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Proactive Personality, Stress And Voluntary Work Behaviors, Ozgun Burcu Rodopman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study has two primary contributions to the existing literature linking stressors to employee reactions. First, job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion are proposed to mediate the relationship between stressors and both forms of voluntary workplace behaviors, specifically OCB and CWB. A comprehensive framework, which includes both streams of voluntary workplace behaviors (OCB and CWB) will expand the common practice of investigating them separately and helps us better understand the parallel mechanisms linked to OCB and CWB. Secondly, the role of proactive personality will be investigated to gain insights into how it relates to job attitudes and voluntary work behaviors. …

An Investigation Of A Dual-Factor Model Of Mental Health And Related Physical Health Outcomes Among Early Adolescents, Emily J. Shaffer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the mental and physical health of early adolescents (n = 339) using a dual-factor model of mental health. When employing a dual-factor model, mental well-being is not simply assumed from the absence of negative indicators of mental health (psychopathology). Rather, assessments of positive indicators of mental health (subjective well-being) are used to determine one's level of mental wellness. The current study tested the existence of a dual-factor model of mental health by examining the separability of participants' reports of subjective well-being and psychopathology. Specifically, the researcher hypothesized that the assessment of both of these constructs would result …

The Causal Effect Of Alcohol Consumption On Employment Status, Chanvuth Sangchai

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol consumption may affect labor market outcomes directly through a reduction in productivity and indirectly through human capital accumulation. However, empirical results from previous studies in the economics literature are mixed and inconclusive. While some researchers found negative effects of alcohol use on labor market outcomes, quite a few studies found either positive or insignificant effects. The purpose of this dissertation is to estimate causal effects of alcohol consumption on employment status. It uses three data sets previously unexploited for this purpose and attempts to eliminate any potential estimation problems from previous studies. The results show that previous problematic heavy …

An Examination Of The Interaction Between Exemplary Teachers And Struggling Writers, Betty Ruth Sylvester

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the interactions between teachers of writing and struggling writers. There were two main research questions: (1) What is the nature of the interaction between exemplary teachers of writing and struggling writers? (2) What arethe responses of struggling writers to exemplary teachers' scaffolding? To answer these questions, qualitative analysis was conducted on data. Two struggling writers were selected for the study based on their responses to the Writers Self-Perception Scale,writing samples, and teacher recommendation. Data collection included observation in two separate fourth grade classrooms during the writing block for 30 days. Data sources included audio-recording of writing instruction …

A Descriptive Study Of Students’ Perspectives On Controversial Issues Embedded In A College Environmental Science Course, Chyrisse P. Tabone

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study described non-science undergraduate majors' responses to controversial issues embedded in an introductory level environmental science course in a liberal arts college located in the southeastern United States. Participants enrolled in this 12-week summer course were both traditional college-age (late teens to early twenties) and non-traditional age student (thirties to fifties). Approximately 76 percent were female. Students demonstrated various lifestyles (e.g., gay, single-parent, living at home), socioeconomic statuses (e.g., middle-income, low income), employment (e.g., employed, unemployed, ex-military) and ethnicities. The structure of the environmental science course was consistent with the science education reform movement standards applied to K-12 …

Factors Influencing Special Educators’ Perspectives Regarding The Reintegration Of Special Education Students, Brandi L. Tanner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this investigation was to obtain information about special educators' perceptions of the reintegration of special education students into general education classrooms and factors affecting their reintegration decisions. Reintegration is the process of determining when it is appropriate to fade and eventually remove special education services for a student. Special educators often are in a good position to both initiate and facilitate this process. The current study surveyed special educators. Participants read vignettes depicting special education students with mild disabilities and answered a set of survey questions regarding their perceptions about reintegrating the students into the general education …

Ethnic Differences In Body Mass Index, Christine Anne Vaughan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The greater body mass of African American females relative to Caucasian females is a well-documented finding implicated in ethnic disparities in health outcomes. The principal aim of the current study was to evaluate a theoretical account that may explain ethnic differences in body mass index. The proposed theoretical account focused on appearance-related concerns regarding the desirability of a thin body type as motivation to engage in weight control behavior. It was hypothesized that Caucasians would evidence greater internalization of the thin ideal than African Americans, which would then be associated with greater dietary restriction and physical activity, thereby predicting lower …

Community Of Practice As Community Of Learners: How Foreign Language Teachers Understand Professional And Language Identities, Ruth Ban

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to understand the transmogrification of four Mexican foreign language teachers as they participate in a teaching exchange in American schools throughout the United States. Previous research into development of competent membership in given communities of practice points to the need for mutual engagement with other community members, an understanding of the community activity, and a shared repertoire among community members. Framed within an activity theory perspective, the present study examined how the teachers's socio-historical background, cultural tools and artifacts, along with other pedagogical activities, community rules, and division of labor mediated the teachers' understanding of their professional …

Rsvp: An Investigation Of The Effects Of Remote Shared Visual Presence On Team Process And Performance In Urban Search & Rescue Teams, Jennifer L. Burke

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This field study presents mobile rescue robots as a way of augmenting communication in distributed teams through a remote shared visual presence (RSVP) consisting of the robot's view. It examines the effects of RSVP on team mental models, team processes, and team performance in collocated and distributed Urban Search & Rescue (US&R) technical search teams, and tests two models of team performance.

