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A Family „Affear‟: Three Generations Of Agoraphobics, Sherri Elizabeth Green B.A.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My thesis explores the disabling condition agoraphobia with panic disorder across the life spans of three individuals who are related: 63 year old Grandmother, her daughter - 43 year old Mother, and her grandson - 23 year old Son. As their life stories are told, glimpses of experienced stigma, emotional management, creation of identities, and coping mechanisms are revealed. These are analyzed using the sociological theories of Goffman, Ellis, Cahill, and Davidson. The notion of nature versus nurture is most apparent in Son's story which details the effects of growing up with Grandmother's severe agoraphobic episodes. While each individual does …

Evaluation Of A Level System With A Built In Token Economy To Decrease Inappropriate Behaviors Of Individuals With Mental Retardation, Ashley Tomaka

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The level system is a behavioral procedure that alters the status of a participant contingent on his or her behaviors; within each level the amount of reinforcement is different. In most cases, level systems are paired with another form of treatment such as a token economy. In the current study, the effectiveness of a level system with a built in token economy was evaluated within three intensive residential group homes with 3 male participants. Each participant was diagnosed with mental retardation and behavioral issues. The level system was comprised of 5 different levels, each having different privileges and reinforcers. Each …

An Exploratory Study Of The Use Of Imagery By Vocal Professionals: Applications Of A Sport Psychology Framework, Patricia Louise Bowes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the use of imagery in vocal professionals' efforts to achieve optimal performance based on research from sport psychology. The four Ws of imagery use: where, when, what, and why have been applied to this study from the fields of athletics (Munroe, Giacobbi, Hall, & Weinberg, 2000) and dance (Nordin & Cumming, 2005). These were adopted after many years of research in athletic performance excellence, with particular reference to the Analytic Framework of the Cognitive and Motivational Functions of Imagery (Paivio, 1985; Hall, Mack, Paivio, & Hausenblas, 1998). This theoretical framework …

A Greener Vertical Habitat: Creating A Naturally Cohesive Sense Of Community In A Vertical Multi-Family Housing Structure, Justin Onorati

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Throughout multiple dense, tropical, urban contexts, high rise residential environments have created a sense of social detachment, where public and private green spaces do not often exist. It is through these varieties of green spaces that social interaction is encouraged, and without these social activities taking place, this vertical community becomes almost a meaningless entity within the urban realm. The issue being addressed within this thesis is the scarcity of public and private green spaces within our high density tropical urban fabrics that help to create a sense of community. The majority of dense urban settings that we inhabit today …

Green Local Governments In Florida: An Analysis Of Sustainability And Green Building Policies, Naimish S. Upadhyay

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sustainable development is increasingly being integrated within local government planning across United States. Many communities are attempting to translate this general principle into specific and measurable terms. The urban sustainability planning literature has mostly focused on descriptive case studies of pioneering cities that have been characterized as true innovators in their sustainability efforts. Noticeably absent from the literature, however, has been an examination of the sustainable development claims made by local governments undergoing 'green' certifications. This study evaluates the commitment and efforts of municipalities and counties of Florida within the framework of Florida Green Building Coalition's 'Green …

Rape Attitudes And Beliefs: A Replication Study, Rhissa Emily Briones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The phenomena of sexual violence have been studied on college campuses for over 50 years. Despite changes in society's attitudes towards women and gains made by women in education and the work force since the 1960s, research reveals that the incidence and prevalence rates of date rape have not changed significantly over the years. Extant literature indicates that endorsement of rape myths has been found to be associated with sexual aggression by males. A review of existing instruments revealed that current assessments of rape supportive attitudes and beliefs appear outdated in their language and may not be geared for today's …

Barriers And Facilitating Factors To High School Students’ School Engagement, Amy Green

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Students who are engaged in their high school environment have higher graduation rates, fewer discipline problems, and lower delinquency rates. In addition, students who are connected to teachers and involved in extracurricular activities consistently experience positive outcomes. However, although the benefits of school resources such as extra-curricular activities and connections to supportive individuals during high school have been well documented, the factors influencing utilization of these resources have not yet been established. Given the known benefits of activity participation and connection to supportive individuals in school settings, and the voluntary nature of their utilization, it is important to investigate factors …

The Influence Of Daily Social Stimulation In Ameliorating Ptsd-Like Behavioral And Physiological Changes In Rats Exposed To Chronic Psychosocial Stress, Shyam Seetharaman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Individuals exposed to life-threatening trauma are at increased risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Not all people exposed to trauma, however, go on to develop PTSD. Some evidence suggests that individuals who receive social stimulation, such being involved in supportive social networks, are less likely to develop PTSD compared to those lacking social interactions. Although human research has been effective in demonstrating associations between higher levels of social stimulation and lower incidences of PTSD, there has been a lack of experimental evidence suggesting that social stimulation protects against the onset of the disorder after trauma. Here, we tested the …

