenomena analyzed. Both educational connoisseurship and criticism and portraiture consider the …