Participants (n=50) were US&R task force personnel drawn from high-fidelity training exercises held in California (2004) and New Jersey (2005). Data were collected from the 25 dyadic teams as they performed a 2 x 2 repeated measures search …

Framing Requests For Parental Participation In Family Research, David Clay

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on fathers and their willingness to participate in family related research studies. Traditional expectations of parental roles have hindered the inclusion of fathers in research studies despite gradual changes in cultural norms and research studies that indicate fathers have a significant influence on the developmental outcomes of children. Recent work in this area indicates that fathers are just as likely as mothers to participate in family related research. This study sought to shed light on this issue. Employees at three large Southeastern Universities were asked to participate in one of three different types of research: Academics, Athletics, …

Implementing School-Wide Positive Behavior Support: Exploring The Influence Of Socio-Cultural, Academic, Behavioral, And Implementation Process Variables, Rachel Mara Cohen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated the influence of academic, behavioral, and sociocultural variables on the implementation of Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS), a system intended to improve discipline in school buildings. The number of schools that are implementing SWPBS has been increasing dramatically over the years as school violence continues to rise and solutions are needed to improve school climate. This study examined the relationship between three categories of variables and the level of implementation of SWPBS in three multiple regression analyses. The categories were school demographic variables (i.e., ethnicity, socio-economic status, teacher: student ratio, percentage of teachers who are out-of-field), severity …

The Commodification Of Yoga In Contemporary U.S. Culture, Michelle E. Demeter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Yoga is an increasingly visible and versatile commodity in the United States health market. Though its origins stretch to pre-Vedic India and its traditional religious purpose is linked to Hinduism, it is evident that yoga has undergone much change since its transmission to U.S. culture. In its popular, widespread incarnation in the United States, yoga is not usually learned at the feet of a guru, but at exercise centers and gyms. These secular locales of yoga's practice help define the "yoga phenomenon" in contemporary America. This phenomenon has resulted in yoga's wide acceptance and high visibility in American popular culture …

An Examination Of The Experiences Of Five African American Male Students With Regard To School Discipline Practices, Simon Yohann Earle

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are numerous studies that address the issue of discipline practices in schools. Within the last decade there have been an increasing number of scholars and school district personnel who have written about discipline, and more specifically, the discipline of specific populations of students such as African Americans. Although many of these studies address the disparate disciplinary practices that occur in many school districts, little attention is devoted to how students understand these practices in the larger context of their general school experiences. This research intends to fill the void in the literature that utilizes the experiences of students to …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between The Presence Of Critical Components Of Classroom Positive Behavior Support And Student Behavior, Gregory S. Ern

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between the presence of classroom components of positive behavior support and student behavior outcomes. Data were collected using the Tool for Assessing Classroom Level-Positive Behavior Support (TACL-PBS) developed by Ern (2004) to assess the presence or absence of critical components of positive behavior support at the classroom level. Descriptive data on the instrument including the internal consistency, interrater agreement, and concurrent validity were analyzed and are included in this report. Forty classrooms from ten diverse elementary schools in three school districts were selected to participate in this study. Office discipline …

Linking Pretreatment Therapist Characteristics To The Therapeutic Alliance In Youth Treatment: An Examination Of Professional Burnout, Counseling Self-Efficacy And Gender Role Orientation, Jessica B. Handelsman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigated three pretreatment therapist characteristics (professional burnout, counseling self-efficacy, and gender role orientation) in relation to the therapeutic alliance within the context of youth treatment. It was hypothesized that the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization dimensions of burnout would be negatively associated with the alliance, while the personal accomplishment dimension of burnout and counseling self-efficacy would be positively associated with the alliance. In addition, it was hypothesized that androgynous therapists would have superior alliances, relative to stereotypically masculine or feminine therapists. Participants were 42 pairs of therapists and youth clients. Prior to intake, therapists completed the Maslach Burnout …

Mentor And Mentee Perceptions Of The Importance And Effectiveness Of Mentor Support, Cenira Holcomb