Shyness In The Context Of Reduced Fear Of Negative Evaluation And Selffocus: A Mixed Methods Case Study, Freda S. Watson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This mixed methods case study examined the effect of reduced fear of negative evaluation and self focus on behaviors related to shyness in a church environment. A sample of 239 members, regular attenders, and visitors completed a survey, consisting of the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation-Straightforward (BFNE-S) Scale; two checklists measuring perceived acceptance and levels of comfort in situations known to be difficult for shy people; and extended response questions regarding thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in six church situations.

Confirmatory factor analysis revealed the BFNE-S (General and Context-specific) had acceptable fit compared with previous studies, and descriptive statistics were similar …

An Empirical Analysis Of Public Perception Of Reclaimed Water Applying The Situational Theory Of Publics, Jessica Voss

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing J.E. Grunig's (1989a, 1997) situational theory of publics and Fishbein and Ajzen's (1975) theory of reasoned action, this empirical study examined the public's perception of reclaimed water. Specifically, the three independent variables - problem recognition, constraint recognition, and level of involvement - were separated into internal and external variables to determine their influences on behavioral intention. The independent variables were also used to determine the public's communication behavioral intention.

The findings of this study support the basic premise of the situational theory of publics and contribute to the extension of the theory through the inclusion of some of the …

An Empirical Examination Of The Dark Side Of Relationship Marketing Within A Business To Business Context, Brent L. Baker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A large number of empirical studies have illustrated the benefits of adopting and implementing a relational or relationship marketing strategy. However, there is an emergent stream of literature that suggests that despite the recognized benefits associated with this strategy there may also be a dark side that manifests itself between firms as a result of adopting a relationship marketing strategy. However, though this stream of literature recognizes the presence of the dark side, causal antecedents mediating the dark side constructs, or consequences of the dark side have yet to be theoretically derived, explained or empirically tested.

This dissertation constructs theoretical …

The Relationship Between Uncertainty In Illness And Anxiety In Patients With Cancer, Naima Vera

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety is a common problem for patients with cancer. Anxiety may have a negative impact on decision making and overall emotional well being of patients and may be related to the uncertainties faced by people with cancer. This study examined the relationship between uncertainty in illness and anxiety in patients with cancer.

The sample consisted of 30 patients, predominantly males (n=23), being treated as outpatients in the Clinical Research Unit at a National Cancer Institute designated cancer center in Florida. After agreeing to participate, patients completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory as well as Mishel's Uncertainty in Illness Scale.

Participants' ages …

Examining An Acute Environmental Trigger For Dysfunctional Eating: Measuring The Immediate Impact Of Fat Disparagement Media Exposure And Its Effects On Body Dissatisfaction, Negative Affect, Weight Control Practice Intentions, And Sub-Clinical Binge Eating Behavior In College Women, Susan Himes

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Binge eating is a maladaptive eating practice associated with unhealthy weight control methods (vomiting, laxative abuse) and the development of weight gain and obesity. Isolating psychological and environmental variables that trigger binge eating can prevent or potentially moderate eating disturbance. Previous research implicates media exposure as an environmental contributor to psychological and eating disturbance. The current study sought to uncover whether fat stigmatization media exposure is an acute environmental trigger for psychological disturbance and binge initiation by dismantling fat media messages and experimentally manipulating messages. Undergraduate women (N=197) were assigned to one of four media message conditions: a fat negative …

Perceptions Of Weight Status: The Effects Of Target Features (Fat/Muscularity Level, Gender, Ethnicity) And Rater Features (Ethnicity And Gender), Tovah Yanover

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has explored self-perception of weight and has established that women tend to overestimate their own weight while men tend to underestimate. New research has also begun to examine parental perceptions of their children's weight and has indicated that parents tend to be fairly inaccurate, particularly when it comes to recognizing overweight in their own children. No research has focused on the way in which we perceive the weight of the many other individuals we encounter on a daily basis. The present study was designed to investigate the way in which the weight of others is rated and the …

Ethnomedical And Biomedical Health Care And Healing Practices Among The Rathwa Adivasi Of Kadipani Village, Gujarat State, India, Margaret A. Karnyski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Rathwa of Kadipani village are adivasi (original inhabitants, tribe) residing in a rural part of Gujarat State, India. Primarily farmers, the Rathwa live in an area where development-related projects, such as mineral mining and damming on the Narmada River, are increasingly impacting their livelihood, health status, and quality of life. The local economy is impacted by uncertainty regarding access to water from the Narmada River, concerns related to the extraction of minerals from a mine in Kadipani, and economic issues that arise when the primary wage earner of the household becomes ill.