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-methods action research study explored the congruence between mentor and mentee perceptions of the importance and effectiveness of 12 district-specific focus areas of mentor support. While reviewing current data pertaining to teacher attrition, the researcher observed a limited availability of investigations relating to the perceived role of the mentor teacher based on the experiences and observations of both the novice and mentor teacher.The target population for this study was 70 novice and mentor special education teachers during the 2005--2006 school year employed at 13 middle schools in a school district located in Florida. Of the 70 beginning and mentor …

The Relationship Between Nurses' Anxiety And Attitude Related To Pediatric Hospice, Teresa Lyn Hoover

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

To lose a child is a profoundly emotional experience. Even if it is not your own, the experience involves deeply held beliefs about death, the quality of death, ethics, and perhaps personal experience. Left unexplored, these beliefs and the anxiety they may produce, can become barriers to providing quality end-of-life care for children with life limiting conditions and their families. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between hospice nurses' attitudes toward providing pediatric hospice care and the level of anxiety they may experience related to pediatric hospice care. A self administered questionnaire was completed by 30 …

Effects Of Trait Anxiety And Cognitive Appraisals On Emotional Reactions To Psychological And Physical Stressors, Qutayba Abdullatif

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of individual differences in trait anxiety on cognitive appraisals and emotional reactions to stressful situations. Specifically, the effects of trait anxiety on the evaluation of psychological and physical threats to well-being were examined in relation to state-anxiety. To accomplish this goal, a proposed model consisting of elements from the Lazarus and Folkman Stress and Coping Model (1984) and Spielberger's State Trait distinctions is presented. To our knowledge, this is the first proposed model to attempt to combine trait anxiety, primary and secondary appraisals, and state anxiety and to utilize path analytic models in assessing empirical …

Analysis Of The Role Of Residential Segregation On Perinatal Outcomes In Florida, Georgia And Louisiana, Tabia Henry Akintobi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between residential segregation (the physical separation of Blacks and Whites in residential contexts) and adverse perinatal outcomes (low birth weight, preterm delivery and small for gestational age births) in Florida, Georgia and Louisiana. The study determined the independent effect of the level of residential segregation on the likelihood of adverse perinatal outcomes after controlling for contextual and individual factors. The study also assessed whether the relationship between residential segregation and adverse perinatal outcomes were moderated by ethnicity and median income.The studied employed an observational, cross-sectional study design that utilized secondary …

Arts In New Directions The Development And Application Of A Construct That Uses The Arts To Promote Transformation And Self-Actualization In Health Care And Education/Therapy, Alexxis Avalon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Artistic methods to evoke relaxation, spark creativity, and change self-perceptions are already being used by therapists, educators, and scientists. Interdisciplinary collaborations among researchers are developing to create new paradigms that incorporate the use of arts to empower individuals. By describing various connections between the arts and participants, researchers are looking at the expressive arts (including dance, music, drama, poetry, and visual arts) for transformation and self-actualization.The problem is that no construct is available to describe the transformation, "the conscious move from one deep structure of knowledge to another" (Wilber, 2004), that occurs when using the arts in health care and …

Implications Of Sleep Disorders Symptoms On School Behavior, Academics, And Quality Of Life, Erin Elizabeth Ax

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pediatric sleep problems are among the most common yet significant pediatric health issues faced by families. Sleep problems can impact social-emotional and academic functioning of schoolchildren. Once identified, pediatric sleep problems and disorders are treatable with effective and rapid behavioral and medical interventions. The purpose of the current study was to determine the prevalence rates of symptoms of sleep disorders in a diverse school-based sample as well as the relationship between symptoms of sleep disorders and school behavior, academic achievement, and quality of life. The present study examined the relationship between the independent variables of No Sleep Disorders symptoms and …

A Case Study Of A School Implementing A Constructivist Philosophy, Joseph C. Brown

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Isaacson's (2004) dissertation chronicles the implementation of a constructivist instructional approach at Southwood Elementary School. Southwood's faculty experienced a change of principals, which the Tri-Partite Theory of Organizational Change and Succession, a theory of organizational entropy, predicts could lead to organizational entropy. This study examines the dynamics of the change in principal, as well as Isaacson's recommendation to study teachers' perceptions regarding the maintenance of the constructivist approach. This study answers three questions: 1) Are faculty still using constructivist strategies? 2) What are teacher perceptions regarding the maintenance and support of constructivist philosophy? 3) Is there congruence between what literature …

Cue Reactivity And The Role Of Social Alcohol Expectancies In The College-Aged Drinking Population, Ashlee C. Carter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown alcohol expectancies to be critically important in understanding maladaptive drinking patterns within alcohol use disorders. Alcohol expectancies, thought to be automatically elicited in the presence of environmental alcohol-related cues, represent both cognitive and affective associations with drinking behavior. However, the automatic and affective properties of alcohol expectancies have not yet been thoroughly measured in the literature. Psychophysiological measures, including skin conductance, heart rate, and the acoustic startle response in particular, offer a uniquely powerful set of indices for the automatic affective processing of alcohol-related cues.