This dissertation addresses Rathwa health care practices, …

On The Concept Of Evil: An Analysis Of Genocide And State Sovereignty, Jason J. Campbell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The history of ideas and contemporary genocide studies conjointly suggests a meaningful secular conception of evil. I will show how the history of ideas supplies us with a cumulative pattern, or an eventual gestalt, of the sought-for conception of universal secular evil. This gestalt is a result of my examination of the history of ideas. The historical analysis of evil firmly grounds my research in the tradition of philosophical inquiry, where I shift the focus from the problem of evil, which is indebted to theological discourse, to an analysis of the concept of evil. Next, I show how this gestalt …

Communicating Spirituality, Dying And A “Good Death” At The End-Of-Life: The Role Of Hospice Interdisciplinary Team Members, Jillian A. Tullis Owen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hospices use interdisciplinary teams to aid patients and families as they cope with the imminence of death while helping them achieve a death free of physical and spiritual pain, also known as a good death. This study investigated the communication between hospice team members and their patients regarding spirituality, dying, death and a good death. Through 300 hours of participant observation and interviews with hospice staff at one large not-for-profit hospice in the Southeastern United States this project shows that team members understand patient's spirituality through a religious frame potentially compromising spiritual care. Talk between patients and their care …

One Season In An Other’S: Examining Teacher Preparation In Cultural Relevance Literacy Through Intentional And Focused Teaching Case Use, Coleen E. Sams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Teacher educators need to develop better teaching methods in order to, ultimately, serve future students in classrooms that are increasing in diversity. It is vital that education majors do more than hear and read about social justice issues facing their prospective students; for them to both understand it and retain it, they need deeper interaction with the issues and alternative strategies for resolving them. This model for using teaching cases may enable teacher educators to demonstrate the relevance of their coursework to their midlevel education students, ultimately enhancing learning gains.

Of equal importance to their professional development, prospective teachers need …

Associate In Science (As) To Bachelor Of Science In Applied Science (Bsas) Transfer Students: An Analysis Of Student Characteristics, Engagement, And Success, Jerry C. Collins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to examine and comprehensively describe transfer students who have earned a two-year technical or occupational Associate in Science (AS) degree at the community college and entered the university to pursue the Bachelor of Science in Applied Science (BSAS).

The BSAS degree is a specialized baccalaureate degree program created to allow AS degree holders an opportunity to efficiently transfer into the university affording them full recognition of their two-year degree. This statewide articulated program at the University of South Florida is the first of its kind in the state of Florida. The program only began admitting its first …

Truth And Judgment, Jeremy J. Kelly

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I examine the difficulties that several philosophers of language are liable to encounter in their attempts to provide an account of the connection between truth and assertion. I then attempt to provide an account of this connection. The analysis is concerned chiefly with difficulties which consist in elucidating the conceptual connection between truth and assertion in a way that respects certain linguistic intuitions while at the same time rendering the concept of truth amenable to a semantic interpretation. The proposed view suggests one way in which we might go about meeting the theoretical demands implicit in addressing this concern, among …

The Pessimism Of Horror Cinema: A Comparative Study Between Modernist And Postmodernist Horror Cinema, Michael Jeknavorian

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative thesis examines levels of pessimism as they relate to modern and postmodern horror cinema. Beyond assumed differences in levels of pessimism between the two genres, the study also examines implicit and explicit moralization of these categories. Specifically, the study questions if postmodern horror cinema's characteristic increase in pessimism is simply a change in the genre's convention, yet a change that is irrespective of either genre's capabilities to moralize. First, the study singularly examines the conventions of each genre as it relates to levels of pessimism. Second, the study discusses works that bridge the two genres. And third, the …

Mental Health Service Delivery Systems And Perceived Qualifications Of Mental Health Service Providers In School Settings, Decia Nicole Dixon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Latest research on the mental health status of children indicates that schools are key providers of mental health services (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2003). The push for school mental health services has only increased as stakeholders have begun to recognize the significance of sound mental health as an essential part of academic success (Adelman & Taylor, 2002). However, while schools are recognized as playing an important role in the delivery of mental health services, it is not well understood about the types of mental health services provided, qualifications of providers, and the link to student outcomes (United …

A New Perspective On The Work-Family Interface: Linking Achievement Motivation And Work-Family Balance, Tiffany N. Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify whether three achievement motivation variables (LGO, GNS, and AO) were positively related to work-family balance, and to investigate plausible interactions between these variables and work-family stressors on balance perceptions. Relationships of these variables to work-family conflict and facilitation outcomes were also analyzed in order to identify differential relationships. Data were collected from 428 individuals through a web-based survey. Results indicated that all three achievement motivation variables were clearly related favorably to work-family balance and facilitation, while only AO was negatively related to conflict. The relationships between schedule flexibility and all work-family outcomes …

Form And Numbers: Mathematical Patterns And Ordering Elements In Design, Alison Marie Thom

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In America, buildings are often constructed with the intent of being utile only 30-40 years. All over the world though, there are buildings that are hundreds of years old that are still very functional. Historically, architecture was a part of mathematics, and in many periods of the past, the two were indistinguishable. Architects were often required to be also mathematicians in ancient times. The idea of this thesis is to identify the relationship between mathematics and architecture and to reintroduce them in order to create a module for successful design .

Presence of mathematical boundaries help to attain visual consistency …

(Re)Appropriation: A Reading Of The Tempest, Kapalkundala, And Disgrace, Sunayani Bhattacharya

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The thesis looks at William Shakespeare's The Tempest in conjunction with J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace and BankimChandra Chattopadhyay's Kapalkundala. In their own distinctive ways, each of these texts appropriate Shakespeare's play and are, in turn, appropriated by it while exploring the patterns of dominance and resistance inherent to the colonial/postcolonial context. The Tempest, as a play, is central to this argument owing to its experiments with power structures and their subsequent subversion. Shakespeare's text also provides an interesting point of departure because of the numerous postcolonial re-readings that it continues to provoke, creating theoretical room for discussing the status …

Digging It: A Participatory Ethnography Of The Experiences At A School Garden, Branimir Cvetkovic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This case study of a school garden focuses on concepts of community that are fostered and embodied at this setting. By utilizing participatory ethnographic methodologies, this research explored gemeinschaft and gesellschaft concepts of community. Data reveals that students are able to learn mastery, belonging, generosity and independence while participating in the garden work. Teachers manage students who attempt to challenge the boundaries of this community by utilizing and ethic of care which allows teachers to de-emphasize authority and to first consider the networks of relationships and how to mend and improve them. Students are able to experience governmentality and an …

A Rational Choice Approach To Professional Crime Using A Meta-Synthesis Of The Qualitative Literature, Douglas J. Wholl

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since the early 18th century, rational choice models have been applied extensively to criminological research, theory, and policy in an effort to understand crime and criminality. Over the past few decades, the rational choice perspective has attempted to integrate theoretical concepts, operational measures, and research findings from contemporary studies within the psychology, sociology and criminology disciplines, which have attempted to re-operationalize what was already conceptualized in the expected utility model (i.e., individuals choose to engage in criminal activity if the expected utility of crime exceeds that of all other behavioral options) by incorporating additional factors (e.g., a broader range of …

Communication As A Cultural Construct At The United Nations Arabic Translation Service, Amina Iraqi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I examine the practical challenge of constructing communication at the Arabic Translation Service (ATS) of the UN through the process of translation. Unlike in English in which "communication" has only one equivalent, in Arabic it has many depending on the context. My analysis focuses on analyzing the occurrence of two translation equivalents, namely ittissal and tawassul given that their use in translation sometimes proves to be cultural.

I conducted participant observation over the course of a two-month internship at the UN Headquarters in New York. Using grounded theory, I pieced together insights from a database of occurrences …

Social Implications Of Fair Trade Coffee In Chiapas, Mexico: Toward Alternative Economic Integration, Joseph J. Torok

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The coffee trade in Chiapas, Mexico is a unique approach of sustainable development and economic integration, demonstrating that local social movements can change behaviors in international trade regimes. The Zapatista community of Chiapas, Mexico, has an impact on the global trade system, where resultant changes begin at the local level. In the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, factors contributing to the Zapatista rebellion have led actors within civil society to form new socio-political organizations capable of changing participation, norms, and economic outcomes during the post-rebellion period (1994 - present). This study explores the dilemmas facing the autonomy of actors in …

Fantasies Of Metal And Wires: Battling Corporate Hegemony And The Achievement Of Posthuman Masculinity In Recent Superhero Cinema, Joseph J. Cook

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

During the summer of 2008 many movies were released with superhero protagonists. Combining textual readings and theoretical accounts to provide a phenomenological analysis of the representation of the counter-hegemonic struggle against corporate control and the achievement of posthuman masculinity in these recent superhero films, this thesis compares and contrasts specific visual and thematic elements that consistently appear in four of these films: The Dark Knight, Wanted, Iron Man, and Speed Racer. Providing intertextual exploration of the cultural status of specific cinematic superheroes, this project explores possible relationships between culture, society, and cinema, treating popular superhero cinema …