Therefore, the present study was designed to examine how alcohol expectancies moderate …

The Effects Of Multimedia Annotations On L2 Vocabulary Immediate Recall And Reading Comprehension: A Comparative Study Of Text-Picture And Audio-Picture Annotations Under Incidental And Intentional Learning Conditions, Zhaohui Chen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigated the effects of multimedia annotation on L2 vocabulary learning and reading comprehension. The overarching objective of this study was to compare the effects of text-picture annotation and audio-picture annotation on L2 vocabulary immediate recall and reading comprehension. This study also sought to examine the different effects under incidental and intentional learning conditions. The participants were 78 intermediate adult ESL learners from three universities in northwest U.S. The participants read an Internet-based English text. Twenty target words, annotated in either text-picture or audio-picture, were embedded in the reading text. The participants accessed the annotations by clicking on the …

Traumatic Loss And Transformative Life Experiences: The Lived Experience Of Green Cross Traumatologists Deployed To The New York City World Trade Center Disaster, Carron C. Cherrie

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory study examines the lived experience of Green Cross traumatologists deployed to the New York City World Trade Center disaster. The deployment took place five days after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The author was a member of a ten member advance team that provided crisis stabilization services to an international union in Lower Manhattan. Disaster Mental Health Services and community outreach were provided for a month. The purpose of the study was to describe in an anthropologically holistic perspective the lived experience of traumatologists, who as Americans were also affected by the terrorist disaster. Thirty-one traumatologists …

The Influence Of Performance Background On Instrumentalists’ Ability To Discriminate And Label Cornet And Trumpet Timbre, Gary Compton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was an examination of timbre discrimination and labeling, with specific consideration of the soprano-brass timbres of cornets and trumpets. This study sought to determine whether instrumentalists differed in their ability to label and discriminate cornet and trumpet timbres, and whether these abilities were influenced by the instrumentalists' performing instrument and years of playing experience. Wind, brass and percussion players (n=100) from existing instrumental groups in the Tampa Bay area participated in the study. These groups were collegiate trumpet majors from a large public university school of music, a collegiate wind ensemble from a private university, and a brass …

Risk And Protective Factors Related To Resilience In Adolescents In An Alternative Education Program, Kelly M. Crawford

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using a multivariate correlational design, this study was designed to determine the degree to which selected risk and protective factors were related to resilience in an at-risk student population. A total of 12 individual, family and external risk and protective factors were identified and data were collected from 142 6th through 11th grade students in an alternative education program for individuals who had committed severe behavioral infractions. A series of multiple regression analyses were conducted using three outcome variables: a rating of students' resilient behavior, number of behavior referrals in the students' records, and standardized reading achievement scores. Five percent …

Parent Involvement: Differences Between African Americans And European Americans In One Florida School District, Michelle Darter-Lagos

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to (a) analyze perceptions of parent involvement across raters (i.e., seventh grade students versus their parents) and across ethnicity (i.e., African American versus European American), and (b) examine how perceptions of parent involvement are related to academic achievement. A subsample of archival survey data collected in one central Florida school district was analyzed for the current study. Findings revealed a positive but weak relationship between students' and parents' perceptions of parent involvement regardless of ethnicity. Significant differences were found in the perceived levels of involvement by ethnicity, even when controlling for SES. In …

Pain As A Motivator Of Smoking: Effects Of Pain Induction On Smoking Urge And Behavior, Joseph W. Ditre

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Tobacco smoking has been associated with the development, protraction, and exacerbation of chronically painful conditions. Conversely, there is reason to believe that smokers may be motivated to use tobacco as a means of coping with their pain. To date, no controlled, experimental studies have tested for a causal relationship between pain and smoking motivation. The primary aim of the current study was to test the hypothesis that laboratory-induced cold-pressor pain would enhance smoking motivation, as measured by self-reported urge to smoke and observation of immediate smoking behavior. The effect of a smoking cue was also tested. Smokers (n = 132) …

Improving Long-Term Resettlement Services For Refugees, Asylees, And Asylum-Seekers: Perspectives From Service Providers, Kristina M. Dunman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, rights of asylum and refuge are extended to people who can prove that they have been politically persecuted. Resettlement services for refugees and asylees often focus on the short-term acquisition of employment and English language skills. These policies ignore the long-term complexities involved in reestablishing individual and group identities after war trauma and resettlement. This research is an investigation into the perspectives of service providers who work with refugees, asylees, and asylum-seekers on the need for more comprehensive, long-term services to assist in the months and years following resettlement, and on potential programs to address those …